THREE PART REVIEW: Before you expect that the issue may be user error, please note I brought in IT professionals and consulted with the Manufacturer on more than 6 occasions.
PART ONE: Positive Beginnings
Beginning of June 2011
I will begin by letting you know that I am not an IT person, and I don't speak geek, no offense to those of you that do know that language, but there is one thing I do know about routers is that the N750 is a fantastic one!
This is MY FIRST ROUTER INSTALL, my husband handled the 2 other wireless routers we've owned, but he wasn't available at the time I wanted to plug 'er in, so I took over!
We purchased this to replace our NETGEAR RangeMax NEXT Wireless Router WNR834B, which worked wonderfully until we had too many items trying to share the same connection at once, not to mention the interference I mention below. Hence the upgrade.
The Quick setup Guide does say you need a male to male USB, rather that it's "not included" and clearly is what they outline on the diagram, however you can achieve the setup with a standard Ethernet cable.
Number one, NETGEAR has 24/7 LIVE PERSON SUPPORT, I took full advantage of this at around 2am, the representative was extremely helpful and thorough. He knew the product inside and out and was very well spoken in the answers he had for me.
I had two questions,
1) Do we need height on the thing to achieve the best signal throughout the house? and,
2) Can I install the software on my laptop initially and unplug it and leave it on it's own, managing it remotely?
The answers are NO, and YES, respectively.
No height is required to broadcast any stronger of a signal, according to the rep, and I can and did, I installed the software on my laptop and manage the connections remotely. I can kick my kids off their Internet Gaming on the Playstation or Xbox at anytime, oh the power I have!
***** HEIGHT IS RECOMMENDED BY NETGEAR, THE NETGEAR AGENT WAS MISTAKEN, PLEASE READ UPDATE BELOW *****
It took me about 10 minutes to set this up and get the parental controls in place. It was humming in no time.
It has you setup two initial networks, one for the 5GHz, and one for the 2.4GHz, you can also add Guest Networks, one for each of those frequencies, a total of 4 so far I found!! I put my kids on the Guest Network so I can control them a little more strictly.
With the Software you have the power to schedule when the signal will be available, cut it off on a whim and adjust just about anything you need to network wise. And nope, I still don't speak Geek, this is just that easy.
I will warn you if you cut off the main connection wirelessly from your laptop inadvertently, you will have to manually plug it in and reconnect using the software. I did that on accident trying to figure out the scheduling controls.
As for interference problems, to name the primary culprits we have a video security system in our home, a baby monitor system, a Sprint Airave, 2 ipods, 3 Android cell phones, 2 PS3s, 2 wireless/internet ready TVs, a wireless/internet ready blue-ray, and an Xbox off the top of my head. AND to tip top our house we have what's called a microwave internet system!
You see we live in a rural area and do not have the availability of traditional DSL or hardwired internet so we have to use non-conventional internet services. Heck, we don't even have caller id call waiting technology available out here, to give you an idea. We rely very heavily on wireless devices. All of these items created a vortex of packet loss and signal drops so we had to do something.. I learned that little bit of geek speak from our internet provider ;)
Since installing the N750 we are running everything at the same time, all while the surveillance system is running, the baby monitor is monitoring, one is watching HBO-Go on the laptop, while another streams a Netflix movie on their TV, yet another plays his buddies a game of Halo or Call of Duty on the gaming systems, download some apps on my ipod, I PRINT MY COUPONS on my wireless HP and I surf for the next of the greatest deals on Amazon! All without a hiccup!
The product itself is aesthetically pretty, yes, not something you usually look for in a router, but it is, it's pretty. The reason I even tread on looks here is that some of this stuff looks downright ugly, we owned the competitor's router *which failed* 2 routers ago and it was just an ugliness I tried to hide with the rest of my wires. Realistically, a person who is placing this in their home office where people may be visiting and see what you have going on in your office you want to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye, just like the rest of your home. YES I AM A TYPE A, Very proud Type A, I want my office to be as organized as the rest of my home..
So, I hope my laymen's version of this product review can help you common folk, this is a real Gem of a router I would recommend all day long.
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PART 2: Hmm, something's amiss, Let's try another
Update: July 1, 2011, Nearly a month later
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Well, the router actually was not performing as it was intended, we were experiencing a tremendous amount of packet loss, and our speed was half of what our modem was putting out. It started out working, but then down-spiraled. This update is not meant to detour you from purchasing, because I do believe in this router and this brand, it's more to inform you of a situation we experienced where we ended up having to replace the router and was quite a frustrating situation. I stand by my statement, Netgear is the brand you want, under normal circumstances you'll end up with a situation like my initial experience, but I try to operate under the full disclosure rule.. This portion of my review is geared more towards the support, or lack thereof, from Netgear. NETGEAR, I HOPE YOU'RE READING...
