Netgear Ac1450 802 11ac Dual Band Gigabit Smart Wifi Router User Manual

							350 East Plumeria Drive
San Jose, CA 95134
USAApril 2013
202-11239-01
AC1450 Smart WiFi Router
User Manual 
						

							2 AC1450 Smart WiFi Router 
Support
Thank you for selecting NETGEAR products. 
After installing your device, locate the serial number on the label of your product and use it to register your product 
at https://my.netgear.com. You must register your product before you can use NETGEAR telephone support. NETGEAR recommends registering your product through the NETGEAR website. For product updates and web 
support, visit http://support.netgear.com.
Phone (US & Canada only): 1-888-NETGEAR.
Phone (Other Countries): Check the list of phone numbers at http://support.netgear.com/general/contact/default.aspx.
Trademarks
NETGEAR, the NETGEAR logo, and Connect with Innovation are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of 
NETGEAR, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Information is subject to change 
without notice. © NETGEAR, Inc. All rights reserved. 
						

							3
Contents
Chapter 1 Hardware Setup
Unpack Your Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Hardware Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Front and Side Panels  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Position Your Router  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter 2 Getting Started
Router Setup Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Use Standard TCP/IP Properties for DHCP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Gather ISP Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Wireless Devices and Security Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Types of Logins and Access. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
NETGEAR genie Setup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Use NETGEAR genie after Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Upgrade the Firmware  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Dashboard (Basic Home Screen) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Join Your Wireless Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Manual Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) Method  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
NETGEAR genie App and Mobile genie App . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Chapter 3 NETGEAR genie Basic Settings
Internet Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Internet Setup Screen Fields  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Parental Controls  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Basic Wireless Settings  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Wireless Settings Screen Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Change the Wireless Security Option. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Set Up a Guest Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
View Attached Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Chapter 4 NETGEAR genie Advanced Home
NETGEAR genie Advanced Home Screen  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Internet Connection Setup Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
WAN Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Default DMZ Server  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 
						

							4 AC1450 Smart WiFi Router
Change the MTU Size  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
LAN Setup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
LAN Setup Screen Settings  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Role of the Router as a DHCP Server  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Set up Address Reservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
WPS Wizard for WiFi Connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Quality of Service (QoS) Setup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
WMM QoS for Wireless Multimedia Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Set Up QoS for Internet Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Chapter 5 USB Storage
Connect a USB Storage Device to the Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Safely Remove a USB Drive  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Access the USB Storage Device  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
File-Sharing Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Share Photos  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Store Files in a Central Location for Printing  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Share Large Files over the Internet  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
View a USB Device Attached to the Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
USB Storage Device Network and Access Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Available Network Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Specify Approved USB Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Chapter 6 ReadySHARE Printer
ReadySHARE Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
USB Control Center Utility  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Control Center Configuration  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
USB Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Scan with a Multifunction Printer  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Chapter 7 Security
Keyword Blocking of HTTP Traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Block Services (Port Filtering)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Port Triggering to Open Incoming Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Port Forwarding to Permit External Host Communications  . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
How Port Forwarding Differs from Port Triggering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Set Up Port Forwarding to Local Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Add a Custom Service  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Edit or Delete a Port Forwarding Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Set Up Port Triggering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Schedule Blocking  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Security Event Email Notifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Chapter 8 Administration
Upgrade the Router Firmware  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 
						

							5 AC1450 Smart WiFi Router
View Router Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Router Information  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Internet Port  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Wireless Settings (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
View Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Manage the Configuration File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Back Up Settings  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Restore Configuration Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Erase the Current Configuration Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Change the Password  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Password Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Chapter 9 Advanced Settings
Advanced Wireless Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Control the Wireless Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Set Up a Wireless Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
View or Change WPS Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Set Up a Wireless Access List by MAC Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Wireless Access Point (AP)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Set Up the Router in Bridge Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Wireless Distribution System (WDS)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Set Up the Base Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Set Up a Repeater  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Dynamic DNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Static Routes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Remote Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Universal Plug and Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
IPv6  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Requirements for Entering IPv6 Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Auto Detect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
IPv6 Auto Config . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
IPv6 6to4 Tunnel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
IPv6 Pass Through . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
IPv6 Fixed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
IPv6 DHCP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
IPv6 PPPoE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Traffic Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Chapter 10 Troubleshooting
Quick Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Sequence to Restart Your Network  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Check Ethernet Cable Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Wireless Settings  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Network Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Troubleshoot with the LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Power LED Is Off or Blinking  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Power LED Stays Amber  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 
						

