Netgear Next Gen Nighthawk Routers

Product Description

Nighthawk AX6000 12-stream Wi-Fi router is powered by the industry's latest Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) standard with 4 times increased data capacity to handle today's and tomorrow's growing home network. Blazing-fast combined Wi-Fi speeds up to 6Gbps and ax optimized 64bit 2.2GHz quad-core processor powers Smart home applications, ultra-smooth 4K UHD streaming, online gaming, and more. Ax Wi-Fi features orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (ofdma) that dramatically increases network capacity. Plus, eight high-performance antennas on the router amplify Wi-Fi signals for maximized range and Reliable coverage. Nighthawk AX6000 12-stream router is also the first home router to have a 5G Multi-Gig port.

Features

• UNLEASH FASTER SPEED, EVEN MORE POWER: Optimal for devices built to support WiFi 6: Playstation 5, iPhone 11 & 12, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro 13 & Mac Mini, Ultra Notebooks, Samsung S10 & S20.
• WIFI 6 – STREAM EVERYTHING AT FASTER SPEED: Simultaneously stream uninterrupted movies, games, video calls or download/transfer files at 6 Gbps WiFi speed.
• WORKS WITH ALL INTERNET PROVIDERS: Replace your existing WiFi Router (separate modem or gateway required). Compatible with any Internet Service Provider up to 2Gbps including cable, satellite, fiber, DSL and more.
• EASY TO SET-UP AND MANAGE: Connects to your existing cable modem and sets up & customizes in minutes with the Nighthawk app – easily manage WiFi settings at the device and network level, test your Internet speed, view speed history & monitor data usage.
• USB CONNECTIONS: Share a storage drive with any connected device and create a personal cloud storage to access from anywhere using the 2 x 3.0 USB ports.
• NETGEAR ARMOR protects your family's WiFi with an automatic shield of security across all your connected devices with a 30-day free trial.
• WIRED ETHERNET PORTS: Plug in computers, game consoles, streaming players and other nearby wired devices with 4 x 1G and 1 x 1/2.5/5G Ethernet ports.
• LOADED WITH ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY: Designed with a 2.2GHz quad-core processor, OFDMA, MU-MIMO, Dynamic QoS, 1024-QAM, Smart Connect for one WiFi name, Beamforming technologies and Amazon Alexa Voice Control. Supports WPA2/WPA3 wireless security protocols.

Top Reviews

Solid router and very good performance
by AM ZN (5 out of 5 stars)
December 21, 2018

Disclaimer: Netgear has not paid me to write this review or asked me to endorse this product (AX 8). I was fortunate enough to be selected in beta testing of this router. I am providing feedback based on 2++ months real world use of this product.

Pros:
1) Awesome design
2) New Netgear GUI for setup and configuration - very easy to use and fast. I had the router setup in < 5 mins
3) Performance is decent out of the box - I expect with future firmware updates, this performance will improve more. Also performance will be better once you have matching AX clients connecting to the router
4) No wi-fi drops
5) Can handle 20 streaming clients without any issues
7) No buffering or stuttering when streaming wireless or wired
8) No dead spots in a 3500 sq feet home and coverage (3 bars) 30ft outside of house
9) Can create a single SSID which can handle both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz clients seamlessly
10) No issues connecting legacy AC wireless devices (Android and iOS)
11) No issue with VPN
12) Gigabit fiber speed test is 940mb/s up and down with a 2ms ping to testing server

Cons:
1) Price
2) You will need AX clients to really take advantage of this product. AX should be taking off in 2019+
3) You will hear the fan when you first power up the router. Also make sure you upgrade to .36 of the firmware after you setup the router to make sure fan does not stay running under normal use
4) Would have liked to see 8 gigabit ports for this price point
5) Would like to see parental controls, anti-virus add-ons in the future

Overall, I am very happy with the performance of this router (even on the first beta firmware). If you have a router that is more than 4 yrs old or have a household with lots of wireless devices, this router is a good choice.

