Netgear DM200

Short version: Good solid Netgear product, reliable performer, easy setup, works with just about any DSL (NOT A CABLE MODEM). Usually used with a separate router and WiFi access point.The rest: Rural internet access is a disgrace in US compared with the rest of the developed world, and DSL is often what there is. So this modem does well, and when the provider drops your connection (They shouldn't), the DM200 puts it right back again itself. Some modems need restarting to get the connection back. Any gripe? Just a minor trouble, easily answered on the web (-if you have a connection!). When used with a separate router, one would usually want to configure the DM200 in "bridge mode" aka "modem only". The setting exists but is not too obvious. You'll find it in Advanced Settings > Device Mode . It works well, if you know it's there.

When it works it is a good modem, however when the internet connection is lost the only way I have found to access this unit is to perform a factory reset so I never know what caused it to stop working.

The modem works perfectly fine with CenturyLink VDSL. Such kind of device, without built-in Wi-Fi, should be installed by default by any ISP. But we understand what world we are living right now. They want to track your every sneeze. Orwell's 1984 becomes just a casual daily story.

The produce was exactly what I ordered. Works great. Netgear tech support was above average. Modem activation was difficult because of matching up Centurylink to Netgear modem and Netgear tech support was very helpful although it did take a few hours to complete the process.

I'm not sure why it's just about impossible to get a simple VDSL modem that is a modem and nothing else. This is an irritating state of affairs when you want a more competent (and secure -- conversations with Frontier Communications' support revealed that they can see what's on your network and fully administer their VDSL modem/router, even if you change the local password) router and/or firewall at the helm of your connection.It's not possible to truly "baseline" the Arris modem/router/AP that Frontier is currently providing as of this writing, so it's a modem and nothing but.The Netgear DM200 seems to be it, for a simple VDSL modem. It's limited in that it doesn't support bonded connections, but at least they make that clear in several places.Getting it to work with non-bonded Frontier VDSL proved to be impossible. Frontier (understandably) doesn't support equipment they don't provide. Netgear's technical support staff was worthless. The person who answered the phone was impossible to understand and clearly hadn't been trained very well on Netgear's product line. They kept walking me through the troubleshooting and configuration steps for a cable modem!I can tell you that it definitely got far enough to establish some kind of connection. The web-based user interface of the DM200 clearly indicated that it had established a connection at the speed I pay for. Why it didn't go further than that, I don't know.It's been a long time since I've had this disappointing of an experience with a product. I'd have expected far better from Netgear.

I used this with centurylink service. Works great!!

Updated to latest firmware 1.0.0.61.If you factory reset it then immediately change it to "modem only", then connect it to your router where your ISP PPPoE settings are already configured, it won't work.You gotta change it back to modem/router, then configure the PPPoE settings, then turn it into modem-only again, then connect it to your router. This sequence doesn't make any sense, but this way it WILL connect, BUT (and that's a BIG BUT):Specific phone and tv apps such as Netflix, Whatsapp, and Nubank will cease working. Change the DM200 for a real modem, and they'll start working again.I've wasted days trying to get it to work (a simple modem), tried all the firmware versions, endless factory resets, all to no avail. I am also a computer engineer, mind you.My conclusion is Netgear's firmware doesn't really turn this into a modem. It still interferes too much with the connection. Maybe if you flash OpenWrt in it and do a lot of tinkering, it might work as advertised; but I can't be arsed anymore.This was a big waste of money and time.

This thing is 100% junk. Spent 13+ hours trying to get it to work. 4 calls to tech support. They would NOT let me talk to a supervisor or give me an RMA number. Last time i talked to them, I was on for over 1 hour. She finally said it was defective and I had to buy another one. This one is only 2 weeks old. My IT tech worked on this thing for over 3 hours to no avail. My background is that I am a Radio and TV broadcast engineer now for 46 years. so I'm not stupid. I will never ever buy, sell, or own anything from Netgear OR any of its affiliates for the rest of my life. Robert and his wife Sanders.

This is not a bad little modem, it is fairly well made, though you need to understand it is made of lightweight plastic, but nothing seems out of place and there generally appears to be no 'messed' up manufacturing on the casing, which you sometimes see, where things don't quite fit together properly.It takes up very little space, and it is a 'stand-up' device so the footprint is actually very small, which I find quite useful in many situations where there is already a router, a switch and other equipment such as a NAS, all vying for space.The setup, it can be rather tricky for some folks as I suspect they are likely not used to the set up of stand-alone modems and a router. I found the interface a little dated and clunky, and the instructions are somewhat lacking, and if you are a first-timer or have only done such a task a few times, I would expect it to be rather easy to get lost and confused as to what should be happening and how to put it right.There is plenty of chat about this device on the WWW and you can generally find your way if you read around a little, I had no issues with the setup myself and have used a DM200 in a number of installations, mostly to keep the price down and often to replace a BT OR Modem.Once set up, it does the job well enough, and I have seen some excellent sync speeds from the device, though your mileage may vary depending on your ISP and connection. It requires little to no attention post setup, apart from the odd duster I suppose and once you are happy with the initial setup you can hook your router up and get that setup and you will be good to go.I would recommend the DM200 if, for nothing else than the price, and of course, for the fact it does actually do the job, for most folks anyway, I know some folks struggle with it, but I have never failed to get one online yet and keep one in a box as a spare, which I use from time to time just to make sure it is still working.The nearest alternative in ready supply is the Vigor 130 which is about £80 or so, but then it is a whole different beast and offers a much smoother and broader experience for those who are willing to shell out for it, I have both.

