NETGEAR WNDR4500 N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Open Source Router - IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n NETGEAR WNDR4500 N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Open Source Router - IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n

Pros: If you don't mind buying a new one every 18 months, then the pros are that it works well until it dies. Not much of a "pro" in my opinion; lack of reliability trumps any real pros.

Cons: About one month after warranty expired, the router began losing wireless connections. Resolution was either to connect via Ethernet and reset, or unplug and leave alone overnight (not simply reboot, yes leave unplugged overnight). This happened for 6 months and then it would not boot properly and was sent on a trash can vacation.

Other Thoughts: I would rather pay more and not have to be inconvenienced with the lack of reliablity. Considering you will need to replace this about every 18 months, buy something less expensive, or pay more for something that will last longer.

Manufacturer Response:

Hello Powpow,

We are sorry to hear that you are no longer using the WNDR4500.

In the future, if you have any problems with one of our products, there are a couple of things you can do. First would be to contact our support team at support.netgear.com.

There is also a support page available for all of our products:
http://support.netgear.com/product/WNDR4500

Our forums are also another great place to go:
forum1.netgear.com

Thank you for choosing NETGEAR and sorry things didn't work out. We hope to earn your business again in the future.

Regards,

NETGEAR Team

Pros: Lots of great options in the UI. Easy to use interface. Straightforward setup.

Cons: Support is good, but bound by their scripts.

Other Thoughts: I bought one of these at Best Buy. When I got home, the power light was flashing, but I didn't think too much of it. I called support to help me setup my connection to my existing FiOS Modem/Router as a second router with a different subnet.

After spending an hour on the phone, getting disconnected, and dealing with 3 different support reps (who were all professional and helpful) I had the support rep tell me to take it back to the store because the firmware was corrupted and you couldn't make any kind of connection to the router, even to update the firmware.

So when I got the second one, everything was easy. I was able to set up the second subnet myself after some quick googling. I connected it to my downstairs repeater/range extender (also Netgear).

So all in all, it took a lot of work, but the network is up and running with the speeds I'm paying for as if you were connected directly to the ISP modem router.

I'd say my rating is for the router itself. -1 egg for having to go back to the store to get a working one. The one I returned wasn't repackaged or seemed like it had been opened before, it was just a defective unit that was not tested appropriately.

With the working router everything is good.

Pros: fast, stable long wifi range, with newest firmware works better then the first day.

Cons: isn't a sexy girl willing to do anything :)

Other Thoughts: when i first purchased this router it was unusable and i had to use my old router witch was horrible but at least worked. thankfully a newer firmware fix its issues. ( 3 months latter ) since then its been in use working with no issues steaming 7 wireless HD cameras. 2 servers. 2 ipads. 2 iphones. 4 laptops. 3 computers.no issues and very fast.
since then i upgraded to the new wireless standard AC router.
i install this routers in my friends home and what a home it is 7 thousand square feet. she also has wireless ip cameras and a few tablets and computers. she having no issues and is very happy. it does not cover every where but close and best router she had to date.

note; the router i updated to was also unusable at first the asus AC router but with newer firmware has also shined to glory. Always be prepared when buying the newest and greatest technology

Pros: looks good...is fast and easy to set up...vertical storage

Cons: keeps dropping signal
it's like it goes to sleep and wont start itself up again.

Other Thoughts: bought this to replace 5+ year old netgear router. wanted n and dual band if I was going to upgrade, this looked like just the ticket. unit set up easily and was updated and used within an hour of receiving the box. I put it through its paces...letting the kids stream their own movies one on a wii and the other on a ruko. flawless...I was beaming with pride in my choice. next day the wife has to turn in a paper online and asked me "where's the internet?" I went to the router and had to restart it. She turned it in and shopped online for stuff for a few hours and then closed her laptop to go to work. 20 min later kids got home and wanted to watch a movie...no router signal. went back to router and reset it. it works well when routing, but the second no data is moving it goes to sleep. checked online for solution...found none, went back over all the settings to make sure I didn't miss anything...found nothing...in fact it still had connection to the internet through lan cable, but wouldn't broadcast wireless signal...very strange...and all the while all status' in login page read normal even though the wireless signal wasn't broadcasting. I am currently back to my old router and am debating another upgrade to a different brand. we'll see...but as usual another pleasant purchase from newegg.com. customer service is always awesome...keep up the good work! And don't worry...I won't blame you for the dud. and I will be buying my next one from you! thanks

Manufacturer Response:

Hi Matt,

Thank you for your detailed review. We apologize that your router is not functioning properly and would like to offer our assistance.

