Guarantee

[Jtoolan629]

I purchased my Night Hawk in dec 2020 at Office Depot. It keeps dropping the WiFi. They would not take the defective WiFi back. I had to buy a new one for $212. How can I get reimbursed for the old Nighhawk?

[plemans]

You won't get reimbursed but you might get it replaced. 

If its truly a hardware failure (not a firmware issue) then you'd go through support. 

click on "mynetgear" at the top. register an account and the device. From there you can check warranty and access support. 

Keep in mind, support is only free for the first 90 days of purchase. 

Or you can attempt to see if you can fix it using the forums. 

In that case, we'd need more details like:

router:

modem/gateway its connected to:

firmware on the router: 

a full description of the issue

[sktn77a]

"Keep in mind, support is only free for the first 90 days of purchase."

Have you ever tried to get warranty service during the warranty period but after 90 days?  They try to get you to sign up for paid support before they will work with you to get warranty service (this is illegal in most countries and, depending on your interpretation of the Magnuson-Moss act, in the USA too)!

I've had Netgear networking equipment for over 20 years (as you can tell from my signature) but i'm pretty much out of patience with their arrogant and uncooperative customer service/warranty policies.  I haven't needed it very often but when I have it's been the most painful and unproductive process ever!

[plemans]

I've never needed to use the support option. I've used the forums before and its beneficial. 

The problem with support is how many much time is wasted on questions not related to a router, are in relation to setting up a laptop/pc/printer/etc,  or that are answered through the manual or forums. A networking company can't be someone's IT department the entire life of a product. That's why its free for 90 days. Long enough to get a device up and running and your home devices on it. After that, if you're having issues and the hardwaren't hasn't failed, it costs $.

I've frequently see users get their "paid support" refunded when the issue turns out to be an actual hardware issue. But many times it isn't a hardware failure. Its something I've advised several people to get Netgear to say up front that if the issue is a hardware failure, they'll refund the $. 

So its tough. You can go consumer grade and pay less and have a shorter support period or you can pay more and go the business route where there's longer support periods. 

Or you can use the forums for help when you do have issues. At least it lets you troubleshoot the basics enough to (hopefully) tell you if its a hardware issue.