The price is a bit expensive, but the router is well built. I expect performance to get better as firmware starts to mature. I have used the router every day for 2 months and it has worked flawlessly. Have not found any wi-fi dead spots in the house. Video streaming, web surfing, gaming all work without any issues.
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Quadrupled my speed 😀
by Reading&Writing (5 out of 5 stars)
January 1, 2017

Quadrupled my speed at home. There are 4 important points I'd like to make:
1) All these years I paid for a 50mbps speed from my cable company. I had an older Netgear from 2009 which has served me well all these years (and still works) but I decided it was time to upgrade. Typically I was getting only 12-17mbps through my wi-fi (for example, to my iPhone6). After getting this Nighthawk Router, I now get 57mbps on the same iPhone. All of my devices are much faster now... PS4, iPhones, iPads, Epson Printer, Baby Monitor, Tablets, Roku 3 box, Roku Streaming Stick, etc...
2) Cables .... Please note, one other thing I did in addition to getting this router is that I also bought all new cat6 cables (from Amazon Basics), and that has helped the router to connect well to the cable modem. From the router itself, I have a few wired items (Roku 3 box, PS4, my PC). And note that I tested the Roku 3 box, PS4, and PC wirelessly as well. In all conditions, wired with Cat6 cables and/or wi-fi, this Nighthawk router has delivered the speeds I was missing for years.
3) Interface.... Also, I like the interface for setting up and using the router. I like that you get two options of 2.4ghz or 5ghz connection. One thing to keep in mind is that some older devices can only use 2.4g so it is that old device itself that limits the connection speed (not your wi-fi necessarily). Newer devices are 5g capable and can maximize the speed capability.
4) Security... I also like the "Access Control" feature so that you have to permit a device to connect to your wi-fi. For example, when I got a new iPad this Christmas, I logged into my wi-fi network and put in the proper password, but it wouldn't connect to the internet. Then I went to the Netgear interface on my PC and it displayed that the iPad had been blocked (because Access Control is turned on). So then I simply hit a check box to "allow" the iPad onto my home network, and then it connected.

Finally, I am not a tech person, I just try to read up on things to the best of my ability. I hope my review helps some of you.
5 STARS
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It worked until a firmware upgrade broke it
by Andrew Beauchamp (1 out of 5 stars)
June 13, 2018

I bought this router less than a year ago and it worked great. The Circle feature was kind of cool and the app was nice. I had to move some furniture so I rebooted it a couple of days ago. I suspect that the reboot caused the upgraded firmware to load and I started having some devices drop from the network and be unable to reconnect. I hard reset the router, set everything up again from scratch, canceled the Circle feature, and after a few hours devices would drop again and be unable to reconnect. I went to the forums and found a beta version of the firmware. I loaded that, hard reset, reconfigured, and still devices were dropping and unable to reconnect.

I love the idea of this device being feature rich, but it can't be at the expense of providing the base function. I went out a bought a Linksys router to replace it.
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Jury still out - starting to wonder why I upgraded.
by hgpilot - MM (3 out of 5 stars)
February 10, 2019

Replaced my Netgear Nighthawk X10 / 7200 with this. I have a full gig coming into my house and with the old Netgear could get almost 925MB up and down from a wired desktop. With this new one - identically configured - I'm only getting 425MB. Wireless 2.4 and 5 are much slower as well - I'm going to keep looking at these settings but unless I can figure out what's going on, I'm going to return this and go back to my X10.

Also - I can't notice any stronger penetration / signal strength with this AX8 than from my X10 - I still need 2 extenders to reach my entire house.
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Wow - Blown away
by AnAmazonKing (5 out of 5 stars)
March 4, 2019

Don't waste your time getting the new AX (wifi 6) tech since its not readily available in devices they said. Don't spend the money cause its gonna be like a normal router for a couple of years until more are released.

