However, instead of installing it by dragging its icon to the Application folder, uninstalling NETGEAR Genie may need you to do more than a simple drag-and-drop to the Trash. Download Mac App Remover. When installed, NETGEAR Genie creates files in several locations. Increasingly, vendors like Cisco, Belkin, D-Link, and now Netgear, with the desktop app Genie, are using apps to make devices easier to deploy and manage in a home network. I have been using the Netgear Genie app for a couple of years. The Nighthawk app is ok, but it doesn’t have a refresh for when my kids are turning on theirs devices to be “unpaused”, so I still use the Genie app. I would really like to see all devices that have an IP address assigned to them in my device list.
Netgear Genie (Desktop App)
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Pros
- Manages Netgear devices.
- Provides traffic monitoring.
- Free.
- Runs on multiple platforms.
Cons
- Ads at bottom of window.
- Sometimes sluggish displaying traffic.
- Some features returned error messages in testing.
- Enabling access control problematic.
Bottom Line
Netgear's desktop Genie app adds some capabilities over the Web GUI, such as real-time monitoring of the home network and setup of up printing to iOS devices, but error messages and buggy behavior proves the app needs more fine-tuning.
Home users' networks are getting more complex and doing more tasks than ever: streaming media, handling online gaming, BitTorrenting, and more. The demands of such tasks require vendors to deliver robust networking products to market and make them easier for home users to set up and manage. Increasingly, vendors like Cisco, Belkin, D-Link, and now Netgear, with the desktop app Genie, are using apps to make devices easier to deploy and manage in a home network.
Netgear's Genie app can be installed on a PC or Mac desktop, as well as on Android and iOS devices. The purpose of Genie is to make managing and configuring Netgear devices easier than by the conventional method—opening a browser to the IP address of the device and using the Web-based GUI. I took a look at the Genie Desktop version. The desktop app adds some capabilities over the Web GUI, such as real-time monitoring of the home network. Yet, I found error messages when testing it with the Netgear Centria, and some buggy behavior when using it to manage Netgear's R6300 router, proving the app needs more fine-tuning. In addition, naming the mobile/desktop app Genie the same name as the Web-based interface of Netgear routers, is liable to confuse customers.
Getting Genie
When you first setup a Netgear device—I set up and tested Genie with the Netgear Centria WNDR4720 and the Netgear R6300 11ac router—part of the initial setup process is asking you if you want to download the Desktop Genie. This is now standard procedure with newer Netgear devices, such as the Centria and the R6300.
You can also download the app for supported Netgear devices.
Once you install Genie, a shortcut is created on the desktop. Clicking Genie open brings you to the app's home page. There are six panels you can click on to get to different configuration options: Internet, WiFi Connection, Router Settings, Network Map, Parental Controls, and ReadyShare.
Netgear Genie For Desktop
Internet Panel
I could see right on the Internet panel that the status of my internet connection was 'Good.' Clicking on the panel gives you some ways to get real-time insight into your network traffic. You can run a speed test though either Netgear's site or click a link to go to speedtest.net to check your bandwidth. There's also a real-time traffic monitor which shows download and upload traffic in Mbps. You can use a slider to set the high traffic threshold for viewing this data; by default it's set at 2Mbps.
At the bottom of the Genie window are ads for other Netgear products. These ads change frequently and seem to add some lag to interface. There is also a search field that lets you search Netgear's support site and knowledge base. I performed a search for 'QoS' and was taken to Netgear's site with relevant links to peruse on QoS.
WiFi Panel
On the WiFi connection panel I could see my status as 'Connected' since I was connected wirelessly. Clicking on this panel pulls a bar graph of all wireless networks in your proximity,and which are using what channel. Hover the mouse over each bar and it will show you which Wi-Fi networks are using what channel. Also displayed is the channel your own network is on, so if you have slow performance you can see if there are lots of other networks on your channel and change the channel if needed, to help boost performance.
There are two additional tabs in this view: Connect Wi-Fi – where you can connect to a network, and Manage, to manage the networks you connect to. When I clicked Manage, the interface text directed me to automatically connect to the available networks in the order listed below in a window, but nothing was listed. There is however, an 'Add' button you can use to manually add networks. Still, networks in proximity should show up in that available network window.
Router Settings Panel
When you click the panel, 'Router Settings,' there are tabs for managing guest access, a Traffic Meter tab which you can enable. This meter displays your network's traffic information such as total upload and download traffic for a particular increment of time.
You can also opt to display the data as an average rather than a total. It took a good minute for the data to show up.
Another tab lets you download firmware. I clicked the tab and new firmware for the device I was testing the Genie app on, the R6300 router, was detected. I clicked again to confirm the upgrade and I was taken out of the desktop Genie app and forced to login to the web-based GUI.
