Customer Ratings & Reviews

Using with Comcast TG862G Modem/Router. Setup wasn't the easiest (nothing to do with the Nighthawk AC3200), but now that it's setup wifi connection speeds and signal strength's are better than I could have imagined!!! Every device connects and stays connected!!!

I bought this router to replace my perfectly working Asus RT-66R model. I wanted to change my router just to get bit more range in my new 2200sqft home. Prior to getting this router I have tried one of the best range extender Ampedwireless AE-20. It’s range was excellent, but connection was very much degraded and struggled to get connected at times though it was set up to clone settings from original router. So, after reading few positive reviews on BBY and mixed reviews on amazon, I decided to give new Nighthawk R8000 a try. I am happy with its slightly improved range than Asus and very much disappointed with its 2.4Ghz performance. I have more than 15 years of network experience and I really don’t bother tech support unless until it is really out of my hand and hardware specific. Here I am trying to do a fair comparison with two routers I have (Asus & Netgear) + sign means “better” and – signs means “poor” Wired Connection: + RT-66R has excellent wired connection which works at par with Motorola SB6141’s consistency - R8000 has fair wired connection with slight consistency issues. Wireless 5.0 Ghz: + RT-66R has excellent consistent connection + R8000 has excellent consistent connection as well at full speed by ISP Wireless 5.0 Ghz Second Connection: - RT-66R Not applicable (does not come with this feature) + R8000 excellent connection with full speed by ISP’s Wireless 2.4 Ghz: +RT-66R has excellent connection with 80~Mbps out of my actual 120~Mbps ISP feed at channel 6 with 450 Mbps capability. - R8000 is a complete failure in terms of 2.4Gh network I have tried all available channels and found it degrade my 120~Mbps connection 1-14 ~ Mbps At this point I called customer service and it sounded like they kind of aware of the issue. With minimal trouble shooting and changing the channels to their recommended channels (01, 06, 09 & 11), there was no improvement. So they asked me to degrade from 600Mpbs to 289Mbps and it started working. So technically now their claim of 3200Mbps became 2911Mbps. Access Control: + RT-66R has fairly good access control capabilities. You can schedule what time of the day each device can access the internet. This feature is important for me as I found it is very useful with kids on top of parental control settings. - R8000 access control only let you allow or deny connecting a particular device. You cannot decide what time it should be able to connect. – Major drawback for me. Parental Control: - RT-66R has poor parental control settings, but with an option to point DNS to OpenDNS we can achieve better parental control settings with their FREE offerings. +R8000 – also use OpenDNS but with dedicated service assigned to netgear so that you can add bypass account also which can’t be done with OpenDNS free account. This is the only additional benefit I found with this router so far compared to RT-66R. VPN: + RT-66R is also able to use OpenVPN with mobile access with their free App. I was abe to access local network using iOS and Android devices with no issues. -R8000 – did not bother to check as soon as I read that it does not support mobile devices using same OpenVPN platform. LED Control: - RT-66R – Not applicable (missing feature) +R8000 – very useful feature if you have your router in bedroom or other place you don’t like lot of flashing lights. Can be accessed via web GUI and with a dedicated hard button at the rear of the router. USB Storage and Cloud access: +RT-66R allow you to create a personal cloud with your router with AiCloud application. I am able to enjoy my music and movies over AiCloud on the move. - R8000 – could not find any documentation about cloud access. Only information I found is about ReadyCloud and it is dedicated to Netgear NAS only. Another major setback for an expensive router. Web GUI: Though Netgear has a simple interface and easy to follow GUI, it lack modern look and feeling. I like Asus GUI better. Customer service: + Asus- Never had to call them. No subscription fee, 24/7 free support (as far as you are within product warranty). - Netgear – Though I received prompt customer service when I called, it was shocking to learn that the phone support is only available for 90 days of purchase, then you have to pay PREMIUM subscription to get phone support. CONCLUSION: I have thoroughly tested all important feature that I need. Rest of the features are generic to me and I am not bothered much about them. I am sure this router with Dual 5.0Ghz network will be very useful for those who have new wireless devices. For me I have a lot of devices that depends on 2.4Ghz frequency such as smoke detectors, thermostat, laptop that connects to NAS for backup etc. and degraded and unreliable 2.4Ghz network make it absolutely worthless considering the amount I spent on this router. I am seriously thinking to take this back to the store. I don’t see any point in spending almost double amount of money to get a couple of benefits and a lot of drawbacks and pay for a premium to get their phone support if needed to an overpriced product. I would not recommend this router at its current price and it is unable to meet its original claims and comes with a premium phone support after 90 days.

Hasn't failed me once yet! Love the speeds and excellent signal range throughout my 6000 square foot house! Even reaches into far my background. I've picked up signal from down the street before haha.

This is a fantastic product. It took less than 10 minutes to set it up. Just by plugging in this router, our download speed’s more than doubled!!! The Wi-Fi range also vastly improved throughout the whole home. We have spectrum Internet and this product works seamlessly as advertised. With 11 devices within the home, this router can handle all gaming and video streaming with ease. I highly recommend it!!

This is the router that Comcast is loaning out to its new Gigabit speed customers. It totally can match the Gigabit high speed where other routers have failed. As others have said, it reaches areas where other wireless routers could not. One hint though, if you're using the Nighthawk on a Gigabit connection, make sure its "Traffic Meter" is NOT enabled! It will slow down your connection by at least a half, even on an Ethernet connection. Just keep its traffic meter off and you'll be fine.

