Netgear orporated 12200200 User Manual

802.11ac USB WiFi Adapter
A6200

User Manual

350 East Plumeria Drive
San Jose, CA 95134
USA

July 2012
TBD
v1.0

Note: This document is for certification

purposes only. Some of the procedures,
illustrations, and screen captures might
not exactly match the device.

802.11ac USB WiFi Adapter A6200

© 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.

Techni c al Supp ort

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

Appendix A Supplemental Information

NETGEAR Genie Desktop Icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

NETGEAR Genie Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Status Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Join a Wireless Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Network Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Join a Network or Connect to a Different Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Join a Hidden Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Other Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Remove the Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Technical Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Factory Default Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Appendix B Notification of Compliance

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1. Set up Your Wireless Adapter

This chapter includes the following sections:

• NETGEAR Genie Desktop Icon

• NETGEAR Genie Home

• Join a Wireless Network

For help installing your wireless 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.

1

4

802.11ac USB WiFi Adapter

Gain Better Wireless Performance

Rotate the black part that contains the antenna to gain better wireless performance.

Rotate the black part that
hasthe antenna.

Figure 1. Rotate the antenna for better performance

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.

White: 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.

Set up Your Wireless Adapter

5

802.11ac USB WiFi Adapter

Network Connection Network Wireless

Physical

Signal

security channel strengthname status

rate

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:

• Sele

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

• Jo

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

• Help.

ct 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.

return here from a different screen.

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

Display the help.

Status Bar

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

Figure 2. Status bar

Set up Your Wireless Adapter

6

802.11ac USB WiFi Adapter

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

currently connected to.

Connection status.
this screen.

• Connected to

• Connected to the Router

• No Connectio

Network security.

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. Th

Physical rate. The p

Signal strength. The strength of the wireless signal. Three-to-five bars indicate a good

signal. One or two bars indicate a weak signal.

This shows the status that is also shown in the diagram in the middle of

the Internet

n

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

e wireless channel of the network that the adapter is connected to.

hysical transmission rate for wireless communication.

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 but

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

Refresh. Click th

is button to scan for available networks in the area.

ton to join a network without viewing it on the network list, or

Set up Your Wireless Adapter

7

802.11ac USB WiFi Adapter

¾

Network Details

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

To view network details:

1. In the Join

a Network screen, click the network to select it

2. Click the Details button to display a screen similar to the one shown here.

The following information is displayed:

• Network Name (SSID). Th

e name assigned to a wireless network. Note that, as a
security measure, some wireless access points do not broadcast their SSIDs. In such
cases, the network is hidden. The name (SSID) field is blank even though the rest of the
information is displayed.

• Chann

el. The channel that the wireless network operates on. NETGEAR recommends

that you choose a network that uses a channel that is different from that of neighboring
networks.

• W

ireless Mode. The wireless technology used for this router such as 11a, n, g, or b.

Set up Your Wireless Adapter

8