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) .

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

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.

This router was by far the best and also very easy to set up. I liked it mainly because it works well for online gaming and also for the other smaller devices like phones and laptops. And on top of that I can have various devices running at the same time without lag.

Over all the router works great now that I figured it out. Make sure that you call your Internet service provider prior to using this and ask them how to go about using it with your modem

I was surrounded by the bunch of WiFi access point and my old router was struggling to keep the signal strong. This one made the connection strong again and all local devices connected to it with no problems. Signal is strong in regular and 5G band.

Needed a new router due to diminishing performance of previous Netgear router, and the value of this one was too good to pass up. Set up using web portal as opposed to app, interface is exactly the same as the one used for old router. Noticed immediate improvement when streaming on Fire Stick. Getting advertised ISP download speed on 5G band (with typically about two devices connected) and about one-third of advertised download speed on 2.4G band (with about seven devices connected). Currently using in one-floor, 1000-square-foot home with router set up in room in corner of home where the door is usually closed. Will be moving to bigger home with three levels soon and plan to update this review then.

I needed to get a new router with the new mu-mimo technology. Best Buy had an incredible deal on this one I couldn’t pass up. I had previously tried a TP Link router, but it would not sync correctly with some devices I own, so until I could find a suitable replacement, I put my former router, my old faithful Netgear AC1200. With their beam forming technology, I had all my smart devices up and running in no time. 6.0 WiFi? Maybe next year...