NETGEAR WPN824 RangeMax Wireless Router Reviews

• Works well, but "wizard" is only junior apprentice, and blue lights are irritating

  
  By A1VK9PH5EVN5DB on 2005-07-19
  I bought this to replace an Apple Airport that died an early death.
  
  Setup was easy as soon as I figured how to bypass the "wizard"--more like a junior apprentice, really. It falsely claimed that my ISP gives me a static IP address. Had I followed along, it probably would have worked for a while and then failed mysteriously. The cheat sheet has bypass instructions, and then the setup is very nice. It is completely web-based without forcing you to install any software on your computer.
  
  I run Linux, Mac and Windows, and all connect just fine.
  
  The range improved nicely, as advertised. Having internal antennas is an advantage--one less thing to break.
  
  The only irritation are those blinking blue lights that you cannot turn off. (I read that you can open the box and disconnect the ribbon cable, but that seems a drastic step.) Covering them with cardboard is not a perfect remedy since light still emanates from the air vents.
  
  In summary: (1) DO NOT install the CD (2) DO NOT use the "wizard"; go directly to the advanced setup (3) Wear dark sunglasses when facing the device
  
  

• The best so far...

  
  By A13MAK4LWYI8HJ on 2005-07-23
  I have sitting in my garage, a pile of recently purchased routers which have all become dust catchers after hooking up this WPN824 and the accompanying wireless cards. I read the reviews here at Amazon and noticed the negative ratings did not mention whether they were using RangeMax cards on their wireless devices so I thought I would take a chance.
  
  I have both RangeMax and other older "g" cards and the RangeMax cards make a huge difference though the other "g" cards still work better than our previous Linksys and Netgear systems did. Our router is in a back room with the wireless systems through two walls in the front room in the house, and for the first time in years we get a good solid connection to our wireless devices. I should also note that we placed the router on a non-metallic box away from other electronic devices and that seemed to help quite a bit. I am going to purchase a WGXB102 Netgear extender kit to see if it helps the other cards, though I see it is limited to 54Mbs, so I am not sure if it will help the RangeMax system or not, but figured it is worth a try considering the great reviews the kit is receiving. Anyway, I highly recommend this RangeMax system.
  
  PROS: Great range and speed. Nice design.
  
  CONS: The blinking lights cannot be turned off at night and light up the whole room like a disco ball.
  
  
  4-12-06 Update:
  There is a problem and Netgear doesn't seem to want to fix it. They do not address it on their forum nor will they respond in an email. Many users (myself included) are getting random network disconnects which are requiring a reboot of the router. It is not fun. The firmware has not been updated for a very long time. Also, in the version 2 model (identified by a v2 on the model number - there is now even a v3), you can now turn the disco light off.
  
  

• Netgear continues to disappoint

  
  By A33J4UNRFWPSDH on 2007-04-01
  I've had bad experiences with Netgear in the past, but when I moved into my new place, I needed something I could pick up on short notice and this was all they had (Staples). I optimistically hoped to be proven wrong and thought maybe this router would be good.
  
  And it is - the router is fantastic, for the 30-45 minutes it is working between crashes. But unfortunately, it is those crashes that make this thing useless.
  
  It is one thing for it to be passively useless, but this takes it one step further and is actively annoying on top of it. The flashing blue lights are awful - if you have it out in the open, be sure to get something to cover the lights, otherwise you will go crazy.
  
  I will say two good things about this router:
  1) the crashes seem to be more related to the wireless functionality, and if you are plugged into the unit, it usually still works while the wireless functionality is toast
  
  2) it feels great to smash this thing to bits with your fists and watch the blue lights stop working, during one of its regular down periods when you can't get any work done due to this thing sucking.
  If you can afford it, I highly recommend buying one of these, plugging it in and getting the lights going, and then just beating it until the lights are dead - it is a really satisfying feeling.
  Unfortunately it is prohibitively expensive for such things, and if accidentally used for its intended purpose of being a wireless router, it may get in the way of an otherwise productive day.
  
  If you rely on your net connection for getting your work done - avoid this router. Also, if you have epilepsy, avoid this router.
  
  If you have deep pockets and like to break stuff, please buy up the supply of these things and clear the market from this trash - and then destroy them all.
  
  

• Kinda Pricey, But if you need range...

  
  By A62PX3VWOJ0QG on 2005-06-10
  So I've had one of NetGear's first routers, the MR814 and haven't been too impressed. The NG's wireless card that I got back in the day was so bad I returned it. In my house which is 3200sq ft and the walls are filled with insulation, getting range is a huge problem.
  
  So I did a lot of research and read various articles and for range it comes down to Belkin's Pre-N or NG's RangeMax router. From the comparisons if you want just sheer raw speed and maximum distance the Belkin was the way to go as long as you also used their Pre-N cards. I don't care for N, I've got 3 laptops with internal wireless cards, 2 PCs, and an Xbox in the house and the NetGear RangeMax wins when it comes to extending range for existing b and g devices. At the extreme end of my house where the TV is (compared with the location of the router) I could barely maintain a signal with the 802.11b router I had, 1Mbps connection at best. With the RangeMax at this same location my signal strength drops to only 80%, everywhere else is a full 100%.
  
