NETGEAR WNDA3100 RANGEMAX DUAL BAND Wireless N Adapter Review

Others/Networking Gear by stefan @ 2010-07-15

The dual band WNDA3100 USB Wireless LAN adapter from NETGEAR has the ability to connect to both 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless networks. It features a multicolored LED, which lights up differently depending on its status, so we will know on what type of network we are connected, without checking up the software application.

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Conclusive Thoughts

Conclusive thoughts

The installation of the product was very intuitive, both hardware and software; the manufacturer includes in the package enough documentation in different languages so anyone, no matter the experience can use the product. I found the automatic update very useful, so we won’t have to search on the website for newer software kits.

Prior to the software installation, I wanted to see if Windows 7 recognizes the hardware; it was a no go. It would have been a nice feature if we had the possibility to install the drivers only, without the utility, like TRENDnet does pack their drivers.

The multicolored LED is a nice feature: when drivers are not installed and the adapter is not recognized, we will have the LED light up purple; when a network search is performed, the LED will cycle through the orange and blue colors. After the adapter is connected and we have network activity, for 2.4GHz it will light up orange and for 5GHz it will be blue.

The adapter had decent performances in the performed tests, but we must keep in mind that the router we tested it on is made by TRENDnet, not NETGEAR. It is known that wireless equipment provide optimal performances when they are made by the same manufacturer. The WNDA3100 will be also tested in one of the future reviews also with a NETGEAR router.

At $50-80 this wireless upgrade doesn't come cheap. If you're able to invest in some nice UTP cabling that would definitely prove superior, if however you require a faster wireless connection and your PC doesn't support the latest N standard, this adapter can give you that extra speed boost at a premium price.

Madshrimps (c)


I would like to thank again to NETGEAR for making this review possible!

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