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Review on NETGEAR GS728TP 100NAS Ethernet Lifetime Protection by Charles Fowler

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Great switch with loud fans.

Works great. Setup is easy once you get the hang of it. The Smart Control Center utility is completely unnecessary. I have an Asus gaming router connected to my Century Link modem. Netgear support said just plug an Asus ethernet cable into the Prosafe switch. Then login to your Asus router and see if it is recognized in the client list. It did, so I saw the DHCP address it had and typed that address into a web browser. Then I came to the switch, entered the password and logged into the Netgear switch. Once there I changed the switch from DHCP to a static IP (recommended) and then checked the Asus router again and it showed that the switch now has a static IP. That's all. You don't need to install the utility. The switch works fine. Now for the bad. The fans are incredibly LOUD. I took the cover off the switch and wondered what was making the noise and it wasn't the electronics, it was completely isolated from the two small fans. All the fans do is move the heat away from the switch, which isn't very hot to begin with. It seems like the fans are an afterthought as they hardly ever blow. They look like they are 45mm fans and as soon as I unplugged them the switch went silent. So I think there should be a fairly easy way to replace these fans if anyone wants to. I contacted NetGear support and they don't have replacement fans that they could just mail me, so they said you have to RMA the entire switch. It seems unnecessary to me. I think I'll just get some good aftermarket fans if I can or just ditch them. It's not a hot device and the fans do very little as it is.

Pros
  • Quality construction
Cons
  • Requires outlet