Netgear Nighthawk AX6 (RAX50) review
Our Verdict
An excellent way to feed data to devices shut to the router, the Netgear Nighthawk AX6 (RAX50) combines 802.11AX loftier-speed operations with the best security enhancements that any abode networking device includes. Unfortunately, information technology costs a lot more than other AX routers to get and utilize.
For
- Excellent close-up performance
- Security upgrade
- Quick setup
- Customization potential
Against
- Expensive
- Security subscription lasts 1 month
- Support lasts 90-days
Tom'south Guide Verdict
An excellent mode to feed data to devices close to the router, the Netgear Nighthawk AX6 (RAX50) combines 802.11AX high-speed operations with the best security enhancements that whatever home networking device includes. Unfortunately, information technology costs a lot more other AX routers to get and apply.
Pros
- +
Excellent close-up operation
- +
Security upgrade
- +
Quick setup
- +
Customization potential
Cons
- -
Expensive
- -
Security subscription lasts one month
- -
Support lasts 90-days
Netgear Nighthawk AX6 RAX50: Specs
Wi-Fi spec: 802.11ax/dual-band
Number of antennas/removable: 4/Yeah
Ports: 1 WAN, 4 LAN, USB 3.0
Processor: triple-core 1.five GHz
Retentiveness/storage: 512MB/256MB
Wi-Fi flake: Broadcom BCM6750
Size: xiv.0 x 8.6 10 2.7 inches
Pinnacle 802.11ac operation: 1.38Gbps (at 15 feet)
Range: 85 feet
Estimated Almanac Electricity Cost: $8.50
Toll: $250
The Netgear Nighthawk RAX50 shows that loftier-speed Internet can be used safely, pairing best-in-class home network security with speeds that break through the i Gbps barrier. Skillful for anything from online gamers to loftier-terminate media consumers, the RAX50's 2nd generation Armor software can help make your network and devices more airtight past stopping malware before it does any impairment and keeping your personal data from leaking out. Quick and easy to set upwards, the RAX50 offers a broad diversity of customization options as well every bit the choice betwixt using a visually appealing mobile app or a more thorough connected browser.
On the downside, the RAX50 is i of the most expensive traditional routers yous can get and it doesn't terminate with the buy price. That'southward because the included Armor two.0 security software is a subscription service with a 30-day trial and the back up but lasts 90-days, potentially costing more for these subscriptions than the initial outlay over the router'southward life.
Nonetheless, our Netgear Nighthawk RAX50 review shows that top speed and pinnacle security go hand in paw with the RAX50, making it ane of the best routers for security-minded homes.
Netgear Nighthawk AX6 review: Price and what'south included
The Netgear Nighthawk RAX50 has a listing price of $300 but if you shop around, it can exist had for $250. This is about what the TP-Link Archer AX6000 costs. Unfortunately, that's double what the lower-performing Linksys MR7350 goes for.
In addition to the expected router, Ac adapter, Cat vi cable and a start-upward carte du jour, the RAX50 comes ready to securely fill a home with wireless data using Netgear's Armor ii.0 security software. On the downside, the included service is actually a 30-mean solar day trial of the subscription service (more on that below).
Netgear Nighthawk AX6 RAX50 review: Pattern
The jet blackness Nighthawk RAX50 has a rectangular case, curved superlative and several jewel-similar facets. At fourteen.0 x 8.6 10 2.vii, it should exist able to fit on a desk, window sill or countertop. It'due south in between the larger Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 and slightly smaller TP-Link Archer AX6000. With its iv adjustable antennas raised the device is five.5 inches taller.
A "Five" shaped ventilation grille on top and the router's passive cooling stand in contrast to the Netegar RAXE500'south cooling fan and the TP-Link AX6000'due south aggressive slat vents. That said, the RAX50 never broke a sweat at a peak temperature of 99 degrees Fahrenheit, much cooler than the Netgear RAXE500'southward 112 degrees F.
With individual LED lights for power, Net, 2.4- and 5GHz activity, Ethernet and its USB 3.0 port, the RAX50 tin lite upwards like a Christmas tree when active. Past contrast, the Linksys MR7350 has a single, discreet light bar that shows its overall status only less detailed information. Past digging into the setup screens, I was able to plough the LEDs off.
Inside, the RAX50's dual-band pattern uses the latest 802.11AX (Wi-Fi 6) protocol to push data to the limit. Its abilities range from MU-MIMO (for servicing many devices) to beamforming (for tailoring the bespeak to accommodate the device) to full 1024QAM operations (for top speed operations). The router tin can support several 160MHz high-performance information channels and tin can motion 600Mbps over its two.4GHz band likewise as 4.8Gbps over the 5GHz band. It adds up to an AX5400 rating. That blows away the TP-Link MR7350'southward AX1800 throughput rating simply is behind the Netgear RAXE500's AX1100 rating.
