And thank you, @yage ! And thank you also for the links! No, I have not looked into unbricking etc... Fascinating stuff but not sure I'm up to diving into it. On the other hand, if the router is a brick the worst is buying a new one, which obviously I'm mentally getting prepared for...
My understanding of digital signal transmission and processing is very limited but I read/heard about bit error issues and clock accuracy issues. I guess how the data is sent is one thing (and do we know exactly what equipment they use?) and how it is being received and processed is another, isn't it?
Thanks again! My current plan is to order a new router from Amazon Prime (as to which one I'm soliciting opinions here). Once it arrived, try a hard-reset of the Netgear. If successful, send the new one back. if not, set up the new one and take the Netgear to the electronics recycling pile.