NETGEAR N450-100NAS (8x4) WiFi DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem Router (N450) Certified for Xfinity from Comcast, Spectrum, Cox, Cablevision & More

I read all of the reviews, talked to my very techy son, and decided to get this modem/router despite all the problems posted by others regarding Comcast.I read everything that came with the unit, and then downloaded the user manual (you can get it off the web by searching for CG3000Dv2 user manual or going to the Netgear site). I'm not particularly tech-savvy, and found the user manual to be somewhat less than user friendly since they wrote it as if you knew what they were talking about. In the end, I found that you really only need it to change your passwords (both to the gateway and for your wifi) to something a bit more memorable and provide a network name (SSIP) so you can identify it easily when trying to connect wireless devices (neither of these are mandatory changes, but I like my own network name and passwords). I'm sure others who are more techy than I am will find the user manual helpful for other things, too.Having read everything I thought I could reasonably understand, I decided to go ahead and try to get it up and running. I really didn't want to call Comcast because of what many other reviewers complained about. One reviewer noted I could just get it activated using the internet, so I figured I'd do it that way. I followed the instructions in the quick installation guide, connected all the wires/cables, and turned it on. I had no problems connecting to the gateway as instructed, I then named my network and changed the password. Then came the time to get it activated so I could use the internet. Great idea to do that via the internet, but I had no internet connection on my computer because the modem/router wasn't activated yet (backwards logic here, I suppose). Went out on the net on my 4G device to the Comcast activation site. I put in my account number and then tried to put in my phone number so they could locate/verify my account, but the screen would freeze up every time and I'd eventually get an error page that said to call Comcast. This happened 3 times, at which point I decided to bite the bullet and call them.When the rep answered, I said I needed a new modem/router provisioned. She verified my account information, and asked me for the MAC address. For those who are non-techy like me, that's the CM MAC number on the unit (not the cable MAC address or device MAC address that you see on the modem status screen when you log into the gateway). I gave that to her and the she asked how many lights were lit on the unit. I thought that was an odd question, but I told her there were 6 lights on and then she did what she needed to do. She never asked me for a make or model - just the MAC address. It took a couple minutes, with the lights on the unit giving the impression that it was rebooting, but it eventually took. About 2 minutes after it went thru the provisioning process, I had internet access and was able to connect wifi devices easily.As far as performance, the unit appears to be working quite nicely. The range covers my entire (~2000 sq.ft.) condo. The speed is VERY FAST. There is a noticeable improvement in the amount of time it takes web pages load and I am able connect to VPN networks for work very quickly. I tested it on our smart TV and had no problems with buffering or pauses when streaming TV shows/movies (buffering/pausing and lost wifi signals were definitely problems we experienced quite frequently with the Comcast modem/router). If I had one wish, it would be that it would be nice to take it off the built-in stand and put it in a less conspicuous space/position (e.g., to lay it flat). Otherwise, no complaints. Good router/modem that wasn't too painful to install. Even better, I won't have to pay rental fees to Comcast for their less-than-wonderful equipment.

The modem/router works just fine with our Time Warner service. Speed is fine. Setup was not difficult. I only had one problem in setup and that was with the Wi-Fi password. On the label it is printed in an all caps format. I kept entering the password as Netgear had labeled it but the Wi-Fi wouldn't connect. With some help from a Netgear tech, I eventually discovered that one of the letters WAS NOT supposed to be capitalized. The tech and I checked this detail out a few times and it was fact, that one letter was suppose to be lower case and entered that way as the password in order for the Wi-Fi to connect. Netgear should look into this to correct the error on their device labels to make sure no other consumers run into this problem. It was frustrating but solvable. Not a hardware defect. The hardware is great and I am very happy with my modem. I bought this model because of the 4 Ethernet ports on the back. I needed three of the four. The USB ports are very handy too. I only use Netgear equipment and it has always worked great. The embedded security is excellent. I would recommend this product to anyone but with a word of caution regarding the wi-f- password as it is printed on the device label. I believe it is worthy of 5 stars.

I bought the Netgear N450 to replace the Netgear WNDR3400 Router I was using with the Time Warner Cable modem. Since TWC have started charging for the use of their modem, I wanted to go with a modem/router combination. I chose the Netgear N450. I was excited to receive it so fast from Amazon and I immediately set it up and had it provisioned by TWC. It seemed to work well, or so I thought. As I was setting it up, I found that this modem/router does not have Guest Network Access, although is advertises that it does on Amazon.com in the Product Description (http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-DOCSIS-Cable-Router-N450-100NAS/dp/B00HC0ZDOE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398046898&sr=8-1&keywords=n450). This feature is available on my OLD Netgear router. I also found out that the USB ReadySHARE is 2.0 as opposed to 3.0 like my OLD Netgear router. When you connect to the USB ReadySHARE Access, instead of the folder showing ReadySHARE like my OLD Netgear 3400, is shows BRCM-LVG. I don't know what the hell that's supposed to mean, and you can't rename it. This modem/router does not allow the user to access files remotely via http or ftp. I was able to do that on my OLD Netgear router.Now to my major problems with this router.First. On the external hard drive I had connected to the ReadySHARE, there were at least two large files that was causing problems. One of the files was a Sony backup file with a file size of 314gb. When I tried to access the file through ReadySHARE, the file showed 0kb (empty). There was a second large file for my Toshiba image backup with a file size of 27gb. Access it through ReadySHARE it showed 1.9gb. Neither of these files were accessible. To make sure I was not in error, I reconnected the OLD Netgear 3400 and when I accessed the files, they showed the correct file sizes and I was able to open them.Second. I have 4 items connected to the Ethernet ports in the back of the N450 modem/router. My Sony Vaio laptop to port 1, my Toshiba laptop to port 2, my Sony Bravia to port 3, and my home security camera DVR to port 4. When I look at the lights on the front of the unit, they show correctly. But when I go to the Netgear Gateway Advanced Settings under MAC Filtering, all the port connections are reversed. For example, the physical port 1 shows as port 4, port 2 as port 3, port 3 as port 2, and port 4 as port 1.Now I got on the phone with tech support and was connected to a guy who has an accent so thick that I found myself constantly asking him to repeat himself. Their call center must be in India. Anyway, we started going over the problems and he was unable to assist me much. He gave me a case number _ _ _ _ _ 938 and placed me on hold. I waited on hold for about 25 minutes until I got tired and hung up. He called me back within a minute and told me he was going to connect me with someone up the chain and I was then connected to a female who was easier to communicate with and we proceeded to run through my modem/router situation. She had me download some program whereby she was able to access my computer remotely. She was unable to do anything to rectify the problems, so she went to the Netgear site to download the firmware for that model. Once she downloaded the firmware file, she was unable to load the file into the unit because there was NO avenue within the Netgear Gateway Settings page by which to do so. On my OLD Netgear WNDR3400, whenever I opened the Netgear Gageway Settings page, it would automatically start searching for Firmware updates. I never had to go to the Netgear Support page to look for Firmware updates. The lady from Tech Support advised me to return this modem/router. I am sending it back to Amazon. My OLD Netgear router is about three years and it turned out to be a lot better and more useful that this newer N450 combo that I am returning. I'll still return the modem to TWC. I will just hold on to my OLD WNDR3400 router and buy a modem from some place else. I guess having a modem/router combo with ReadySHARE wasn't meant to happen.Tech support told me that my experience is unusual. Maybe Netgear accidentally boxed up a prototype or test unit that was never supposed to be sold. I still can't figure out what the BRCM-LVG nomenclature on the ReadySHARE folder is supposed to mean.