Product ReviewsNetgear WNR3500L 300 Mbps 1-Port Gigabit Wireless N Router (WNR3500L-100NAS)

Really nIce router.. Very affordable, strong cpu and flash friendly.

We finally got higher speed internet in our area. My old Linksys wrt54g that was flashed with Tomato around a decade or more ago was showing its age. It couldn't handle our new 100mbps internet connection(would top out at around 20mbps). Purchased this Netgear WNR3500L because it is flash friendly with several of the custom firmwares(dd-wrt, tomato, etc), and it has a strong cpu with plenty of memory to handle the higher internet speeds.

For around 20 dollars and about 20 minutes of your time(flashing to a custom firmware), you can have yourself router that will likely have more features and better performance than some of the very expensive higher end model routers.Read full review...

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Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: compdoctorvallc

Junk

Keeps crashing and bottle necks the bandwidth for no reason. Blocks SIP applications after opening and forwarding proper ports. Updated firmware to no avail. Defaulted settings and troubleshot over and over.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: communicoretech

Good and reliable router as long as you don't need parental controls

I bought this router to replace a Linksys E1200. The Linksys had become unreliable when I had upgraded to firmware 2.004, and there is no way to go back to older firmware. Suddenly the Linksys router was unable to get an IP address from the provider through my bridged DSL modem, it only worked taking the DSL modem out of bridge mode. Also there was unexplained loss of Internet connection events with the Linksys when there is high traffic. However, the parental control feature in the Linksys is excellent. So I was looking to replace the unreliable Linksys E1200 for a cost effective and reliable router that also has parental controls. The Netgear WNR3500L-100NAS gets good reviews from users and is advertised as having excellent parental controls. So I decided to purchase it to replace the Linksys.
When the Netgear router arrived, it was easy to set up and it worked like a charm. Bridge mode for my DSL modem worked again, and no more unexplained Internet drops, not even at high traffic. It also works better with VoIP than the Linksys.
Also the wireless part works very well, actually a more robust signal than the Linksys it replaces.
However, the parental controls on the Netgear are a joke, this is where the Netgear engineers went out for lunch. They could learn a thing or two from the Linksys guys here. The Netgear does not allow individual users to be disconnected from the internet at certain times, only the whole net can be disconnected at programmable times. This is useless of course. Also the forced IP address in DHCP mode does not work.
So this forced me to buy a parental control program that I now run at my daughter's desk top PC, and to use the Linksys as a peripheral AP that serves only my daughters wireless device. The parental control program was $25, so suddenly the Netgear is not such a good deal any more.
To sum it all up: If you do not need parental controls, the Netgear is an excellent buy. If you do need good parental controls, stick to Linksys and do NOT do any firmware upgrades!Read full review...

A great value for the money, with few complaints

The setup of this unit was easy. Plugged it in and within 2 minutes was online. I experienced no problems for about two weeks, then I came home after a thunderstorm and it was locked up. Since this unit was on a good surge strip but not on a UPS, I was afraid it was fried, but after resetting the router, it came back on as before. Surge protection from power spikes is very good.
I began experiencing strange wireless connection problems recently. Some of the wireless devices were not connecting without using the netgear genie to connect to the internet. DCHP was not resolving fast enough, so I reset to default settings to see if this would correct the problem. Indeed, the problem went away for about 2 days then began to reappear. I then downloaded the factory firmware (latest that was already installed) and reloaded the os. I have to say after two weeks the problem hasn't reappeared, but I did replace my wireless adapter thinking it was the cause of repeated disconnects from the internet.
All in all, this is a study, dependable wireless modem with many features. And by the way it is DDWT and Tomato capable, for those who like to tweak their equipment. A reccommended buy.Read full review...

When the "closed" or low-end just don't fit the bill--this will!

Provides the features I wanted (NAT, MAC filtering, port redirection, etc.) Also got it for a good price on eBay auctions. Replaced a 10 year old Linksys with this and I'm happy with it so far. The Linksys was so old that no more updates were being released and there were a few features I needed and couldn't get. Also using this in tandem with an Apple Airport Extreme. The APE is good for my Mac and IOS devices and serving as a TimeMachine server. But I needed something that enabled features and configuration options that the APE just doesn't do. I have a couple of NAS boxes that I use for remote access and the WNR3500L handles this traffic beautifully.Read full review...

no problems with any of the 3 I own, best routers i've owned.

This router is ideal for most users in any environment, and often can be purchased for less than most routers cost that have less features.

the gigabit ports make network, and internet 100 times faster (providing you have a modem that supports gigabit, or your internet will be the usual 10/100.. gigabit modems like Zoom modems aren't that expensive, and support docsis 3 for higher speeds).

the performance is outstanding under stock firmware, but this is an open source router which allows you to use 3rd party firmwares which add tons of more features (hotspot wifi, printer sharing, etc..) but expect a sugnificant performance loss when using 3rd party firmwares with these features as they do share the throughput.. hence slowing down your internet browsing by that much.

