The Netgear N750 wireless dual band router, model WNDR4300, checks out to be reliable, almost reboot free, rarely drops connections, comes with secured WiFi by default, and brings buffering-free video and audio streaming throughout average sized homes.
Its Genie web site supplies browser access to the huge set of settings options. Plus, its state-of-the-art wireless security is ON right out of the box. So you need not worry over creating an unsecure network with it. Hackers will find it hard to crack the WPA2 AES security.
Released in 2014, the Netgear N750 WNDR4300 used the highly efficient components of the day. Thus, it runs with low to moderate warmth. Both the external power supply and the router run lukewarm. The wireless signal here is quite strong, in spite of the internal antennas.
Netgear N750 WNDR4300 Review
We bought this wireless router on eBay for use as a spare wireless router. While it’s less beefy than our Asus AC2400, it works with plenty of reserve bandwidth to provide decent speed. We get enough for very good streaming on multiple devices at the same time.
Advantages, Benefits, Pros, and Features
Physical Features
WiFi ON / OFF Button
If you wish to disable the WiFi for a time, you press this front-panel button to do so. Then, you can turn it back on without having to wait the entire boot-up time. Turning WiFi OFF converts the Netgear N750 WNDR4300 into a 4-port gigabit switch. Even when WiFi is OFF, Ethernet devices still work.
WPS Button
To enter Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) mode, press this front panel button. Easily located for easy wireless device authorizations.
Many Front Panel Status LEDs on the Netgear N750 WNDR4300
These include…
- Power.
- Internet.
- 2.4 Ghz.
- 5 Ghz.
- LAN ports 1 through 4 activity.
- USB, WiFi OFF,
- WPS.
These LEDs change colors and blink, showing the statuses that this router can assume during startup and normal running. See the Netgear N750 WNDR4300 Users Manual for complete talks about of these displays.
Few Front Panel Buttons
These include just two.
- The Wifi ON / OFF button.
- WPS button discussed above.
All Connections Made on the Back Panel
Rear panel ports, pictured below, include the following.
- USB.
- LAN ports 1 through 4 (black).
- WAN port (yellow).
- Power input port.
Power Button on Rear
The power ON OFF button on the back of the Netgear N750 WNDR4300, helps ensure against shutting down your network by mistake.
Hefty Switching Power Adapter
The included 12-volt 2.5 amp 30 watt power supply does not sag, even during high-rate, long length data bursts.
No Fans in the Netgear N750 WNDR4300
There’s no cooling fan inside to draw in dust. The heat-generating parts inside seem to be vented well without a blower.
Security Features
For a complete list of security functions, please see the User’s Guide, linked to on the product support page given below.
Secure WiFi Right Out of the Box
The Netgear N750 WNDR4300 comes pre set with password protected and encrypted WiFi networks for both 2.4 and 5 Ghz. bands. One network per band. Each network has its own SSID and password. They do not share them cross band. WPA and WPA2 security schemes supported. The default wireless password is unique to your router, and is quite hard to break for hackers. So many users may wish to not change the pass phrase. Wy? Because that way, the password printed on the bottom of the router stays accurate.
Emails you Security Events
The Netgear N750 WNDR4300 router can email an email address you set, with messages and alerts. These tell of security events it sees.
Basic Firewall Function
The built-in firewall supports the following.
- Port filtering.
- Service blocking.
- Blocking by schedule.
- Keyword in HTTP blocking.
The Netgear N750 WNDR4300 Resists Common Attacks
DoS (Denial of Service) attacks are automatically stopped.
DMZ Support
You may opt to bypass its firewall, and allow direct internet access to a specific DMZ (demilitarized zone) server computer on your network.
USB Security
You can set which USB devices can share their content on the Netgear N750 WNDR4300. This feature is disabled by default, so that all appropriate storage devices will share.
MAC Address Fencing
This unit can fence out devices trying to access it, via their MAC addresses. This is disabled by default.
Wireless Features
Access Point Mode
Can be set up as a wireless router (the default setting), or a wireless access point. The router function on the Netgear N750 WNDR4300 provides network address translation (NAT) between your local network and the wide area network (WAN) as well as a WAP, DHCP, and firewall, working altogether as one device. Access point mode turns off the NAT, DHCP, and the firewall, and acts as a good quality WAP when you already have these services running elsewhere on your network.
