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Wireless Repeating Function is not available
Good day, everyone.
In 2025 I dug up kinda old Netgear WNR3500L v2. I wish to use it as a wireless repeater with my actual router so I can connect via Ethernet devices, those are too far from my master router to connect with the cable. Adding wifi card or something like that to those devices is not an option.
I found a datasheet to my model here ( https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/WNR3500LV2/WNR3500Lv2_UM_8Sep11.pdf) saying on page 73 that for that puproses go to Advanced Setup -> Wireless Repeating function and perform some confugiration. But actually there is no correspondence between picture in datasheet and real content on that page.
That was done both on old (1.2.0.40 i do not remember exectly) in actual 1.2.0.70_50.0.115 firmware version which was uploaded from the official web page (https://www.netgear.com/support/product/wnr3500lv2/#download).
Could anyone help we please figure out what am I doing wrong here?
4 Replies
Thanks for sharing. Informatrive content.
Before you dive too deep into anything, remember, the WNR3500L is a 15-year-old device that had pretty anemic N300 specs. It wasn't a very fast device to start with. In bridge mode, those speeds get cut in half as it can't broadcast/receive at the same time. Compared to anything from this generation or even last generation's half-decent extenders, it's going to be extremely slow. Unless you're using it for a few simple IoT devices that are low bandwidth, you're better off recycling it and picking up a half decent extender or even a router and wiring it in running in access point mode.
So what are you using it for?
Wireless Repeating Function isn’t available on Netgear WNR3500L v2 with official firmware—even though the manual shows it. You’ll need to install DD-WRT or Tomato firmware to enable repeater/bridge mode properly.
What is the existing router? Does it support "base station" mode for wireless repeating?
