NETGEAR AC1750 Smart WiFi Router

I bought this router to replace my older model NETGEAR N600. The old router had at first worked very well but as we added devices it just got overloaded and suffered. We were resetting it every day or two. After reading reviews I chose this router as it seemed to be able to handle the 15+ various devices we have on our network. Some say they had this router set up and running in a few minutes. I am happy they were that lucky. I am an experienced computer and network user, not a novice at this. I have worked with this router for over ten hours trying to make everything work with it. I am not talking about complex devices here, just your normal Smart TV's and Windows 7 & 8 Computers. The first day I got it I followed their directions to the letter. I cleared out our cable model, reset it, then turned on the new router. My S-6 smart phone connected right up. My wired network computer likewise connected with ease. Then I started on the wireless devices and the problems began. I would enter all the data but they would just refuse to connect. I would reset router, reset computers, over and over and finally I got them to talk to each other. After four hours or so I finally thought I had everything working. Then I went to use my wireless printer. Its a Brother and has always worked flawlessly from every device in the house. Well, no more. Now it won't print from anywhere. The computers see it, they even talk to it, they just won't print through it. I work for two hours on one computer and finally get it working. Something about a port address, a problem I have NEVER had before with a printer! OK, two hours for a printer..I can forgive them on that I guess. Next day my wife goes to print of her computer, same problem. I follow Brother's directions to try to make it work, it won't. And, then I go back to my computer and now it refuses to print too. ** Update: I did get printer to work for awhile from three computers. That worked for one day and then it lost them again. I tried to get second wireless printer to work. Printer says its connected, computer sees it but when you try to print FAIL. Computer says its "offline". This is insane. I can hook up my old N600 router and it will instantly connect wirelessly to the printers by me just asking to add a printer. How can this router be so poorly programmed when their old routers worked so well with the same printers? I continue to spend hours researching this problem and it appears others have it too. The issue is clearly in the software of this router. If I could return this thing I would but now it is "used" and I am stuck with this headache. Do yourself a favor and pay attention to the negative reviews you read on this thing. So, it appears this thing must have some major software issues. I have about ten hours of frustrating time into this thing just trying to make my system work. None of these devices gave me a problem before, the old router was just overloaded. Now with this new router I have nothing but headaches and can't even make a simple printer work on more than one computer at a time. This router is fast on the devices where it works. Netflix and Amazon Prime down load quickly and my internet works OK now, after many hours or work. But, ten hours of effort to make network printers work? This is a real deal breaker! In the end I made it work, but not due to any assistance from NETGEAR. Oh, they answered my email but their solutions were not solutions at all, just more form letter, step-by-step standard garbage, clearly working off a script. In the process of trying to follow their directions I stumbled across a obscure setting that finally allowed the system to work. Unlike my previous NETGEAR router on this one you have to allow devices to see each other. Even though their little Genie software shows you a view of the network what its not telling you is that in the background they are there but blocked from talking to each other! I never had this issue with my prior NETGEAR router. I even bought a NETGEAR router again since I was use to their software. I feel betrayed for being a loyal customer! I would not buy this router again...I don't need this sort of frustration from any device that I spend that much money on! No respectable company should dump a product on the market with issues like this. I have spent a lot of time researching how to fix this and find many others have had the same problem and have not been able to resolve it without extraordinary means, like having to hook up a second router to act like a print server. Clearly when NETGEAR made this internal software change it screwed up a lot of people besides myself. Sorry, that is asking way too much of your customers! People should not have to work this hard to make a simple everyday router work right. I blame NETGEAR for this problem and bad rating as I was a loyal customer and paid more to get their product only to be rewarded by all these problems. Shame on you, NETGEAR!