NETGEAR WAX628 User manual

User Manual
Insight Managed WiFi 6 AX5400
Access Point
WAX628
NETGEAR, Inc.
350 E. Plumeria DriveSeptember 2022
San Jose, CA 95134, USA202-12625-01

Support and Community
Visit netgear.com/support to get your questions answered and access the latest
downloads.
You can also check out our NETGEAR Community for helpful advice at
community.netgear.com.
Regulatory and Legal
Si ce produit est vendu au Canada, vous pouvez accéder à ce document en français
canadien à https://www.netgear.com/support/download/.
(If this product is sold in Canada, you can access this document in Canadian French at
https://www.netgear.com/support/download/.)
For regulatory compliance information including the EU Declaration of Conformity, visit
https://www.netgear.com/about/regulatory/.
See the regulatory compliance document before connecting the power supply.
For NETGEAR’s Privacy Policy, visit https://www.netgear.com/about/privacy-policy.
By using this device, you are agreeing to NETGEAR’s Terms and Conditions at
https://www.netgear.com/about/terms-and-conditions. If you do not agree, return the
device to your place of purchase within your return period.
Do not use this device outdoors. The PoE source is intended for intra building connection
only.
Applicable to 6 GHz devices only: Only use the device indoors. The operation of 6 GHz
devices is prohibited on oil platforms, cars, trains, boats, and aircraft, except that
operation of this device is permitted in large aircraft while flying above 10,000 feet.
Operation of transmitters in the 5.925-7.125 GHz band is prohibited for control of or
communications with unmanned aircraft systems.
Trademarks
© NETGEAR, Inc., NETGEAR, and the NETGEAR Logo are trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc.
Any non-NETGEAR trademarks are used for reference purposes only.
Revision History
CommentsPublish DatePublication Part
Number
First publication.September 2022202-12625-01
2
Insight Managed WiFi 6 AX5400 Access Point Model WAX628

Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction
Additional documentation...................................................................9
About the local browser user interface and NETGEAR Insight.......9
Chapter 2 Hardware Overview
Unpack the access point....................................................................11
Top panel with LEDs...........................................................................11
Hardware interfaces...........................................................................13
Access point label..............................................................................14
Safety instructions and warnings for an indoor access point........16
Chapter 3 Install the Access Point in Your Network and Access It
for Initial Configuration
Position your access point for best performance...........................19
Set up and connect the access point to your network...................20
Connect to the access point for initial configuration.....................21
Connect over the Internet using the NETGEAR Insight Cloud
Portal................................................................................................22
Connect over WiFi using the NETGEAR Insight app.................24
Connect over WiFi to the local browser UI for initial
configuration..................................................................................26
Connect over the LAN to the local browser UI for initial
configuration..................................................................................31
Configure the access point offline using a directly connected
computer.........................................................................................35
Log in to the access point after initial setup....................................41
What to do if you get a browser security warning..........................42
Chapter 4 Install the Access Point in an Insight Instant Mesh WiFi
Network
What are a root access point and an extender access point?......44
What is an Insight Instant Mesh WiFi network?...............................45
Requirements for placing an extender access point in a mesh WiFi
network................................................................................................46
Connect the access point as an extender to a root access point using
the Cloud Portal..................................................................................47
3

Install the NETGEAR Insight app to manage an Insight Instant Mesh
WiFi network.......................................................................................51
Connect the access point as an extender to a root access point using
the Insight app....................................................................................51
Chapter 5 Manage the Basic WiFi Features for a WiFi network
Set up an open or secure WiFi network..........................................57
View or change the settings of a WiFi network...............................66
Remove a WiFi network.....................................................................67
Hide or broadcast the SSID for a WiFi network..............................68
Change the VLAN ID for a WiFi network.........................................69
Change the authentication and encryption for a WiFi network....70
Enable or disable PMF for a WiFi network......................................74
Set up Multi PSK for a WiFi network.................................................75
Disable or enable a WiFi network or set up a WiFi activity
schedule..............................................................................................78
Enable or disable band steering with 802.11k RRM and 802.11v
WiFi network management...............................................................80
Chapter 6 Manage the Basic Radio Features
Manage the basic WiFi settings for the radios................................83
Turn a radio on or off.........................................................................86
Change the WiFi mode for a radio...................................................87
Change the channel width for a radio.............................................89
Change the guard interval for a radio.............................................90
Change the output power for a radio..............................................92
Change the channel for a radio........................................................93
Manage Quality of Service for a WiFi radio.....................................94
Chapter 7 Set Up and Manage a Captive Portal
Set up a click-through captive portal for a WiFi network..............97
Set up an external captive portal for a WiFi network...................100
Register and configure Facebook Wi-Fi for the access point.....103
Set up a Facebook Wi-Fi captive portal for a WiFi network........105
Unregister the access point from Facebook Wi-Fi.......................106
Chapter 8 Manage Access and Security
Block specific URLs and keywords for Internet access................109
Manage user accounts.....................................................................111
Add a user account......................................................................111
Change the time-out period for a user session.......................112
Change the settings for a user account....................................113
Remove a user account...............................................................114
Manage local MAC access control lists.........................................115
4
Insight Managed WiFi 6 AX5400 Access Point Model WAX628