  The other thing is VPN. I've found with some routers, specifically the MR814, some VPN software (e.g Nortel's client) has troubles making a connection to the vpn gateway, and even if you do connect to it (wirelessly) the speed isn't that great. I found with the RangeMax my VPN issues went away; it was like having the speed of when I'm at work. I also found that XBOX games are very sensitive to settings; I used to have to endlessly tweak my other router to prevent choppiness. With the RangeMax it worked perfectly out of the box.
  
  So I'm a happy camper. The main drawback I found was setup. It's designed for a total newbie/non technical person. For hard core tech users you'll find it frustrating getting past it's huge desire to make you run their setup wizards. Even though you can go directly to the admin screen, it still wants to do a bunch of detection nonsense, when I'd prefer to just set all the settings myself because I know what they have to be.
  
  My friend with the Belkin Pre-N said his setup was a breeze. But really you have only two choices if you want to do the multiple antenna MIMO route. The Routers using the AirGo Wireless chips (Belkin, LinkSys), or the Video54 chips (NetGear RangeMax). Realistically who cares about 108Mbps when your internet connection at home is 4Mbps at best (380Kbps-754Kbps for most people).
  
  Also for those that complain about not being able to replace the antenna. Ya that's a strategy used for single antenna routers. The RangeMax has 7 antennas (internal).. so if you had your way you'd add 7 powered antennas?!? On the AirGo routers like the Belkin you'd have to replace 3... that's adding a lot more wires (from A/C adapters) when you're trying to be wireless.
  
  But once you get past that you're rock'n and roll'n. Plus it has this funky blue dome on the top with an array of LEDs that blink with activity.. It's all star trek like n stuff, kinda cool in the dark to watch when you're really bored. :)
  
  Summary: Max Range + Max Speed + Max Budget - use the Belkin Pre-N router and replace all your wireless cards with Belkin Pre-N ones.
  
  OR
  
  Max Range on 802.11b/g cards - use the NetGear RangeMax.
  
  

• Much better range than 802.11b

  
  By A2V5C1NCHIIM3H on 2005-04-22
  I had the Netgear MR814 before buying this. The WPN824 gives me much better wireless coverage with my Powerbook all over my house. My router is placed downstairs in one corner of the house, and I can still get great reception in the opposite upstairs corner of the house, going through several walls and the floor.
  
  It has 7 wireless antennas is built-in that has a blue led that flashes showing it's constantly switching to use the best antenna for reception. Watching my PB, the wireless signal strength fluctuates a lot the further you are away, with the only noticeable difference is increased lag times.
  
  The UI has not changed very much over the MR814. You still can't fine tune the wireless functions very much, although you can now choose the preamble length. Still no QoS. The Attached Devices and Address Reservation of IP addressess functionality works pretty clunky. Sometimes some IPs don't show up.
  
  The current firmware is v1.04, and I suspect there is a bug with DHCP reservation. I reserved my PB's MAC address to a fixed IP. I alternated getting an IP via a fixed cable and the wireless interface and kept getting different IP addressess each time, and not the reserved IP I setup earlier.
  
  After the firmware upgrade (which can be done automatically by the router), I physically removed the power cable to reset the system. It did not start backup and it took a few more tries, including waiting at least 30 seconds before it came back to life.
  
  The other downside is that the wireless router does not work with the Rokulabs M1000 media player. Without having a pure 802.11G base station to compare this to, I'm not sure if this is worth the extra cost for the added range.
  
  
• All flash... no bite...
  By A3SZKF2RGPPCA1 on 2005-12-02
  I recently lost my compact Linksys WRT54GC router due to a bad power surge. I then got enticed by this new and (literally) flashy Netgear RangeMax.
  
  READY...
  
  Upon opening the box, I was surprised by the size... it's bigger than what I expected (approximately within 10" x 6" x 1") as compared to the other routers I've owned, specially to the palm-sized Linksys WRT54GC. The build quality is good, but the documentation is scarce/useless. You're better off downloading the manual or reading online documentation from Netgear's web site. A black plastic, self-adhesive cover is provided to seal the flashy blue lights others are complaining about. I'm not sure if Netgear toned down the intensity of the lights of their newer batches since mine weren't that irritating so I didn't bother using the cheap plastic cover.
  
  GET SET...
  
  The installation was pretty straightforward, specially for those who've set up wireless routers before. Just forget about using the smart wizard installation if you have a non-conventional DSL/Cable setup (ISP requires logins, etc., etc.) as it will throw you off-track. This is probably what the others have been complaining about. Installing without the wizard/CD isn't even that hard because of the intuitive control panel menu layout. And oh, don't even bother wasting your time and sanity contacting Netgear's support (via online or phone). Take the other reviewers' words for it.
  
  GO...
  
  The performance and range is good, but I didn't see any practically noticable difference compared to my previous routers. There was definitely NO wow effect as I hoped whilst reading their flashy ads and reviews. I used a wi-fi strength meter and the readings are almost the same as my ordinary Wireless G Linksys router. The readings fluctuate erratically since the router uses MIMO-G technology which constantly adjusts the 7 internal antennas to give better signals. If you move your laptop around (walk from the living room to the patio), you'll get temporary signal drops, again presumably because of the MIMO-G technology.
  
  ARGHHH...
  
  Now for the bad part. If you're a heavy user of file sharing apps like bittorrent or emule clients, then you're in for a BIG disappointment. While using these apps, the router will crash/lock-up or drop your connection after a few hours and sometimes even just after a few minutes. Apparently, if the number of TCP connections exceed the router's threshold (I wonder what that is but it's obviously low) it will get overwhelmed and eventually faint. Your only work around would be to adjust your file sharing client's connection settings so low so as not to choke the router OR to wait for a firmware upgrade that will address this issue (which I doubt Netgear will ever address). These file sharing apps are probably the most effective real-world way of testing the stability of a router. I should've done more research before I bought the router. Do a little google'ing about "WiFi routers crashing with Bittorrent" to find out more.
  
  IN SHORT...
  
  Pros:
  
  - good build quality
  - simple and intuitive control panel (but too basic/limited for advanced users)
  
  Cons:
  
  - intermittently crashes when using file sharing apps
  - average performance and range
  - not worth the $100++ price tag ($50 would have been reasonable)
  - poor documentation
  - poor technical support
  
  SIGH...
  
  There are a lot more capable and reasonably priced routers out there than this one. I just sold this one on ebay and got myself a Zyxel X-550 which is top notch and way more advanced. Don't be blinded by Rangemax's flashy lights and ads.
  
  This one's all flash... no bite...
  
  
• Solid performance, feature set, and good looks
  By A1KWFDH45POJ78 on 2006-11-12
  I just moved in to a larger space with 2 levels and needed to replace my aging WGR614v1 wireless router. It worked fine, but in certain areas of the unit the signal wasn't strong enough. I did a lot of comparisons online and reviewed many customer comments. I was a bit discouraged at first to buy the Netgear due to many negative reviews, but I wanted to see for myself because my experience with them has always been positive.
  
  Setup took about 20 minutes to hookup all these devices using 128bit WEP and MAC Address Access Control List, ensuring that only my known devices can connect.
  
  1 - Desktop to LAN port.
  1 - ATT DSL modem
  1 - TiVo Series3 HD DVR - Wireless G
  1 - TiVo Series2 DVR - Wireless G
  2 - Laptops (IBM & Mac) Wireless G and Airport
  
  In addition to these devices, when I bring up available networks on any of my devices, there are about 16-20 other accessible networks in my building. All these networks run various B, G, Super-G, MiMo technology and can cause lots of interference and routing issues. With the WPN824, I am able to get "Excellent" or "Very Good" connections from all my devices, even when all are powered on at the same time and connected. I'm not even using the MIMO technology feature and setting the router to pure G only mode because none of my end-points have compatible adapters.
  
  If you are getting dropped connections, I suggest that customers try changing their station channels to either 01, 06, or 11. See which gets the least amount of interference. Also, under wireless settings > internet service provider > Idle Timeout, set this value to 0 and not the default 5. Setting it to 0 means keep alive and will keep the connection between your router and ISP active at all times. I think customers who suffer problems connecting is partly due to how their ISP handles connections. I read customers having to reboot their routers to re-establish a connection. This is because most ISP's is not friendly to frequent connects and disconnects. My philosophy is, connect once and stay connected. So make sure to set your "Idle Timeout" to 0.
  
  So far I have had no problems with the WPN824. It looks really nice and can be placed just about anywhere in your house without having to see antenna prongs sticking out. Connection is great and working from home over IPSEC/UDP works great.
  
  
• Thumbs up - twice
  By A1KVONOTHWKGR5 on 2005-05-28
  I have had great success covering houses that have the router on one side and the notebook/pc on the others side about 60ft+ and on different floors. Here are a couple of hints though:
  
  1 - do not use the installation disk, just hook up a pc to the router and follow the instructions in the quick-install sheet.
  
  2 - do the firmware upgrade, most of them ship with 1.0.3 and now there is 1.0.10
  
  3 - enable the xr feature under "advanced wireless"
  
  4 - use the corresponding notebook/desktop card: while strongewr than most routers, MIMO needs an intelligent counterpart. So if you cant get a signal where you need it, drop the money on the card the resukts are great - in one case I was able to connect through 60ft of house and into a yard an additional 150 more feet away and downhill!!!
  
  
• product works as advertised
  By A3KN8UNU2YTL5K on 2005-10-26
  I upgraded from the WGR614 to the RangeMax (WPN824). Our network equip is in the second floor office at the front of the house (wife's office). My home office is in the basement at the back of the house. The 614 model gave me ~35-40% WiFi signal strength, and would periodically drop my VPN connection.
  
  The new 824 model works great. WiFi signal strength is ~57-67%, and in the two months I've had this new product, I don't remember a dropped signal. If your set-up is like mine (multiple floors, multiple walls), and you have signal strength problems, I would recommend trying the 824.
  
