Netgear WNDR3700 RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router (Premium Edition)

Pros: Signal strength good on 2.4Ghz. Looks good.

Cons: Setup problem.

Summary: I previously owned a Netgear WRN854T and it failed after 5 months. The warranty replacement lasted 2 years but its power supply failed 3 months ago. I vowed never to buy Netgear again. The Cnet review of the WNDR3700 was so good that I overcame my distaste and bought a WNDR3700 for AUD179.

The setup CD carefully guided the setup procedure and anyone could follow it.
One of the settings pages had three boxes to complete; Internet Login Name, Password & Authorisation Server.
I knew my ISP (Bigpond) didn?t require a login but I couldn?t go to the next page until I filled in at least the login name and password. I?d never heard of an Authorisation Server so I had no clue to what to put there anyway.
When I got to the end, I clicked Finish but there was no internet connection even though it was there when I began. I plugged my computer directly into the modem and looked up Authorisation Server and got a lot of advice, all of which was irrelevant in the end.
I thought the latest firmware might fix the ISP problem so I downloaded and installed that and tried a reinstall with the new firmware. Same result with the internet connection.
Then I went through the settings in www.routerlogin.net and the first question in Basic Settings was Does Your Internet Connection Require Login? Yes had the highlighted dot. I changed it to No then everything was OK.
No major problem but irritating never-the-less. My fingers are crossed hoping it lasts longer than the WNR854T. The data speed and signal strength at 2.4Ghz is good.

The next problem was getting the PCMCIA wireless adapter in my old Sony laptop to connect with the new router. I had no problem connecting with a network cable but wireless was another matter. An Apple laptop connected straight away but I spent hours trying to get the Sony going. Then I realised that the wireless transmission in the WNDR3700 had turned itself off leaving the wired connections working. When I turned it back on I had a wireless connection with the Sony. I have no idea what change I made to the Sony settings solved the problem.

Updated on Apr 3, 2010

I have had this router for 4 months now and have not had a dropout nor any other problems. The 5 Ghz connection wasn't an option on my old laptop . I just bought a notebook and it does not seem to give me the option of 5 Ghz either. I get a speed of 58 Mbps 20 metres away through 2 brick walls on the 2.4 Ghz/130Mbps setting and that is more than adequate for me. I'm inclinded to give it an extra star.