NETGEAR 208-10541-01 User Manual

RangeMax Wireless-N 150 Router Setup Manual

NETGEAR, Inc.

350 E. Plumeria Drive San Jose, CA 95134 USA

November 2009 208-10541-01 v1.0

Trademarks

NETGEAR and the NETGEAR logo are registered trademarks, and RangeMax and Smart Wizard are trademarks of NETGEAR. Inc. Microsoft, Windows, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other brand and product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders.

Statement of Conditions

In the interest of improving internal design, operational function, and/or reliability, NETGEAR reserves the right to make changes to the products described in this document without notice.

NETGEAR does not assume any liability that may occur due to the use or application of the product(s) or circuit layout(s) described herein.

Getting to Know Your Wireless Router................................................................................1

Unpacking Your New Router .............................................................................................1

What You Need Before You Begin ....................................................................................6

Updating Your Router Firmware ........................................................................................6

Two Setup Methods: Smart Wizard Setup or Manual Setup .............................................7

Smart Wizard Setup ..........................................................................................................7

Manual Setup ....................................................................................................................8

Product Registration, Support, and Documentation ........................................................13

Accessing the Wireless Router after Installation and Checking for New Firmware .........13

Setting Up and Testing Basic Wireless Connectivity .......................................................16

Implementing Appropriate Wireless Security ...................................................................17

Help with Troubleshooting..................................................................................................18

Basic Troubleshooting .....................................................................................................18

Troubleshooting Connectivity Using the Ping Utility ........................................................24

Technical Specifications.....................................................................................................27

Factory Default Settings ..................................................................................................27

Related Documents .............................................................................................................30

Contents iii

Getting to Know Your Wireless Router

Congratulations on your purchase of a NETGEAR® high-speed wireless router, the RangeMax Wireless-N 150 Router Model WPN824N.

Before you begin installing your router, check the package contents (see Unpacking Your New

Router). Become familiar with the front and back panels of your router—especially the status

lights—and the important information on the router label (see “Bottom Label” on page 5).

Unpacking Your New Router

The product package should contain the following items:

• The wireless router

• A snap-on stand for your wireless router

• An AC power adapter (varies by region)

• A yellow Ethernet cable

• NETGEAR Installation Guide

• The Resource CD, which includes: – The Smart Wizard Installation Assistant (Autorun.exe)

– A PDF version of this manual – A link to the online User Manual

• Warranty and Support Information cards

If any of the parts are incorrect, missing, or damaged, contact your NETGEAR dealer. Keep the carton, including the original packing materials, in case you need to return the product for repair.

To prepare your router for installation:

1. Carefully peel off the protective film covering the sides of your router.

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RangeMax Wireless-N 150 Router WPN824N Setup Manual

2. Set up your wireless router by inserting the router into the stand supplied with your router.

Figure 1

3. Place your router in an area suitable for installation (near an AC power outlet and accessible to

the Ethernet cables for your wired computers).

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Router Front Panel

Figure 2

You can use the status lights on the front of the wireless router to verify various conditions.

Table 1-1. Status Light Descriptions

Item Function Activity Description

Power On green solid

Test On

Wireless On

Internet Amber off

LAN Green

Off

Off Slow blinking

Off Blinking

Amber on Amber blinking

Green off On Blinking

Amber

Power is supplied to the router. Power is not supplied to the router.

The unit is performing the power-on self-test diagnostic. The unit successfully completed the power-on self-test diagnostic. The reset button is being pushed, restoring the factory default

settings. The wireless interface is enabled.

The wireless interface is turned off. Data is being communicated over the wireless network.

No Ethernet cable is connected to the modem. The Ethernet cable connection to the modem is good. Packets are being transmitted and received from a modem or other

network device, but no IP address has been received. No IP address has been received. IP address has been received. IP address received and data is being transmitted and received.

The LAN port has detected a 100 Mbps link with an attached device. The LAN port has detected a 10 Mbps link with an attached device.

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Router Back Panel

The rear panel of the WPN824N router contains the items in the list that follows the figure.

Figure 3

The back of the wireless router includes:

1. AC power adapter outlet

2. Power On/Off switch

3. Four local (LAN) 10/100 Mbps Ethernet ports for connecting the router to the local computers

4. Internet (WAN) Ethernet port for connecting the router to a cable or DSL modem

5. Wireless On/Off button

6. Factory default reset button

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Top Panel

Figure 4

The top of the wireless router includes a dome with status lights that identify the status of the selected option you chose for either Wireless data status (default), Guest Network status, Live Parental Controls status, or Broadband Usage Meter status. These status lights are on by default, but can be turned off by clicking the Dome, or by going to the Network Monitor Display Settings page and clicking the Turn off LED button. (see “Router Back Panel” on page 4).

Bottom Label

View the label on the bottom of the wireless router to identify the serial number, port connectors, status lights, and default login information.

Figure 5

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What You Need Before You Begin

Prepare the following before you set up your Product Family:

• Internet service.

• The configuration information your Internet Service Provider (ISP) gave you. Depending on how your Internet account was set up, you might need one or more of these settings for the wireless router to access the Internet:

— Host and domain names — Internet login name and password (frequently an e-mail address and password) — Domain Name Server (DNS) addresses — Fixed or static IP address

Your ISP should have provided you with all the information needed to connect to the Internet. If you cannot locate this information, you can ask your ISP to provide it.

• For cable modem service, use the computer you first used to set up your Internet service.

Updating Your Router Firmware

NETGEAR is always improving the operability and features included with your router. To make it easy for you to receive the best, most up-to-date features of your router, NETGEAR provides a variety of methods for updating your product.

• The Smart Wizard installation assistant lets you check for and install updates as part of the setup activity.

• The router includes an update feature that lets you check for and install updates. You must be logged in to the router to use this feature.

These options are discussed in “Accessing the Wireless Router after Installation and Checking for

New Firmware” on page 13.

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Two Setup Methods: Smart Wizard Setup or Manual Setup

You have two methods available for setting up your wireless router:

• Smart Wizard Setup.This option is the easiest. The wizard guides you through the setup process, automates many of the steps, and verifies that necessary conditions exist and that steps you perform have been successfully completed. This option requires a PC running Microsoft Windows.

• Manual Setup. This option is best if you cannot use the wizard on the CD, are replacing an existing wireless router, or are technically knowledgeable. Follow the instructions in this manual to set up your wireless router.

Use the setup option that best suites you.

Smart Wizard Setup

The wizard setup process takes about 20 minutes to complete.

1. Insert the NETGEAR CD into a Windows PC. The CD automatically starts and detects the

language you are using on your PC. Accept the language option, or change to a different language.

If the CD does not automatically start, browse the CD and double-click Autorun. Be sure to double-click the Autorun file that begins with an upper-case A.

2. When the Welcome screen displays, click Setup to start the Smart Wizard. Follow the wizard

instructions.

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Manual Setup

There are two steps to setting up your wireless router:

1. Connect the Product Family to the ADSL or cable modem, and connect a computer to the

Product Family.

Your computer has to be set to automatically get its TCP/IP network settings from the Product Family through DHCP. This is usually the case. If your are unsure about this, use the wizard on the CD, which automatically takes care of this for you, or refer to the documentation for your computer.

2. Configure the Product Family to use your Internet service.

Connecting Your Wireless Router

To connect your wireless router:

1. Connect the wireless router, the computer, and the modem.

a. Turn off your computer.

b. Turn off and unplug the cable or ADSL broadband modem. c. Locate the Ethernet cable (1) that connects your computer to the modem.

Figure 6

d. Disconnect the cable at the modem (2). You will connect it to the router later.

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