  The flashing blue lights are annoying at first, but you get used to them. Alternatively, just flip it around in the upright stand, or tape over a piece of paper to suppress the flashing lights.
  
  
• Dont even bother
  By A2LTXTD99XQF5T on 2005-06-09
  I brought this thing mostly because of the glitz and glamour on the front cover of the box-which was stupid. Yes, it did intially solve my problem - no ordinary router had signal strength powerful enough to get to one specific section of the house. Well after I plugged this guy in I did get a nice signal everywhere.
  
  However the problems with this router immediately surfaced the next day. Basically, if the router was inactive for too long, it would drop the RCN broadband connection, forcing one to have to reboot the entire setup daily. In case you arent aware, this includes all of the following: cable modem, (netgear) router, and sometimes even reboot all/some of the computers.
  
  I updated this thing with the latest firmware, turned a setting on to accept pings from the outside, spoofed the MAC address of the main computer in the house, downgraded the firmware...basically I tried everything. Netgear tech support was useless. But in all honesty is it their fault? The product is a piece of junk.
  
  After weeks of frustration, including taking it back to the store and exchanging it for another one...I gave up, and was forced to ultimately eat the ~$150 or so I spent.
  
  I eventually went with an equivalent DLINK model, and knock on wood, 4 weeks later, no reboots and no problems whatsoever. Go DLINK!!!!!!!
  
  
• Awesome Product
  By A1LBN6BHHU486E on 2005-11-03
  I purchased the Net Gear WPN824 wireless router to replace my D-Link di624 wireless router. Setup was fast and easy with very nice menus. I had it up and going within 5 minutes! The flashing blue lights on the top do get old after a while, but it now is packaged with a black plastic circle piece to stick over the blue flashing lights. The coverage and signal strength is awesome from any place within my home, even outside on our deck. It has 5 wired rj45 ports and does support 128 bit encryption. One thing to remember is to release then renew the IP addresses on any wireless devices you had on a previously existing wireless network. I am in complete awe at the wireless strength and am very happy with my Net Gear purchase!
  
  
• Ahhh, a superior router thats user friendly too!
  By A3JJNSW1XHXX9B on 2006-01-01
  I own this router and a Linksys router. Both are effective for range, but the nextgear wins hands down for ease of use.
  
  Very easy to understand web page (which is how you configure routers by 'logging' onto them). Just set it up and go. Whereas the Linksys is complicated even for an advanced PC user.
  
  One thing: The rangemax isn't enabled. You'll have to turn it on in the 'router webpage', and it really isn't needed unless you've got a huge house or need to be outside with your pc!
  
  Great signal, user friendly, and pretty cool looking, PC geek tested and approved! A+
  
  Get it!
  
  ~BB
  
  
• a very nice piece of engineering
  By A2IR806KBUXLU2 on 2005-07-05
  I use to be a loyal Linksys customer, until now. The Netgear range max wireless router and usb adapters are absolutely fantastic! It took me about 10 minutes to set up a secure wireless network with 3 home computers and a cable modem using these Netgear products. I returned my 4 Linksys 802.11g products (router, pc card, pci adaptor, and usb adapter) this afternoon after spending 3 hours on the phone with a tech support team who just spun me in circles. So today, I had a fairly unique opportunity to compare Linksys and Netgear side by side. Netgear's setup and monitoring are truely professional and gave me alot of confidence compared to Linksys. I regret trying to save a few bucks buying Linksys 802.11g. The Netgear range max capability is amazing. I have walked my laptop into every room in my house, including front and back porch and there has been no glitching or signficant signal loss. I used the advanced setup via explorer to setup the router. It was amazing how clear the setup procedure, even in advanced mode, with its help frames. My daughter installed the Netgear range max usb adapter on her computer using the install wizard and she didn't even have to ask me any questions! Woa! I highly recommend this for power and novice wireless users! I'm going to try to buy some stock in Netgear. They are champs.
  
  
• Not for heavy duty use.
  By A3JDHICISQ3IRE on 2005-11-28
  My old reliable version 2 Linksys WRT54G router quit a few weeks ago. Since that time I have spent far too much time trying to find something that worked as good as this old router. One of the routers I tried was the Netgear WPN824 router. I was very impressed with the menu system. There are a lot of available configurations including an incredible application specific port forwarding section. My old Linksys router was not this advanced. The router is pretty fast for file transfers between computers.
  
  The wireless system worked as advertised. I did not have the router long enough to check it's range.
  
  Now for the bad...If you do any Bit Torrent downloading, don't go near this router. I spent a few days diagnosing why I couldn't maintain a Bit Torrent download for more than a few hours. Basically a combination of mulitple computers accessing the internet while 1 or 2 Bit Torrent downloads was occuring would reset the router on a regular basis. The router simply isn't designed for heavy duty use. My old Linksys router handled this heavy duty use for 2 1/2 years without issue.
  
  Overall the router worked very well for lighter duty situations. If you are only browsing the internet on 1 or 2 computers the router should work OK.
  
