Netgear Nighthawk RAX50 is a Wi-Fi 6 router.
Netgear is one of the most popular brands when it comes to networking equipment and routers. The company has a wide range of routers available and today we are looking at their Nighthawk RAX50 Wi-Fi router. The router does cost more than your average router but at that price, it brings features like Wi-Fi 6, extra layers of security, easy to use software and more.
With the rising number of devices at our home, is it worth spending Rs 18,799 on the Netgear Nighthawk RAX50 router? Let’s find out.
Netgear Nighthawk RAX50 Review
While the router comes with a hefty price tag, it offers a better range and all-new Wi-Fi 6 capabilities. With Wi-Fi 6, the router is basically future proof and it is currently one of the very few routers under Rs 20,000 that offer Wi-Fi 6. Besides that, the router also comes with the capability to handle internet speeds as fast as 1Gbps. This means it would be best suited for fibre connections.
There is a WPS button on the router.
The Netgear Nighthawk RAX50 Wi-Fi router is not just a regular router with a mediocre interface. It is powered by a triple-core 1.5GHz processor and it runs a custom UI that can be controlled via a smartphone or a laptop. In case you do not have a laptop at home, you can even download the Nighthawk app, which is available on both Android and iPhone. Using the app, the user can setup the new router and even configure it on the go.
The Nighthawk RAX50 is a 6-stream router that has 4×4 streams for 5GHz up to 4.8Gbps speeds and 2×2 for the 2.4GHz band with up to 600Mbps speed. It is also capable of running simultaneous dual-band 2.4 and 5GHz. The router also comes with a feature called Beamforming+, which claims to boost speed, reliability and range of WiFi connections for 2.4 and 5GHz.
It features 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports.
As for the ports, the router features a power port, 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports, a WAN port and a USB 3.0 Type-A port.
In terms of real-world performance, the Netgear Nighthawk RAX50 offers a good range and it even manages to handle high speeds. Just like any other router, 2.4Ghz will give you more range but offer less speed. As for 5Ghz, it offers high speed but compromises on the range. With the SSIDs being the same for both, my devices were able to switch automatically depending on the range.
In a nutshell, if you are looking for a new router, the Nighthawk RAX50 can be considered as an option. However, if you are buying it only for WiFi 6, then you should only get it if you have WiFi 6 supported devices. Otherwise, it would make more sense to wait for cheaper options to become available.
