Consolidated Statements Of Operations (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Net revenue	$ 1,393,515us-gaap_SalesRevenueNet	$ 1,369,633us-gaap_SalesRevenueNet	$ 1,271,921us-gaap_SalesRevenueNet
Cost of revenue	995,597us-gaap_CostOfGoodsAndServicesSold	976,018us-gaap_CostOfGoodsAndServicesSold	888,368us-gaap_CostOfGoodsAndServicesSold
Gross profit	397,918us-gaap_GrossProfit	393,615us-gaap_GrossProfit	383,553us-gaap_GrossProfit
Operating expenses:
Research and development	90,902us-gaap_ResearchAndDevelopmentExpense	85,168us-gaap_ResearchAndDevelopmentExpense	61,066us-gaap_ResearchAndDevelopmentExpense
Sales and marketing	157,017us-gaap_SellingAndMarketingExpense	153,804us-gaap_SellingAndMarketingExpense	149,766us-gaap_SellingAndMarketingExpense
General and administrative	46,552us-gaap_GeneralAndAdministrativeExpense	48,915us-gaap_GeneralAndAdministrativeExpense	45,027us-gaap_GeneralAndAdministrativeExpense
Restructuring and other charges	2,209ntgr_RestructuringAndOtherCharges	5,335ntgr_RestructuringAndOtherCharges	1,190ntgr_RestructuringAndOtherCharges
Litigation reserves, net	(1,011)	5,354	390
Goodwill impairment charges	74,196us-gaap_GoodwillImpairmentLoss	0us-gaap_GoodwillImpairmentLoss	0us-gaap_GoodwillImpairmentLoss
Intangibles Impairment charges	0us-gaap_AssetImpairmentCharges	2,000us-gaap_AssetImpairmentCharges	0us-gaap_AssetImpairmentCharges
Total operating expenses	369,865us-gaap_OperatingExpenses	300,576us-gaap_OperatingExpenses	257,439us-gaap_OperatingExpenses
Income from operations	28,053us-gaap_OperatingIncomeLoss	93,039us-gaap_OperatingIncomeLoss	126,114us-gaap_OperatingIncomeLoss
Interest income	253us-gaap_InvestmentIncomeInterest	400us-gaap_InvestmentIncomeInterest	498us-gaap_InvestmentIncomeInterest
Other income (expense), net	2,455us-gaap_OtherNonoperatingIncomeExpense	(457)us-gaap_OtherNonoperatingIncomeExpense	2,670us-gaap_OtherNonoperatingIncomeExpense
Income before income taxes	30,761	92,982	129,282
Provision for income taxes	21,973us-gaap_IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit	37,765us-gaap_IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit	42,743us-gaap_IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit
Net Income	$ 8,788us-gaap_NetIncomeLoss	$ 55,217us-gaap_NetIncomeLoss	$ 86,539us-gaap_NetIncomeLoss
Net income per share:
Basic net income per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.25us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic	$ 1.44us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic	$ 2.27us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic
Diluted net income per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.24us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted	$ 1.42us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted	$ 2.23us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted
Weighted average shares outstanding used to compute net income per share:
Basic (in shares)	35,771	38,379	38,057
Diluted (in shares)	36,445	38,948	38,747

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