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NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Model number: WPN824 | SKU: 7061751

This wireless router enables speeds up to 108 Mbps and extended range, so the signal is strong anywhere in your home. Good-bye, dead spots! Take a product tour of the Netgear WPN824 RangeMax wireless router. (Flash demo)

Average Customer Rating: 3.788 3.8 out of 5 (193 Reviews)
139 of 193 (72%) customers would recommend this product to a friend.

Customer Reviews for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
works great   03/17/2010
By rdmitch from Cleveland, Ohio
Value for Price
4
4.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Performance
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
3
3.0 5
 

What's great about it: connects to areas other routers would'nt
What's not so great: too many flashing lights, turn off the stupid dome light !

"Even though it was a few pennies more then the basic router, this one seems to hit all areas of the house, even the concrete block basement.
Easy to set up.
Manual does not address how to turn off the flashing dome light that is annoying. Had to wait for their e-mail to give me the info. Even though ot was an easy fix (just a button), no where in the docs. does it even address this basic issue.
"


Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 2 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
3
3.0 5
 
Great Router - Not Mac Compatible as Advertised   03/16/2010
By OceanWyndsong from Maricopa Arizona
Value for Price
3
3.0 5
 
Ease of Use
3
3.0 5
 
Performance
3
3.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
4
4.0 5
 

What's great about it: Ease of set up
What's not so great: Couldnt lock down the network from my Mac, couldnt use wireless printer

"This router worked great. Although it was advertised as Mac OS compatible it was not entirely the case. After many attempts to log into the router and set the WPA-2, I was not successful. Every time the attempt was made, it shut down the system."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No
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Review 3 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
Awesome Router   03/14/2010
By AR954 from Hollywood, FL
Value for Price
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Performance
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
4
4.0 5
 

What's great about it: Strong signal all around the house
What's not so great: Installation CD didn't work with Windows 7

"I like the fact that it was almost a plug and play installation. After the router is installed it is recommended to reset all the equipment for renewing the IP address and allow the new equipment to work. Is not so good that when you try to use the cd included to assist with the installation it didn't support Windows 7 OS. I like that it lets you label the mac addresses in the allow / restrict access screen, that way you can identify each computer when you add them. I get awesome signal around the house, being two stories and the router is downstairs. Transfer rates when downloading files using wireless are as good as having the pc connected to the router. Really very good router."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 4 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
4
4.0 5
 
Great Router   03/12/2010
By RIZZA83 from Bronx, NY
Value for Price
4
4.0 5
 
Ease of Use
4
4.0 5
 
Performance
4
4.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
3
3.0 5
 

"Great product, I recommend it! I have Windows 7, so ofcourse if you are not a "tech" or dont have too much experience then it'll be a little harder to install this product. But a simple call to customer service will get you up and running within minutes. Otherwise if you have any other operating system ( XP, VISTA etc.) you should be good to go and connected quickly.

Hope this is helpful,
JM
"


Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 5 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
2
2.0 5
 
Drops My Computers   03/09/2010
By fr33torome from Huntsville, Al
Value for Price
3
3.0 5
 
Ease of Use
2
2.0 5
 
Performance
1
1.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
3
3.0 5
 

What's great about it: Wide Range
What's not so great: Drops signal

"I didn't want this router to begin with but this was the only one the store had at the time. It was easy to install and get started but I can't stay on my PC longer then an hour before I lose my network connection. I had to run 20 ft of CAT5 cable just to be sure I don't get dropped. Whats the point of having a wireless network if I have to keep everything wired to the back of it? DON'T BUY!!!!"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No
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Review 6 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
Great!   03/06/2010
By WindowsAndMacintosh from St. Louis, MO
Value for Price
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Performance
4
4.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
5
5.0 5
 

What's great about it: It works really great and has a VERY long distance.
What's not so great: No On/Off button and broke after two years of great use

"I got a laptop in 2008 and needed WiFi. I bought this router because it supposedly had a long range. It DOES have a long range. I can go to a close neighborhood and still get one to two bars (with 2009 MacBook)!

