I got a brand new, never been used router from my friend who helped me set it up about two months ago and it has worked great. Today, we were trying to access our account on the app and on the site for something (can’t even remember now) and couldn’t get access to it (she couldn’t remember the password). Tried answering security questions, couldn’t remember those answers either, so someone online suggested I tried doing a factory reset which I have. Everything turned on fine, but now the internet light is orange and when I connect to my Wi-Fi it lets me but I don’t have actual internet access, so I can’t continue setting up my router with the app. I read online I can do it on the site but I don’t have internet access to be able to access the site. I’ve turned it off and on and unplugged everything, contacted my ISP and they said my modem is fine on their end and internet is all good, and then got through to Netgear’s customer support and they wouldn’t even troubleshoot without me buying a warranty because mine expired.
Someone help me, I thought I was pretty savvy with tech or could do enough to atleast troubleshoot on my own but I feel like the worlds biggest idiot trying to figure this out. I am desperate!!
What modem/gateway do you have it connected to? (key detail)
You are able to set it up without being online. You should be able to connect to it via wifi or using an ethernet connection and connect to it for setup. This is the method of setup I prefer.
and when I connect to my Wi-Fi it lets me but I don’t have actual internet access, so I can’t continue setting up my router with the app. I read online I can do it on the site
You don't say what you read on-line and where you read it, but talk of "the site" can be misleading.
If it is something to do with the router, then there may be no site as most people know it. It is just the browser graphical user interface (GUI). That something local on your router that needs no Internet connection to get at.
But, as @plemans says, a wired connection into the router is the most reliable option.
couldn’t remember those answers either, so someone online suggested I tried doing a factory reset which I have. Everything turned on fine, but now the internet light is orange and when I connect to my Wi-Fi it lets me but I don’t have actual internet access, so I can’t continue setting up my router with the app. I read online I can do it on the site but I don’t have internet access to be able to access the site. I’ve turned it off and on and unplugged everything, contacted my ISP and they said my modem is fine on their end and internet is all good, and date then got through to Netgear’s customer support and they wouldn’t even troubleshoot without me buying a warranty because mine expired.
couldn’t remember those answers either, so someone online suggested I tried doing a factory reset which I have. Everything turned on fine, but now the internet light is orange
This means you do not have an Internet connection. You need to set up the router again to work with your modem.
It may help to reboot the whole network in the right order.
Be sure to restart your network in this sequence:
Turn off and unplug modem.
Turn off router and computers.
Plug in and turn on modem. Wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on the router and wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
I read online I can do it on the site but I don’t have internet access to be able to access the site.
Once again, we have no idea what you "read online" but there is no "site" that you need to connect to to set up a router. There is the browser graphical user interface (GUI) which is the local interface to your router. Think of it as the control panel.
