Setup and Administration

I'm not going to spend a lot of time on the RM240's admin features, since Netgear hasn't brought anything new to the table vs. its other wireless routers. That means that there are still no QoS or bandwidth management features and that keyword-based blocking is about all you get for parental controls. But since Airgo's third-gen wireless is the star of the show, I'll give you a couple of screen shots to show what you can and can't play with for wireless performance tweaking.

Figure 4 shows the basic wireless settings, with the Mode selector dropped down so that you can see the options available. The screenshot also shows the channel forced to 6, instead of the default auto mode that is supposed to pick a clear channel.

Figure 4: Basic Wireless settings
(click on image to enlarge)

On a positive note, it's good to see that both WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK wireless security are supported, and that you can even mix clients using both methods. But I couldn't find any sign of controls to invoke the "Touchless WiFi Security" feature mentioned on the RM240's box and promotional literature.

Figure 5 shows the "advanced" wireless settings...such as they are.

Figure 5: Advanced Wireless settings

Not much to play with here, unless you want to have fun with the Wireless Interference Settings controls. Here's what Netgear has to say about how these work:

"The wireless interference setting allows you optimize your router for speed or range, or a blend of both. If you have a lot of wireless interference due to neighboring wireless networks, cordless phones, etc, then we recommend selecting "Maximum Speed." Alternatively, selecting "Maximum Range" will give you the best wireless coverage. If you have don't know what kind of interference you have, "Great Range and Speed" is the recommended setting."

NOTE: If you download and load up the 1.0.24 version firmware that Netgear had posted at the time of this review, the Wireless Interference Settings described above will not appear. Netgear explained that they don't always post the most current firmware (shipping in retail product) for download, especially when numerous firmware revisions are released in quick succession.

Tags: MIMO, Netgear, Router reviews, WiFi, Wireless reviews,

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