The router always worked really good with my DS, DSi, PSP, Mac, PC, PS3, Xbox 360, iPod touch and more.

The only thing I don't like about this device is that there's no on and off button. It must be plugged in or unplugged. If you are going on a trip and want to save a little bit of power, you have to unplug it...

After two years of hard use (today), the router's lights started flashing and it would restart randomly. It then buzzed and stopped working (broke). I am going back to the store to buy another one today!
"


Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 7 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
Netgear is AWESOME!!!   03/02/2010
By jhan from fort lauderdale, fl
Value for Price
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Performance
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
5
5.0 5
 

What's great about it: it's very easy to setup. never had any problem with connection.

"I had the same router which I bought in the Philippines back in 2007 never had any problem and it was so easy to install. Unfortunately, it was 220V so I decided to send it back to Philippines and buy new one here. And so far it worked the same! I LOVE IT!"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 8 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
4
4.0 5
 
Does what it's supposed to and has for 3 months   03/01/2010
By WV6Z from Anderson, SC
Value for Price
3
3.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Performance
4
4.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
5
5.0 5
 

What's great about it: Easy set up, all wireless devices connect flawlessly.
What's not so great: I'm thinking a bit pricey for what you get and short range.

"This replaced the second Belkin wireless router I have owned in the past ten years. Why I didn't learn my lesson the first time is beyond me, but, the first Belkin I had wasn't too bad.

Briefly, my problem with #2 Belkin was the need to 'reboot' the router every day or two, especially after the demand for it's services increasing seemed to aggravate it's affliction for dropping it's speed down to 1 meg per second.

The little Netgear router handles one wired PC in the office, another wireless tower, 3 laptops, 2 Blackberries and one 32GB iPod Touch FLAWLESSLY since it was put in to service.

I can honestly say that if Netgear did away with the silly flashing blue LEDs and Best Buy offered this in the $40 to $50 range, it would be the perfect heavy use for home wireless router.
"


Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 9 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
1
1.0 5
 
Worst Router I Ever Bought   02/25/2010
By madsci from Boardman, OH
Value for Price
2
2.0 5
 
Ease of Use
1
1.0 5
 
Performance
1
1.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
1
1.0 5
 

What's great about it: Hardwired and wireless pcs connect ok
What's not so great: Other wireless devices cannot connect

"I recently moved and needed a new router. My last router was a Netgear and I figured this would be good. Between me and my fiance, we have 2 PCs, a Wii, a PS3, a PSP, and 2 iPhones. When I began to set up the router, my PC connected just fine (hardwired) and my fiance's PC had a few issues (wireless) but it connected just fine. But when I tried to connect our Wii, PS3, and PSP, we couldn't even get past establishing an IP address. With the iPhones, it would show it was connected to our network but wouldn't be in WiFi mode; it wasn't properly connected. After going on the internet and looking up what other people tried (turn off the firewall, change the channel, change WiFi mode), and after much tinkering from my fiance, who went to school for IT, we've had no luck wirelessly connecting our consoles. The Wii and PS3 are currently hardwired to the router. Previous WiFi routers I've owned have never given me this much trouble with gaming consoles.

If you are looking for a router for just PCs and laptops, this is a good buy. If you plan on adding gaming consoles, stay away from this router.
"


Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No
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Review 10 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
1
1.0 5
 
Do Not Waste Your Time   02/20/2010
By flyboy56 from North Charleston SC
Value for Price
1
1.0 5
 
Ease of Use
1
1.0 5
 
Performance
2
2.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
1
1.0 5
 

What's great about it: Nothing
What's not so great: Horrid installation

"Don't waste your money on this router. I tried to upgrade from a NetGear WG614v7 to increase the range of the signal in my house .......... don't bother with it. It was worse than this WGR614v7 (which in reality wasn't too bad to begin with).

I have a desktop connected via ethernet, two laptops, a Wii, and 2 ROKU boxes, hopefully not all pulling a signal at the same time.

Testing this Netgear Rangemax with the ROKU boxes was like pulling teeth without the anesthetic. Download of either Netflix or Pandora content took seemingly forever, easily minutes rather than seconds.