  
• Excellent range & performance
  By A1H1BO63R4XJ91 on 2006-03-15
  This router is by far the best one that I've had. I've seen poor reviews on this post and they seem to be from people that do not know what they are doing. This router is easy to set-up and I will recommend to install the CD contents, follow the easy installation set-up and you will be ok. Things to consider will be what kind of security option you have on your wireless cards, more likely you will have WPA encryption so you will be ok, as long as your key matches on both ends. The problem people is having with disrupted connections is due sometimes to people "playing" with their IP settings. If you know what you are doing with static IP's and reservations then do so, you will have no problems, id you don't, DON'T TOUCH IT, in short don't fix what ain't broken! All in all this router is excellent, great security with WPA, access control by MAC address and the option not to display your SSID. My setup includes 1 DNS/DHCP server, 1 E-mail server, 3 wired stations, 2 laptops with wireless access cards, and VOIP through Vonage. I just added a storage device for my movies and music and can stream it through my network with no loss in quality and great range. Hope this was helpful. (Tip: Buy the Pre-N cards for greater speed and access, I have combined a, b, g and Pre-N, so far I've seen improvements in a, b & g and abismal difference with the Pre-N cards...).
  
  
• GREAT Router, especially for the price.
  By A2VR3SNZMCUTZ6 on 2007-01-15
  First I have to say, this router, especially for the price has been fantastic for me. I have a large house and have four PCs on two different floors at different ends of the house. NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER with all wireless PCs, getting in at a consistent 108 Mbps. Extremely consistent at holding the wireless connection s stable. What is essential is to use the appropriate Netgear Rangemax wireless adapters so that one can take advantage of the increased range and speed that this router offers (like the Netgear WG311T internal adapter). It can be used with a standard G adapter, but it will also work like a standard G. Meaning that standard G does not have the intelligence to take advantage of the Super G, RangeMax and Mimo technology.
  
  Here are some comments from some confused people using this router and giving it lower than deserved marks due to "user issues".
  1. This one is amazing. If someone doesn't like the cool flashing light on the top of the Router, then press the BIG BLACK BUTTON that is on the back, right next to the plug. It is by far the largest button on it and extremely obvious. The router is also feature packed and is easy if you need to do port forwarding, using the one of the four ethernet slots or setting UPND.
  
  2. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST. It is essential to read the instructions first, so that you know what you are doing. That same is true before installing that network adapters. The adapters need to have the software installed first before installing the cards.
  
  3. UNDERSTAND that RangeMax is proprietary technology. The reason is that THE COMMUNICATION COMPANIES HAVE NOT DECIDED ON A EXTENTION OF THE G TECHNOLOGY. To take advantage of the best that the router has to offer, make sure that, the purchase is thought through and coordinated. Don't get a Linksys adapter and expect the PC that it is on to run as fast or have a range as far as the associated Netgear WPN311 Wireless Adapter. No need for an extender to get the signal to real long distances and go through floors and walls.
  
  4. Understand how the Internet works and how Internal Networking works. What I mean is that a PC can connect via Wireless to the Router at 108mps, on another floor and another side of the house, like mine does. That would be the speed for all Internal networking. Very fast.
  BUT, NO ONE can get the Internet throughput to connect to the Internet at 108mps. NO ONE. Therefore, you will see one speed for the connection to the Network/Router and another speed for Internet Browsing. The Internet limit is a limit of the Internet when connected via Broadband. When I do testing through the web on my Comcast Cable connection, I usually get the fastest connection to my ISP that can be had. 768mps. That is the limit for my cable moden connection.
  
  READ THE DIRECTIONS and look at the big black button to turn off the lights,
  
  
  
• Quick setup, optional psychedelics
  By A3JLBALV4CCTXG on 2007-04-22
  First, version 2 (v2) has a button to turn off the pschedelic light.
  I had used a LinkSys WRT54G for a year or more. As I recall, it took about 2 hours to set up (my first wifi router). It got messed up by a power surge (I apparently need a better surge protector) but I thought I had resuscitated it by upgrading the firmware. I spent a few hours trying to get it set up again. My laptop connected with it but I could not access the net.
  So I got this Netgear. Took no more than 30 minutes. The set up was much easier - I just did what the wizard said.
  In all fairness, the LinkSys might have been bad after the surge. It might be a snap if you have "secure easy setup" on the laptop. I thought I had it with the installed software, but it didn't work.
  One caveat - the "rangemax" feature is only available if you have a "rangemax" adapter on the other end.
  This setup was much easier.
  Pros: quick and easy setup, quick throughput, adequate range
  Con: need a a "rangemax" adaptor to get the range boost
  
  
• absolutely a keeper
  By A25BV8NZJ2UPRR on 2005-07-07
  I am a tech savy person.I have been playing with wireless routers prior to 802.11 standards.So far i have used Proxim,Dlink,Linksys and Buffalo routers.The problem with these routers was that they are highly directional sensitive.RangeMax had solved definitely this issue.Smart antenna or MIMO or hybrid of these two ,whatever you call it, it adapts to your placement of 802.11X clients.
  
