Wireless Connectivity - How to Set Up A Netgear Router

There are times when the learning curve in this technologically challenging information age can seem like a mountain range. Once you conquer one peak or obstacle and you think you are the smartest fellow on the planet, another task presents itself and you are off to the medicine cabinet for another blood pressure tablet. I thought it would be a good idea to docuMent the recent experience I had when trying to access the internet on a new laptop in a friend's home using a modem and a wireless router. The reason is that I would have liked it if someone had previously docuMented the same experience for me. It sure would have saved me some time.

The Netgear Rangemax Wireless N Gigabit Router WNR3500 is a fine bit of gear. I have previously used this hardware to connect an enTire household to the internet. Wireless routers are essential for any home network that combine wireless and wired network connections. It was used previously with the operating system Windows XP with an iPstar Satellite Terminal iCON Series Modem. The setup was easy because all I had to do was install the software and follow the instructions. It was a piece of cake.

I was working with a newly acquired Acer laptop emachines E727. I was trying to use the router to access the same wireless internet connection using Windows 7 Home Edition as the operating system. I tried to install software using CD version 2.0 I received with the router but the error message I received stated that I had a compatibility problem with the version of Windows I was running. I spent quite a bit of valuable searching Google for a software upgrade to solve the compatibility problem. I had no luck and so as a last resort I contacted the 'Netgear Support' number.

It is a good idea to confirm that you actually have an internet connection so initially I connected an Ethernet cable from the modem to the RJ45 Ethernet port on the laptop. Once the broadband internet access was confirmed I connected the laptop to the modem through the router. The modem is connected to the router via an Ethernet cable from the modem to the yellow access point marked 'Internet' on the router. I have another cable running from ethernet output connection 1 on the router to the RJ45 Ethernet port on the laptop.

On the bottom right of the laptop there is the internet connection icon next to the Speakers icon. When I moved the mouse over the icon it showed an old internet connection name. It was therefore necessary to log in to the router to change the settings. This was achieved by typing 192.168.1.1 in the browser window.

The default values for the Netgear WNR3500 are;

Username: admin

Password: password

Under 'Setup', go to 'Wireless Settings'. Go to 'Wireless Network'.

Go to the 'Name (SSID)' field and delete the previous entry value. Enter a new name in the field for 'Name (SSID)' using a name that you will recognize. This value could be something as simple as your surname. It can be a value of your choice and must be up to 32 alphanumeric characters. It is important to remember that this 'Name(SSID)' must be assigned to all wireless devices on your network and that this value is case sensitive.

Go to the 'Region' field and select your region from the drop-down list.

Go to the 'Channel' field which determines which operating frequency will be used. I entered channel 11.

Go to the 'Mode' field and select the desired wireless mode. The default is "Up to 145Mbps", which is the neighbor friendly mode.

Under 'Security Options' I use 'WPA-PSK [TKIP]'. This is an acronym for Wi-Fi Protected Access with Pre-Shared Key. Use WPA-PSK standard encryption with TKIP encryption type. This is purely a bit of useless information for the useless information departMent.

At the bottom of the page under 'Security Options (WPA-PSK + WPA2-PSK) Passphrase', enter a word or group of printable characters in the passphrase box. The Passphrase must be 8 to 63 characters in length. Use something that you can easily remember. If you cannot think of anything, use your mobile phone number.

Click 'Apply' to have your changes take effect and the router will update. When the router has updated, return to the internet icon at the bottom right of the page and left click. You should have the new 'Name (SSID)' as the internet connection. If everything has gone to plan, you can remove the cable and browse the internet, wireless style. It is the only way to go!

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