My BIGGEST gripe may have nothing to do with the router but right after I installed this new router, I was hit with thousands of DOS Attacks leading to a severe slowdown in my network traffic. Switching back to this WGR 614, the Denial of Service Attacks have ceased. Go figure?
"


Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No
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Review 11 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
Not sure why there are bad reviews   02/17/2010
By mnybaggz from Richmond, VA
Value for Price
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Performance
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
5
5.0 5
 

What's great about it: Easy setup if you know how to read or bother to read the instuctions
What's not so great: nothing so far

"So, I bought this router a few days ago and then looked at it's reviews. For the most part, all of he reviews are positive. However, there are a few that are horrible. I'm not quite sure how any one could review this product as bad in any category. I setup my router within 15 minutes (using the cd instructions) and BAMB! Instant wireless connection to my laptops. (JUST READ THE INSTRUCTIONS) As far as Sony PS or XBOX, they probably have some proprietary inclusions/exclusions that you need to consider. For a basic wireless connection,this product ROCKS!!!! I have a two story home w approx 1700 Sq ft with the router downstairs, I can match an EXCELLENT connection anywhere within my home. Make sure you read the instructions and peripherals for your other products to get the correct router"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 12 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
Netgear Router Range Plus   02/17/2010
By pjpp from Omaha, NE
Value for Price
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Use
4
4.0 5
 
Performance
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
4
4.0 5
 

What's great about it: It doesn't need a cd for manual setup
What's not so great: I needed two technicians, Dell and Netgear

"It really amazing. I had no Netgear adapters or pci card and I was able to go online manually. My Ooma phone works great as well. One catch. You need to call a Netgear technicians. Netgear tech. did do a good job of getting me online with my Compaq laptop but not my Dell 530a Desktop. I great Dell technician helped with the Dell Go Assistant Remote to go online with Netgear. He downloaded the necessary upgrades. Netgear, a great product. It pays to ask questions to the right people."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 13 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
1
1.0 5
 
worst router ever   02/14/2010
By unhappy2010 from dallas tx
Value for Price
1
1.0 5
 
Ease of Use
1
1.0 5
 
Performance
1
1.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
1
1.0 5
 

What's not so great: always had problems, no warranty after 90 days-no help either from support without paying for it

"had problems installing on the desktop, had to call support-they did help get it going. finally got it hooked up and it would disconnect at odd times on our laptops. had to get another desktop so tried installing it and once again had trouble. it had been over 90 days since it was purchased (but less than a year) so support first told me that there would be no charge for their help, but then sent me to another phone number and tried to charge me to help me. will never buy netgear again. too much trouble."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No
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Review 14 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
Great Wireless Router!   02/12/2010
By SenseiWill from Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Value for Price
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Performance
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
5
5.0 5
 

What's great about it: Very easy to install, Lightning speed
What's not so great: Nothing so far!

"The install CD was super easy to follow. Just make sure you power down your modem correctly when you get to that step, becuase they often have battery backups & if not powered completely down you'll have trouble with connections later on down the road. Otherwise, no problems whatsoever!"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 15 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
1
1.0 5
 
Doesn't work with X-Box 360   01/29/2010
By Anonymous from Seattle

What's not so great: Doesn't work with X-Box 360

"Bought this because we needed a new router. Works fine except it refuses to play well with our X-Box 360. We have our 360 hard wired and yet every time we go to watch a movie stored on our PC using the 360 it refuses to recognize the PC and we have go through the whole set up process all over again. Never had this problem with our old router.