Let me tell you - ignore that. This is a BEAST. I spent 3+ weeks trying out different solutions on wifi. I tried Orbi mesh. While that is a good product, I am not really in need of a mesh. Speeds averaged 460-525 Mbps. (I tested at different times of day but same time frames with other products).

I tried the XR500 Nighthawk that is one of the highest rated devices with DumaOS. So many issues that I was losing my mind. I tried several fixes. Separate the bands, channels, etc. My security cams were going offline every 30 mins or so for at least 15. I was so fed up with trying to trouble shoot the device. My speeds were 580 - 670 Mbps with it which I did enjoy. But speed is only useful if its actually CONNECTED to the devices.

Last ditch effort I tried this router. The RAX80 and holy moly. Plugged in, used the mobile app and was up within 5 mins. Every device attached with no issues. No disconnects after multiple days use. Speed improvement on every item. I have 38 devices accessing my wifi as part of the smart home. This monster just cranks it out. No problems at all. My speed on several tests as compared to the same day/ time as the ones above - 830-960 Mbps I am not sure why its such a huge improvement but it is. I cannot say enough good things about this router. Not only is is a monster with handling speeds and multiple devices - just look at it. It is not one you want to hide. You want to show this baby off. Several people have asked me what the space ship is. This thing went from being in an Amazon box to installed and cranking out wifi / lan within 10 minutes and NOT a single drop of signal. I am future proof as well. So I say if you can afford it, do not hesitate. You will really like it.

EDIT:

After 2 months this router is still the best one I've ever seen. Still getting top level speeds right at a gig. I've got 42 devices attached to it (smart home) and it doesn't even cough. I rarely am this surprised. This router is still #1 in everything I tried!
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Not worth the cost
by Anthony Perkins (1 out of 5 stars)
January 15, 2019

As in another user, I too, am not willing to pay the price for this router. My previous router, which I still have, and am going to reconnect, is the Asus Wireless AC3100 Gigabit Router (RT-AC3100). I consistently receive between 230-500 Mbps on wifi. I sometimes have issues with ip conflicts, which is why I was looking for something more (all my address issues would go away after restarting the router, weird, I know). After connecting the Netgear router, which also didn't just pick up on my previous wifi settings, my speed dropped to no more than 95 mbps on wireless, with 4 different speed test apps. At the same time, the Nighthawk app consistently showed over 450 mbps, which I knew to be false. It was false because my pages would take longer to load, and I would experience some buffering issues. I have over 25 connected devices in my home, including 5 UHD tv's, 3 gaming systems, including a PS4 Pro, 4 computers, several tablets, and 5 mobile devices. Maybe I will reach out to Netgear to see if my router is faulty, as I am now receiving consistently around 145 mbps. Is that worth $500? Not by a long shot!
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Once this was a 5 star router, until connectivity problems surfaced
by Kurt Johnson (2 out of 5 stars)
January 7, 2018

A month or two go, I would have written a FIVE star review. But just recently, I have connectivity issues. I was using independent 2G and 5G Wi-Fi endpoints, but consolidated them under a single name and password. When they were separate, everything was fine.

I started having the internet drop off after a while. My suspicion was that this started after I tried using Disney Circle - Netgear pushes this subscription service for parental control. I tried it, but dropped it when there were connection problems. I removed it and since reset the device back to factory settings.

Since then, smart home devices are no longer getting to the Internet. Phones received browser messages that the Internet was down. We only use streaming TV services, and those were working. I knew it was a Wi-Fi connectivity issue. Oddly, my laptop was connecting fine. Until it started dropping as well.

It just seems like a few devices were being dropped, then all of them were being dropped.

Searches on the Netgear site tell you to reset the router to factory settings -- which I did to no avail. I combined the wireless networks under a single SSID and password. But that worked only when you got on the 5G connection. Upgrading the router firmware did not correct the issue either. What's more - people were adamant that the newer firmware made the problems worse. I cannot conclude or disprove this.

All I know is that we have had this router for a while and it suddenly started indiscriminately dropping devices from the network.

