A6210 wifi adapter will not work

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Frustrated7User wrote:

 

First of all, the instructions are ridiculous, providing two options and no elucidation of why I would choose which one or not. So I started with the easier one, standalone. Didn't work. Then tried the other one. Didn't work. Does not find the strong wifi signal my laptop finds sitting right next to it. WTF.

 

They could be clearer.

This is what the manual says:

• The standalone driver allows you to use your computer’s built-in Windows WiFi
  network settings to connect the adapter to a WiFi network instead of using the
  adapter software.
• The adapter software allows you to connect the adapter to a WiFi network.

The standalone driver has the benefit of not loading Netgear's software interface.

Manuals are always a good place to start.

Visit the support pages:

Support | NETGEAR

Feed in your model number and check the documentation for your hardware.

You may have done that already. I can't tell from your message.

I mention it because Netgear gave up on supplying paper manuals and CD versions some years ago and people sometimes miss the downloads.

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On my computer, I'm using a 3.0 usb that is reliable, that I used earlier today. Didn't work. There is no explanation of where the problem is or what to do. I did all the Windows troubleshooting (I am running Windows 7 server, so it should work as Win7 is the minimum requirement.) and no wifi networks are found. No lights, no beeps, no booting. I pressed the button on the unit - btw, this is not even mentioned in the worthless, cryptic, incomplete pamphlet that came with the thing.

 

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Most of the problems with these things track back to Windows. Unfortunately, your version is now obsolete according to Microsoft. So it isn't easy to diagnose where things might go wrong.