							6 AC1450 Smart WiFi Router
LEDs Never Turn Off  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Internet or Ethernet Port LEDs Are Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Wireless LEDs Are Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
The Push N Connect (WPS) Button Blinks Amber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Cannot Log In to the Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Cannot Access the Internet  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Troubleshoot PPPoE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Troubleshoot Internet Browsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Changes Not Saved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Wireless Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Wireless Signal Strength  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Troubleshoot Your Network Using the Ping Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Test the LAN Path to Your Router  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Test the Path from Your Computer to a Remote Device  . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Appendix A Supplemental Information
Factory Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Appendix B Notification of Compliance 
						

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1
1.   Hardware Setup
Getting to know your router
The AC1450 Smart WiFi Router with AC dual band delivers gigabit WiFi and Gigabit Ethernet 
speeds. It offers the best wireless coverage for large homes and is ideal for homes with ten or 
more wireless devices.
Compatible with next generation WiFi devices and backward compatible with 802.11 a/b/g/n 
devices, it enables HD streaming throughout your home. With up to 9751 Mbps speed and 
simultaneous dual-band WiFi technology, the AC1450 avoids wireless interference, ensuring top 
WiFi speeds and reliable connections. This technology also provides the best connectivity for 
dual-band wireless devices like iPad and iPhone5. The dual-core 800 MHz processor delivers 
high-performance connectivity, while the USB 3.0 port provides up to 10 times faster USB hard 
drive access. 
If you already set up your router, you can skip this chapter. If you have not done that yet, this 
chapter covers the hardware setup. 
Chapter 2, Getting Started, explains how to access your 
router to view or change its settings.
This chapter contains the following sections:
•Unpack Your Router 
•Hardware Features 
•Position Your Router 
For more information about the topics covered in this manual, visit the support website at 
http://support.netgear.com.
1. Up to 975 Mbps wireless speeds achieved when connecting to other 802.11ac 975 Mbps or higher devices. 
						

							Hardware Setup8
AC1450 Smart WiFi Router 
Unpack Your Router
Open the box and remove the router, cables, and installation guide.
Ethernet cable with internal shielding
AC1450 Smart WiFi Router  Power adapter
Figure 1. Check the package contents
Your box contains the following items:
• AC1450 Smart WiFi Router
• AC power adapter (plug varies by region)
• Category 5 (Cat 5) Ethernet cable
• Installation guide with cabling and router setup instructions
If any parts are incorrect, missing, or damaged, contact your NETGEAR de\
aler. Keep the 
carton and original packing materials, in case you return the product fo\
r repair
 . 
Hardware Features
Before you cable your router, take a moment to become familiar with the \
front, side, and back 
panels and the label. Pay particular attention to the LEDs on the front \
panel. 
						

							Hardware Setup9
 AC1450 Smart WiFi Router
Front and Side Panels
The router front panel has the status LEDs and icons shown in the follow\
ing figure.
LEDs
WiFi On/Off button
WPS button
Figure 2. Router front and side view
Table 1.  Front panel LED descriptions   
LEDDescription
Power
• Solid amber . The router is starting up.
• Blinking amber . 
 The firmware is upgrading, or the Restore Factory Settings button was 
pressed.
• Solid green . The 
 router is ready.
• Blinking green . The 
 firmware is corrupted. Visit  www.netgear.com/support.
• Off. Power is not supplied to the router
 .
Internet
• Solid green . The Internet connection is ready.
• Solid amber . 
 The Ethernet cable connection to the modem has been detected.
• Off. No Ethernet cable is connected to the modem.
Wireless
• Solid blue. The wireless radio is operating in either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz mode.
• Blinking . The 
 router is in WPS mode. 
• Off. 
The wireless radios are off for both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.
USB
• Solid blue. The router has accepted the USB device. The USB device is ready to be used. 
• Blinking blue. 
 A USB device is plugged in and is trying to connect. 
• Off. No USB device is connected; someone clicked the Safely Remove Hardware\
 button, and 
it is now safe to remove the attached USB device.  
						

							Hardware Setup10
AC1450 Smart WiFi Router 
The WiFi and WPS buttons toggle the WiFi and WPS functions on and off. 
• W
iFi On/Off button . Pressing and holding this button for 2 seconds turns on and off the 
2.4 GHz and 5 GHz wireless radios. If the Wireless LED is lit, the wirel\
ess radios are on. 
If this LED is off, the wireless radios are turned off and you cannot connect wirelessly to 
the router.
• WPS button. 
 You can use this button to use WPS to add a wireless device or computer 
to your wireless network. The Wireless LED blinks blue when the router is trying to add 
the wireless device or computer. The LED stays solid blue when wireless security is 
enabled in the router.
Rear Panel
The rear panel has the connections and buttons shown in the following fi\
gure.
USB 3.0 Ethernet Internet Power On/OffPower connector
port
LAN ports 1–4 Reset
button
port
Figure 3. Router rear panel
The Reset button restores the factory settings. See Factory Settings on page  123.