It's all built effectually Broadcom's BCM6750 Wi-Fi chipset that can service up to 25 devices at once. Capable of moving six private streams of information, the router has a 1.5GHz triple-core processor, 512MB of RAM and 256MB of flash storage for the arrangement'southward settings and firmware. Unlike several of its competitors, the RAX50 can't be prepare in an Orbi mesh arrangement just can operate as a wired access point.
The RAX50'southward connection panel has more than the nuts with an input WAN port capable of using 5Gbps streams from a broadband modem. There are four downstream Ethernet ports that can deliver gigabit per second information, only none can exist aggregated for college performance. The TP-Link MR7350, past comparing, can pair any two of its Ethernet ports for top speed.
If you want to add external storage to the mix, the RAX50 has a USB three.0 port. Only plug in an external hard drive or a flash drive to share its contents across the network using Netgear'southward ReadyShare software.
In addition to buttons for power and resetting the router to its manufactory settings in the back, the RAX50 has keys up front end for turning the router's Wi-Fi transmissions on or off and starting the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) process for apace adding devices.
Netgear Nighthawk AX6 (RAX50) review: Security
While the RAX50 matches most recent Wi-Fi routers with the ability to utilize WPA2 or WPA3 encryption, 2-factor hallmark and Apple's Touch on ID, it goes several steps farther with its 2d-generation Armor parcel of security enhancements. The Armor ii.0 package pushes more than of the malware detection and eradication to the cloud while providing a layered approach to defending a family'south computers.
Armor's defenses range from behavioral monitoring and machine learning to local scanning for malware with apps for Windows, Macs and Android systems. It tin can even protect against attacks on smart devices throughout the business firm, like thermostats and video cameras.
No other router visitor offers this extensive array of security measures just it doesn't come inexpensive. The RAX l's Armor two.0 software is a 30-day trial. After that, the subscription costs $100 a year, but Netgear won't leave y'all high and dry if yous don't pay upward. The Armor software will go along to provide protection against Web attacks but won't defend against things similar Animate being Force and Denial of Service attacks as well as guard your personal information.
Information technology adds upwards chop-chop, with the cost of maintaining Armor 2.0 surpassing the initial price of the router sometime in its third year. Still, information technology provides malware protection for an unlimited number of devices, making it a bargain.
The Armor subscription besides provides access to Bitdefender's VPN service. On the downside, the basic service is limited to 200MB a day of information flow per device. Upgrading to unlimited VPN use costs an additional $50 a year.
In improver to an overall security score and assistance raising information technology, Armor at present has enhanced protection with anomaly detection that looks for abnormal device behavior. Information technology protects against animal forcefulness attacks from bots and defend against new exploits as well as denial of service attacks.
Perhaps the biggest upgrade is Armor 2.0's protection of your sensitive data. The software monitors the data entering and leaving the router for indications your social security number, credit card accounts and other personal information are leaking out. This can potentially save your online identity from being compromised.
Netgear Nighthawk AX6 (RAX50) review: Functioning
The Netgear Nighthawk RAX50 is one of the first AX routers to make the most of the high-functioning Wi-Fi half dozen protocol. Over a calendar week of daily use, it was reliable for things piddling (electronic mail and online shopping) and big (distributing 4K videos and online gaming).
In my 100 twelvemonth old house, the RAX50 excelled at delivering lots of data when information technology was shut to the Samsung Galaxy Volume Pro test system. Using Ixia'south ixChariot network criterion software, the exam organisation registered ane.38Gbps of data flow with the software simulating 10 data hungry clients. That might not be able to bear upon the 2.39Gbps that its older brother, the 802.11AXE-based Netgear RAXE500 router accomplished past adding a 6GHz link to its 2.four- and 5GHz bands.
However, the RAX50's throughput was ane-third more than the TP-Link Archer AX-6000 (884.4Mbps) and the Asus RT-AX86U (929.7Mbps). It's also about three times the 478.3Mbps that the AX-based Linksys MR7350 achieved.
The router's available bandwidth fell off sharply when I moved it to a distance of l-feet. At this point, its throughput dropped to 133.2Mbps, putting it well backside the RT-AX86U (285.3Mbps) and the Linksys MR7350 (167.2Mbps). This makes the RAX50 more useful for same-room or adjacent-room coverage.
With the altitude increased to 75-feet, the RAX50 could move only 9.79Mbps. That'south compared to the likes of the RT-86U's 250.1Mbps and the TP-Link Archer AX6000's 149.9Mbps. The Linksys MR7350'south xv.3Mbps was closer to the RAX50's marker. The RAX50 had a range of 85 feet, matching that of the TP-Link but short of the Linksys's ability to push a signal to 90 feet.