  A good example is this pattern/configuration in my house.I have a mac with airport Card in my kitchen and Rangemax in my office rm. 50 feet away with no direct line of sight and 2 walls.When idle my Mac shows signal strength of 2-3 bars. But when i start downloading huge contents or run any Intenrnet speed tests ,my mac signal strength immedialty shoots up to 5 full bars.This is been consistent and i ran these tests atleast some 100 times.
  i think this is the magic of MIMO/Smart antenna.
  
  Biggest of all tests is i have a Multimedia receiver 100 ft. away in media room and i can stream DVD/VOB files from my network storage which is wired to Rangemax without a hitch.
  
  good luck to you all
  
  
• Great router
  By A238XX9CAT1MB2 on 2005-07-22
  I spent the last week going through a pile of wireless routers, returning them as necessary. The most notable were the linksys SRX router, belkin Pre-N, airport extreme, and this rangemax one. The belkin would report the best signal to my computers, but the throughput of the wireless couldn't get near to that I could get on the rangemax.
  
  I have a pretty noisy area, and whatever this thing does to compensate for it is fantastic. I highly recommend this to anyone :)
  
  
• Netgear WPN824 Rangemax Router
  By A247HPHLET318J on 2005-08-30
  This router really did the job in my house. I've been holding out on an old 'b' router for 5 years. Suffering through weak points and no signal areas.
  
  Finally wanted to move outside with the Netgear MP101 player. Impossible with the other router. This router had no problems with the distance or signal quality. I'm able to easily move with the laptop down my street and still pick up the signal.
  
  Options are good through the web interface. These seem to be almost standardized between the routers.
  
  I would have really liked to see some ability to interface with the DNS server inside the router. The router nows its own name but there is no way to add aditional names. Having the router as the main DNS point is also a big plus. It makes it simple to configure the hard wired PCs to use static IP addresses.
  
  Locking down the wireless was easy. I got use to controlling everything through MAX addresses and liked the fact that this was available.
  
  Overall, A great router even if the price is higher than some of the cheaper low end models.
  
  Netgear does have a rebate right now where if you buy this router, you get a free adapter for returning that OLD piece of junk. Suggestion for those that don't have an old router (buy a cheap cheap cheap router and return that one [look for some 802.11b's that are free after rebates]).
  
  
  
• Stable and reliable networking equipment
  By A2VE2F40NP8CCU on 2005-09-17
  I recently moved my wife's office, making the wireless connection a challenge at best. The access point was now 3 wooden walls and one brick wall (with window) away.
  
  I bought a rebranded access card and attempted to connect to my existing access point. No joy - the card would not connect to my old access point at all. I then decided to purchase the same rebranded access point to match the rebranded card - thinking I'd upgrade to WPA in the process. Again, no joy - the connection would drop a dozen or more times with each period of use. I then thought the signal might need a helping hand and I purchased an antenna, followed shortly after by the purchase of an antenna booster. I now had a signal strength of 70-80%, but alas the connection would still drop.
  
  I then spotted Netgear's MIMO access point and decided it couldn't get any worse than the mess I'd already made. I bought the WPN824 router and a WPN111 USB adapter. This equipment is a pleasure to work with. I found installation straightforward (Windows XP) and it has been running like a dream. Even though the signal strength is around 40% I still have better performance than the last collection of junk. If I set the router's wireless setting to "180Mbps only" I get 70-80Mbps throughput, which is plenty good enough for me.
  
  I've had other Netgear cards in the past and one thing I've found with their gear - It Just Goes!
  
  
  
• Works for me. . .
  By A33WDT56961F78 on 2005-10-24
  I bought the RangeMax because I needed something to go wireless between two HOUSES, not just through walls. This does it; I can get a two bar strength on my laptop in the carriage house (across the yard from the main house), and the speed is just fine. I'm not a gamer, so I don't care about the speed of anything except getting me on the net and then not dropping me off. Had a bit of a problem with the signal when my son put the router on top of the metal vcr, but it was fine after he moved it to an open space in the house. Bought another one for our second home and have connected the desktop and laptop with no trouble from den to bedroom. Will soon be connecting a Windows machine (I use Macs), so will have to see if the three change the signal at all. I was going to pay someone to set up my wireless network; am so glad I didn't because the directions were easy to follow for a tech-challenged user like me, and the Macs are pretty intuitive, so it all worked fine.
  
  I admit the blue lights are distracting
  
  
• Down the road
  By A18I8EYPJK3XMA on 2005-11-24
  This is my first wireless router so I don't have anything to compare it with. But let me say this: after reading all the reviews of all the router performances and installing this one, I must say that its performance more than met my expectations. I get strong performance up the road in my neighborhood and also get excellent performance across my entire household and in the yard. The only complaint I have was installation. The installation CD was useless. But by logging onto the installation website directly via the included directions setup was automatic and completely painless. Don't use the CD-logon to the website and let it do the work for you. You can also return to the website time and again to reset features and update the software when necessary. Let me note here that I just have the builtin wireless card that came with my laptop (Gateway). I have not even tried to use a Netgear card. That may be a good thing from the reviews. But even without the Netgear card my router performs flawlessly and would probably perform even better if I upgraded to a better wireless card via PC card.
  