In the GUI, I saw a message that new firmware was available and clicked 'Yes' to upgrade. The upgrade process was fine. It's kind of a pain that you have to go into two separate interfaces to upgrade the firmware but there is good workflow between the desktop Genie app and the web GUI.
Netgear Genie (Desktop App)
Pros
- Manages Netgear devices.
- Provides traffic monitoring.
- Free.
- Runs on multiple platforms.
Cons
- Ads at bottom of window.
- Sometimes sluggish displaying traffic.
- Some features returned error messages in testing.
- Enabling access control problematic.
Bottom Line
Netgear's desktop Genie app adds some capabilities over the Web GUI, such as real-time monitoring of the home network and setup of up printing to iOS devices, but error messages and buggy behavior proves the app needs more fine-tuning.
Home users' networks are getting more complex and doing more tasks than ever: streaming media, handling online gaming, BitTorrenting, and more. The demands of such tasks require vendors to deliver robust networking products to market and make them easier for home users to set up and manage. Increasingly, vendors like Cisco, Belkin, D-Link, and now Netgear, with the desktop app Genie, are using apps to make devices easier to deploy and manage in a home network.
Netgear's Genie app can be installed on a PC or Mac desktop, as well as on Android and iOS devices. The purpose of Genie is to make managing and configuring Netgear devices easier than by the conventional method—opening a browser to the IP address of the device and using the Web-based GUI. I took a look at the Genie Desktop version. The desktop app adds some capabilities over the Web GUI, such as real-time monitoring of the home network. Yet, I found error messages when testing it with the Netgear Centria, and some buggy behavior when using it to manage Netgear's R6300 router, proving the app needs more fine-tuning. In addition, naming the mobile/desktop app Genie the same name as the Web-based interface of Netgear routers, is liable to confuse customers.
Getting Genie
When you first setup a Netgear device—I set up and tested Genie with the Netgear Centria WNDR4720 and the Netgear R6300 11ac router—part of the initial setup process is asking you if you want to download the Desktop Genie. This is now standard procedure with newer Netgear devices, such as the Centria and the R6300.
You can also download the app for supported Netgear devices.
Once you install Genie, a shortcut is created on the desktop. Clicking Genie open brings you to the app's home page. There are six panels you can click on to get to different configuration options: Internet, WiFi Connection, Router Settings, Network Map, Parental Controls, and ReadyShare.
Internet Panel
I could see right on the Internet panel that the status of my internet connection was 'Good.' Clicking on the panel gives you some ways to get real-time insight into your network traffic. You can run a speed test though either Netgear's site or click a link to go to speedtest.net to check your bandwidth. There's also a real-time traffic monitor which shows download and upload traffic in Mbps. You can use a slider to set the high traffic threshold for viewing this data; by default it's set at 2Mbps.
Netgear Genie Desktop App Download
At the bottom of the Genie window are ads for other Netgear products. These ads change frequently and seem to add some lag to interface. There is also a search field that lets you search Netgear's support site and knowledge base. I performed a search for 'QoS' and was taken to Netgear's site with relevant links to peruse on QoS.
WiFi Panel
On the WiFi connection panel I could see my status as 'Connected' since I was connected wirelessly. Clicking on this panel pulls a bar graph of all wireless networks in your proximity,and which are using what channel. Hover the mouse over each bar and it will show you which Wi-Fi networks are using what channel. Also displayed is the channel your own network is on, so if you have slow performance you can see if there are lots of other networks on your channel and change the channel if needed, to help boost performance.
There are two additional tabs in this view: Connect Wi-Fi – where you can connect to a network, and Manage, to manage the networks you connect to. When I clicked Manage, the interface text directed me to automatically connect to the available networks in the order listed below in a window, but nothing was listed. There is however, an 'Add' button you can use to manually add networks. Still, networks in proximity should show up in that available network window.
Router Settings Panel
When you click the panel, 'Router Settings,' there are tabs for managing guest access, a Traffic Meter tab which you can enable. This meter displays your network's traffic information such as total upload and download traffic for a particular increment of time.
Netgear Genie Desktop App For Mac
You can also opt to display the data as an average rather than a total. It took a good minute for the data to show up.
Another tab lets you download firmware. I clicked the tab and new firmware for the device I was testing the Genie app on, the R6300 router, was detected. I clicked again to confirm the upgrade and I was taken out of the desktop Genie app and forced to login to the web-based GUI.
In the GUI, I saw a message that new firmware was available and clicked 'Yes' to upgrade. The upgrade process was fine. It's kind of a pain that you have to go into two separate interfaces to upgrade the firmware but there is good workflow between the desktop Genie app and the web GUI.