Contact our support team at support.netgear.com if you haven't already. Be sure to write down the case numbers they give you!

If for some reason they unable to assist, you can contact us directly at newegg@netgear.com-- provide any case numbers you saved and also add a copy paste of your review.

We hope to get this issue resolved soon and thank you for being a loyal NETGEAR customer.

NETGEAR Team

Pros: As the last review stated I have simply had no problems with this router. It is my first "N" router. Upgraded from the WRT54G that I had since 2004! and was still working. Just time for an upgrade as I moved into the smartphone and tablet world. All devices connected with no problem. Wireless speed to the laptops is 4 to 5 times what is was with "G".

Cons: None really. Hope it is as reliable as the old Linksys was.

Pros: Does everything it is suppose to do. Have not had any problems with it. I'm running Stream to for TV and 3 other compute's, phone and hasn't missed a lick yet.

Cons: None

Pros: Easy set- works out of the box- easy to modify to your network needs
$50 off and 30% off coupon finally got my attention.

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: Replaced 4 older pieces of equipment- wired router - two access points and a gig network hub. Sorry I waited so long to update my set up. Throughput seems better as well.

Pros: Fast speed and Easy setup

Cons: Constantly loses connection to internet

Other Thoughts: I bought this to replace a Netgear WNDR3700 for its wider bandwidth. For the year that I owned it, I suspected that it had a problem maintaining a steady connection, but it wasn't until recently that my wife required a rock solid internet connection to conduct some work with an online vendor that convinced me to research and experiment a bit.
At first, I wondered if this was just a wireless issue, so I temporarily connected her with a cable. The results were the same - constant losses of internet connectivity daily.
I dug around online and learned that the WNDR4500 is widely criticism for unexpectedly losing continuity as a router. To see if I could narrow my problem down a bit, I reinstalled the WNDR3700 that I'd originally replaced with the WNDR4500. I was disappointed at the speed that was lost, particularly within the home network, and the WNDR3700 also seemed to have a problem maintaining a steady internet connection.
Was it my ISP or my router? I decided to bite the bullet and purchased a ASUS RT-N66U. It's been running for a little over a week now, and my wife has not lost her connection once. With either the WNDR4500 or the WNDR3700, she would have to reconnect multiple times daily (up to 20 times daily, depending on usage). Never did a day go by without losing online connectivity multiple times.
My experience with these Netgear routers is mixed but mostly disappointing. Both were maintained with current firmware updates. Both were pretty easy to set up and had decent range. The WNDR4500 was lightening fast, and throughput to our networked backup hard drive was great for backups and file sharing. Unfortunately, we just could not live with the constantly dropped connections. Now, we have over $300 tied up in two fancy paper weight and another $170 in a ASUS router that finally works.

Pros: Wireless speeds are fast.
2 USB ports for sharing printers or external hard drives.
Looks nice..?

Cons: Lan ports to wireless is apparently broken. If I have the 2.4 band set to 450mbps, I cannot transfer anything any faster than about 10mbps to or from any hard wired machine to a wireless device. If I set the 2.4 to 54mbps, I get full speed, but I did NOT buy this router to get G speeds on my N connections.

I don't even have any G devices in the house anymore, but even setting to N only mode I can't get faster than a 54mbps setting if I still want to use any hardwired devices.

Oh, and don't forget the CONSTANT dropouts on wireless. I cannot stay connected via VNC to my laptop for more than 5 minutes without the connection dropping. I am so glad I got this thing super cheap instead of paying full retail price or I'd be extremely ticked off.

Other Thoughts: There is a test build of DD-WRT available for this router, which is MUCH better than the garbage Netgear firmware, however it still cannot overcome this wired>wireless connection issue so it must be a hardware problem.

Going to stick with my WNDR3300 until these hacks get a fully workable firmware out for this router. At least the 3300 on DD-WRT is rock solid, I just really wish it had gigalan ports, which is the main reason I grabbed this 4500.

Pros: None

Cons: failed

Other Thoughts: Bought this to replace my failing 4 month old R6200 Net gear AC router. Hooked it up and lasted a whole 10 minutes and died. Checked power supply with multimeter. The router was simply dead. Powered on, network activity lights came to life, then simply went out. Returned and bought Asus RT-N66U instead and couldn't be happier now. I even like it more than the high end AC router... Actually better than any Net gear router I have ever owned.