Netgear certainly knows how to confuse us. Unfortunately, even "the app" is open to confusion. There is one for Android, one for iThings and the one that is a "desktop app". That too comes in different flavours for Windows and Macs. So that's at least five possible apps.
Talking about the genie, as in the subject of your message, is even more confusing, thanks to Netgear's use of the term to describe not just all of these apps but also the web interface. It is there, in big letters, at the top of every screen.
We ask people which app they have or genie they mean because they sometimes come here complaining about one thing and it turns out that it is something else. If someone turns up here seeking to help, then they have to provide as much information as possible.
That is also they you get asked for the details of the device they are using. Netgear tries to make this easy in its "header" hints:
Subject (Include model number and brief summary)
Model (Recommended - Helps the community give the best answers)
Body (Include additional detail including model version, firmware, OS and environment where relevant.)
Sorry to throw in another wrinkle, but sometimes people provide this information when they start to ask a question, but the forum software refuses to pass the details on to the rest of us. (We are "volunteers", fellow users, who do not have access to Netgear's behind-the-scenes stuff.) So it helps to put the details in the body of the message.
Why is this important? Because the workings of the app, the stuff that you see and control, depends on the model number and the version of the firmware you have installed.
Out of the box, there is a good chance that your device, especially a new model, will have old firmware. Updating it may change what you see in the genie.
Sadly, the look and feel won't change a lot. Many people complain about the 20th century feel of the thing – it is a common theme around here, especially in the general "ideas" but of the forum. This one from last year may appeal to you:
Update/Refresh Netgear Genie Program - NETGEAR Communities
Yes, as that also discussion says, the network map is a pain to navigate. It gets even worse if you throw in a few powerline plugs. But it does the job for most people so we put up with it
I realise that you haven't turned up here seeking help with a problem that needs fixing, so providing the model number probably isn't important. I'm just explaining why you may have been asked about that. It is just the normal first response to questions.
If you do run into issues, then you can help yourself to get quicker answers if you provide all that stuff that Netgear suggests.
By the way, if the desktop app takes 2 minutes to start in your PC, there may be something wrong with your installation. Here it takes a few seconds, but I gave up on SATA SSDs a while back and use the faster PCI-e variant, although I doubt if that will make much difference, I also get it to show in seconds on my spare PC with a slower SSD.
It is hard to know what might cause the slow startup at your end. We've seen problems here with people who have Microsoft's crummy LAN drivers rather than those written for their chipsets. Or you may have a variant of the old "cannot login to router issues", which would show up if you used the web interface. But that is just a wild guess on my part, based on knowing next to nothing about your network.
Good luck with the new bit of kit. Do come back with more details if you want to fix that slow app start. Best start a new conversation if you want Netgear's small team of resident experts to see it. They are probably too busy dealing with new issues to delve into the depths of older discussions about different topics.