A Wi-Fi screamer, the RAX50 pushed 1.01Gbps through a wall 20 feet from the router. This was one-quarter better than the TP-Link Archer AX6000 (744.7Mbps) and threescore per centum ahead of the Linksys MR7350 (408.8Mbps). When it came to connecting the router with the examination auto gear up up a floor to a higher place, the RAX50 moved 748.1Mbps of data, more than double the Linksys's 312.3Mbps and alee of the TP-Link's 671.4Mbps.
The RAX50 passed our breezy saturation exam where the router distributed data to support viewing videos on an iPad Pro, listening to an Cyberspace radio station on a Samsung Milky way S7+ tablet while streaming a 4K moving picture on a Dell XPS 15 as data was beingness read and saved to a RAID file server with a Lenovo ThinkPad T470. The video and audio were skip free with neither freeze-upward, drib-outs or artifacts.
At 7.iv watts of power, the RAX50 is a miser simply even so uses more than than the Linksys MR7350'due south 5 watts of power. If it'southward left on 24/7 and yous pay the national average of 13 cents per kilowatt hour, the RAX50 should toll about $8.l a year. Others, like the TP-Link Archer AX6000 and Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 can cost every bit much equally $11.30 and $13.seventy, respectively, per yr to use.
Netgear Nighthawk AX6 RAX50 review: Setup
Getting the Nighthawk RAX50 online can exist accomplished either with the Nighthawk app for iPhones and iPads or Androids or with a connected browser. I chose the latter option. The routine started with me screwing in the unit of measurement's four antennas, connecting the router to my broadband modem and plugging in the Air conditioning adapter.
After creating a Netgear account, I connected my test system with the router using the randomized Wi-Fi proper name and countersign printed underneath. Before any configuration took place, the router insisted on irresolute its IP address to 10.0.0.one.
It then checked the Cyberspace connection and asked me to enter an authoritative password. Then, I answered 2 verification questions if I lost the password.
Finally, I renamed the router and added a personalized passcode and registered the hardware online. It connected on the commencement try and yielded 181Mbps of information from my 200Mbps connection and took all of 5 minutes to become from a sealed box to a fully operating dual-band home network.
My side by side job was to set up the Armor security system. Using my iPad Pro, the process started with me activating the one-month Armor trial.
Once the software was live, Armor gave me an embarrassing security rating of 77 out of 100. It listed the items that needed to be changed, like installing the included Bitdefender security software on my devices.
Next upward, I created profiles for my children to screen out the worst the Web could throw at them. Then, I gear up limits on their screen time.
Netgear Nighthawk AX6 (RAX50) review: Configuration
Like other Nighthawk routers, the RAX50 tin can exist configured using a continued browser for lots of options or via its Android or iOS apps, which is more visual but less consummate.
Either way, the primary pages offer a good overview of the router'south setup and current duties. While the browser approach shows the Internet condition, how many devices are connected and a ticker of the network's proper name and passcode, the apps add how much time remains on the Armor subscription and the status of the Parental Controls.
Both offer a speed reading of the network's performance and at that place's a Traffic Meter that shows the overall data flow for assistance in reducing interference. At whatever indicate, limits can be placed on downloads, uploads or both.
On the other hand, the browser let you customize a diverseness of performance parameters not included with the app, such equally Fragmentation Length, Long or Short Preamble and the power to turn the WiFi transmissions on or off co-ordinate to a schedule.
[[rax50 preamble]]
Like its competitors, the RAX50 comes with a ane-year warranty but it can exist doubled for a reasonable $30. Netgear provides ninety-days of personalized support, although the Web site has lots of cocky-serve items on the production back up folio. Two years of support and a warranty extension sells for $fourscore.
The downloadable manual is a must-read because the RAX50 can do so much to turbocharge a home network.
Netgear Nighthawk AX6 RAX50 review: Verdict
By combining a fast Wi-Fi 6 router with some of the most constructive security software, Netgear has created one of the best routers on the market. The Nighthawk RAX50 can not only satisfy a family'southward thirst for data just go along them condom at the same time. It is besides ane of the virtually customizable routers on the market then that it can exist tuned to the environment and use.
With a suggested toll of $300, the RAX50 tin can exist had for $250 if you store around. That's twice the cost tag of the lower-performing Linksys MR7350 but half that of the Linksys Hydra 6E or Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500, which use the newer Wi-Fi 6e protocol that pushes performance by calculation 6GHz transmissions. It's the router to get if you care as much as online safe as you do about Wi-Fi functioning. The RAX50 checks both boxes.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/netgear-nighthawk-ax6-rax50
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