Manually set up a MAC access control List...............................116
Import an existing MAC access control list..............................119
Manage neighbor AP detection.....................................................122
Enable neighbor access point detection and move access points
to the Known AP List....................................................................123
Import an existing neighbor access point list in the Known AP
List..................................................................................................125
Set up RADIUS servers.....................................................................128
Enable L2 security............................................................................130
Chapter 9 Manage the Local Area Network and IP Settings
Disable the DHCP client and specify a fixed IP address..............133
Enable the DHCP client...................................................................134
Set the 802.1Q VLAN and management VLAN............................136
Set an existing domain name..........................................................138
Enable or disable Spanning Tree Protocol...................................139
Enable or disable the network integrity check function..............140
Enable or disable IGMP snooping.................................................141
Enable or disable Ethernet LLDP....................................................142
Enable or disable UPnP...................................................................143
Manage the link aggregation capability........................................144
Enable link aggregation for the LAN 2 port.............................145
Disable link aggregation for the LAN 2 port............................146
Chapter 10 Manage and Maintain the Access Point
Change the management mode to NETGEAR Insight or
Web-browser....................................................................................149
Change the country or region of operation..................................151
Change the admin user account password..................................152
Change the system name................................................................153
Specify a custom NTP server...........................................................154
Set the time zone..............................................................................155
Manage the syslog settings.............................................................156
Manage the firmware of the access point.....................................157
Let the access point check for new firmware and update the
firmware........................................................................................158
Manually download firmware and update the access point...159
Revert to the backup firmware...................................................161
Use an SFTP server to update the access point.......................162
Manage the configuration file of the access point.......................164
Back up the access point configuration....................................164
Restore the access point configuration.....................................165
Reboot the access point from the local browser UI.....................167
Schedule the access point to reboot.............................................168
5
Insight Managed WiFi 6 AX5400 Access Point Model WAX628

Return the access point to its factory default settings.................169
Use the Reset button to reset the access point........................169
Use the local browser UI to reset the access point..................170
Enable SNMP and manage the SNMP settings............................171
Manage the LEDs.............................................................................173
Manage the Energy Efficiency Mode.............................................174
Chapter 11 Monitor the Access Point and the Network
Display the access point Internet, IP, and system settings..........177
Display the WiFi radio settings.......................................................181
Display unknown and known neighbor access points................184
Display client distribution, connected clients, and client trends.185
View WiFi and Ethernet traffic, traffic and ARP statistics, and channel
utilization...........................................................................................189
View or download tracked URLs.....................................................192
View, save, download, or clear the logs........................................194
View a WiFi bridge connection.......................................................196
View alarms and notifications.........................................................197
Chapter 12 Set up a WiFi Bridge
WiFi base station, WiFi repeater, and WiFi bridge requirements.200
Set up a WiFi bridge between access points................................201
Chapter 13 Manage the Advanced WiFi Features for a WiFi network
Set NAT mode or Bridge mode for addressing and traffic.........205
Enable or disable client isolation for a WiFi network...................206
Enable or disable URL tracking for a WiFi network......................208
Change the format of the DHCP offer messages in a WiFi
network..............................................................................................209
Select a MAC ACL for a WiFi network...........................................211
Set bandwidth rate limits for a WiFi network................................212
Configure advanced rate selection for a WiFi network...............214
Chapter 14 Manage the Advanced Radio Features
Manage the advanced WiFi settings for the radios.....................219
Manage the maximum number of clients for a radio..................222
Manage the broadcast and multicast settings for a radio...........223
Manage load balancing for the radios..........................................224
Manage sticky clients.......................................................................227
Manage the ARP proxy....................................................................228
Chapter 15 Diagnostics and Troubleshooting
Perform a ping test...........................................................................231
Capture WiFi and Ethernet packets...............................................232
6
Insight Managed WiFi 6 AX5400 Access Point Model WAX628

