Commitments And Contingencies (Narrative) (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($) $ / products	Sep. 14, 2010 patents
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
2016	$ 8,429,000
Operating leases expiration date	Dec. 31, 2026
Operating Leases, Rent Expense	$ 9,800,000	$ 10,800,000	$ 9,900,000
Continued vesting period after termination without cause (in years)	1 year
Number of days for non-cancellation of purchase obligations prior to expected shipment date (in days)	30 days
Non-cancelable purchase commitments	$ 132,800,000
Liability for Director and Officer Indemnification Agreements	0
Liability For Customers, Distributors, and Resellers Indemnification Agreements	$ 0
Number of patents company is accused of infringing (in patents) | patents				8
Estimated future RAND royalty rate 2018 through 2020 | $ / products			0.05
Reasonable and nondiscriminatory (RAND) royalty rate (USD per unit) | $ / products			0.15
D-Link [Member] | Ericsson v. NETGEAR [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss Contingency, Damages Awarded, Value			$ 435,000
NETGEAR [Member] | Ericsson v. NETGEAR [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss Contingency, Damages Awarded, Value			3,555,000
Toshiba [Member] | Ericsson v. NETGEAR [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss Contingency, Damages Awarded, Value			2,445,000
Belkin [Member] | Ericsson v. NETGEAR [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss Contingency, Damages Awarded, Value			600,000
Acer Gateway [Member] | Ericsson v. NETGEAR [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss Contingency, Damages Awarded, Value			1,170,000
Dell [Member] | Ericsson v. NETGEAR [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss Contingency, Damages Awarded, Value			$ 1,920,000
46 To 60 Days [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Percentage of cancelable orders	50.00%
31 To 45 Days [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Percentage of cancelable orders	25.00%
Chief Executive Officer [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of weeks for which salary is payable upon termination of employment without cause (in days)	365 days
Number of years after change of control to trigger full accelerated vest of unvested portion of stock options (in years)	1 year
Senior Vice President Of Worldwide Operations And Support [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of weeks for which salary is payable upon termination of employment without cause (in days)	273 days
Other Key Executives [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of weeks for which salary is payable upon termination of employment without cause (in days)	182 days
Maximum number of years covered by accelerated vest for other key executives if term without cause is within one year of change in control (in years)	2 years
Minimum [Member] | 46 To 60 Days [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Required notice period prior to the expected shipment date (in days)	46 days
Minimum [Member] | 31 To 45 Days [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Required notice period prior to the expected shipment date (in days)	31 days
Maximum [Member] | 46 To 60 Days [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Required notice period prior to the expected shipment date (in days)	60 days
Maximum [Member] | 31 To 45 Days [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Required notice period prior to the expected shipment date (in days)	45 days