Repeater (WDS) Mode
You can make this WiFi router into a wireless repeater too. Then, it can act as a range extender in a WDS (wireless distribution system).
Dual Bands
2.4 and 5 Ghz. 802.11 AC provided, and this router can broadcast on both at the same time (each network has its own SSID). Users can connect to both networks at the same time as well.
The Netgear N750 WNDR4300 Supports Many Wireless Standards
These include IEEE 802.11 b/g/n on 2.4 Ghz. IEEE 802.11 a/n on 5 Ghz.
Medium Signal Range
Both the 2.4 and 5 Ghz. networks have enough range / reach to function well throughout small to medium homes.
WPS Support
Also known as Push ‘N’ Connect, allows quick access for WPS-enabled devices to your Wi-Fi network, without need of host network SSID details or enter network passwords.
Guest Networks
Features two guest networks that allows people to access other devices on your network as well as the internet. Access to local network devices can be switched on or off. Configurable guest SSIDs are provided for the 2.4 and 5 Ghz. bands (one for each). These are disabled by default.
Performance Features
Good Streaming
Our streaming audio and video devices work markedly better, including DVRs, tablets, smart TVs, and iPhones.
IPv6 Support
The Netgear N750 WNDR4300 router can work in IPv6 network settings. You’ll be ready when the internet moves to IPv6; even though this has been, and will likely be, a very slow move.
Decently Fast Data Rates
Up to 600 Mbps throughput on 5 Ghz., and 600 Mbps on 2.4 Ghz. Speedier than many of the tri-band 3X3 access points.
WMM QoS Support
Quality of Service packet prioritization can be turned on for local devices, applications, and / or Ethernet port numbers that you choose. Also, internet QoS is provided. This allows specific applications and Ethernet port numbers to receive user set priority.
DLNA Support
Allows searching and playing your media (music and movie files) on DLNA enabled smart TVs and game consoles.
Genie Web Interface
Features Netgear’s Genie setup and admin pages make a breeze setting up the basic wired and wireless networks as well as setting the built in network sharing of any attached USB storage devices (ReadyShare). With Genie, you can do the folllowing.
- Check router status.
- Access the router’s admin pages from either a wired or wireless device.
- Upgrade the firmware.
- Change wireless network names and passwords.
- Configure over a hundred network specific parameters.
- A mobile Genie app is also available.
But for basic network setup, no need to access Genie at all.
Automatic Firmware Upgrade Detection
The Netgear N750 WNDR4300 tells you when you log into its Genie interface, if a later revision of the router’s firmware is ready for download. You can then tell the router to go ahead and download and install it. No need to first download the firmware file to a PC, and then upload that file to the router. But an Upgrade option is still available if you want to install a different firmware version than the latest one.
Parental Controls
Supports blocking of specific web sites, to keep children from viewing adult content. You can also apply categorical filtering. The filtering levels include…
- High.
- Moderate.
- Low.
- Minimal.
- None.
You may set scheduled filtering as well as keyword match filtering.
USB Port
Contains one USB A port on the back panel. This is for attaching a USB hard drive or thumb drive. You can then share to other devices on the same network. Or, you can access it via FTP or HTTP, on the internet.
Internet File Sharing
With a USB storage device attached, the Netgear N750 WNDR4300 can act as an FTP server. This allows internet users to access files on that device. Windows file sharing is also supported on the local network.
ReadyDLNA Media Server Support
This router can act as a media server, and supports media streaming from an attached USB storage device to network attached devices that conform to the DLNA/UPnP AV specs.
USB Printer Support
Makes any attached printer accessible to other Mac and Windows computers on your network. But this access needs a utility program installed and running on each computer from which you’d like to print to the USB printer plugged into the router’s USB port.
Broad Device Compatibility
Works with Windows, Android (Nexus, Samsung, Amazon Kindle), and iOS (iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch) mobile devices.
Easy Setup
For basic wireless setup, you can simply unpack the Netgear N750 WNDR4300, attach your WAN, LAN, and power cables, and turn the router on. For WANs requiring no user Id and passwords, the router connects right away.
