NETGEAR - Nighthawk AC2600 Dual-Band Wi-Fi Router - Black

The challenges Well only one really, is going on Prime or Netflix and it will say no internet connection available? This is the main reason i purchased this as it has mu-memo for dedicated device technology . Well so far it has only happened once on Prime then i went to Netflix and it worked then back to Prime and it was working again I was happy to see quick fixed results . As previously I was switching 1 of the smart tv's to 2.4 ghz and 1 laptop in living room to try to get some type of speed . This has almost completely eliminated that . Oh and the lights on this are like a disco ball and strobe light in my room even all mounted behind a 55" TV and on a floating shelf for the previous router as it was much smaller more vertical than a big square , But I see people complain about a tiny light on QI chargers for their cell phones (this would not be for you if your router is in your bedroom lol ) basically this is a flashing night light !!! I just hope they dont burn out as I was always use to just a single stationary light no flashing every 3 seconds .. Hook is nice ho hard wire needed just download the phone app and away you go . . Very strait forward and simple if you follow the instructions . I came from a 1900 series this is a 2600 series both AC and good quality , This is like a strobe light in my bed room the lights are always flashing I was so use to just a solid blue or white single light , well this Flashes 4 out of 5 on the left side every 3 seconds all the time , on the right you have 4 that just remain on all the time . The 5 in the middle are off ( I am guessing this is if you hard wire something since they are numbered they would also come on and stay on . As far as distance I dont notice a difference, but with the mu mimo it does seem to connect to my LG oled tv's better and keep up speeds even in low range areas (mind you this is only a 1000 sq ft apartment and even a cheap router should have no problem But with all the traffic from neighbors NOT being on my network it interferes ) Even with this router but not nearly as much so far anyway . I have only had it about 1 week and I love the phone app saying where my "dead spots were in living room and kitchen are now getting 300-400 mbps This would be like having Geek squad come out to find the dead spots and set up a mesh system and charge you 150$ for their time well this is free ! I only know this because the app has System analytics which allows you to walk anywhere in your home and test the speeds (they are labeled bedroom 1 and 2 living room kitchen office etc. So just go into the room and hit test and then you can swipe right and find out which frequency your on as well (removing interference) .

This router was easy to set up. All parts and accessories were included. When I had an issue with ethernet I called tech support and the expert helped. Found out there is free tech support for a year. You can also go to online support. I would recommend this product.

My Asus router died so I needed a replacement. Asus routers are a little more in depth with the feature set and what can be changed in the settings. Netgear is a more plug and play experience, which is good for the majority of the population. I ended up getting this around Black Friday for half off. Excellent deal! I was also in need of a router with a secured guest-network, which this has (both on the 5 and 2.4 bands). You can enable both, or just one or the other. This is also one of Netgear's newest AC2600 routers. There are older routers also called AC2600. That is not the model number, it's the performance/bandwidth. The model number is R7400-100NAS. There is an R7350-100NAS (AC2400) that is slightly cheaper, but slightly less bandwidth as well. If you want a router with superb range, and is easy to setup and get going, that will handle all of the devices in your home, this is the one. Even the 5Ghz network reaches across my house. With my older Asus I would have to switch to the 2.4 band for long distances. Not anymore. Beamforming and MU-MIMO really help, but must be activated in the modems settings, not the Nighthawk app. The Nighthawk app is useless (basically for setup, updating firmware, and individually turning off internet access to your kids' specific devices without shutting down the whole network). So to actually get to all of the routers settings you must go to 192.168.1.1 address instead of using the app. A MAJOR negative in my opinion is that you CANNOT CHANGE THE DEFAULT"ADMIN" LOGIN NAME!. This reduces the login security by 50% if someone already knows the login ID. So make sure you put a real strong password. Like I said, this is a user friendly router that will get you up and running quick. If you prefer something with some extra tinkering options, look elsewhere. And be sure to look on Netgear's site for the full feature set of the router. This site has very little info.. I didn't know the router had a dual-band guest network until I checked Netgear.

