Netgear N300 WNR3500L v2 2.4 GHz router review, is it worth it?

The Netgear N300 WNR3500L v2 (WNR3500Lv2) router released in 2011. It is powered by Broadcom BCM47186B0 @ 480 MHz chipset, 128 MB of RAM and 128 MB of flash. The N300 router is compatible with IEEE 802.11b/g/n standards, and the maximum speed that you can get with N300 WNR3500L v2 is 300 Mbps. The router has 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN and 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN ports.

This router is a basic, 2.4 GHz wireless router that provides reliable connectivity for small networks. The USB connectors on the N300 WNR3500L v2 router add versatility to your network by enabling file sharing, media streaming, printer sharing, and other USB-enabled functionality. Netgear is a reputable manufacturer in the networking industry known for providing a wide range of networking devices.

Table of contents:

• Netgear N300 WNR3500L v2 specifications
• Netgear N300 WNR3500L v2 pictures

Netgear N300 WNR3500L v2 (WNR3500Lv2) specifications

Body

If you have limited space available for your router, such as in a small apartment or office, the dimensions can determine whether it can fit in the designated area or not. It's important to consider the physical size of the router, including its height, width, and depth, to ensure it can be accommodated in your space. If you purchase a router online or have it shipped, the weight may affect the overall cost. Heavier routers can result in higher shipping charges, especially for international deliveries.

System

The Broadcom BCM47186B0 @ 480 MHz CPU, combined with other factors such as RAM capacity and firmware optimization, determines the overall performance and responsiveness of the router. The N300 WNR3500L v2 has 128 MB of RAM. Some advanced router features and software functionalities require a certain amount of RAM to operate properly. For example, routers with more RAM can support advanced security features, VPN services, or QoS (Quality of Service) prioritization more effectively.

The N300 WNR3500L v2 has 128 MB of flash memory. A larger flash memory allows for more storage space to accommodate future firmware upgrades. The process of upgrading the firmware on routers has become relatively simple and user-friendly over the years. The Netgear provides easy-to-use interfaces and instructions to guide users through the firmware upgrade process. Depending on your router model and hardware specifications, using an alternative OS may result in improved stability and performance.

This router is OpenWRT compatible. OpenWrt provides extensive customization options, allowing users to modify and tailor their router's functionality to suit their specific needs. The Netgear provides the appropriate power supply (12 V / 1.5 A) that matches the voltage requirements of the router. The power supply unit is designed to deliver the correct voltage to the router, ensuring its proper operation.

Network

The N300 WNR3500L v2 router offers built-in security features to protect your network and connected devices. The majority of networking equipment, including routers, switches, and other network devices, is designed to support IPv4. The N300 WNR3500L v2 has 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN and 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN ports. The LAN ports of N300 WNR3500L v2 router are numbered and are used to establish wired connections between the router and devices such as computers, gaming consoles, smart TVs, network-attached storage (NAS) devices, and other network-enabled devices.

This router has Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports. If you have a high-speed internet plan that offers speeds of 1 Gbps or higher, gigabit Ethernet ports are essential to fully utilize the available bandwidth. WAN ports often require specific configuration settings based on the type of internet connection provided by your ISP. The N300 WNR3500L v2 router supports Gigabit speed on its WAN port, that can support speeds up to 1000 Mbps. This router ensures that you can fully utilize high-speed internet connections provided by your ISP.

Wireless

This router has 2 x 3 dBi, internal antennas. Many modern routers feature multiple antennas and use Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology. This technology enables simultaneous transmission and reception of multiple data streams, increasing overall throughput and improving the Wi-Fi performance. The N300 WNR3500L v2 is compatible with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks. 2.4 GHz is the most widely used frequency and in some cases may be overcrowded.

The N300 WNR3500L v2 is a Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) router. N routers may have a more limited range compared to newer Wi-Fi standards, making them less suitable for larger homes or offices where Wi-Fi coverage is a concern. The N300 refers to the maximum combined data transfer rate supported by the router across all Wi-Fi bands. The N300 WNR3500L v2 is capable of a maximum throughput speed of 300 Mbps. The real-world speed of a N300 WNR3500L v2 router is typically lower than its theoretical maximum speed.

The maximum TX power of N300 WNR3500L v2 router is 24 dBm. Adjusting the TX power of a router can be useful in situations where you want to optimize the Wi-Fi signal strength and coverage. The N300 WNR3500L v2 router offers several security protocols: WEP, WPA, WPA2. The WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) was the first security protocol for Wi-Fi networks but is now considered weak and easily compromised. It uses a static encryption key and has known vulnerabilities, so it is no longer recommended for securing Wi-Fi networks. The WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) was introduced as an improvement over WEP and provides stronger security. If WPA3 is not available, WPA2-Personal with AES encryption is still considered secure.

Connectivity

USB ports can offer additional functionality depending on the router's capabilities. The USB 2 port has a maximum theoretical data transfer rate of 480 megabits per second (Mbps), which is equivalent to 60 megabytes per second (MB/s). The N300 WNR3500L v2 router has print server functionality. With a USB print server, you can manage printer settings, monitor print queues, and control access to the printer from a centralized interface. This can simplify printer management and administration tasks. The N300 WNR3500L v2 router allows you to schedule automated backups of your important data to the connected USB storage device.

Administration

The Netgear router setup panel is accessed through a web browser. Connect your computer to the N300 WNR3500L v2 router via Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable. In the address bar of the web browser, type in the 192.168.1.1 IP address. If you are unable to log in to the setup panel of your Netgear router, performing a reset can be a helpful troubleshooting step. It is highly recommended to change the default password of your N300 WNR3500L v2 router after the initial setup. If you forget the new password in the future, you may need to perform a factory reset on the router to revert to the default settings.

The specifications above are based on the official data published by the manufacturer, but we also take user reviews into consideration. If you found an error or something lacking in the specifications above for the Netgear N300 WNR3500L v2, then don’t hesite and signal the problem to us.

Netgear N300 WNR3500L v2 (WNR3500Lv2) pictures

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