New Features and Enhancements:
- Support for new NETGEAR® Instant Mesh Multi-mode Access Point (WAC564). Highlights of the new Access Point feature set include:
- Tri band: one 2x2 2.4 GHz Radio, one 2x2 5GHz Radio and one 4x4 5GHz Radio
- 4 Port Switch with VLAN Support
- AC3000 – Wave 2
- 600 concurrent Client connections (200 clients per radio)
- Beamforming
- Multi user MIMO
- Instant WiFi Support
- NETGEAR Insight managed
- Insight Instant MESH Support: The Access Point can automatically form a Mesh link with other Instant Mesh capable Access Points from the NETGEAR Access Point family. The Multi-mode Access Point can be configured as an Extender, as a Root (connected with ethernet cable to backend), or even as a regular AP. In Extender mode, it carries traffic from connected clients on various VLANs on the Mesh link to the Root AP and to the Internet.
This feature is available through Insight Applications and Insight Web portal only.
- Wired VLAN Support: Physical ports of the Access Points can be configured as the trunk port (Port 1 only) or an access port (Port 2). Different VLANs can be assigned to the access port. Client devices (printer, security camera etc.) can be connected to the access ports without the need for a switch. You can connect a switch to the trunk port to extend the user network.
- Instant Captive Portal Support: Allow access to your guest WiFi after authenticating with one of the login methods listed below. The Captive Portal feature is available with a separate subscription to Insight subscribers.
- Sign in using Facebook account
- Sign in using Twitter account
- Sign in using LinkedIn account
- Register and sign in with an email address
- External Captive Portal Support (Beta Version): Allows any third-party Captive Portal solution to be integrated with your NETGEAR access point. This feature is supported only when the access point is operating in standalone mode.
- Traffic Analyzer (Beta version)
-
- Quantify and classify data downloaded or uploaded by connected clients on the network
- Device Auto re-claim support from Insight App / Cloud portal
- Speed Test support from Insight App / Cloud portal
- Scheduled On / Off WiFi networks from Insight App / Cloud portal
Bug Fixes:
- Requires the default admin password to be set to a unique password for compliance with California Privacy Law
- AES 256-bit encryption to be used to encrypt the WIFI/RADIUS credentials
- Admin and User password now stored as salted hash
- Removed sensitive data from the debug logs
- Encrypted configuration backup file
- Removed default credentials from default configuration
- Fix for the issue where WAC540 Access Point may become an Extender even though Ethernet cable is connected to the trunk port and internet/gateway is reachable
Known Issues:
- When an Ethernet cable is connected to the trunk port (port 1) of the Multi-mode AP operating in Extender mode, automatic switch to Root mode may not work. Workaround: Plug in the cable and then reboot the device.
- When there is an unmanaged switch in the network, we recommended you disable Layer 2 Protection for the switch. Workaround: Use STP for loop protection.
- If STP detects a loop on the Access Point, it will disable the Instant Mesh link, severing connectivity with the Root AP. Workaround: Remove the loop from the network device. Reboot may be required.
- If the Root AP loses Internet connectivity, the Extender may not switch to a nearby Root AP. Workaround: Power off the Root AP that has lost connectivity.
- In Root mode, if the IP address subnet changes, the connected Extender loses connectivity to the Insight Cloud. Workaround: Reboot the Extender.
- Some clients may not show the pop-up login screen when connected to the Instant Captive Portal SSID. Workaround: Use a browser to go to the captive portal authentication page.
- Some special characters are not supported in Instant Captive Portal SSIDs. Workaround: We recommended you avoid using special characters in the SSID name.
- While using the Facebook Wi-Fi feature, some iOS devices and Android devices might not display the Facebook Authentication page automatically. Workaround: The user must launch a web browser to display the Facebook Authentication page.
- After updating to a newer firmware version, the latest web management interface changes may not show. Workaround: Clear the web browser cache.
- Access Point with firmware version lower than V8.2.1.16 may exhibit different LED behavior.
- You may notice throughput drop when you enable the Traffic Analyzer. Workaround: For optimum throughput, keep it disabled except when you're actively checking traffic.
Firmware Update Instructions:
Download Link : https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/WAC540/WAC564-540_Firmware_V8.2.1.17.zip
If the Access Point is connected to the Insight cloud, perform a firmware update through the firmware schedule policy, or perform a manual device firmware update using the Insight app or local web GUI.
After updating to the latest firmware, make sure to update to the latest version of the NETGEAR Insight app for the best functionality and user experience.
To update your product’s firmware, follow the instructions in your product’s user manual. To find your user manual, visit https://www.netgear.com/support/, enter your model number in the search box, and click the Documentation button on the product page.
Last Updated:07/07/2025
|
Article ID: 000061252