  
• The Bad Reviews Suprise Me
  By A377ILOXU8QT4T on 2005-12-19
  I've setup and used a numebr of routers for both work and home, and I have to say I like this one (I used to be a Linksys person, but since they merged with Cisco it's been down hill). The range didn't improve as much as they claim, but other than that it was a snap to setup (as long as you ignore the install CD)...works great.
  
  I have this router connected to a gigabit switch with 11 wired client devices attached (4 PC's, 2 IP Phones, 2 NAS boxes, 1 network video player, and 2 Tivo's) and an occational wireless connection.
  
  For home use, I really can't find many faults with it so far.
  
  
• Great Router When Used With Matching Card
  By A348VP5GFCZVE on 2006-01-18
  Let me start off by saying that I'm new to the home networking world and then to add the wireless aspect to it brings on another challenge. It didn't take me long to discover how easy it actually is though once I got the Netgear WPN824 Wireless Router.
  I own a Toshiba Satellite M45-S359 notebook computer with the Intel Pentium M 760 processor. This means that it has the Intel Pro/wireless networking card built into it. My first router I purchased was the D-Link DI-524. I was able to get the full 54MBps transfer speed for a little bit, but then it would drop to 1MBps, then up to 36, then back down, and so on. It would also disconnect from the network a lot - sometimes multiple times within a single minute. By the way, I live in a ranch style home and the farthest I get from the router is about 40 feet. These issues not only happened across the house, though, it would happen when my computer was right next to the router as well.
  I decided to go out and buy the Linksys WRT54G wireless router next. Both this router and the D-Link were excellent buys when it came to the cost, but they both had the same problems.
  So I broke down and decided to buy the Netgear WPN824. The kid at the store said that this is the best wireless router they sell. Sure the cost was a little more than I wanted to spend, but $100 isn't that bad I guess if it's gonna be the best. Setup was a breeze, as were the other routers. The performance was better, but I was still experiencing the same problems. This was not up to par for me.
  At this point I decided that maybe the built-in wireless card in my notebook was the problem so I went to the store and bought the matching Netgear WPN511 wireless networking card. Brilliant! Now I can connect from anywhere in my house at a blazing 108MBps. I have been using this setup for about an entire month now and have not had one single issue . At the very far end of the house my signal weakens a little, but the speed and performance is not sacrificed.
  I don't know if trying a different networking card would have helped with the D-Link or the Linksys routers, but I do know it did with this one and that the other two would not have been able to achieve the 108MBps speed that this combination produces that to the MIMO.
  
  
• WPN824 Died after 2 months
  By A17R4PNNUED340 on 2006-01-31
  After initial setup, the WPN824 worked great. Then after approximately two months it started dropping Internet connection and other PC's on my home network could not see each other. After a power off/on reset of the router would work OK again for a while.
  
  This started happening more frequently and finally would start losing internet connection and local network after 5 minutes.
  
  Called Netgear Tech Support, they were totally useless and not helpfull at all. They are reading off a script, and I hate to say, hard to understand as Netgear has outsourced their Tech Support to a Third World country and their English as a second language leaves a lot to be desired.
  
  I removed the Netgear router from my set up and hooked up my old Linksys WRT54GS router (which the Netgear had replaced in hopes of faster speed). My Linksys WRT54GS is functioning flawlessly albeit a bit slower. Well, slower is better than constantly losing connection.
  
  So, I DO NOT recommend the Netgear WPN824 at all. Now I have a $99 paperweight that Netgear refuses to acknowledge has any problems. From now on I will stick with Linksys. The Linksys Tech Support is also much better on those occasions I have had to call them.
  
  
• My first router
  By AYYEJHRZKBDTQ on 2006-03-31
  I finally got rid of Dial-up last month and got DSL. My friend recommended this router and CNet reviewed it as one of the best routers in the market today along with Belkin Pre-N router, which would've been my second choice if this netgear didn't work. My desktop is directly wired to the internet and three other computers are wireslessly connected: a desktop and two laptops. So far, I don't have any complaints. Two thumbs up.
  
  
• I just junked this router today, finally...
  By A20YUMGKIKX6PF on 2006-10-02
  I was going to give it two stars because it did work ok for a while, but my boyfriend convinced me to give it one, because his argument is that this thing was top of the line and had just came out when we had originally purchased it, and we should never have had so many issues with it for the price we paid, so his logic won me over and one star it is. We didn't even have this router for a year. And as a note - let me say that I work for my cable ISP, doing tech support for internet, so my modem connection has never been the issue because I can check and test my modem from home. We had originally purchased this router as a replacement for our POS Linksys router, but that's a different story.
  