#1) Above I mentioned I spoke to the agent and he advised that height was not an issue, that it wouldn't help, WRONG, it is one of the very first recommendations on the tips page of your wireless settings page of your Netgear N750, pasted here:
"Placement of the Router to Optimize Wireless Connectivity
The operating distance or range of your wireless connection can vary significantly based on the physical placement of the router. For best results, place your router:
Near the center of the area in which your PCs will operate.
In an elevated location such as a high shelf.
Away from potential sources of interference, such as PCs, microwave ovens, and cordless phones.
Away from large metal surfaces.
Note: Failure to follow these guidelines can result in significant performance degradation or inability to wirelessly connect to the router."
I called in our internet provider expecting this to be their issue, they sent out an extremely versed technician, and found out, no, it was a bad router. After our internet provider left I contacted Amazon and they, as always, sent out a replacement of the same overnight (amazing customer service). I stripped our system of the "bad router" and contacted Netgear to run through the entire process to ensure that I set the new router up, just in case it was something I actually did to the previous "bad" router.
I actually had a pretty unfavorable experience with a few NETGEAR agents, I have a toddler and it is impossible to do anything like this during the day so I had to call in at night, in the wee hours of the morning, around midnight, 1am (1am to 3 to 4am is what this took). I am neither here nor there regarding foreign support, as long as it actually ends up being supportive, I do not care who I speak with or where they are when I speak to them, again, as long as the end result is a working router.
The first Netgear agent was extremely annoying, he would repeat my statements back in question form, then asked me about 5 or 6 times why I was calling, then began guessing and had no clue, I am a very clear and calm communicator, so the guy had an issue, I disconnected in frustration. 20 minutes of my time.
The second guy was on his game, but I seemed to be interrupting either his break time, or him having to be somewhere, the line suspiciously disconnected. 20 more minutes of my time.
The 3rd agent was nice enough to transfer me without saying anything but hold please.. then I couldn't hear a word the person who I was transferred to, so I had to disconnect. 10 more UNPRODUCTIVE minutes of my time.
The 4th agent, NO, I DID NOT GIVE UP that night, in addition to being communicative, I am also VERY DILIGENT, I was going to get this done that night.. He was very helpful, we installed the router and it was spinning like a top.. emphasize WAS.
Next morning, wake up to ZERO signal on the entire network.. and to my son saying "Mom, the network is doing the same thing it did before".. my son, 18, by assuming he knew what he was doing unplugged the cables, switched them around, plugged in his bridge, and even a long line going straight to his room and to his Xbox.. Whatever he had done brought the entire network down.. I was steaming all day, and again, I cannot get to these things during the day with my toddler, and my husband wasn't available. and to answer your question, NO, my son didn't touch the first N750 router, so that wasn't the issue there, it was a bad router.
Here I begin again with my Netgear Support Adventures, at 10:30pm.. overseas support again, and I'll say again, I'm not on the fence about that, as long as they help I don't care where they are.
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Best Speed for HD Video – High Performance 
Media streaming within the home 
Faster Wi-Fi Speed – N750 Dual Band WiFi delivers 300 + 450Mbps for combined wireless speeds up to 750Mbps 
Gigabit Wired – Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports are ideal for HD gaming & video and ultra-, high-speed wired networking 
Ultimate Range – Powerful WiFi amplifiers deliver improved wireless range for larger homes 
Simultaneous Dual Band – Wireless access on both 2.4- and 5-GHz bands concurrently, reduces WiFi interference & doubles total available bandwidth 
NETGEAR genie™ – Easy-to-use dashboard to monitor, control & repair home networks 
CD -Less Installation – Easy setup for iPads, PC, MAC computers, smartphones & tablets without a cd 
Push ‘N’ Connect – Secure push button WiFi connections using WiFi Protected Setup (WPS) 
WiFi & Power On/Off – Convenient power savings to power down the entire router and/or just WiFi 
DLNA Media Server – Find and play media stored on an attached USB storage device on DLNA TVs, game consoles and media players 
ReadySHARE® USB – Wirelessly access and share USB hard drives 
Live Parental Controls – Centralized and easy-to-use website filtering for all devices connected to the Internet via the router 
Guest Network Access – Separate and secure WiFi access for guests using your home network 
