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Setup WiFi on the Netgear DGFV338

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Setup Router Staff
(Last Updated: ) | Reading Time: 4 minutes

The Netgear DGFV338 router is considered a wireless router because it offers WiFi connectivity. WiFi, or simply wireless, allows you to connect various devices to your router, such as wireless printers, smart televisions, and WiFi enabled smartphones.

Use a VPN Instead

Have you considered using a VPN instead of forwarding a port? For most users, a VPN is a much simpler and more secure choice than forwarding a port.

We use and recommend NordVPN because not only is it the fastest VPN, it includes a new feature called Meshnet that makes forwarding a port no longer necessary for most applications. With NordVPN Meshnet, you can connect to your devices from anywhere in the world, completely secure, over a highly encrypted VPN tunnel.

When shopping for a VPN, make sure that they meet the following criteria:

  • Your VPN provider should have a no-logs policy. This means that they do not keep any logs of any kind.
  • Make sure that your VPN provider has lots of exit nodes all around the world.
  • Check that your VPN will not affect your speed.
  • Verify that your VPN provider uses WireGuard as the underlying protocol.
  • Many people prefer a VPN provider that is not based in the United States.

This is the list of requirements that we used when we were shopping around for a VPN provider. There are lots of free, shady VPN providers out there that we looked at and dismissed.

Based in Panama, using diskless servers, and with over 6,100 servers in 61 countries, we can safely say that NordVPN satisfies all of these requirements.

NordVPN is the fastest VPN!

Once you've set up your NordVPN account on multiple computers and enabled Meshnet, you can seamlessly access all of your devices as if they were on the same network. You don't even have to log in to your router. It's very simple.

Every time you click on one of our affiliate links, such as NordVPN, we get a little kickback for introducing you to the service. Think of us as your VPN wingman.

Other Netgear DGFV338 Guides

This is the wifi guide for the Netgear DGFV338. We also have the following guides for the same router:

WiFi Terms

Before we get started there is a little bit of background info that you should be familiar with.

Don't forget to sign up for NordVPN's promo deal before it's gone.

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You might notice that most of our site doesn't have ads on it. This is because we use partnerships with companies like NordVPN to keep the site running. Thank you for supporting us by using our referral links.

Wireless Name

Your wireless network needs to have a name to uniquely identify it from other wireless networks. If you are not sure what this means we have a guide explaining what a wireless name is that you can read for more information.

Wireless Password

An important part of securing your wireless network is choosing a strong password.

Wireless Channel

Picking a WiFi channel is not always a simple task. Be sure to read about WiFi channels before making the choice.

Encryption

You should almost definitely pick WPA2 for your networks encryption. If you are unsure, be sure to read our WEP vs WPA guide first.

Login To The Netgear DGFV338

To get started configuring the Netgear DGFV338 WiFi settings you need to login to your router. If you are already logged in you can skip this step.

To login to the Netgear DGFV338, follow our Netgear DGFV338 Login Guide.

Find the WiFi Settings on the Netgear DGFV338

If you followed our login guide above then you should see this screen.

router status mac address internet IP
This is the status page from your Netgear DGFV338 router.

Start this guide on the Router Status page of the Netgear DGFV338.

First, click the option at the top of the page, in yellow, labeled Network Configuration.

Then below that choose Wireless Settings.

Change the WiFi Settings on the Netgear DGFV338

wifi wireless
This is the wifi setup page from your Netgear DGFV338 router.

You should end up on the page you see here.

First, you need to change the Name(SSID). This is the network ID for your internet. While it doesn't really matter what you enter here, we recommend avoiding personal information. Read our Wireless Names Guide for more information.

The second setting that needs attention is the Channel. We recommend everyone use channels 1,6, or 11. Learn why in our WiFi Channels Guide.

Then go to the section titled Wireless Security Type. Here you need to pick the wireless security mode you wish to use. We recommend WPA2 (AES Encryption). Learn why this is the best option in our WEP vs. WPA Guide.

To the right of that is the drop down list titled WPA with. Pick PSK from the list.

Under that is the Encryption. The most secure encryption is AES.

Now scroll down this page until you see the section titled PSK Settings. Change the Passphrase to one of your choosing. This password should be a minimum of 14-20 characters. It is also a good idea to add at least one symbol, number, and capital letter. Learn how to create a memorable and strong password in our Choosing a Strong Password Guide.

The last setting is titled Key Lifetime. The shorter the time the stronger the security. What this does is takes your password and creates a new encryption key every so many minutes. It looks as if the default is every 1440 minutes, or 24 hours. A more secure setting would be every 60 minutes.

That's it, before you exit click the Apply button near the bottom of the page.

Possible Problems when Changing your WiFi Settings

After making these changes to your router you will almost definitely have to reconnect any previously connected devices. This is usually done at the device itself and not at your computer.

Other Netgear DGFV338 Info

Don't forget about our other Netgear DGFV338 info that you might be interested in.

This is the wifi guide for the Netgear DGFV338. We also have the following guides for the same router: