Customer Reviews

Netgear WPNT834 RangeMax 240 Wireless Router

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I've been using the router for a few months and, after the first couple of months, I would have rated the router 5 stars. When it works, it does significantly extend the signal range.

One day I suddenly lost connectivity, only to my laptop. Level 1 technical support was horrible. It was difficult to understand the agent. He said my problem was software related and, since Netgear software support is only good for 30 days, I must pay for "software support" to resolve my problem.

I insisted on being transferred to level 2 support who was very helpful and knew some tricks to get me going again (changing the SSID to force the wireless nics to reconfigure)

It worked fairly well on Channel 1 for a while (area is congested with other wireless routers on 6 and 11) until I bought a new laptop and tried to connect.

My new HP laptop uses Intel's 3945ABG wireless adaptor and this WPNT834 router apparently doesn't like it. The router persistently locks up when this laptop is connected, requiring a hardware reset. Whenever the laptop is turned off, the router works fine. Ironically, the laptop easily connects to a neighbor's wireless router that is half a block away.

I dread making another call to Netgear tech support. They're sure to tell me it's a software issue again and I'm not donating any more money to them.

Highly recommended router.
Don't fall for this Netgear knocking because you're not seeing comments from happy customers.

I bought this router from Amazon. The first one was DOA but I have never had a DOA Netgear router before and I've been installing WIFI professionally since 2000 for home and business (Netgear and any other brands you can think of).

Netgear support was extremely responsive. That was a 10 minute call. Exchange with Amazon was smooth but of course it's a hassle packing the thing up and mailing it.

Got replacement and as I expected it is an awesome router and solved my connection problems in every room of a 4 story house. I've never had anyone complain to me about this router. I've installed over 20 of them for different customers before and after I bought my own. The lack of problems is why I bought it for myself.

If you have issues with your connection get yourself a Netgear WPN511 card or desktop adapter to go with this router.
Note: Don't expect to see 108Mbps speed because you won't see it. 54 Mbps is the typical speed. Have found that trying to change WIFI strength or speed settings at the router is not worth the trouble.

So far I am a big fan of this router. I am struggling with how to best expand my network (adding range repeaters/boosters and a Gigabit wired infrastructure) since I am using this WPNT834 as the core of my network, but I'm sure time will open up my options.

Just recently I switched from using Linksys as my primary and favored manufacturer for my SOHO networks (home and office/small warehouse). They seem to have a number of products that meet my need which is the area between low end items that aren't as robust or feature heavy as I require and want and the $1k+ products that are overboard for my purposes. It's great to find a company that has such a range of products that fit into my sweet spot.

More details on my experience with this particular router over time. It set-up easily and seems to be operating with no hitches thus far. If you want the latest and greatest and need speed over your wireless network, you would be foolish not to check this out as an option.

My only negative comment is that this router, along with any other is suseptible to interference and I would suggest that a good place to start to optimize your wireless network is to take a look around your home and to eliminate or strategically place any item likely to cause interference - cordless phones, baby monitors, wireless speakers and on and on and on.

Snazzy. Bright. Pretty lights. Out-of-box simplicity. Beautiful start.

Setting:
Used as wired & wireless router & firewall.
Router works OK. Firewall works OK. Wireless works good.

Pros:
Strong wireless signal, doubled distance of my prior high-end A/B/G wireless AP. Super easy Setup Wizard. Got wireless connection in about 5-minutes after unpacking.

Cons:
Can't have both Static & DHCP IP. One or the other, only. Configuration isn't logical, isn't solid & very slow. The more changes, the slower it gets. Password with symbols (Ex: $%^) confuses device into logging incorrect password -- had to reset back to factory default. Finally guessed what device wants my password to be! (NumLock, PadLock, FuncLock isn't issue here.) Port forwarding limited - limited number of entries (about 10?) & certain predefined port addresses (Ex 25) can't be modified. Excessive data transfers (Ex: IP cam video streams) over time will hang system weekly.

Conclusion:
For simple people who like simple setups, strong wireless signals, casual wireless connections, and decent protection. Not for advanced users looking for port forwarding, IP address flexibility, constant data transfers.

Resolution:
I want a single package wired & wireless router/firewall that's under $500 with signal reaching at least 3 average rooms (35'). Haven't found one yet. DLink, Linksys, Belkin, Airlink101, Netgear either couldn't make distance, failed, or had hardware limitation. Going back to old way: 2 device set-up, DLink DI-704* wired router (or DI-604*, DI-808HV works too) & Belkin N1 wireless. DLink router offers best in class WIRED router/firewall features. Belkin N1 offers best in class WIRELESS signal. Total cost for combo ~$230.

Or, cough up about $2k for enterprise class single package wireless router. Saving my pennies....

If yours works, great. However, it may not. So I'll skip my long story and offer 3 advices:
(1) Buy local. Yes I know it's more expensive.
(2) Don't try "support" - unless you have plenty of time. Go straight to the store to get it replaced or returned.
(3) SunRocket IP phone users beware. Support from both vendors are no good.

It's great speed when it works.

I read good reviews of this product in various computer magazines. But then I read the reviews here and was worried. However, you will then notice that EVERY router you read about in Amazon's review has very animated detractors. So what to do? I gave Netgear Rangemax 240 a try. I AM NOT TECHNICAL at all. Plodding along very carefully I followed the directions. It took me a slow moving hour, but I am now on line with my Mac. Also have an older Linksys wireless adapter in my Toshiba laptop--seamlessly got that to work too (took two minutes). Then on to my X-box wireless bridge: entered the WEP key (provided during installation) and no problem.

Everything works fine. No complaints. I don't know how this could be easier. Which ever router you choose, hope your experience is as stress free as mine!

I stopped using Netgear products, and was using Linksys products to setup clients wireless networks. After reading some great reviews from tomshardware, and seeing that the Linksys SRx routers were on backorder at the time, I decided to try this router.

I installed this router, and the wireless connection constantly drops. When/if it connects again, the connectrion is limited (Did no get an IP address from the router via dhcp). The router has to be unplugged from power, and turned back on. The connection is ok for like 5 minutes max, and the same crap.

I trie after upgrading the firmware to latest version, and the problem still persists. Tried w/o wireless security to no avail. There's no other 2.4ghz device present, but this piece of crap router can't hold a connections.

Replaced this unit with the Linksys WRT54GX4, and no problems w/ dropped connections so far.

On the plus side, this router seems to get slightly better signal than the Linksys, but what good is that if you lose the connection every 5 minutes, and have to run over to the router to reboot it?

This will be the last product from Netgear for me...

Router is one of the fastest available. Great for P2P (BitTorrent, Kazaa, etc) applications. Almost everything works great

The one thing that falls very short is the wireless capability. It works great only with wireless adapters that are from the same chip manufacture (Atheros chipset). When used with any other wireless chipset you may have a very hard time.

This is not a surprise as all the other manufacturers such as Linksys, Dlink, Buffalo, Belkin that use the same exact wireless chipset have same problems (probably because of horribly written drivers). Upgrading the firmware helps a lot, especially if you have an Intel-based wireless adapter.

Fortunetly or not, as mentioned other brands use the same wireless chipsets so if you buy any early 802.11N (all as of 2007) most likely will run into the same problems.

Installation wizard straightforward. The LAN (one desktop, 3 laptops) works fine with almost the same data transfer rates as our wired network this kit replaced. Internet Access however is much, much slower (sometimes slower than dial up) and it regularly drops the connection -perhaps 3 to 4 times an hour. I am not a clueless IT user but I gave up with this one. We've had professional network engineers (added cost) in twice to try and correct the internet issues without success. With a 4meg internet connection and 240mbps kit (bought corresponding netgear cards too!) I had hoped for a seamless transition from wired to wireless. Given netgear's claims, I have to say I am very disappointed.

I have had this item for several months now. It is highly unreliable. Technical support is terrible. Documentation is worse.

If you plan on using any laptops that have been built in the last year, forget about it. Anything with an Intel 3945ABG card causes the router to crash. Netgear's solution to this is to remove all security from the network and turn off all features of the wireless card. This actually helps the router stay working for about 3 minutes instead of 30 seconds.

I rated this product with one star because negative stars are not an option. The only thing positive that I can say about this product is that it looks nice.