This has really good coverage throughout the entire home including the basement and into the backyard. Only issue has been it sometimes drops connection with Windows 8. Not sure why and doesn't happen with our Mac or phones.

Was having Wi-Fi issues with an older NETGEAR router, I've had this router for four days and I also got the Nighthawk AC 1900 Wi-Fi range extender and "WOW" what a difference in speed. I read all the negative reviews about this router, but I have to say I am very happy with the purchase, no issues as of yet. The only complaint I have is that the antennae's don't open up automatically like in the video.....just kidding.

what can I say, my router was about 5 yrs old (Asus) & decided to go with Nighthawk AC3200. honestly, the specs on this router is over kill if you are planning to use it for home networking. I got this because I didn't want to deal with it again for another few years. my connectivity has approved by a lot. I feel like I just came back from the stone age. very good router so far. one downside is I cant seem to figure out how to change my log in to access the router settings. if its there, very hard to figure out. Best router so far. however, in a few months that might change......

This is by far the best one that I have had so far I am a heavy media streamer and gamer and it handles all of it like a champ! All of this over WIFI! And the Internet speed has increased as well.

I purchased this item to upgrade my home network for multiple wireless devices and to stream media. I'm a cord cutter (using over the air TV and streaming media for my entertainment), thus fast, stable wireless and wired connectivity is very important to me. I also work from home using the internet for my work every day. The Nighthawk setup was quick and easy, and the Netgear Genie interface easy to use for an intermediate to advanced user. When the Nighthawk worked, it was very fast, but never stable; needed a reset every 48 hours or so. After 3 months of this type of performance, it would no longer maintain a connection. I contacted Netgear Customer support and tried 5 different possible fixes they offered for the problems I was experiencing. Thankfully I'm a techy-type and understood how to do all those fixes that were offered. I thought at the time that someone with less experience or someone who was afraid to try the tech fixes, would be in real trouble; feeling stuck and helpless. When it was determined it was a hardware failure, I was given a RMA number and asked to ship the unit with tracking (at MY cost) to them. In 7 business days I received a replacement unit. I had sent them mine in excellent condition with no nicks or scratches, in the original box. The replacement I received had a chunk out of the antenna and scuffs all over it. It was packaged very poorly; loosely wrapped in bubble wrap in a basic brown box, with the antennas rolling around the box. The refurbished replacement unit worked for a few weeks and then it too began having issues dropping connectivity, and needing frequent resets. I also bought the R7000 model and had a similar experience. Since I had this experience with (3) Netgear Nighthawk routers in 6 months and now am using a TP-Link Archer 8 without incident and achieving faster download speeds and stable signal quality, I believe the Nighthawk series may have some serious software and hardware issues. Considering the high price on this item, you may want to consider similar products from TP-Link, Asus and D-Link before you grab this one - even on sale. Save yourself the potential headache of dealing with connectivity issues and lack of quality customer service after the sale.

Everything in my house runs so much better quicker and it was easy to install in perhaps 10 minutes to 15 minutes. I am not an IT expert and I had no issues at all. Worth the money.

This router is amazing! It is super easy to set up and security is quite good for a router. You can run both 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands at the same time without sacrificing speeds to the lowest connected device. This is great for gamers and people with high speed internet speeds. If you want the best speeds, connectivity options, and versatility, you need this router!

I bought this one to replace my old aging R7000 series router since it has started having issues with the 5Ghz dropping. That router lasted me for about 4 years so it was time for a new one. It was able to handle about 25 connections on average and sometimes more as ranging from wired to wireless (printers, phones, laptops, etc.) So I needed a High performance Router. I tried the Asus AC3100 unit and it couldn't deliver even though it was receiving good reviews. Returned it and went with this router instead. Setup was straight forward and UI was a breeze since I was used to the functions of the R7000. I like the tri band feature so that I can spread out my devices over multiple frequencies. It picked up all my devices without any issues and I was up and running in no time. The Network Genie app is nice as well. Straight forward controls without having to log in to the IP address, if you're not comfortable. I would recommend this router to any power user that has a lot of devices on their network and do not want them to get dropped connections.

This router was exactly what I needed for a better wifi experience. Paired this with a modem I bought and never looked back. Still amazing after all these years!

Got this one to replace an Apple Extreme. I needed something with more configuration flexibility and features, and this router has gone beyond my expectations. Both wired and wireless networks are very fast, i rarely have to reboot the router, and the range is very good.

Love it, replaced an old Linksys E1200. This one is like having a lambo

This router has terrific range. It was easy setup and allowed me to fill the whole house in even my basement. Only flaw is the folding flaps are cheap and can break easily. Had to return for a new one because of it. Otherwise fantastic!

What I have with AT&T is supposed to be their fastest and yet there are constant errors and buffering when streaming. I purchased this top of the line Netgear and now my streaming is 100% better. Even though I think it's way overpriced Best Buy is still a Best Buy. Thanks Again

Works great, aplified my unternet and has been working wondeful especially if you have almost every decice in your home digitakl

Truly the best router we've ever had. We are a WiFi household where all game systems, phones,TV's are running on wifi. Previous routers couldn't handle all this and experienced a lot of buffering. This router ended all that. As a matter of fact my WiFi signal can be picked up a block and a half away from the house.