NETGEAR N900 User manual

NETGEAR, Inc.
350 East Plumeria Drive
San Jose, CA 95134 USA
October 2012
Technical Support
Thank you for selecting NETGEAR products.
After installing your device, locate the serial number on the label
of your product and use it to register your product at
https://my.netgear.com.
You must register your product before you can use NETGEAR
telephone support. NETGEAR recommends registering your
product through the NETGEAR web site.
Phone (US only): 1-888-NETGEAR
Phone (Other Countries):
See http://support.netgear.com/general/contact/default.aspx.
NETGEAR recommends that you use only the official NETGEAR
support resources.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit
Router WNDR4500 Installation Guide
Package Contents
The box contains the following items. If any items are incorrect,
missing, or damaged, contact your NETGEAR dealer.
Power adapter
N900 Wireless Router
Ethernet cable
(with stand attached)

You can use this diagram to cable and connect your router or follow the detailed instructions in this booklet.
1. Prepare your modem.
4. Connect a computer.
3. Power on the router.
5. Launch a browser.
2. Connect your modem.
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Unplug your modem. If it has a battery
backup, remove the battery.
Plug in your modem. Put the battery
back in. Then cable the modem to the
router Internet port.
Modem
Internet
Router
DSL or cable
Wait for the 2.4 GHz LED
to turn green.
Power On/Off
Power On/Off
User Manual
You can get the user manual online at
http://downloadcenter.netgear.com or through a link in the product’s
user interface.
Compliance
For the complete EU Declarations of Conformity, visit
http://support.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/11621/.
This symbol appears in accordance with the European Union
Directive 2002/96 on the Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment (the WEEE directive). If you dispose of this product
in the European Union, treat and recycle it in accordance with
your jurisdiction’s laws that implement the WEEE directive.
For indoor use only in all EU countries and in Switzerland.
NETGEAR, the NETGEAR logo, and Connect with Innovation are
trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc. and/or its
subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Information is
subject to change without notice. © NETGEAR, Inc. All rights reserved.

1
Contents
Getting to Know Your Router 2
Install Your Router 5
Prepare your modem. 5
Connect your modem. 5
Power on the router. 6
Connect a computer. 7
Open a browser. 7
Preset Wireless Security 8
Wireless Network Settings 9
Join the Wireless Network 10
WPS Method 10
Manual Method 10
Access the Router to Make More Changes 11
Change Your Password 12
Retrieve Your Password 12
Troubleshooting 13
ReadySHARE Access 13
ReadySHARE Cloud 15
ReadySHARE Printer 16
Time Machine 17
TiVo 17
NETGEAR genie App 18
NETGEAR genie Mobile App 19

2
Getting to Know Your Router
Most connectors are on the rear panel.
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USB
LAN ports
WAN
Reset
Power On/Off
Power connector
(Internet)
port
1–4
ports
The following figure shows the front panel.
LEDs
WPS button
WiFi On/Off button
Power LED
Internet LED
2.4 GHz LED
5 GHz LED
Ethernet (LAN)
USB LEDs
WPS LED

3
The router has two buttons and several LEDs on the front.
• WPS button. Use WPS to add a wireless computer or device to
the network.
• WiFi On/Off button. Turn the wireless radios on and off.
Table 1. LEDs
LED Description
WPS • Solid green. Wireless security (such as, WEP, WPA-PSK,
or WPA2-PSK) is enabled on the router.
• Blinking green. The router is performing WPS activities.
This LED continuously blinks if the router is in the WPS
PIN auto lockdown state.
• Off. All wireless radios are disabled, and there is no WPS
activity.
Power • Solid amber. The router is starting up.
• Solid green. The router is ready.
• Blinking green. The firmware is corrupted. Visit http://
support.netgear.com.
• Off. Power is not supplied to the router.
Internet • Solid green. The Internet connection is ready.
• Solid amber. The Ethernet cable connection to the
modem was detected.
• Off. No Ethernet cable is connected to the modem.
2.4 GHz
and 5 GHz
• Solid green. The wireless radio is operating in either
2.4 GHz or 5 GHz mode.
• Blinking. The router is in WPS mode.
• Off. The wireless radios are off for both 2.4 GHz and
5 GHz.
LAN ports
1–4
• Solid green. The LAN port detected a 10/100 Mbps link
with an attached device.
• Solid amber. The LAN port detected a 10M/100Mbps link
with an attached device.
• Off. No link is detected on this port.

4
USB 1 and
USB 2
• Solid green. The router has accepted the USB device.
The USB device is ready to be used.
• Off. No USB device is connected; someone clicked the
Safely Remove Hardware button, and it is now safe to
remove the attached USB device.
Table 1. LEDs
LED Description

5
Install Your Router
Make sure that your Internet service is active before you install the
router. Follow steps 1 through 5.
1. Prepare your modem.
a. Unplug the power to the
modem.
b. If the modem has a battery
backup, remove its batteries.
c. If your modem was already
connected to another router,
disconnect the cable
between your modem and
that router.
d. Check that your modem is
turned off and cabled only to
the wall jack for your Internet service.
2. Connect your modem.
a. Plug in and turn on your modem. (Replace the batteries if you
removed them previously.)
b. With the yellow Ethernet cable that came with the router,
connect your modem to the Internet port of your router.
1
Internet
DSL or cable
Modem
2
Router
Modem

6
3. Power on the router.
a. Connect the power adapter to the router and the power cord.
b. Plug the power cord into an outlet.
c. Before going to Step 4, wait for the 2.4 GHz LED on the
front panel of the router to turn green. If none of the LEDs
on the front panel are lit, press the Power On/Off button on
the rear panel of the router.
3
On/Off
Router
Modem
Power
button

7
4. Connect a computer.
You can use an Ethernet cable (not included) or connect
wirelessly.
• Use the Ethernet cable to connect your computer to an
Ethernet port on your router.
• Or connect wirelessly by using the preset wireless security
settings on the label on the product label.
5. Open a browser.
NETGEAR genie displays and guides you through the
installation.
If genie does not display, close and reopen the browser and type
http://www.routerlogin.net in the address bar, or see
Troubleshooting on page 13.
4
Router
5

8
Preset Wireless Security
This product has a unique WiFi network name (SSID) and network
key (password). The default SSID and network key (password) are
uniquely generated for every device, like a serial number, to protect
and maximize your wireless security. This information is on the
product label.
NETGEAR recommends that you do not change the preset WiFi
network name (SSID) or network key (password). If you do change
the settings, the security SSID and password on the product label no
longer apply.