I don't understand this forced Netgear account stuff, as I just let my new GS308T and GS308E boot and get a DHCP address, check which address handed to them on my RPi4 and http to that address.
Both routers logged in with what I would think is full functionality OEM firmware, of course less features are on the GS308E which cost CAD $33 compared to the GS308T which cost CAD $80.
I never created a Netgear account, so there is no need for such in any case. Here's the support page to the GS308T and GS808E manuals :
Gigabit Ethernet Smart Managed Plus Switches User Manual (netgear.com)
Although I am a switch Newbee, I just started going through the manuals, but it seems I have access to everything in the manuals... Without any Netgear account setup, as I hate vendor accounts to access devices, Linksys tries same, but there's a local option.
I would hope to move the GS308T (not the GS308E) to OpenWrt soon, but I am hesitant on how to reproduce the functionality of the OEM firmware.
Anyone have indications on how to get there ?