All Gigabit Ports
The five back panel Ethernet ports, including the WAN port, are all capable of gigabit data speeds, making this router capable of handling high-bandwidth Internet services throughout both its wired and wireless networks. The ports also auto-detect the speed of connected to them and can slow down to either 100 Mbps or 10 Mbps as required, without throttling back the rest of the system.
Save / Restore System Settings
You can save the current router configuration parameters to a file on your computer, and restore it if you subsequently make changes to the router that “break” it.
System Logs
The unit keeps a log of routine and error conditions encountered in its memory, that you can access via its web interface. Or, it can email you the log info periodically. Maintains both a general log as well as a wireless system log.
uPnP Support
Allows universal plug and play devices on the network to discover and communicate with each other.
90-Day Limited Warranty
Disadvantages, Cons, Limitations, Problems and Concerns
No External Antennas
This limits WiFi antenna selection options for the user, and may also reduce the best possible coverage and speed somewhat.
Needs the Detachable Stand for Best Performance
The router radiates and receives best from its sides. So for table-top operation, where connecting devices will operate at roughly the same distance above the floor as the router, use the included stand to vertically orient the Netgear N750 WNDR4300. The stand may not be required however, when the router is located high above the wireless devices it serves. In this case, lay the router flat, on its bottom side, and do not attach the stand.
No Multi-User MIMO
The documentation makes no mention of this important feature, in which multiple antennas, transceivers, and ultra-fast internal processors enable this router to support numerous simultaneous users, without stutters, drop-outs, clicks, and freezes.
USB Support Limited to Non Driver Devices
You will not be able to access USB storage devices via this router that require additional or special device drivers be installed. This Netgear N750 WNDR4300 only supports basic / standard USB functionality.
Single WAN Support Only
So, no load balancing between different WAN networks on this model.
Non Adaptive QoS
The WMM QoS in this router prioritizes network traffic among connected devices and the Internet according to static rules only. It does not change priorities based on prevalence of specific types of network traffic it sees. Some more advanced and higher priced routers however, like the Asus RT-AC87R, do provide this function.
No System Recovery Option
Should you interrupt a firmware upgrade in the Netgear N750 WNDR4300, or some other cause of firmware corruption occurs, we find no means to restore the router to its previous, working firmware version. Note though that firmware parameters can be restored if you saved a backup of them prior.
Long Boot Up Time
Takes just over two minutes from initial power on, until the unit is fully up-and-running and able to accept WiFi traffic. We expected a much shorter boot time, given the two dual-core processors.
No Scheduled Rebooting Option
Some of the high-end routers allow you to set a time of the day and day of the week, when they would automatically reboot themselves. This clears any slow-growing memory and handle leaks that might be present in the firmware, and generally improves reliability during the up times. We found no such option in this router though.
May Need Rebooting if Attached WAN Equipment is Restarted
To consistently restore full performance to our network, we’ve found that if we reboot our cable modem, then it’s best to also reboot the Netgear N750 WNDR4300. Sometimes the WiFi connection after a modem restart is slow and erratic until this equipment is also cold started. This situation however, will likely improve with subsequent firmware updates to this router.
No Mention of Hardware Based Network Address Translation
This could mean slower internet performance in high data traffic applications like video surveillance, or movie streaming services.
No Wireless AC Support
Not that this router does not provide 802.11ac WiFi speeds. The fastest wireless protocols available on this model are 802.11an.
Our Rating for the Netgear N750 WNDR4300 WiFi Router
This wireless N router is a well priced and good-performing unit among the many we’ve owned. Quite pleased with the purchase. We love the low cost yet high speed and reliability, as well as the extensive Genie web-based admin pages. This gives you highly detailed control over hundreds of router settings. The IT network guru will truly like this router’s advanced settings. Yet the novice will marvel at how little she must learn to get this router up and running. Netgear did a good job planning this router, playing to beginners and experts alike. So we rate it at 91 out of 100.
Firmware Versions Tested
-
- 1.0.1.60
- 1.0.2.80
Other Posts About Routers
Related Posts to Netgear N750 WNDR4300 Review
References for this Netgear N750 WNDR4300
Revision History
-
- 2019-05-01: Added key word targeting for ‘Netgear N750 WNDR4300 review’.
- 2016-01-17: Added more appropriate tags.
- 2015-10-01: Added appropriate tags.
- 2015-07-28: Originally published.