NETGEAR Nighthawk WiFi 7 Router (BE17000) – Router Only, 17 Gbps Wireless Speed, 10 Gig Internet Port, Tri-Band for Gaming, Covers 3,300 sq. ft., 150 Devices, VPN – Free Expert Help

The NETGEAR Nighthawk Dual-Band WiFi 7 Router RS180 solved my connectivity problem with a stable connection to handle my network speed with stability. The size is perfect to sit on top of the bookshelf. I recently upgraded to Spectrum Gigabit Internet & Spectrum sent me their WiFi7 Router. From day 1 I was having problems streaming WiFi to my Roku Devices. It would freeze or buffer every 30 minutes or so but the internet connection was fast & stable. The WiFi streaming in my house that was choking. Spectrum sent me a replacement router & I made sure all the wires were Cat6 but the issue continued. Spectrum Tech Support said the issue was my Roku Devices were on 2.4 GHz WiFi. Thing was for years I have streamed WiFi like this and it works for my needs. If a WiFi7 can't handle a WiFi 2.4 device, that router is trash. So I purchased my own Router and all the problems are solved immediately. The NETGEAR Nighthawk Dual-Band WiFi 7 RS180 Router was easy to install. I did not use the App. Even though the admin page initially tries to make you install the app, I just select I don't have a compatible mobile device, and then you can get to the Router Admin Panels from your PC Browser with local admin login. No need for an App to install or configure, but you can install the NetGear App at any time you so choose. For the last 5 years I had the NetGear R8000-100NAR Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Tri-Band Router, so this NETGEAR Nighthawk Dual-Band WiFi 7 Router RS180 seems to have stable connections so hope I get years of solid use out of this device.

I spent some time doing research on both modems and routers, including speaking with several IT professionals. I ended up landing on this Nighthawk after many recommendations. This router was a breeze to set up and paired perfectly with my new Motorola B12 cable modem. The step by step instructions in the app made it very easy; the performance and user-friendly experience is really nice. You can easily view all devices connected to the network, configure a separate guest network, run a Speedtest directly from the modem, and more. 2.4 and 5 GHz are automatically configured based on the devices connected. I used the same SSID / Login/ network name from my previous WiFi router and all devices connected seamlessly to the new Nighthawk. I am very pleased with the purchase!

Essentially doubled speeds in my house where the router is poorly placed in the master closet (by design of the builder). A couple rooms are on the other side of the house and the Spectrum router was a joke. This performs so much better and the setup was easy and painless. You can do it through the app but thankfully Netgear still allows you to simply log into the router locally which is my preferred way of doing it. Only had it for a week or so but so far no issues. Looks like a monolith and I love it.

I recently upgraded my Spectrum internet to 1 Gig. They sent me a new modem and router, but their router just didn't quite do it for me. So I Googled a good 1 Gig router and the Nighthawks popped up. Based on Amazon reviews I tried this model. So far I'm very impressed. Setup was super easy with the app. So how is performance? This thing flys. It's super quick, the speed difference on my phone loading things and my tvs loading is noticeable. The range is great, I used to use wifi extenders for some of my cameras but I no longer need them now. I'm very happy with this purchase and highly recommend this router.

Overall, a good router. One of the only electronic things I ever bought that actually worked out of the box. Installation and setup was very easy with the Nighthawk app from my Android tablet. I have not had to access the router as administrator, it actually worked fine, first time. I have a 1 Gbit service and I get that speed up and down. Fantastice coverage, I get good service in my backyard, garage, basement and driveway. A couple of small things prevented 5 stars -- first, if my internet service winks out for some reason, the router will not auto-recover, must be powered down for hard reset and second, if internet is out for any reason, the router will not work within our household AND I cannot access as admin either by Nighthawk app or via the common "192.168.1.1" or Netgear's "routerlogin.net".

The Netgear router was very easy to install. I downloaded the app and followed the steps. It took between 5 to 10 minutes. It works very reliable and all my devices such as computer, TV, and tablet connect quickly and Internet works well. Additionally, the router is nicely designed and looks good on top of my cabinet.

