Gigabit+ Wi-Fi for the Common Dwelling

The Netgear Nighthawk RAXE300 router joined the Nighthawk household as one of many first to introduce the Wi-Fi 6E normal. Its tri-band sign actually packs a punch, although to essentially reap the benefits of the RAXE300, you will want state-of-the-art wi-fi units and a hearty gigabit web plan.

I spent about three weeks utilizing this router with a 1 gigabit connection streaming and transferring information along with common do business from home actions. For probably the most half, it was a clean and seamless expertise, though I did discover that the brand new 6Ghz band particularly could not attain each nook of my comparatively small house. The variety of LAN ports could disappoint you should you plan to go surfing, and the utmost WAN connection, 2.5 Gbps, is not the best in the marketplace.

That mentioned, so long as you do not anticipate to get an web plan that exceeds 2.5 gigabits for the lifetime of the router, the RAXE300 actually justifies its worth. Let’s break down why Netgear went house with How-To Geek’s Greatest Router award at CES 2022.

Setup: Normally a chunk of cake

Getting the RAXE300 up and working was nearly plug-and-play utilizing the Nighthawk app (out there on Android and iPhone). Nevertheless, I discovered it annoying that it tries to get you to create a Netgear account earlier than beginning the setup. If you have already got an account, clearly it will not be an issue. If it would not, here is a fast tip: I discovered I might get round that requirement by disconnecting from Wi-Fi and cellular knowledge earlier than opening the app. (Nevertheless, after finishing the preliminary setup, you will want to register to proceed utilizing the app.)

After going by the setup, the router wanted to be up to date earlier than I might use it. A few minutes later, nonetheless, that wonderful set of three frequency choices was on my community lists.

Additionally, the twin band mesh routers I used to be utilizing earlier than put the two.5Ghz and 5Ghz channels below a single SSID, and I opted through the RAXE300 setup to make use of the identical SSID and password. This conveniently allowed my units to mechanically connect with the brand new community, however ended up being much less helpful than I might hoped. For the reason that RAXE300 by default differentiates the SSIDs of the highest two bands by including “-5G” and “-6G”, I used to be mechanically connecting to the two.5Ghz band and needed to manually transfer units that would attain as much as the 5Ghz and 6Ghz. bands. Nevertheless, it was a minor inconvenience, which wasn’t actually the router’s fault.

{Hardware}: Smooth physique, sparse ports

The RAXE300 incorporates the Nighthawk title with its two distinctive fins that enclose its six optimized antennas. Whereas the fins fold flat for storage, the consumer guide says to face them upright when in use. These fins might have been an issue getting in the best way if I wished to wall mount or cover my router. However let’s face it: A state-of-the-art router like this deserves to be showcased.

On the entrance of the router are LED-illuminated Wi-Fi and WPS energy buttons, and the rear panel hides the facility and reset buttons. There are additionally LED indicator lights on the highest panel for energy, Web, USB, every wi-fi band, and every Ethernet port.

There are 4 devoted 1 gigabit Ethernet ports, two of which could be added to create a 2 gig connection. There are additionally two Web ports, one for plans 1 gigabit and beneath and the opposite for plans as much as 2.5 gigabits, and every can operate as a LAN port. So in complete you have got 5 out there LAN ports, or 4 if you wish to add them, which is on par for right this moment’s Wi-Fi 6E router market. Nevertheless, should you worth wired connections over wi-fi, you may choose to maneuver to Wi-Fi 6 with the Asus RT-AX88U, our present decide for the most effective all-around Wi-Fi router, which supplies you eight LAN ports. whereas it’s on the time of writing $100 cheaper than the RAXE300.

Additionally, whereas the two.5 gigabit WAN connection was lots for me, and can nearly actually cowl the whole lot your present plan affords, it actually is not probably the most spectacular on the market. Our funds decide among the many finest Wi-Fi 6E routers, the Linksys MR7500 nonetheless provides you 4 LAN ports and likewise helps a 5 gigabit web connection, and for $50 lower than the RAXE300. So, by spending much less, you could possibly future-proof your community for bigger Web packets.

To reap the benefits of the router’s USB port, I wished to arrange an area community storage, and it was very straightforward with the RAXE300. Nevertheless, the one storage units I had readily available used conventional USB-A connections, and the one USB port on the RAXE300 is Kind-C, forcing me to seek for an adapter. So if you wish to use the USB port on the again of your router for something, be sure you’re prepared with a USB-C cable or adapter.

