Netgear router

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1 Accessing Router Settings - NETGEAR Routers

Accessing Router Settings - NETGEAR Routers

This document contains information and examples that help with configuring and obtaining useful information from the NETGEAR router WPN824. Even though, the examples and the screenshots presented in this document apply to NETGEAR router model WPN824, they can also be applied to different NETGEAR router models. But, for absolute methods on how to configure your particular router please consult your router’s manual.

How to Access your Router

To access your router configurations the first thing you need to do is to login your router.

_{1. Open your web browser (IE, Firefox, Safari etc…).}

_{2. In the address bar type in the IP address of your router; generally the default IP address for NETGEAR routers is 192.168.1.1. Consult your manual for the appropriate default IP address.}

_{3. You will be asked to enter a username and a password to access the router’s settings.}

_{4.The default username and password are admin and password respectively unless they have been changed see figures 1.}

Figure 1. (Click to enlarge)

_{5. Once the login is complete you should see a configuration page similar to the one shown on figure 2.}

_{6. Now you can navigate and check the different configuration parts of your router.}

Figure 2. (Click to enlarge)

How to Check the Basics Wireless Settings for your Router

After you access your router’s settings as in the previous section, click on the Wireless Settings option as shown in figure 3. This will default to the sub-menu Wireless Settings, see figure 4.

Figure 3. (Click to enlarge)

Figure 4. (Click to enlarge)

The Basic Wireless Settings mode allows you to check or modify the following 4 items:

Wireless Mode
Wireless Network Name (SSID)
Wireless Channel
Broadcasting your Network Name (SSID)

Wireless Network Mode (B, G or N)

The mode determines the speed (bandwidth) of your wireless network. The different wireless modes are B, G or N and their bandwidths are 11Mbps, 54 Mbps and 600 Mbps respectively. We fully support the B and the G modes, but because the N mode is not fully standardized by the industry our devices (Squeezebox, Squeezebox Boom, Squeezebox Duet or Transporter) may have some connectivity issues with router that are running in N wireless mode, see table 1 for comparison. Also see figure 5 to determine or modify the wireless mode your router is running.

*Table 1. Primary IEEE 802.11 Specification*
	802.11 B	802.11 G	802.11 N
Maximum Data Rate	11 Mbps	54 Mbps	600 Mbps
Practical	1 Mbps	1-10 Mbps	300 Mbps
RF Band	2.4 GHz	2.4 GHz	2.4 GHz Or 5 GHz

Figure 5. (Click to enlarge)

Wireless Network Name (SSID)

Wireless SSID represents the network name that identifies your wireless network to the Squeezebox in order for the Squeezebox to connect wirelessly to your wireless network. The default SSID name for Netgear routers is Netgear, however some people change that network name (SSID) to a unique name. To setup the Squeezebox wirelessly, you will need to know the SSID of your wireless network, so you can make the correct choice if there is more than one wireless network present. See figure 6 on how to check or modify your wireless network name (SSID).

Figure 6. (Click to enlarge)

Wireless Channel

Wireless devices need to communicate with your wireless router over specific channels. For devices in the USA the common channels are set to 1, 6 and 11. Each of these channels uses a different frequency. If you are experiencing a wireless connectivity issues between the Squeezebox and your wireless router, it may help if you change the wireless channel to minimize any interference generated by other wireless devices such as cordless phone or a microwave oven. Figure 7 shows the location of where you can check or modify the channel number.

Figure 7. (Click to enlarge)

Broadcasting your Network Name (SSID)

If your wireless network name (SSID) broadcasting is disabled the Squeezebox will not be able to discover your wireless network automatically. In such cases you need to enter your SSID manually during the configuration of one of the Squeezebox. To find out if your router’s SSID being broadcasted or not do the following:

_{1. From the left panel go to the Advanced section, see figure 8.}

_{2. Then click on the Wireless Settings button, see figure 8.}

Figure 8. (Click to enlarge)

_{3. In the middle panel you should see if the Enable SSID Broadcast checkbox is marked or not! See figure 9.}

Figure 9. (Click to enlarge)

Note: if you changed any of these options, you must click on the Apply button in order for the changes to take affect.

How to Check your Wireless Security

If you are using security encryption in your wireless network, you need to know the type of security mode and the encryption key associated with that mode. You will need to enter this information during the setting of your Squeezebox. The security modes that are compatible with any of our devices are listed below in table 2 according to their strength from low to high respectively.

*Table 2*
Mode	Type
WEP	64/128 bits encryption
WPA	Personal (TKIP)
WPA2	Personal (AES)

To select or check your wireless security encryption mode, you need to the following:

_{1. Access your router configuration mode as shown in the first section of this document.}

_{2. Under the Setup section of the configuration page click on the Wireless Settings option, see figure 10.}

Figure 10. (Click to enlarge)

_{3. If your wireless security option shows disabled as in figure 11, then the wireless security is not enabled and there is nothing further to worry about as far the wireless security mode and its encryption.}

Figure 11. (Click to enlarge)

_{4.If your wireless security mode is enabled you should see something similar to figure 12. The Security Options shows what wireless security mode your router is running WEB, WPA, WPA2 etc…}

_{5. In figure 12 please note that the web key you need to setup any wireless device with, will be one of the four keys named Key1 through Key4 and it has its radio button checked.}

Figure 12. (Click to enlarge)

How to Check your Wireless MAC Filtering

Some routers have the capability to block MAC addresses. One of the indicators that may occur is a device may try to connect to the wireless router many times unsuccessfully. The router may think it is an intruding device and block the MAC address associated with that device. To check if your router is blocking your Squeezebox’s MAC address follow these steps:

_{1. Click on the Wireless Settings option in the Advanced section, see figure 13.}

Figure 13. (Click to enlarge)

_{2.Then click on the Setup Access List button, see figure 14.}

Figure 14. (Click to enlarge)

_{3. If the option Turn Access Control on is not checked as in figure 15, then your MAC filtering is not enabled and there is nothing further to worry about in this section.}

Figure 15. (Click to enlarge)

_{4.If the option Turn Access Control On is checked, then MAC filtering is enabled on your router, see figure 16. If the list of devices is empty that means no device will be able to access your router wirelessly. You need to get the MAC address of your Squeezebox and add it manually. The MAC address of your Squeezebox player is located on the manufacture sticker at the bottom of player (Squeezebox Boom and Transporter the sticker is located at the back side of the player) see figure 16.}

Figure 16. (Click to enlarge)

_{5.Here is how you can add a MAC address on a Netgear router that has its MAC filtering enabled with its wireless mode:}

_{A. Click on the Add button, see figure 17.}

Figure 17. (Click to enlarge)

_{B. Enter a descriptive name for your Squeezebox, and then enter its MAC address. Click on the Add button, see figure 18.}

Figure 18. (Click to enlarge)

_{C. Then click on Apply to add your Squeezebox’s MAC address so it can be excluded from the MAC filtering mode of your router, see figure 19.}

Figure 19. (Click to enlarge)

How Check your Router’s Firmware Version

Sometimes connectivity issues may arise because the router may not be running the latest firmware version. To check what version of firmware your Netgear router is running do the following;

_{1. From the Maintenance section click on the Router Status button, see figure 20. There you can read the current firmware version of your router.}

Figure 20. (Click to enlarge)

_{2. The best way to determine if the current firmware version of your router is the latest firmware is to go to the Netgear support website and check what they have posted as the latest firmware for your router model. If you find a firmware version with a number that is higher than yours; then click on the Router Update button, see figure 21. You can do the upgrade manually or automatically, figure 21 shows the steps needed to do automatic update.}