Also the wireless connection isn't that great. They claim 108mbps yet connections seem slower than on our old 54mbps router.
"


Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No
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Review 16 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
1
1.0 5
 
WOW, worst thing I have ever purchased   01/20/2010
By enock from Tulsa,Ok
Value for Price
1
1.0 5
 
Ease of Use
1
1.0 5
 
Performance
1
1.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
1
1.0 5
 

What's great about it: Nothing
What's not so great: Support, Ease of install, No connectivity to my PS3

"First off the router would not connect to the internet, so I called tech. support. The person would not put the script down and listen to the problem. She had such a heavy accent I could not understand her and she gave me wrong info. and argued with me telling me she didnt. After an hour wasted with the first tech. I tried again an hour later after I calmed down and got another tech. She fixed the problem but it will not work with my PS3 which is the main reason I bought the router to begin with. The set up disc is worthless I had to enter everything manually."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No
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Review 17 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
One of the best I've seen!   01/11/2010
By Soyousay from Hardin, KY
Value for Price
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Performance
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
5
5.0 5
 

What's great about it: It is not a Linksys, so it works great!
What's not so great: Flashing UFO blue light, but easy on/off button.

"I have had this model going on 3 years and have had absolutely zero problems. I do not understand some of the other reviews, could be faulty wiring or bad grounds. I personally install routers for a living and even the cheap Net Gears work great, but I recommend this one.
Do not let the other reviews get to you. There could be a bad apple in the bunch from time to time, but not likely twice in a row. I moved away from Linksys years ago because of the constant lock-ups and resets (we were buying several a week and our customers were very displeased on a grand scale). This problem still persists with the new design (checked it). The Cisco name means nothing when on a Linksys product. The Cisco name alone is the ultimate in technology and rather pricey (but worth it). Generally used for companies.
So what if you forget your password for your secured wireless. Just log in to the IP address on the bottom of the router, put in the username and password, and reset it. If it was secured, someone did this to begin with. Just make sure the computer is directly plugged into the router for access. I unplugged mine about 3 times in 3 years and every time it was the modem's fault.
We run 4-6 computers at a time in my house (2 wired), and have no problems. This router will run at a 108 bps if it is paired with the Range Max wireless pci card. I have one in my son's old laptop and it still runs faster than my new one. This is true for any router out there that claims to do higher speeds, as long as the equipment on both ends are the same.
I strictly use mine for wireless. I have never ran it directly as a modem because I already have a cable modem doing that job already. I do have Vista on one of the computers and it never has a problem (32 bit). Could not readily verify any problems with Vista 64 bit or Windows 7, but I have heard that others find a easy work around. I that this helps some people out there. When this router is used just as an access point (AP), it works flawlessly. And the price is $20 cheaper now than when I bought it. (Any people out there still on dial-up, do not expect wonders from any company).
"


Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 18 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
1
1.0 5
 
Netgear is Junk   01/11/2010
By Buzzman from KC
Value for Price
1
1.0 5
 
Ease of Use
4
4.0 5
 
Performance
1
1.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
4
4.0 5
 

What's great about it: it's pretty
What's not so great: keeps turning on and off by itself

"Turned this piece of junk back in and bought a d link"

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No
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Review 19 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
5
5.0 5
 
great router   01/09/2010
By snook12pdv from nc
Value for Price
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Use
5
5.0 5
 
Performance
5
5.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
5
5.0 5
 

What's great about it: great in price
What's not so great: none at all

"I had no problem what so ever getting it to work. I even reformated my computer and i didnt even have to reload it. it worked without a problem. I live in a two story house and have a full signal every where i go in the house."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes
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Review 20 for NETGEAR RangeMax 802.11g Wireless Router

Customer Rating
1
1.0 5
 
Extended Range? In your dreams   01/09/2010
By Landa10008000 from Seattle, WA
Value for Price
1
1.0 5
 
Ease of Use
2
2.0 5
 
Performance
1
1.0 5
 
Ease of Installation
1
1.0 5
 

What's great about it: Design and Security Features
What's not so great: Wireless Range

"The router itself is not so easy to install once you know that the modem needs to be in bridge mode. However, to get there I had to call a geek friend. Then, the process should not take more than 25 min.
After dealing with both your modem and router you are ready to experience a considerable increase in speed and range up to 10 times...
It is a lie, it didn't enhance the range already reached by my wireless modem and the speed is the same... it only helped a little when more than 3 computers were connected to the internet.
I would not have bought this product if I would have known before it's performance.
"


Would you recommend this product to a friend?: No
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