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Difference Between Netgenie app and Browser Config
Why do I need the Netgear Genie app? What does it provide that the browser config tool does not? Thanks!
There is basically 3 ways to configure the router with 'apps':
- Using a Browser and going to the URL of the GATEWAY IP Address or use ROUTERLOGIN.NET/COM.
- The Netgear Genie App for Android, Apple, and Windows.
- The Nighthawk app from Apple and Android store.
The first one has all the bells and whistles on would need to set up the router. USB for instance can't be set up on the other 2. Many more settings can be changes. Log can be enabled and viewed.
The 2nd and 3rd are 'similar' but the Genie app appears to have more capability, such and seeing the READYSHARE device and even playing media that might be on it.
The last one seems to have something Genie does not, the ability to actually set up the router. I got a new R8000 and the sticker says to run Nighthawk and continue setting up the router... A change in that NG had always said set it up using a wired connection although the MANUAL for the R8000 does says use GENIE to do it?
In any case, want COMPLETE control, open a browser and go to the URL of the gateway and you can do everything. The other 2 are more (in my estimation) for 'viewing' the status and make quick changes if need be and both can reboot the router remotely like the Browser can.
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lulup wrote:
Why do I need the Netgear Genie app?
It depends on which Netgear Genie app you have in mind. One thing not mentioned so far is that the Android (and perhaps iThing) app allow you to use remote access. You can get into, and control, your router from afar.
The local (desktop) app also has a few toys that you don't get with the browser interface, such as the opportunity to see when something has joined the network.
In general, isn't choice a good thing?
Then there is the Nighthawk app....
michaelkenward wrote:Then there is the Nighthawk app....
Sure, but would you trust an application that says your router is OFFLINE for the Internet yet it both finds the router and connects to it and shows you all the limited info it can and the Internet works on the iPad? I saw this oddity with an R8000 I have now but don't remember if I did with the old R7000? Did not see that when I was testing Netgear Up beta's which it formally was but I had the R7000 active then. A sticker on my R8000 indicates that Netgear UP should be used to set it up, so I assume the app does support the R8000.
IrvSp wrote:
A sticker on my R8000 indicates that Netgear UP should be used to set it up, so I assume the app does support the R8000.
UP is dead. Long live Nighthawk.
michaelkenward wrote:In general, isn't choice a good thing?
Yes - however I would prefer a single one that properly works for any use case. Ideally not an App or Application - just a decent, modern, easy to use Web UI would do the job for most. Anything else does cause confusion and more. Remote access is a valuable addition I must admit - with the help of ReadyCloud technology in place someting with a Web portal is the way to go. On the (known broken or at least massively limited) LPC I won't waste any more bytes.
You don't need it and no one is forcing you to use it. It's just an option and personal preference
Thanks. I do realize no-one has forced me to use it. Let me ask it this way: what features does the app provide that the browser method DOES NOT. Specific features that can only be accomplished via the app and not the browser method.
None as far as I know
In order for the app to do something, the router must support it which *should* also support it on the Web-based firmware. I will be very surprised if the app supports something that the Web-based firmware doesn't expose. But on the other hand, you never know with Netgear
That said, the app may make some things easier to do than the Web-based interface
Take all I said with a bit of salt, since it's been a long time I used the app