TL;DR - Frustrating setup process, contrary to the promised "fast and easy" configuration. Range actually seemed worse than my current Netgear router, which is 7 years old. Very unreliable connectivity. Speed was great, when it worked, but that's the rub. Devices would randomly be kicked off the network and we frequently had to power cycle the modem and router to restore the main carrier signal to get back online. None of this is good for any router, but it's unacceptable at this price point. Extremely disappointed with this product, which resulted in it being returned. Specifically, this review is for the 17Gbps, 10G Port model, which you know, happens to be the top of the line, most expensive offering. Disclaimer: I am not an engineer (lot of folks claiming that these days...IYKYK). I am also not a network admin, SYSOP, BBS, modem, ICQ, wonder-guru tech guy. That said, I'm not a total dunce with computers. I've built my own rigs for over a decade and have configured home WiFi networks for myself, friends and family, so I at least know the basics of what I'm doing. Also, I am normally a fan of Netgear products. I am currently using an older Nighthawk router, one which I went back to using after returning this POS, one which is still running more reliably then this newer, supposed marvel of technology. Okay, let's get into it. The coolest thing about this device is probably the box and packaging. They really upsell you with the presentation. It's a good thing, too, because those were the only positive feelings I have left from this item, so it was kind of them to trick me right out of the gate. Basic setup is, well, basic. You plug it in to an outlet and connect it to your modem. However, when it comes to setting up the WiFi network itself, they make you download an app. Okay, whatever, this is nothing new since literally everything has an app these days. They claim it is "easy and effortless setup." The setup, was in fact, neither easy, nor effortless. After the app was installed, I had to repeatedly go through the basic setup of connecting to my ISP because it kept failing. And this wasn't a "once or twice" type failure, it easily happened over a half-dozen times before it finally established a connection. Then came the actual network configuration, where you use the preestablished one they provide you, but then change to your own name and login credentials. This was a repeat of the process failing out midway and then having to start all over. This whole "easy setup" easily took over an hour, so yeah, all I was doing was clicking buttons on the app, but it was still frustrating. Finally, finally everything seemed to be getting ironed out and the network was established. Okay, great, lets start connecting our myriad devices. Surprisingly, this was rather painless. Phones, tablets, PCs, security cameras, TVS, everything seemed to be connecting. I resigned myself to the whole configuration process just being teething pains, and thought the worst was behind me. How wrong I was. The first 24 hours of usage were...fine...for the most part. One thing I noticed though was that despite speed tests showing good numbers, the perimeter security cameras were all showing lower signal strength than normal and seemed to be taking longer to access the live feeds. That's...curious...especially considering how strong a signal they had with the old router. This new one was supposed to have nearly twice the coverage range, right? Surely, the manufacturer wouldn't lie, right? We got about another day of relatively reliable usage and then the problems really started. Devices kept getting dropped off the network and we were prompted to re-enter the password. The cell phones and televisions would show connected but would have "no internet access." Then we started noticing sluggish performance on the work computers, with frequent drop-offs in connectivity. It got to the point where almost daily, and sometimes even multiple times per day, we had to power cycle the modem and router to get things up and running again. Based on the strange disconnection issues of the various devices, I feel like there had to be something weird going on with the tri-bands and that the 2.4 and the 5 and 6 weren't playing nicely. I certainly did not diagnose this, but it's just a hunch. I was not going to bother dealing with tech support. I really don't have time for that, especially not when I had a perfectly functioning, older router just sitting there that I could plug back in. And plug it back in I did. The older Nighthawk powered back up with the old network still in place and all the bad thoughts went away. Perfectly reliable connectivity was restored at only marginally slower speeds. Oh, and the cameras around the property all had their stronger signals back. Funny how that works. I really wanted to like this product because the promise of faster speeds and greater range was, well, promising. Alas, it was not to be, and with a tear in my eye, I packed it up and started the return process. Maybe I got a dud, but when you consider that this is their top model, that's not really excusable in my book. As I mentioned earlier, I've used Netgear products for years (and still do, technically), but I will be looking elsewhere for a router upgrade because I'm simply not willing to roll the dice on another one after this experience.

Bough this to replace my outdated/unsupported Netgear NightHawk Router. I’ve had issues in the past with other manufacturers routers connecting to my garage opener. Netgear worked with all of my devices. There are complaints here about having to use the app and they are correct if you want to do more advance settings like port forwarding. For that you just need to log into the router from a PC. It’s not like you would want to make those changes through an app or from your phone. The app is great when setting the router up. I just used the same WiFi name and password so everything would automatically connect. And you can turn off smart connect through the app if you want. Turning off Smart Connect allows you to separate 2.4 and 5mhz if you want. This router has advance settings if needed, but it’s a great “set it and for get it” router also. The range is awesome. Plus my connection speed has improved with 25 devices connected.