NETGEAR WNA3100M User Manual

NETGEAR N300 Wireless Mini USB Adapter WNA3100M

User Manual

350 East Plumeria Drive
San Jose, CA 95134
USA

January 2012
202-10920-01
v1.0

NETGEAR N300 Wireless Mini USB Adapter WNA3100M

© 2012 NETGEAR, Inc. All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated

into any language in any form or by any means without the written permission of NETGEAR, Inc.

Technical Support

Thank you for choosing NETGEAR. To register your product, get the latest product updates, get support online, or
for more information about the topics covered in this manual, visit the Support website at

http://support.netgear.com.

Phone (US & Canada only): 1-888-NETGEAR
Phone (Other Countries): Check the list of phone numbers at

http://support.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/984.

Trademarks

NETGEAR, the NETGEAR logo, and Connect with Innovation are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of
NETGEAR, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Information is subject to change
without notice. Other brand and product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective
holders. © 2011 NETGEAR, Inc. All rights reserved.

Statement of Conditions

To improve 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.

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Contents

Chapter 1 Set Up Your Wireless Adapter

Chapter 2 Maintenance

Package Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Status LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

NETGEAR Genie Desktop Icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

NETGEAR Genie Home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Status Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Join a Wireless Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Network Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Join a Network or Connect to a Different Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Join a Hidden Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Other Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Remove the Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Appendix A Supplemental Information

Technical Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Factory Default Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Appendix B Notification of Compliance

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1. Set Up Your Wireless Adapter

This chapter includes the following sections:

• Package Contents

• Status LED

• NETGEAR Genie Desktop Icon

• NETGEAR Genie Home

• Join a Wireless Network

For help installing your wireless-N USB adapter, see the installation guide that came in the
package.

For more information about the topics covered in this manual, visit the support website at

http://support.netgear.com.

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NETGEAR N300 Wireless Mini USB Adapter WNA3100M

Package Contents

Your adapter comes with a Resource CD. Depending on the location where you purchased it,
either a USB cable or an adapter cradle with a USB cable comes in the package too.

Your package contents looks like this:

N130 Wireless Micro USB Adapter

WNA3100M

N300 Wireless Adapter

Resource CD

Figure 1. Package contents

Status LED

The LED shows the status of the wireless link as explained in the following table.

Wireless-N USB Adapter LED Meaning

Off • The wireless-N USB adapter is not plugged in to the USB port.

• The wireless-N USB adapter is in power save mode (default from

power-up or reset).

Blinking • The wireless-N USB adapter is scanning for a network.

• The wireless-N USB adapter is sending or receiving data.

Solid The wireless-N USB adapter is connected to a wireless network, but

it is not sending or receiving data.

Set Up Your Wireless Adapter

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NETGEAR N300 Wireless Mini USB Adapter WNA3100M

NETGEAR Genie Desktop Icon

When you install your adapter, the NETGEAR Genie icon appears in the Windows system
tray and on the desktop. You can click this icon to open NETGEAR Genie to make changes
or connect to a different wireless network. The color of the icon indicates the strength of your
wireless connection from 0 (zero) to 5 bars.

Green: 3 to 5 bars

Yellow: 1 or 2 bars

Red: 0 (zero) bars, indicating no connection

If you remove your adapter, NETGEAR Genie is not available, so the icon is not displayed. if
you insert the adapter again, the icon returns.

NETGEAR Genie Home

When you launch NETGEAR Genie, the home screen displays.

This screen shows you at a glance if you are connected to a network, and if you have Internet
access. The following options are available:

• Select Language. If more than one language is available, you can select a language

from this drop-down list. NETGEAR Genie screens will be displayed in the language that
you selected.

• Home button. The currently selected Home screen. You can click the Home button to

return here from a different screen.

• Join a Network button. View a list of wireless networks and join a network.

• Other button. View more information or check for software updates.

• Help. Display the help.

Set Up Your Wireless Adapter

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NETGEAR N300 Wireless Mini USB Adapter WNA3100M

Status Bar

The status bar is located at the bottom of the screen:

Network Connection Network Wireless

Figure 2. Status bar

security channel strengthname status

Throughput

Signal

Network name. The network name (SSID) of the wireless network that the adapter is

currently connected to.
Connection status. This shows the status that is also shown in the diagram in the middle of

this screen.

• Connected to the Internet

• Connected to the Router

• No Connection

Network security. The lock symbol shows whether or not the network you are connected to

uses wireless security. An open lock indicates an open network without wireless security,
such as one that you might use in a coffee shop.

Wireless channel. The wireless channel of the network that the adapter is connected to.
Throughput. The throughput rate for wireless communication.
Signal strength. The strength of the wireless signal. Three-to-five bars indicate a good

signal. One or two bars indicate a weak signal.

Set Up Your Wireless Adapter

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NETGEAR N300 Wireless Mini USB Adapter WNA3100M

Join a Wireless Network

In NETGEAR Genie, click the Join a Network button to display the following screen:

Network list. View the wireless networks in the area. Click a network to select it.
Manual Connect. Click this button to join a network without viewing it on the network list, or

to connect to a hidden network. A hidden network does not broadcast its wireless network
name (SSID).

Refresh. Click this button to scan for available networks in the area.

Network Details

From the Join a Network screen, you can view more details about a specific network.

Set Up Your Wireless Adapter

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