Check the Internet speed................................................................235
Quick tips for WiFi troubleshooting...............................................236
Troubleshoot with the LEDs............................................................237
Power/Cloud LED remains off....................................................238
Power/Cloud LED remains solid amber...................................238
Power/Cloud LED is blinking amber slowly, continuously.....239
The access point functions as a PoE PD and the Power/Cloud
LED remains solid amber............................................................239
Power/Cloud LED does not light blue in the NETGEAR Insight
management mode.....................................................................240
Power/Cloud LED does not stop blinking amber, green, and
blue................................................................................................240
2.4G or 5G WLAN LED is off.......................................................241
The extender access point and root access point cannot
connect..............................................................................................242
Troubleshoot WiFi connectivity for a WiFi client device.............243
Troubleshoot Internet browsing.....................................................244
You cannot log in to the access point over a LAN connection....245
Changes are not saved....................................................................246
You enter the wrong password and can no longer log in to the
access point.......................................................................................246
Troubleshoot your network using the ping utility........................247
Test the LAN path to your access point....................................247
Test the path from your computer to a remote device...........248
Appendix A Factory Default Settings and Technical Specifications
Factory default settings...................................................................250
Technical specifications...................................................................254
Appendix B Mount the Access Point to a Wall or Ceiling
Mounting parts.................................................................................257
Mount the access point on a wall...................................................258
Mount the access point to a T-bar..................................................259
Unmount the access point...............................................................263
7
Insight Managed WiFi 6 AX5400 Access Point Model WAX628

1
Introduction
This manual is for the NETGEAR Insight Managed WiFi 6 AX5400 Access Point Model
WAX628.
Model WAX628, in this manual referred to as the access point, supports IEEE 802.11ax,
WPA3 WiFi security, six (2+4) streams of WiFi with concurrent operation at 2.4 GHz (2
streams) and 5 GHz (4 streams), and 160 MHz bandwidth at 5 GHz. The combined
throughput is 5400 Mbps: 600 Mbps at 2.4 GHz and 4800 Mbps at 5 GHz.
The access point functions as a Power over Ethernet plus (PoE+) powered device (PD)
in an existing network connected to a PoE+ switch that provides 802.3at power. The
access point also supports a power adapter for connection to a regular switch. Model
WAX628 ships without a power adapter, and model WAX628PA ships with a power
adapter. If you ordered model WAX628 but prefer to use the access point without a
PoE+ connection, you can order a power adapter separately.
The PoE+ Ethernet port supports a high speed up to 2.5 Gbps. A second Ethernet LAN
port supports a speed of 1 Gbps for a link aggregation (LAG) connection.
This chapter contains the following sections:
• Additional documentation
• About the local browser user interface and NETGEAR Insight
Note: For more information about the topics that are covered in this manual, visit the
support website at netgear.com/support/.
Note: Firmware updates with new features and bug fixes are made available from time
to time at netgear.com/support/download/. You can check for and download new
firmware manually. If the features or behavior of your product does not match what is
described in this manual, you might need to update the firmware.
Note: In this manual, WiFi network means the same as SSID (service set identifier or
WiFi network name) or VAP (virtual access point). That is, when we refer to a WiFi network
we mean an individual SSID or VAP.
8

Additional documentation
The following documents are available at netgear.com/support/download/:
•Installation guide
•Data sheet
For information about the NETGEAR Insight Cloud Portal and Insight app, visit
netgear.com/business/services/insight/subscription and see the NETGEAR knowledge
base at netgear.com/support/product/insight.aspx.
About the local browser user interface and
NETGEAR Insight
This user manual describes the local browser user interface (UI), which you use if the
access point functions as a standalone access point.
NETGEAR Insight remote management offers additional features and add-on services
that are not available in standalone mode. For NETGEAR Insight Premium and Insight
Pro subscribers, the access point supports the NETGEAR Insight Cloud Portal and Insight
app:
•Insight Cloud Portal: Lets you configure and manage the access point remotely
through the portal of the Insight cloud-based management platform.
•Insight app: Lets you configure and manage the access point remotely from your
iOS or Android mobile device and connects to the Insight cloud-based management
platform.
For information about the NETGEAR Insight Cloud Portal and Insight app, visit the
following pages:
•netgear.com/business/services/insight/subscription
•netgear.com/support/product/insight.aspx
•kb.netgear.com/000061848
If you install the access point as a NETGEAR Insight managed device, the settings for
features that you can manage through the Insight Cloud Portal and Insight app are
masked out in the local browser UI. However, using the local browser UI, you can still
manage the settings for certain features that might not yet be supported in Insight.
User Manual9Introduction
Insight Managed WiFi 6 AX5400 Access Point Model WAX628

2
Hardware Overview
The NETGEAR Insight Managed WiFi 6 AX5400 Access Point Model WAX628 is an
indoor access point that supports the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi bands.
The chapter contains the following sections:
• Unpack the access point
• Top panel with LEDs
• Hardware interfaces
• Access point label
• Safety instructions and warnings for an indoor access point
10