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Setup WiFi on the Netgear R4500

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Setup Router Staff
(Last Updated: ) | Reading Time: 3 minutes

The Netgear R4500 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 R4500 Guides

This is the wifi guide for the Netgear R4500. 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.

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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 R4500

To get started configuring the Netgear R4500 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 R4500, follow our Netgear R4500 Login Guide.

Find the WiFi Settings on the Netgear R4500

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 R4500 router.

This Netgear R4500 router wireless setup guide starts on the Home page. To begin configuring your wireless settings, click the tab labeled ADVANCED at the top of the page. From here, click Setup and then Wireless Setup on the left hand side of hte page.

Change the WiFi Settings on the Netgear R4500

wifi wireless
This is the wifi setup page from your Netgear R4500 router.

This new page is divided into two sections. We will only be making changes to the one labeled Wireless Network (2.4GHz b/g/n).

Start by deciding on a Name (SSID). This will serve as your network identification, and can be anything you wish. However, we highly recommend that you avoid using any personal information. For more on network names, see our Wireless Names Guide.

Now for the Channel. This should be set to either 1, 6, or 11. Why is this important? Check out our WiFi Channels Guide to find out.

Next, beneath the Security Options heading, choose WPA2-PSK [AES]. To find out why this is the best option, take a look at our WEP vs. WPA Guide.

Finally, be sure to set a Passphrase. A strong password can be difficult to think up, however a good place to start is our Choosing a Strong Password Guide. Check it out for helpful tips and valuable information.

And that's all there is to it. Just remember to click Apply near the top of the page before leaving.

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 R4500 Info

Don't forget about our other Netgear R4500 info that you might be interested in.

This is the wifi guide for the Netgear R4500. We also have the following guides for the same router: