NETGEAR WPN824NA Wireless Mimo Router by Netgear
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Digital camera reviews of NETGEAR WPN824NA Wireless Mimo Router
Digital camera Review: Don't buy this thing, it's junk.
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this router from Fry's and paid them to come out and set it up. It worked fine for a day, they came back and got it working again. It quit 31 days later, one day after the cutoff for me to return it. It is impossible to get any help from Netgear unless I pay them $39.99 for help. Their website is useless, their help line just keeps telling me it's my computor. I've tried this thing on 3 computors with the same result.
In my opinion Netgear equipment is nothing but junk, their service stinks and Fry's is a rip off store.
Don't waste your money on this thing.
Digital camera Review: Don't purchase this - a complete waste of time & money
Summary: 1 Stars
Whatever you do, don't wast your money on this. It is extremely difficult to install. I still don't have it working correctly. It totally trashed the network settings on my laptop so now the laptop hangs for over 3 minutes when I start it up. Not only can I not get it to work wirelessly, I lost my wireless settings entirely. The tech support on the Netgear website is absolutely horrible. It is almost impossible to figure out how to contact them - you go around in circles trying to find the right link to their tech support form. I'm an experienced user, although I've never tried to set up a wireless network before. I've used my laptop wirelessly with no problems until now. I followed the directions exactly, but I might as well have thrown my money into the street. I just hope I can get my laptop back the way it was (it won't go back to the restore point I created). I won't ever buy any Netgear products again after this experience.Digital camera Review: Don't use it with a VPN connection
Summary: 1 Stars
I used a DSL wireless router/modem combo for two years with zero problems to log into my employer's system via a VPN connection. Then I switched to cable earlier this week and had to buy a separate wireless router. Unfortunately, I bought the Netgear WPN824v3, and I've had nothing but VPN connectivity problems with it.
From the moment I was finally able to manually set it up (had to do that manually, since they do not make it clear that the wizard is only for 32-bit Vista, not 64-bit), my work VPN connection started getting dropped every 5 to 10 minutes. If I hooked up to it directly(in my bedroom on a 5-foot ethernet cable -- not conducive to working), then my VPN connection didn't get dropped. But when I used it for its intended use as a wireless device, endless drops/reconnects, right in the middle of work!!!
I talked to NetGear's tech support, and they had me change the name of my connection, and then had me back up my wireless settings and download the latest version of the firmware (which was already installed on the system). I told them that the exact version they were having me download and install was the same one that the NetGear control panel already showed as installed -- but they still had me reinstall it, and then reboot my cable modem and the NetGear router, and revert to my saved wireless settings.
They also had me change a couple of other settings (including reducing the MPU size), but to no avail. I also moved all electronic devices away from it that might interfere, as suggested by support. Finally, they told me that if I still had VPN connectivity problems, I should just take the router back and exchange it. I will -- for another type of modem!!!! I will never buy a NetGear anything again. I will probably buy a Linksys, since they appear to be pretty reliable based on the reviews here on Amazon.
I rate this product as one star because what good is a wireless router if I have to hook directly to it in order to work without endless drops/reconnects?
Update on Jan. 11, 2010: I took the NetGear good-luck-if-you-want-to-use-VPN router back to BestBuy and purchased a Belkin Wireless G+ Router (model F5D9231-4). Only found one place locally that sells it (Fry's), but Amazon.com also sells it. IT WORKS BEAUTIFULLY! Not a single dropped connection on VPN, and it couldn't have been any easier to set up.
Digital camera Review: Dont even bother
Summary: 1 Stars
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!!!!!!!
Digital camera Review: Down the road
Summary: 4 Stars
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.