I cannot recommend this router until Netgear can get their firmware issues in order.
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Performed as expected.
by MLR (4 out of 5 stars)
January 14, 2019

First impressions of the new NETGEAR Nighthawk AX8 8-Stream AX6000 Wi-Fi Router. Previous situation: AT&T DSL service over landline with an old Speedstream modem. My devices were hardwired (via CAT5 and a Linksys 10/100 switch model EZXS55W) and others Wi-Fi to a Linksys WRT1900 AC router. The AT&T service provided a max of 6 Mbps download and .8 Mbps upload. AT&T did not provide any better service to the area so I needed to go with another (Spectrum) provider. This new service was for 100 Mbps download and 5-10 Mbps upload. Considerably better than what I had. I decided that I would go all out and try to get the maximum benefit from the service and a little future proofing. I had purchased a Netgear CM600 modem instead of the supplied modem and router from Spectrum. I also ordered a new switch (Netgear 8 port 10/100/1000 model GS108) for my wired devices. I also pre-ordered the NETGEAR Nighthawk AX8 8-Stream AX6000 Wi-Fi Router. My house is around 1700 sq. ft. with a finished basement. Most of the equipment is in the basement. The previous modem/router was in the basement. It covered the whole house. However, it did not cover any area outside of the house such as the garage and outside the front door. I particularly wanted the range to go out the front door to potentially add security cameras without having to use Wi-Fi extenders. I was lucky enough to be able to get the Spectrum cable fished directly from the outside box to the same location as my previous modem/router. I hooked up the Netgear modem - all good. I connected a PC directly to the modem (CAT 5) and speed tested at 118 Mbps download and 11 Mbps upload. Since I did not have the new router yet, I just reconnected the Linksys WRT1900. The testing PC was then connected to the Linksys WRT1900. It still speed tested at the same. However, other PCs hardwired to a switch and then to the Linksys WRT1900 speed tested around the 60 Mbps download and 9 Mbps upload. Mobile units tested anywhere from 60-90 Mpbs and 11 Mbps upload. I figured the old switch had a lot to do with the hardwired slower speed. When the new switch came in, I installed it and that cleared up the speed problem (now 118 Mbps download and 11 Mbps upload) on the hardwired PCs. Once the Nighthawk AX8 came in, I replaced the Linksys router. Speed on the mobiles tested in at 117 Mbps download and 11.94 upload. The overall range of the Wi-Fi increased. It now covered the whole garage and only started to decrease in strength after moving about 15 ft. from the front door. As for specifics about the Nighthawk AX8, the unit is stylish. May remind you of something that would come out of a Star Wars or Star Trek show. If you are looking for an easy set up of a typical home network, it is very simple. Just follow the instructions in the provided Quick Start guide. If you need more advanced customization, you need to go to the Netgear support site and download the manual for this unit. The only instructions included in the box is the Startup guide and a note about upgrading the firmware. Unit comes with a power supply, network cable and startup guide. The "wings" (antenna units) were folder flat in the box. They simply lift up and then push the wings down to snap into place. Connect the network cable to the modem. Power up the device. I downloaded the app on my phone. The app connects automatically when it is started. Once connected the app prompted to upgrade the firmware. I walked through the rest of the setup on my phone app. Piece of cake. Having been able to max out the provided service from Spectrum on all my devices was icing on the cake. The extended coverage was even more so. I have seen several comments about the fan running on this unit. It did NOT start running when the unit was powered on. It has not yet turned on so I cannot comment if it has a noise issue or not. Firmware level is at 1.0.1.40_1.0.22. The unit seems to be well made and sturdy. There were two caveats to the good experience. Both are concerning the USB connections on the back of the unit. The first is that the USB connections on the back of the unit are too close to each other. I usually, put in two 128 GB sticks in the Linksys with no problems. The ones I used were about 13/16" wide. Way too wide for the Netgear. I would say if you have USBs to use that are wider than 5/8" (maybe 11/16") two will not fit. My solution will be to see if I can find a couple of short USB extensions with a narrow end. Purely a poor design issue. The other caveat is that there is no information included concerning how to use and configure the USB connections. You must download the manual to get any initial setup and network mapping information. Otherwise, I would have given the unit a 5 star on "Easy to Use". It is a little pricey at $399. However, I believe it will take me into future a good way and support any speed and protocol changes for a while. As long as there are no immediate performance issues that come up, I would readily recommend it.
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connection problems and very poor customer support
by B. Weinberg (1 out of 5 stars)
December 30, 2017

