NETGEAR Wireless Router - N900 Dual Band Gigabit (WNDR4500)

• Supports Windows 8
• High-performance wireless router with speeds up to 900 Mbps; ideal for video streaming and online gaming
• Simultaneous Dual Band - Doubles bandwidth and reduce WiFi interference for better connections
• NETGEAR Genie® App - Easy-to-use dashboard to monitor, control & repair home networks
• Wireless security with the highest grade protection

Let me start off with this, the WNDR4500 is probably The best router you can buy that offers this kind of speed and usability.

Cheap wireless N routers do 150mbps

Good ones do 300mbps on both 2.4 and 5ghz range

Expensive ones get 300mbps on 2.4 and 450mbps on the 5ghz range

This router does 450mbps on BOTH 2.4 and 5ghz

Only 1 other router currently has this capability, a trendnet router, but it offers none of the user friendly capabilities as this one does. Its so fast, There are a very small number of wifi adapters that will even be able to utilize all 450mbps (most of them intel), so this router should remain top of the line for a good while.

If you are a router junkie, you might know that this router is a true upgrade to the renown WNDR3700 , rather then the WNDR4000. This router packs efficient high power amps on both the 2.4 and 5ghz antennas, meaning better throughput throughout the house and better signal and coverage. Whereas I used to get 3 bars in my room, I now get a full 5.

There is also a full host of features on this router,features any high end router has, such as gigabit connections, full range of led status lights, separate guest networks on both bands, etc.

Now, the router dosnt come with a CD, but that's a plus, you just open a webpage after connecting to the router it will have a prebuilt SSID and password) and type in routerlogin.net or 192.168.1.1 and press enter. There you will be directed to the "netgear Genie" program where you will have a host of things you can change from basic parameters to higher advanced functions. cool things this has is 2 usb ports which can connect printers and harddrives to your network and DLNA functionality. The Genie menu is very simplistic, with thumbnails of menus that actively changes statuses. There you can check everything, and they have a refined version of their "connected devices" list where you will see every device that is connected to the router (great for checking on intruders)

The physical aspect of this router is just as phenomenal. It comes with the clear base attached so its always standing, and its HUGE, well not that big, but bigger then most other routers. However its glossy meaning it will attract fingerprints. Even with it vertically standing, it has a firm foothold, meaning even with many Ethernet cables pulling on its back, it wont tip.

I took it apart and inside, whereas regular routers have one maybe 2 heatsinks, this one has 6 giant black heatsinks cooling off its cpu and ram blocks. While some other reviews may say there is a fan inside, there isnt, its all passive cooled which is good, it means you wont have dust clogging up the inside of your router. Also, the antennaes are patch antannes, which are taped onto the top half of the shell, so be careful removing it if you plan on taking it apart.

Going from the usual norm of atheros chips, the wndr4500 uses a Broadcom BCM4718 processor, the flagship of the Intensi-fi XLR family of router processors. and also ups the flash ram from the usual 64mb to 128mb.

Overall, this is a very expensive router, but you do get what you pay for. It fixes some of the problems of the previous crown holder, the WNDR3700, such as 5ghz connectivity and signal problems and upgrades the speed to a combined 900mbps on 6 spatial data streams. Saying this router is great for "HD streaming" or "gaming" would be the understatement of the year, it is networking overkill for many tasks. A definite buy if you have the means to afford it.

Update----Sept.27,2011

After A week or two of testing out its capabilities heavily, i can say this is probably my new favorite router. I have not had a dropped connection yet, or random restarts whatsoever, even with 11 wifi devices connected to the router, traffic was not noticeable. So far so good! future firmware updates should make this router even better.

Recommended setting changes----

-If you dont have any wireless B devices (97% of us) you should set the preamble length to short preamble (under advanced setup-wireless settings tab), this will give a slight boost in thorough put

-while its tempting to set 2.4ghz to 450mbps, i mean, who dosnt want max speed? however 450mbpd uses channel bonding (40mhz channel width), which will cause interference with your neighbor's wifi signal and also your own if their channel happens to fall under yours. If your house has wifi congestion, i suggest using 217mbps mode, this will give you fast speed without interference on your network, and your neighbors will like you more. 450mbps on the 5ghz band however is recommended because the likely hood of any 5ghz signals is small, and to have that signal fall under your 5ghz channel only decreases the chance any problems will arise. My neighborhood for example has 17 2.4ghz signals, 3 jerks who use 40mhz channel widths, but not a single 5ghz user.

Update-5/19/12

-The router is still going strong, Since having it I have not had to reboot, even once!

-Firmware updates are not that helpful (except for the first one the boosted range of the 5ghz band), and also not frequent, maybe about one update per couple of months (and each one only fixes 1-2 specific bugs)

-Netgear needs to change their wifi policy, this router conforms to the "good neighbor" policy where it will automatically dial down wireless channel width when it detects other similar bands in the area, thus in the options, you can change the router to go "up to" 450mbps

-5ghz range while acceptable, wont go all the way to the end of the house

I am just listing most of the cons, otherwise, this is still an awesome router to get for the right price, though right now, there is a strong, possibly even better competitor, the ASUS RT-N66U Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router

^which uses mostly the same basic hardware but with upgrades to the memory and the antenna configuration, so check that out too!

