NETGEAR WNDR3300 RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Router
by Netgear Inc
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Category: CE
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: Netgear IncAudio: English (Original Language)
Format: CD
Platform: Windows
Model: WNDR3300
Color: Black
Product features:
- Wireless N dual band router operates on both 5 GHz and 2.4-GHz bands for optimal performance
- Backwards compatible with Wireless-G devices
- Surf, email, stream HD video, play on-line games, and make Internet phone calls simultaneously without interference from other Wi-Fi networks
- Delivers up to 10 times the range of Wireless-G routers and offers throughput speeds of up to 15 times faster
- Measures 8.8 x 6.0 x 1.2 inches (HxWxD); 1-year manufacturer's warranty
- Windows Live OneCare 2.0 (Up to 3 Users)
- Norton Antivirus 2010 1-User [OLD VERSION]
- Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Standard [OLD VERSION]
- Nero 8 Ultra Edition [OLD VERSION]
- Roxio Creator 2010 [OLD VERSION]
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of NETGEAR WNDR3300 RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Router
Customer Review: Firmware Update Fixes Annoying Drop-outs! Finally!!
Summary: 3 Stars
* * GOT DROPPED SIGNAL? UPDATE THE FIRMWARE :) It's easy & cheaper than buying another router (& better for the environment). It may not work for everyone, but it worked for me, on my refurbished WNDR3300, well enough.
PRE-FIRMWARE UPDATE EXPERIENCE - (Highlights in CAPS or, skip down to the Summary if you'd like):
I've had this router for almost a year. When I purchased it, I was really the only one using the wi-fi (on a vostro laptop, running vista, and on a Nokia phone), my beau used the wi-fi rarely (on his latitude laptop, running xp, as well). It worked ok. Would drop signal every few hours on me (more or less) and a few times an hour for my beau. For me, the signal would return within a minute or so, for my beau it was a much more frustrating experience. Maybe that's why he rarely went online. A few months in, I bought a wi-fi-enabled canon PRINTER, I set it up, was concerned about the dual-band thing, but all went well. Works fine. A few months after that, we bought a WII (YAY!) it connected to the wi-fi fine, stayed connected for the most part, when needed. The router range seemed ok, but we were in a small house at the time. Then, we moved and just a few months ago, we signed up with NETFLIX (love it!), and a week later, we received a disc so we can stream TV shows & movies to our TV, via the wii. This is when we started to really notice problems with the connection. Maybe it's due to the energy star part of the technology?? The situation went from bad sometimes to terrible most of the time. I would reset the thing, mid-movie, over and over again, it was just awful, 90% of the time, the other 10%, it worked fine. Nothing's worse than getting really involved in a heart-wrenching movie about a young boy who runs the Boston Marathon, hoping a win will save his dying mom, just to be confronted with a still shot and a slowly-moving red "Retrieving" status bar, as he and one other runner race to the finish line. UGGGH! After a number of movie nights interrupted in this way, I decided it was time to buy a new router. I went on-line to do a little research and saw that others were having similar issues with this router, and someone mentioned a FIRMWARE UPDATE. I know how much FW updates have improved the function of my nokia phone, so I decided to try it. 2 stars, before update
POST-FIRMWARE UPDATE EXPERIENCE:
It was super SIMPLE, almost painless to do! You just go to the Netgear website, open the instructions and follow them. It includes going to your router's control panel, via your web browser and clicking something to the effect of 'update firmware'. It really was super easy. And it FIXES the problem! Well, the router does drop signal once in a while, but not nearly as much as it used to! I'd say this router was giving us problems 80% of the time, before the firmware update. Now, I'd say it gives us problems 10-20% of the time. Still not a 100% running router, but I already paid for it and it does have the cool dual-band feature (so I can run wi-fi N, and my beau and the rest of the house can run wi-fi g). In addition, as an extra measure of precaution, since it seemed from reading the reviews that the router's problem occurred when two or more things were wi-fi'ing on it, I hooked my laptop up to it via a CABLE. Have no problems with that connection, whatsoever! The printer, nokia phone, wii, and latitude, all seem to be utilizing the wi-fi 4 out of 5 stars. Note that this router does have the feature to NOT broadcast the SSID, so only those devices which already know the SSID, and enter it, can connect to it. I think that's a cool feature, good for privacy and security, I'm assuming. I tried to disable the SSID broadcast after the FW update, but my devices (or maybe it was end-user) had some issues reconnecting to the wireless network. I just re-enabled the SSID broadcast, put a little faith in my neighbors, and I was back, up and running in no time. 3.5 stars for working ok now, after extra work on my part
HEAT:
The router does get very hot on the bottom now. I used to keep it on a wirerack (never noticed it was getting hot, didn't check, either), but had moved it when I updated the firmware (finally had the free time to do so) and now, just to be cautious, I make sure it is never flat on a solid surface, like a shelf. It can stand vertical, but I don't know where the clip is for that, and with all the cables plugged into it, not sure how steady that would be. Dock a star for that, too. 3 stars, hot, but a lot of electronics do heat up
LIGHT:
Also, the erratically flickering blue-disco-dome on the top is extremely annoying. Pre-FW upgrade, it used to turn itself back on, but after the FW upgrade, it behaves itself better. Note that the light is extremely bright and the flickering is, IMO, extremely annoying. If left on at night, the neighbors think there's some sort of rave going on at my house. it would have been better if they made it 'breathe' or steady, if they feel they need this light. 4 stars for insane design, with option to turn off
RANGE:
The router is on the third floor, in the extreme front of the house, most devices can catch the signal throughout the house. The dell latitude is hit or miss, when it's on the first floor, in the extreme back of the house. A central location would probably eliminate that, but I've already fiddled with this thing enough, and everything that physically plugs into it is on the 3rd floor. My other router was older, 802.11b/g and seemed to have a much longer range. 3.5 stars for range, without extensive comparison testing
SUMMARY:
If you're in the market for a new router, there are probably others that work better. If you already own this and hate it, (& like to save money) try updating the firmware before buying another router, but keep an eye on the temperature. For me, the update was an easy process, and brought the router from 20% working to 80-90% working. Good enough, and free. Stars average = 3.2
I rely on reviews here at Amazon to help me make informed buying choices. I hope this review has helped you in the same manner. If you voted this as helpful, I Thank You! :)
Description of NETGEAR WNDR3300 RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Router
What is NETGEAR¿s WNDR3300 RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Router? ¿ Surf, email, stream HD video, on-line game, make Internet phone calls¿simultaneously¿ ¿ More wireless channels, less interference and better connections using dual band Wireless-N ¿ Wirelessly connect new devices easily and securely with Push `N¿ Connect ¿ Automatically adjusts to the needs of Internet, voice, video and gaming applications (QoS) ¿ Use with a RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Adapter and boost your performance and range Features ¿ New Wireless-N technology delivers exceptional range and speed ¿ ¿Dual Band¿ has more channels, less interference and better connections ¿ Works with older Wireless-G and newest Wireless-N devices at the same time ¿ ¿Push `N¿ Connect¿ wirelessly connects new devices easily and securely ¿ No need to remember your security password ¿ For use with other Push `N¿ Connect supported devices ¿ Easy setup with Smart Wizard® installation CDDigital Cameras & Photo Categories
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