  Pros (sort of):
  Whenever my modem would reboot or update, the router would usually repair the connection, which many routers do not do.
  When it worked it did work great, It's just that it wasn't very long after we bought it that it stopped working (for wireless). We even got the compatible mimo usb wireless adapter to try and see if it improved the issue, however that was yet another headache (the wireless adapter that is made to be compatible with this router won't connect at the advertised speed without a BETA driver... which would let you connect for about a day and then the adapter would stop functioning altogether. When you tried to reinstall the driver it wouldn't let you - it gave error code 10 and the adapter wouldn't even load the driver so basically the $100+ adapter that is marketed as compatible with this router was completely useless)
  
  Cons:
  After a couple months it would only broadcast the wireless connection sometimes - at random. You could even be connected, it would then kick you off, if you refreshed the network list on ANY wireless computer, it still wouldn't show up until you had refreshed it several times, and then maybe in five mins it *might* let you connect. The router was on the second floor of our house, and the computers we use wirelessly are on the third, directly above it. Our wireless connection was actually so infrequent we had to run an ethernet cord out the window to the router downstairs, because about 85 percent of the time the router would not let you connect wirelessly. Neither resetting to the factory defaults nor firmware updates resolved this issue (nor did several hours with Netgear support, tier 1 and 2...).
  You can't change the wireless channel to anything other than six if you are using the mimo setting.
  
  We finally junked it today for a Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 (I'm going to give it a couple months before reviewing, because you never know about the quirks until you've had something for a while). So far the buffalo works great, but their firmware updates are a bit of a process...
  Pretty much, today I was completely and totally fed up, because for once it was letting a wireless pc on just fine, however every fifteen seconds (like clockwork) on my wired pc (the one running ethernet out the window to the router...) it would say "network cable unplugged"... then within five or ten seconds it would reconnect and let me back online, and then fifteen seconds later it would say "network cable unplugged" again... Imagine over an hour of this... So I junked this netgear.
  
  
• Not recommended to buy the v1 version if you play WoW with wireless
  By A30TXRHI644XSV on 2006-11-21
  WPN824: (aka WPN824v1)
  - Everything works fine as long as I don't play World of Warcraft (WoW) with the wireless. Otherwise, the router crashes and then loses all the connections. You can't even go to the NetGear router page either. And you can't go Internet without rebooting the router.
  - A wide regions supported including UK, Asia, Austraila, Europe and etc.
  - The antenna blue lights cannot be off unless you turn off the wireless signal broadcast (meaning no wireless). Luckily, a black plastic cover is provided for this.
  
  WPN824v2:
  - no issue with wireless when I play WoW.
  - Wireless coverage range is larger than v1, about at least 10 feet away. V2 signal is much stronger than V1.
  - Only one region supported: United State. So you want to carry this to another country, you'd better not to have the v2 version.
  - On/off switch provided to turn on/off the antenna blue lights.
  
  I don't find any issue on port forwarding, dynamic dns and remote management.
  
  
• Just What We Were Looking For
  By ANURJDDZKASTE on 2007-01-21
  Situation: Modest size house (about 2300 sq ft) with a Dell Windows XP desktop, Mac G5 (desktop) and two laptops (one PC, one iBook). The old wireless router was hardwire connected to the Dell desktop and all others were connected to the network wirelessly. The Mac G5 is on the opposite side of the house from the wireless router and would intermittently lose the wireless signal.
  
  Since the old (Microsoft) router had been in place and working for a few years, we were apprehensive about making a change. Our experience setting up the old router was not easy or pleasant. However, we determined (by moving the whole Mac G5 temporarily to a location closer to the wireless router) that the intermittent signal was definitely caused by a router range issue. We considered a range extender product (although one of us had tried setting up this type of product for someone else without success). Then we realized the old router was an older 802.11b version! Clearly, it was time to upgrade the router.
  
  We selected the Netgear Mimo because of its claim of greater range and reliability using multiple antennas. When we received the Netgear, we decided to try installation using the wizard, figuring if it worked, it would be easier, but we had confidence we could set it up without the wizard if needed. SET UP COULD NOT HAVE BEEN EASIER. We unplugged the old router and plugged the Dell desktop directly into the cable modem. Made sure the we could bring up the internet after this change (Note that the instructions assume you have no router installed, so this first step of removing the old router from the setup and making sure you can still connect to the internet is not covered in the instructions. I believe we had to reboot the desktop after making this switch). Then, we followed the instructions for inserting the new Netgear Mimo between the cable modem and the computer and followed the setup wizard to complete the installation. The wizard gives you the option to name your network and setup security, we chose a new network name and the WEP option and re-used the WEP code we had in the old network (copy and paste to a text file so you don't have to retype it). Since we named the new network with a new name, we had to go back to all the other computers in the house and associate the old WEP password with the new network. This all took less than 30 minutes.
  
  The Mac G5 on the far side of the house has never lost connection yet and the other laptops show a much higher signal strength to the new network. We should also mention that we quickly noticed the difference in speed between the 10Mbps on the old network and the 54Mbps on the new one (that's probably just the difference of going from 802.11b to 802.11g, but it's nice all the same).
  
  We are very happy with how easy this product was to set up and it solved our issues perfectly! This was a much better, and cheaper, solution than going with the range extender.
  
  As for the blinking blue light... one of us thinks it's cool, the other thinks it's rather dorky (but not really annoying).
  
  We hope this helps others who are in our situation.
  
  

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