I want to like this router, but it has major disconnection problems and netgear support is terrible. The router was working well for a little bit more than a year and is coupled with a netgear dual band extender. Good speeds throughout my house, with lots of configurations options.

Then, it just starts dropping wireless connections. I know when it drops because I get an email from our connected thermostat saying that it doesn't connect to the internet properly. A reboot of the router brings the connections back, but it's been happening every couple of days. Tried a firmware update and complete factory reset, still having the problem.

All of this might be enough to give it a pretty bad review, but then I talked to netgear support and it simply got terrible. Apparently these devices only come with 90 days of technical support. After that, they don't even want to talk to you, UNLESS YOU BUY A SUPPORT PLAN! It's ridiculous that they want you to buy a support plan for $90 to get problems with their device. If I'm going to spend $90, it'll be to buy a router from a different company. Put simply, they don't stand behind this product and try to extract more money from you. They don't even seem apologetic about it.

I'd stay away from this product. Netgear products have a good reputation and it worked fine when it was working. However, I'm now faced with troubleshooting connection problems with no help, trying open source firmware, or getting a new router. A high end device should work better than this.
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Beyond what I expected!but do not get the r7500 the r7000 is far more stable!
by cheetoresidue (5 out of 5 stars)
January 6, 2017

I'll have to give this 5 Stars. This thing nearly quadrupled my speeds and is fairly consistent . I had an old Netgear 300 for the past 4 years. I upgraded all my consoles, got a 4k tv this past December.All of my streaming Media that my family uses such as PS Vue YouTube etc was taking a toll on my old routers bandwidth. Plus I work at home as a CCTV engineer so I have a bunch of equipment that's uses my network. It just could not handle the traffic anymore though it still worked and limited to around 20mbps. I have a high 100mbps plan with my ISP

This router totally fixes the issue and performs beyond my expectations.

I will say this I did not upgrade the firmware because of user feed back. I left it the way it was because I Don't have issues with it on the current software It's on. Doesn't matter what type of device it is upgrades always have something broken in the firmware and have to wait till the next fix. I will say in this case these companies nickel and dime you for support when they should honor their warranties and back their products.

Update: I am a picky person so don't let this affect your decision. This is an amazing router (Netgear AC 1900 ) and like I said it nearly quadrupled my speeds .But because of the higher model (r7500v2) is almost the same price on a flash deal through Amazon and got a gift card for my birthday I will have to return this one and get the model that is one step up. I will always want the higher model if I find a great deal that is my preference.. . If this one does not work out out I will return it. And keep the Netgear AC 1900 but I highly recommend this router even though out is almost 3 years old. We don't upgrade routers like we do phones so keep that in mind. So I strongly believe this or these routers should be at good , up to current standards and future proof for at least 5 years

Update again: so I have had the the r7500 v2 for a week now. Researching deep into its issue's on online forums and you I have found that it drops connected devices on 2.4GHZ . And what do you know it's true! I upgraded to the latest firmware when I got it. It was fine after a few days then today all my devices that were on 2.4GHZ dropped. I searched for the SSID on the network and it was non existent. Thank God I have not returned my r7000 yet.

I will be returning the r7500 v2 and keeping the r7000. Keep in mind I researched the r7000 is a more matured router with no issues like I found in reviews for the r7500. It is said the r7000 is a far more stable router and honestly the specs of the r7500 is not needed for I would say 98 percent consumers. I can vouch for the r7000 (AC1900) is a solid router.

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