Wireless Help

NOTE: To ensure proper agency compliance and compatibility between similar products in your area, the operating channel and region must be set correctly.

Placement of the Router to Optimize Wireless Connectivity

The operating distance or range of your wireless connection can vary significantly based on the physical placement of the router. For best results, place your router:

• Near the center of the area in which your PCs will operate.
• In an elevated location such as a high shelf.
• Away from potential sources of interference, such as PCs, microwave ovens, and cordless phones.
• Away from large metal surfaces.

Note: Failure to follow these guidelines can result in significant performance degradation or inability to wirelessly connect to the router.

Wireless Network

Enable Wireless Isolation

If checked, the wireless client under this SSID can only access internet and it can’t access other wireless clients even under the same SSID, Ethernet clients or this device. Other clients can’t access the wireless client, either.

Enable SSID Broadcast

If this feature is enabled, the wireless router will broadcast its name (SSID) to all wireless stations. Stations that have no SSID (or a null value) can then adopt the correct SSID for connections to this access point.

Name (SSID)

Enter a value of up to 32 alphanumeric characters. The same name (SSID) must be assigned to all wireless devices in your network. The default SSID is NETGEAR, but NETGEAR strongly recommends that you change your network's name (SSID) to a different value. This value is case-sensitive. For example, NETGEAR is not the same as NETGEAr.

Region

Select your region from the drop-down list. This field displays the region of operation for which the wireless interface is intended. It might not be legal to operate the router in a region other than the region shown here. If your country or region is not listed, please check with your local government agency or check the NETGEAR website for more information about which channels to use.

Channel

This field determines which operating frequency will be used. It should not be necessary to change the wireless channel unless you notice interference problems with another nearby access point.

Mode

Select the wireless mode you want to use. The options are:

• Up to 54 Mbps. Legacy Mode, with a maximum speed of up to 54 Mbps for b/g networks.
• Up to 217 Mbps. Neighbor-Friendly Mode, with a speed of up to 217 Mbps in the presence of neighboring wireless networks.
• Up to 450 Mbps. Performance Mode, with a maximum Wireless-N speed of up to 450 Mbps.

The default is Up to 217 Mbps, which allows all 11b and 11g and 11n wireless stations.

Security Options

• None - no data encryption
• WEP - Wired Equivalent Privacy, use WEP 64- or 128-bit data encryption
  Note:  Wi-Fi Protected Setup function is disabled when the security setting is WEP with Shared-Key authentication
• WPA-PSK [TKIP] - Wi-Fi Protected Access with Pre-Shared Key, use WPA-PSK standard encryption with TKIP encryption type
• WPA2-PSK [AES] - Wi-Fi Protected Access version 2 with Pre-Shared Key, use WPA2-PSK standard encryption with the AES encryption type
• WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES] - Allow clients using either WPA-PSK [TKIP] or WPA2-PSK [AES]

To achieve the best performance with 11N wireless adapters under robust security network, NETGEAR recommends that you change your network's security option to WPA2-PSK.

Security Encryption (WEP)

Authentication Type

Normally this can be left at the default value of Automatic. It allows adapters to use either Open System or Shared Key to do the authentication. If you want to have better secure authentication, then you can select Shared Key and you wireless adapters can only use Shared Key to connect to this network.

Encryption Strength

Select the WEP Encryption level:

• 64-bit (sometimes called 40-bit) encryption
• 128-bit encryption

Security Encryption (WEP) Key

If WEP is enabled, you can manually or automatically program the four data encryption keys. These values must be identical on all PCs and Access Points in your network.

Automatic Key Generation (Passphrase)

Enter a word or group of printable characters in the Passphrase box and click the Generate button to automatically configure the WEP Key(s). If encryption strength is set to 64 bit, then each of the four key boxes will automatically be populated with key values. If encryption strength is set to 128 bit, then only one WEP key is generated and the four key boxes are populated with the same key value.

Manual Entry Mode

Select which of the four keys will be used, and enter the matching WEP key information for your network in the selected key box.

For 64-bit WEP - Enter ten hexadecimal digits (any combination of 0-9, A-F).

For 128-bit WEP - Enter twenty-six hexadecimal digits (any combination of 0-9, A-F).

Be sure to click Apply to save your settings in this menu.

Security Encryption (WPA-PSK)

If selected, you must use TKIP encryption, and enter the WPA passphrase (Network key). Enter a word or group of printable characters in the Passphrase box. The Passphrase must be constituted of either 8 to 63 ASCII characters or exactly 64 hex digits. A hex digit is one of the following characters:
0, 1, 2, ..., 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, and F.

Be sure to click Apply to save your settings.

Security Encryption (WPA2-PSK)

WPA2 is a newer version of WPA. Only select this if all the wireless clients in your network support WPA2. If selected, you must use AES encryption, and enter the WPA passphrase (Network key). Enter a word or group of printable characters in the Passphrase box. The Passphrase must be constituted of either 8 to 63 ASCII characters or exactly 64 hex digits. A hex digit is one of the following characters:
0, 1, 2, ..., 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, and F.

Security Encryption (WPA-PSK + WPA2-PSK)

This selection allows clients to use either WPA (with TKIP, broadcast packets also use TKIP.) or WPA2 (with AES). If selected, encryption must be TKIP + AES. The WPA passphrase (Network key) must also be entered. To reach maximum wireless performance, the 11N clients must connect to this router using WPA2-PSK(with AES) . For clients connecting in WPA-PSK( with TKIP), the maximum wireless speed will be at 802.11g. Enter a word or group of printable characters in the Passphrase box. The Passphrase must be constituted of either 8 to 63 ASCII characters or exactly 64 hex digits. A hex digit is one of the following characters:
0, 1, 2, ..., 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, and F.

To Save Or Cancel Changes

Click Apply to have your changes take effect.
Click Cancel to return to the previous settings.