Great router. Was an upgrade from one that I had for a long time. Set up is easy. Only requires a phone and the Nighthawk app. Once you make a Netgear account you can begin to set it up. Everything was straight forward. Only hiccup was when it would try to recognize the router make sure that WIFI on your phone is turned on and your phone should be able to find its signal. Both at the beginning of the process with its temporary router name and password and again once you set up your own router name and password. Overall all my devices are connected. No more getting disconnected constantly. 2.4 GHz can send the signal farther and go through walls better, but may be slower/or downloading less at the same time. 5GHz has a smaller radius for signal and may not go through walls if they are too thick or far away. However, speeds may be faster and can handle heavier download load. So pick which one will be better for you. One will be YOUR_NETWORK_NAME and the other will be YOUR_NETWORK_NAME-5G

As promised, this router delivers great performance in a large house, but getting it up and running, if you are not used to doing so by means of a cellphone app is a bit frustrating, Sure, the app covers the basics, but if you want to disable SSID broadcasting, or perform other less frequently considered security tweaks, you will not find such options there. The limited information provided in the box, in the app and online may leave you wondering if it is even possible to access the more advanced settings of this router, but if you set up a direct PC/laptop Ethernet connection to the router and apply the router's address via browser, you can uncover all the features not revealed by the app. I will note that the aforementioned disabling of SSID broadcast comes with a curious flaw. Doing so for the two bands (2.4 & 5 GHz) without disabling the optional "Smart Connection" feature of the router will not only hide your router's name from area devices as desired, but will also prevent connection from any Apple devices with newer iOS versions, even when the network name and password are properly entered! The work-around for this was to disable the SC feature, and use the same network name for both bands, as this feature otherwise would do anyway, Doing so allowed proper connection to the router for all devices tested, simply by supplying the proper credentials once. Other than this one fault, I have found this router a strong performer almost out of the box. For those not concerned with advanced details, the Nighthawk AC2600 provides easy setup via the app, and the built-in dual firewall checks all the right security boxes. My value rating is based on Black Friday pricing, but I would still consider it to be a good value at full price.

Replaced an old T-Mobile router with this after it was no longer supported and this router was on sale. This has worked flawlessly and and covers our whole house and some outdoor space. The USB drive attachment works well. The iPhone app is so nice to use and SpeedTest is a nice feature.

This router lives up to its name! If you enjoy consistent speeds for things like 4K streaming, downloading large files, or online gaming, the Nighthawk is for you. I picked this up at a very low price point during the 2019 holiday sales (89.99). That being said, if you are serious about upgrading or improving the wifi range in your home, it is worth its current price point, too. Speaking of range: I live in a two-story, three-bedroom home with my router and modem downstairs, and my gaming rig upstairs on the opposite side of the house. I have 100% signal strength upstairs and a ping of 12ms with only a slight dip in download speed compared to my wired units downstairs. I don't even notice when I play online games using a wireless connection. If you have even a little bit of experience setting up a home network, this router will not give you any trouble whatsoever. I recommend, as the box did, that you first download the Nighthawk app to your phone before you proceed with install. It makes analytics, speedtesting, and optimizing that much easier! Also, the app lets you adjust (or turn off) the status lights on the unit!

The nighthawk AC2600 router has been a major upgrade to my previous. The connection is fast, the download speed is high quality, and my ping is consistently under 20ms. This is great for any household that is trying to upgrade the internet connection. Unfortunately, the router does struggle a tiny bit when streaming 4K video and with high level gaming streaming simultaneously. However, for the regular household that just needs reliable internet connection to surf the web, watch YouTube, and stream Netflix, this is more than capable and is very reliable. The mobile app lets you keep track of your connected devices, while allowing you to run connection test speeds and gives you test history so you can compare and contrast how well the router performs under different levels of devices connected. Very good buy for the price (when on sale).