Buy NETGEAR Wireless Router - N900 Dual Band Gigabit (WNDR4500) Now

This is a review of the Netgear N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router (WNDR4500)

I am an IT professional, author of many technical books, and I work from home and needed a performance upgrade from my older Linksys wireless router (Linksys WRT54G2 Wireless-G Router). So I purchased the Linksys E2500 Advanced Simultaneous Dual-Band Wireless-N Router (from amazon.com) and it was a disaster, see my 1 star review there for details. I packed it up and returned it. Amazon handled the return smoothly as always. I decided never again for Linksys.

As a replacement, I first thought about getting the NETGEAR N750 (WNDR4000) which had great reviews, but I decided that for the small difference in price I'd go for this top model.

I unpacked the Netgear N900 (WNDR4500) and had it installed in about 5 minutes on my home network (with 11 computers and many wireless devices) What I did:

1) I made the cable and power connections, and directly connected a PC to the Netgear router to obtain the configuration information.

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2) With a web browser I entered the router's web address. The Netgear N900 reported:

* a 2.4GHz Network Name (SSID) : NETGEARxx and password

* a 5GHz Network Name (SSID) :NETGEARxx-5G and password

Also did a firmware update (single click of the notice that it was available)

3) I turned on a wireless laptop (Windows 7) and opened the wireless connections dialog, it listed the NETGEARxx SSID, I logged in (with the previous info.) and was immediately on the internet.

4) AFTER having confirmed that it was working, I logged into the Netgear N900 as administrator (admin/password) and changed the admin password, the SSID names and passwords. (Then made the corresponding changes on my laptop computer in the Windows' networking configuration.)

5) I tested it, did some downloads, Norton and Windows updates and rebooted. Then I went to and watched several of my favorites videos (mostly games) in 720p and 1080p, and the video's played as well as on my direct connection (Road Runner Turbo Internet).

Played my PS3 with the wireless connection (online multiplayer) with several games with no visible lag. Connected my Kindles and they worked well.

Signal strength is excellent: shows 5 bars everywhere in the house, my previous router showed 1 bar (or failed) at some distant points in my home.

This couldn't have been a better experience, great product, fast and I'll update this review in a week to report about the reliability etc.

Great quality, good looking device, has 4 LAN ports and 2 USB ports. Includes an network (CAT5E) cable.

Highly recommended

UPDATE: Thought I'd give an update after several weeks of use. It's great, really worth the price.

We use this router for hours everyday with several laptops, tablets, Kindles, 2 PS3's; have a printer connected, I download software, ebooks, large work related files, view youtube and netflix videos and have seen no dropped connections at all. Signal strength is great. I am puzzled by all the reviews that report problems, couldn't have been happier with this router. I'd buy it again.

Read Best Reviews of NETGEAR Wireless Router - N900 Dual Band Gigabit (WNDR4500) Here

I've owned the WNDR4500 for about 80 days now, and have found it completely unreliable. I have had to remove the device from my network, and re-install my old router because the WNDR4500 N900 will not maintain a reliable connection to the Internet for more the 30 60 minutes. The router is fast when it works, but I work from home as a networking consultant, and a reliable connection is more important than speed. Additionally, using this device for any type of media streaming is completely useless. I am unable to maintain a connection to Netflix or online music service for more than 30 minutes before it is disconnected.

I have had a case open with Netgear practically since I purchased the router, my support is about to expire, and I've had no useful feedback from them. I've supplied all of the debug information requested, which was supposed to be passed to Netgear "3rd level support", and I have heard nothing back from them in weeks. I have been constantly assured that the problem would be resolved, but now my 90 day support is about to run out, with no word or hint of a resolution from Netgear. I would absolutely return this device if I was able... it is just taking up space on a shelf and has been a waste of $190.

3/16/2012 It has been going on 5 months since I purchased the Netgear N900, and there is still no resolution to this problem. The only way I can have a stable home network is to use the router I was originally trying to upgrade from.

Netgear continues to make promises that they will resolve this issue, but still nothing. They say their engineers are researching the issue, but for the most part they don't even ask questions related to the issue I've described.

I have requested a refund or an RMA, but contrary to their promises, they are unresponsive to any such request. I highly recommend not purchasing this router, but if you risk it, return it immediately if you have any issues.

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I concur with all the other reviewers, it's a great router. Went and looked at the Amazon and CNET reviews online and bought it on open box discount locally. Very easy network/user friendly install. You can use network Genie software that is provided or do it manually at 192.168.1.1. and/or routerlogin.net

Lots of options in the assorted set up screens. Guest network feature on 2.4 and 5 ghz is really nice so house guests can check email and not invade your main network hard drive.Both band are operational at all times.Getting 4 to 5 bars on the wireless all around the house which is up from 2 to 3 bars in some areas.....

The DLink is an excellent router at 300+300 but I wanted the 450+450 on the Netgear.