Velocity: Multi-Gigabit Goodness

The RAXE300 field advertises a prime pace of seven.8 Gbps, however you must keep in mind that quantity is the sum of the (theoretical) prime speeds of all of your wi-fi bands added collectively. You’ll solely use one band at a time with any system. That mentioned, my present 1 gig plan continues to be a lot lower than the higher ceiling of the 5Ghz and 6Ghz bands.

That 6Ghz band you get on prime of the two.4 and 5Ghz bands is without doubt one of the most fun options of the RAXE300, because of the Wi-Fi 6E normal. Extra channels imply much less congestion and subsequently doubtlessly extra pace. Nevertheless, you want a Wi-Fi 6E appropriate system to connect with the 6 Ghz band, and comparatively few of them exist in the marketplace on the time of writing. The one 6E system I’ve is the Google Pixel 6.

After I used my Pixel in the most effective circumstances I might create, standing in the identical room because the router whereas different linked units had been few and much between and never in use, my assessments confirmed add and obtain speeds of round 900Mbps on the 6Ghz band. . (For context, streaming 4K video solely makes use of about 15Mbps.)

The 5Ghz band was not far behind with round 850Mbps. In most different rooms, the 6Ghz band was nonetheless hovering between 500Mbps and 800Mbps. The 5Ghz band, then again, hovered a lot nearer to full pace at higher distances than 6Ghz.

Actually, the 5Ghz band was enough for my wants more often than not. I used to be capable of switch dozens of 12.2MP pictures from my cellphone to my PC in seconds. I by no means had an issue gaming within the cloud or streaming my PC display to my Quest 2 headset. I attempted stress testing the RAXE300 by watching YouTube on two totally different telephones, watching 4K content material on a sensible TV, and importing giant information on the identical time. . I could not create a damaging expertise on any of them, besides that the file load time elevated barely.

Protection: A lot for the common house

Having put up with a router only a few years in the past that struggled to take care of a connection even within the subsequent room, the RAXE300 shocked me with its protection. Netgear claims the RAXE300 can cowl as much as a 2,500-square-foot house, simply over the common dimension of a single-family house within the US. The 1,400-square-foot house I dwell in has two neighboring homes simply a few blocks away. meters away, so I do encounter a good quantity of interference on the community, however the RAXE300 appeared largely phaseless.

Whereas the 6Ghz band is the primary attraction right here, you must mood your expectations with it. As it’s possible you’ll know from earlier use of the 5 Ghz band, the upper bands use shorter radio waves, giving them extra restricted protection.

I positioned the RAXE300 within the workplace the place I work and play, which can also be conveniently within the middle of the home. I might exit on my porch and keep linked to the 6 Ghz frequency, however no additional. Each time I walked to the farthest nook of my basement, the 6 Ghz sign would drop utterly, which was unlucky since that is the situation of my treadmill.

In these circumstances, my Pixel would mechanically fall again to the 5 Ghz band, which took over with its finest protection. Even strolling to the tip of my driveway, about 45 ft from my porch, I used to be nonetheless getting 92 Mbps obtain and 40 Mbps add.

However needless to say my home is about half the scale of the common US, and the RAXE300’s 6 Ghz band almost coated all of it. So any 6E units you have got might want to keep near the router to get probably the most out of it.

The appliance

If you have already got a Nighthawk router, you are in all probability accustomed to the app. As acknowledged above, you want a Netgear account to make use of it. Nevertheless, I felt that registration was price it, as a result of the app’s UI is considerably simpler to navigate than the router’s login web page. The app is ad-free (except you depend its promotions for Netgear’s Armor software program).

Whilst you’ll nonetheless want the router web page for extra superior controls like QoS and port forwarding, the app can do different issues that the router web page cannot. Particularly, I discovered it helpful for testing sign energy whereas optimizing the location of the RAXE300.

Must you purchase the RAXE300?

If in case you have or plan to get a gigabit web plan and your house is a mean constructing or smaller, the RAXE300 ought to undoubtedly be in your checklist. If your house is bigger than that, you could have higher luck upgrading to the RAXE500’s 3,500 sq. foot protection. Or go massive with a mesh router system that eliminates the useless zone like Netgear’s Orbi Wi-Fi 6E system.

With the WAN ports on some routers lately going as much as 10 gigabits, the RAXE300’s 1 and a pair of.5 gigabit web ports aren’t probably the most future-proof choices. You can even look elsewhere you probably have critical wired networking wants (or search for methods so as to add Ethernet ports). Nevertheless, you probably have an average-sized house and typical web calls for, the RAXE300 will deal with you nicely. Whereas taking full benefit of the Wi-Fi 6E normal is troublesome proper now with so few 6E-enabled units in the marketplace, that downside could solely reduce over time.