For North American customers, there is free 24x7 email and phone support on new NETGEAR products, except Layer 3 Managed Switches and refurbished products (with no serial number).** Other countries' policies differ. There is limited Macintosh support. While it is impractical for NETGEAR to give free networking advice on all subjects, there is Premium Support to answer almost any issue for a very reasonable price.

Free support is limited to:

1. Basic Installation

• Installing a NETGEAR device in the network environment it was intended to operate.
• Hardware installation.
• Driver installation.
• Basic product configuration.
• Verifying installation and network connectivity.
• For print servers, support covers one printer, one computer, and one print server. Macintosh, UNIX and Netware printing problems are not supported.
• For Macintoshes, only networks running TCP/IP have free support.

2. Support for Defects While Product is Under Warranty

If a product tests defective, an RMA is issued, so the product can be exchanged for another. Troubleshooting is needed, which will probably include:

• Checking cables are securely plugged in
• Checking power supply
• Checking LEDs are properly lit, blinking, or turned off
• Uninstalling and reinstalling the NETGEAR device
• Doing a "ping" test to see whether your device is connected to the network
• Running a device diagnostics test
• Checking for device conflicts in the Windows Device Manager (E.g., Right-click My Computer, select Properties > Hardware > Device Manager.)

3. Advising and Directing Customers to Additional Resources

Customer Service directs customers to resources for other issues. This includes:

• Knowledgebase articles (found using the search on NETGEAR Support pages.) These articles have information on all products, including ones that NETGEAR no longer makes, as well as other information outside the scope of free customer support.
• A Web site.
• The appropriate vendor, typically when non-NETGEAR equipment is involved.
• NETGEAR's Premium Support, for a wide range of basic and advanced networking issues.

** Refurbished products do not have a serial number. There is no phone support for them, and email support is limited to 30 days after purchase.

Doc: n101264.asp Jan. 16, 2004