NETGEAR RangeMax Premium Wireless-N Gigabit Router (WNR3500)

10 Review to this product

• 

  M-Lo
  March 31st, 2008 on 11:13 am

  Rating

  So I bought this router a month ago even though the reviews at that time were poor at best. I’ve never had a problem with netgear and still haven’t. I bought this to get gigabit through the house and wirelss n coverage; and to replace my old Super G router (108 mbps). I paired this with a 5ghz wireless bridge to expand my network (Netgear WNHDEB111- Also Awesome!) and a netgear GS116 ProSafe 16-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch. I now have a gigabit wired network and wireless N and set up couldnt have been easier. Albeit a bit akward using the provided CD. But Setup of wireless security was a snap using WPA2 and have had no downage at all from my new network. Definitely glad I bought this router. I only wish It was in the $70 range but given all its abilities $129 isnt too much… 4 out of 5 because of the price.
  
• 

  Black Lemon
  June 4th, 2008 on 2:43 am

  Rating

  I consider myself an expert computer user, having built 15 PCs and having performed countless upgrades to others. I recently moved into a large apartment, with dense walls that prevented connection to my “G” router in some rooms. I bought this “N” router figuring that I wouldn’t get much improved “G” signal strength, and that I would end up buying “N” adapters for my devices. I was more than pleasantly surprised then to discover that signal strength was DRAMATICALLY improved while still using my “G” adapters. I can’t speak to ease of setup as I didn’t use the installation wizard, opting instead to adjust all the settings the old-fashioned way. But it works beautifully. It has all sorts of prioritization settings for video, voice chat, and online gaming. It has all the current security standards and allows for some advanced tweaking for that. Also, as others have noted, Netgear mercifully provided a switch to shut off their silly top-edge light show (it looks cool, but could be a distraction depending on where you put this thing).

  Update: I’ve now been using this thing for a month and have had no problems. None of the dropped signals, etc. that some other reviewers claim. I’m using this wirelessly with two desktop PCs, a laptop PC, a Tivo HD, a Tivo gen 2, and an xbox 360. No problems.

  Update 2: Now its been a year and a half — still works great.
• 

  L. Felix
  June 26th, 2008 on 12:27 pm

  Rating

  A couple of weeks ago I wrote a review about the infamous WNR854T, which a called a beautiful paperweight. Fast-forward to today, I am glad to say that Netgear finally got it right this time. The WNR3500 replaces the WNR854T, in Netgear’ lineup of high end home networking. This router has the features the previous one was lacking and it easier to tweak.
  
  There is no need to throw away your old router, since one of the new feature included WDS or REPEATER MODE. In this mode the router acts as a repeater, so it rebroadcast the signal amplifying it therefore eliminating dead areas and weak signals. Another new great feature is the wireless security configuration, so no need to remember your password when adding a new device to the network.
  
  I am giving if a full five stars”*****” because of its performance and looks.
  
  Hopefully with this new model the reliability issues that dogged the 854T are gone, but only time will tell. If not Netgear and you guys will definitely hear from me.
  
• 

  Shopp'n
  October 20th, 2008 on 7:16 pm

  Rating

  This is a great system, easy to set-up, strong signal, no drops. My kids and wife use the laptop about 3-4 nights a week for homework or shopping. They just boot up the laptop and go.

  I purchased this to go with my new fiber optic high speed internet as we choose to give up dial-up so the oldest can get homework done in a timely fashion. The installer set-up it up for me, ’cause NETGEAR is always a problem, of course he picked the WEP protocol and said that was easy and left. I bought it for the WPA2 and the local office supply store was closing out the notebook adapter for $20.00. Re-setting the security to WPA2 was easy, I just the used the supplied CD for the owners manual. I’ve got signal strong everywhere in my two-story and I can use the local how spot from corner coffee house, if only they did not turn if off at night…

  No problems after 30 days.
• 

  glwillia
  November 16th, 2008 on 3:15 am

  Rating

  Tried to set up as per the instructions and had a problem connecting. Called the Netgear helpline and was up and running in 5 minutes. Very happy now and have had NO other Problems. I recommend this unit.
• 

  J. Bryant
  December 21st, 2008 on 5:45 pm

  Rating

  Netgear must realize that most people aren’t geeks. I had wanted wifi for using with a laptop and updating and downloading games for the Wii. I was up and running on a secure connection in 20 minutes. I had a little glitch that was operator error when I forgot to hook the computer running the installation disk up to the wifi but the disk walks you through all the possiblities one step at a time. Now our network is highspeed and private. I’ve been recommending it to the geeks I know.
• 

  Term8r
  March 19th, 2009 on 2:42 am

  Rating

  Without wasting a lot of words this Router works as advertised. Securing the net was a little tricky as the CD program did not work on my computer Vista 64bit. But like every other router I have had before doing it manually was not a problem.