The wireless supports wireless b, g, and N upto 300 (i'm running at 300 right now from my laptop), and the range can be expanded (as well as frequency) by isntalling an antenna kit (no soldering needed).. where you simply connect the antennas to the clips inside and make holes on the top of the case to screw mount the antennas.

There are two versions of this router, version 1 works perfectly, version two has more ram and flash memory, but not as many choices in 3rd party firmwares. The firmwares that are available for version 2 can run more features without slowing down the routers performance. Both verision 1 and version two have connectors inside for antenna kits. I have a couple of these routers, only one haas an antenna kit the others have great range without it (around 200 feet, most other routers with antennas already on them range about 100-150 feet)

The router also shows up under my network in windows, like it's another computer, allowing even easier acess to whats connected to the usb port. most 3rd party firmwares have ftp on them allowing you to ftp into the router to edit files such as the hotspot welcome page, or even set up the router as a webserver, with the initial website files on the router itself. This router can support linux and unix, as well as php and asp.. if you isntall the right firmware and mods to do so (most all available for free, as they are open source and constantly being updated).

This router can also be used as a client (connecting multiple routers together, and using multiple networks), as a repeater (range extender for other routers), print server, just to name a few of it's featured uses.

The best feature is, even if you 'brick' the modem, you can get it up and running again easily with a screwdriver and the command prompt in windows with the original firmware file from netgear's website.Read full review...

Absolute Junk

My buddy has a Linksys WRT54G that's served a lot of years in a very high use environment, where there's always at least one person in an online multiplayer game at any given time.
After a while in that, the thing is breaking down. Understandably so.

I thought it was time to get him a new router. I knew Netgear had been garbage in the past, but this one was rated rather highly, so I took a chance on it!

And yep, Netgear is still garbage.

I'm not sure how this got anything above a 2 star rating. It's slower than the old WRT54G, drops connections constantly, who knows if the wireless even works half the time! I didn't even try the USB storage functions.
This thing was plugged in for 15 minutes before the dying WRT54G was put back into place. Even on its last legs, the WRT54G outperformed this thing.

Complete and utter waste of time and money.

Pretty much the only pros to this thing are that it looks nice and has a lot of nice features... now, if only those features ACTUALLY WORKED. They do not.

Go buy a Buffalo N600. There's a quality router. Can't afford that? Get a Linksys WRT54G-TM, and make sure its the -TM variant, load DD-WRT on that.
The -TM variant of the WRT54G is a lot faster and has a lot more RAM and FLASH than the normal WRT54G, and is an all around better router. I used that at my home for years, it worked perfectly, and upgraded to the Buffalo N600.

If you're going to get a router, do not buy this. It may be cheaper, but after you send it back a few times, you'll have spent just as much as you would have if you bough a better router to begin with.
Don't bother with this.Read full review...

Fast, secure router! Great value for the price.

The NetGear WNR3500L router is EASY to set up. We use PCs and laptops throughout the house and we wanted wireless for the laptops, and iPhones. This router fits the bill as it is amazingly fast! I can upload and download files faster than before, wired and wirelessly. This was a replacement for an older Linksys wired router. So if you have an older router the WNR3500L may be a perfect replacement for you. Surprisingly it is smaller than it looks in the ads. It is stylish and modern.

A great feature of the WNR3500L is the ability to configure and manage it online. Once you login you can see which devices are connected to it, which is great for detecting unauthorized users. There is also information about each setting so you can make the choice that is right for you. NOTE: If you're buying this item used I WOULD URGE YOU TO RESET IT TO THE FACTORY DEFAULT SETTINGS if you can't login with the default username and password. Do this so the previous owner can't access your router and change the settings online. If it still has the default username and password, change it once you login. Once you login you can configure the router to your liking.

So far it runs reliably non-stop without the need to reboot it. Overall this router provides great value for the price.Read full review...

This router has good speed + easy set up, for the price you cant go wrong.

I have had this unit up and running for a few weeks now, and there isn't a sign of a problem yet. I don't know much about the special features, since I don't use them, but for a wireless connection and a gigabit switch I can't complain one bit. Another good feature about this was that it was quite easy to set up, just follow the instructions and it is very simple. I would get another if I needed one, too early to tell for reliability so I had to leave 4 stars on that just because I can't judge at this point.Read full review...

Great router with a great price

I bought this router, WNR3500Lv1, for its open source feature and immediately installed DD-WRT mini and then installed Tomato. Had it up and running with Tomato within 15 minutes of unboxing it. Yes, Netgear sucks when it comes to their firmware that's why most people put DD-WRT or Tomato on thier routers so they can get full use of it's power. This router has been performing flawlessly ever since.

Update: March 15, 2015. The router reviewed above is being used as an access point for the rear of our house. I have a WNR3500Lv2 set up with Tomato as the main router in the front of the house. Neither one has let me down yet and continue to give us fast speeds and great wireless N connections. Screw Netgear and thier joke support. Go with DD-WRT or Tomato and get full use of these routers.Read full review...