I recently purchased one of these to run as a bridge mode modem in front of another router, so I'm not using the full range of functionality here, just the modem aspect. This replaces the modem my ISP gave me which seemed to keep developing faults.Key points:> Configuration of the unit was no more complicated than any other similar device.> I encountered one bug in the UI when updating the password (indicated it hadn't worked when it had).> The unit synchronised immediately (note - some people suggest VLAN passthrough is essential in the setup, but it certainly wasn't the case in my configuration).> I've not lost connection to the exchange since it was setup and connectivity has been extremely stable.> The unit doesn't seem to run any hotter than any other device I have.> I monitor network performance in a number of ways and have noticed a small but consistent reduction in latency (good) to a dedicated ping target compared to the previous device - and also less anomalous behaviour with latency under load.> I've only got around 30Mb download / 5 up so the 100Mbps nic is fine in my case but worth keeping in mind.I'm quite pleased to be honest.

I don't recall writing a review before but thought I would do so just in case any UK based Nest user is considering buying this product.I am a Plusnet customer in the UK and have recently had to upgrade the ISP provided hub to a Netgear R8000 router. The router requires a separate modem. After doing plenty of research, I decided to buy this product. As I was buying a Netgear modem to work with a Netgear Router I did not anticipate any difficulties. Sadly, I was wrong.I do not work in IT but I do have a reasonable idea about what I am doing including how to setup networks and the principles involved. The modem was very easy to setup in terms of changing the settings so that it acted as a 'dumb unit' simply transmitting signal through to the router. I was up and running with stable internet and a working network in no time. On the face of it, it appeared as though the product had done all that it was required to do.However, I have a Nest based heating system at home and this proved to be the modem's undoing. There is a very useful Nest smartphone app that allows a user to alter the settings remotely. The application worked just fine with our previous ISP provided hub/router. However, no matter what router configurations I tried (port forwarding/DMZ/reserved MAC addresses etc) the application could not deliver instructions to the home network to alter Nest settings remotely. After spending a fortnight exchanging emails with Nest about the problem, I concluded that, having tried EVERYTHING else (including updating the firmware etc), it must be an issue with the modem that was refusing to allow the commands to get through. Acting on that hunch, and biting a very expensive bullet, I purchased a Draytech Vigor 130 modem just to see whether it resolved the issue. I fitted the Draytech modem this morning. Sure enough, the Draytech has solved the problem. The home network is working as it should and the network is happily receiving and implementing external commands from the Nest app.Given my experience, I couldn't reasonably recommended the modem to anyone. On the other hand, I can positively recommend the Draytech Vigor 130 as an alternative product.

Was fairly happy initially with this device, was using it in Modem only mode as I had a separate router which I didn’t want to replace. However, I noticed that certain apps on different Smart TV’s stopped working. Following discussions with TV vendors (LG and Samsung), Router vendor (Amplifi) and the Broadband supplier (Vodafone) the only thing left was the modem which I had discounted as it was simply a pass through.With nothing else left to try found a few threads on the internet about this device not working in a pass through method but trying to be a bit cleverer. Based on the frustration I’d experience so far just opted for another modem (Draytek) rather than going down the support route. Swapped out it worked straight away.So, if you’re using it as a router might be fine, might be fine if you’re using it as a modem but beware it caused problems with several devices on my network.

I bought this modem to pair with a Linksys WRT32X router which I will review separately. The Netgear DM200 along with the Linksys above get very mixed reviews. I did a lot of research on dedicated modems that work with BT infinity and this along with the Draytek Vigor 130 get mentioned with the latter gaining the most praise. The DM200 although sold as a modem comes from factory as a bit of a hybrid modem with router features. So for anyone interested this is how I got mine to work seamlessly with BT Infinty.First I made sure I had the latest firmware downloaded from Netgear for the DM200 and connected the DM200 directly to my computer via its network port. I bypassed any setup options and went straight to the admin options of the modem and flashed the latest firmware. After this just chose the option to switch the modem/router to bridge/modem only mode.(You may need to choose VLAN pass through at this stage? I did not at first and my router (Linksysy WRT32X) although connected did not work properly until I went back and turned pass through on)When connected to my router I am getting far better download speeds (69 Mbps vs 40 Mbps) with less latency (29 ms vs 40 – 60 ms) and jitter of between 1 – 2 ms.If you want a cheap (£36 paid from Amazon) modem for use with a wifi/router that works with BT Infinity please don’t hesitate to snap one of these right up.