What is an EOL NETGEAR Product?

EOL stands for End Of Life. When this appears on a product page, it means

• The product is no longer manufactured.
• Most sources will not be able to sell you one.
• There will be no changes to software, firmware, utilities, drivers, or manuals.
• Product will not be tested with new operating systems.
• Product will not have additional certifications.
• The product is probably replaced by a newer product with a similar function, but more advanced features.
• Sometimes it's possible to use downloads from the newer product. For example, for a product called ABC, what is posted for ABCv2 or ABCv3 might work. To see if this is possible, you would need to carefully read the Support Product page for ABC, and also the Release Notes Web pages for the downloads. Using firmware, drivers or utilities that are not compatible, could make the product unusable!

However:

• An EOL product is supported in a similar way to a current product.
• New knowledgebase articles are often written about EOL products.
• People still enjoy discussing experiences with EOL products in the NETGEAR User Forum.
• Some sources sell refurbished products available after EOL. These have their serial numbers removed. There is no free phone support for them, however email support is still available.

N101584.asp Nov. 23, 2005