Latest bells and whistles seem to work nice......everything coupled to the TWC wideband internet 50gb down and 5gb up via the Motorola DOCIS 3.0 capable modem.

By the way this 900 series is only about $20 more than the 600 series. Stay away from the 750 series, I was told they are having some firmware issues which will be repaired soon. I just don't want to be the crash test dummy if I can help it..............

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I have tested and used both the WNDR4500 and the WNDR3800, looking at signal strengths, throughputs, feature sets, and everyday use. The 4500 has a more amplified signal to broadcast the signal farther, which can translate into greater throughputs for a given location. It also uses three spatial streams, the 3x3 transmit/receive technology, so you can obtain up to 450 Mbps data transfers on either 2.4 or 5 GHz band if paired with a 3 antenna 3x3 NIC adapter in the client (eg notebook computer). The 3800 is a 2x2 access point and can send/receive up to 300 Mbps on either 2.4 or 5 GHz band. Both routers use the same user friendly firmware setup and both routers have been rock solid performers without need for rebooting.

What I have found in my testing is that the more amplified signal of the 4500 does equate to better performance overall versus the 3800 with non-bonded channels in the 2.4 GHz band and bonded channels in the 5 GHz band, though both routers were inconsistent with both finding and maintaining a 5 GHz signal in my most remote test locations. The 3800 may perform better with bonded channels in the 2.4 GHz. The explanation for the performance of the 3800 is at least partially due to the heavy neighborhood wireless signal traffic around me, especially when looking at bonded channel 2.4 GHz testing occupying more channels with the 450 Mbps Mode of the 4500 will interact with more wireless signals in my neighborhood than the 300 Mbps Mode of the 3800 leading creating more issues with negotiating those frequencies. One other comment on throughputs that I found interesting, when testing the 2.4 GHz band with the router 2-4 feet from the notebook, the 3800 slightly edged out the 4500. Could this possibly be due to the more amplified signal of the 4500 creating a slight interference?

I have used but not tested throughputs with a bonded channel on the 2.4 GHz band. There is heavy traffic in my neighborhood that makes use of a bonded channel on the 2.4 GHz band quite variable in performance. Besides, the Good Neighbor policy of WiFi certified wireless routers dictate that the router switch to a non-bonded 20 MHz channel automatically in this circumstance. However, I did notice that internet speed testing did improve oftentimes with a properly selected bonded channel in the 2.4 GHz band.

My initial impression of the two routers was that the 3800 performed better at my most remote locations on the 2.4 GHz band. Numerous checks of internet speed tests with both a notebook and a Roku media streamer showed that the 3800 was more often obtaining greater Mbps transfer rates. But, when using a LAN test software such as Iperf, which measures throughputs within the LAN and not subject to internet bottlenecks, the 4500 nearly always proved to be the best performer at all locations, especially in the 5 GHz band and significantly in certain locations of the home with the 2.4 GHz band.

For those wanting to stream Bluray, it is possible for both routers to do so if located in the same room (mid to upper 50's Mbps throughputs), but the 4500 might be able to do so one or even two rooms over in my location (mid to upper 40's Mbps). Bluray quality throughputs will also be possible even further with the 4500 on the 5 GHz band (110's Mbps for same room, 70 Mbps for 1-2 rooms over).

For those wanting to maximize signal strength, the 4500 does just that, and this does equate overall to more Mbps data throughputs for that location versus the 3800, though sometimes the difference is not always significant, especially in the 2.4 GHz band. For me, obtaining throughputs of 20 Mbps with the 4500 at my most remote location versus 16 Mbps with the 3800 is significant. I do like the feature set offered with the 3800, though, and this may be a significant factor with the buyer on which to purchase. But for raw power, the 4500 looks to be tops. Deciding which router is best for you may come down to feature set and bandwidth you will be operating on. If you want to use the 450 Mbps Mode of the 4500 for either 2.4 or 5 GHz band then you will need a NIC adapter that utilizes 3 antenna for 3 spatial streams. Even so, I would think a 2 antenna NIC adapter would benefit from the increased amplified signal of the 4500. I have an Intel 5300 NIC adapter in my notebook which uses 3 antenna for 3 spacial streams (3x3), so I am able to utilize the 450 Mbps Mode of the 4500. The 3800 requires only 2 antenna for its 300 Mbps transfer speeds Mode (2x2).

I believe there is good reason to buy either router and am happy with either one for my needs. As I said before, both routers have been rock solid in use without need for reboots. The firmware's GUI, called Genie, use by both routers is the easiest I've used for setting up a router. I would recommend either router to family and friends, based on their needs for streaming data, neighborhood wireless traffic, and feature set of the router as the deciding factors.

Bottom line comparing the 3800 to the 4500: For certain medium and long range locations using the 2,4 GHz band, and especially short and medium range locations using the 5 GHz band, the 4500 is the router to get. The feature set of the 3800 is tops, but if Netgear includes them in a future firmware update for the 4500, then then 4500 would be unquestionable king, not only because of its amplified signal and 3 antenna/spatial streams, but also because it has 2 USB ports built in.