  The Wireless-N gigabite router works great wireless with my laptop and itouch.

  I am very satisfied so far after a couple of months of operation it has never had to be rebooted. It seems to have a larger area of coverage them any of my older routers and when running on N it is vert fast, I connect my main computer wireless through this router and it is faster than when hardwired on large downloads.

  So I like it very much, and I even forget it is in the line, because it is so trouble free. This router seems a step above the cheaper basic units I purchased before. It costs a little more, but perhaps it worth it in the long run.
• 

  Dave
  April 29th, 2009 on 7:31 am

  Rating

  I mean, really. Dancing lights. I guess they designed this router with the ‘I really want to impress my geeky friends’ guy in mind. If only it played ‘We Will Rock You’ when you connected something on the N-band…

  Oh, well…

  Hey, this router had almost zero documentation with it, other than a disk that works with Windows and not Mac OS X, and I got it running super easily with a Macbook Pro. Fortunately I connected without adjusting the router at all, which was made much easier by the graphic 1, 2, 3 numbers indicating the order you are to plug in the WAN, the primary LAN and the power. The back also had a rather prominent button on the back which you can use to switch off the rather annoying light display which corresponds to the anttena activity. Yes, it would have been better synched to your iPod pumping out ‘We Will Rock You’ or other miscellaneous rock anthems as you might choose, but alas, that is not an option.

  The big button clearly indicates the engineers of this product realized that the lights they were installing could be considered annoying. Makes you think, huh? Should I be embarassed that I left the lights on?

  Anyway, since I connected [to the www] immediately with no setup, I was able to connect to the internet to find the default IP of the router, and then access the web console. This router can be set to automatically check for firmware updates, which I find useful, as the latest firmware is generally necessary in devices which use N band wireless because of its ‘developmental’ nature.

  Well, the console allowed some great control over the wireless, which had some serious encryption beyond WEP with both versions of WPA (PSK+TKIP) simultaneously in use. This was really appreciated.

  Range was not fantastic, even with the eight wireless-N antennnas. It was nearly as good as my previous wireless-G, but I was still a little disappointed. The much faster connection, however, won me over.

  Overall, a great product.

  Highly recommended.
• 

  James E. Dudzinski
  October 16th, 2009 on 5:20 pm

  Rating

  This was a refurbished item and was priced very reasonably. Shipping was quick. The router runs cooler than the older, smaller NetGear it replaced, probaby because it’s bigger and has larger vents. Since this was a refurbished item it did not come with a software CD so I had to hunt that down on the NetGear web site. Setup was fairly straight foward. I had more problems integrating the wireless printer and music server than with the router itself. So far it’s been working flawlessly.
• 

  Siskel
  February 12th, 2010 on 6:52 pm

  Rating

  alot of people have given this router negative reviews and i can’t really understand why. the setup is more in-depth than a basic router like the wnr2000 by netgear (which is a great router for less money). this isn’t a basic router, it’s got alot more to offer in the settings selections which is probabaly the reason for the frustration people have had with it. first make sure the firmware is updated by going to netgear’s site and entering the model number and searching the downloads in support. second take your time with the set-up and reset the router to it’s original settings (and start over) whenever you have any issues that prevent you from connecting wirelessly. third wait a few minutes before reconnecting your modem and router when you aren’t doing a default reset. the same things apply with this router that do with all routers. take your time and you’ll be ok. it’s a great router for my needs. i live in a two bedroom apartment and i use this router with a netgear home theatre powerline setup. i got the powerline 4-port ethernet switch connected to my home theatre (xbox 360, ps3) and my modem/router in the bedroom with another xbox 360. so far i have been connected steady without drops and i have two 360′s running xbox live for games or netflix at the same time (no problems). even with hd video streaming. anyone with a home theatre should definitley check out the home theatre powerline package from netgear (i love it). hope this helped. oh yeah i bought this router refurbished (saves alot of money).