NETGEAR - Nighthawk AX4 4-Stream AX3000 Dual-Band WiFi 6 Router (RAX40)

It depends on how far you will be from your router to determine what frequency to use, but I just so happen to have the RAX40 myself and it was MILES better than the old Spectrum provided one I had a few years ago. I’m not sure how big your place is but the range is excellent on it and it’s worked great for almost 4 years now. I have not used the newer Spectrum routers so I have no idea if they’re any good, but you will save $10 a month by using your own router too.

Spectrum most new router is the wave7. But think your nighthawk will work fine. Is capable for the gig. And if you can do hardware from the router to your console or pc that’s the most reliable connection. Also if you use your router you save the money for the rental on the spectrum router.

Same, my RAX40 worked alright for a bit under a year but eventually developed a problem where one port would just have 20% packet loss all the time till I switched the cable to a different port, which would be fine for about a week and then the problem would start again. Then, it started dying for 30 minutes to an hour every day. Switched to an ASUS RT-AX55 and been smooth sailing for two years or so now. Flint 3 is probably the next step.

I don't need the fastest or most advanced. Something that's reliable for the next few years would be great. I'm currently using a Netgear Nighthawk RAX45 that is having trouble with so many devices.

Just did this - 7 people, 3 floors. Went through a few mesh systems (tplink be4800, be5000, XE75). Hated the way mesh worked, walked to another room device would hang on the further node and online games were choppier (higher ping and latency) than a single nighthawk (even had wired backhaul from main to second of the 3 nodes). Then went through multiple Netgear Nighthawks (rs200, rs300, rs500, axe3000). Ordered a refurbed RS700S for $349, its a beast but better coverage, better speeds, lower pings, less latency than any of the Mesh systems. Dead spots where we got 5-10mb/sec now getting 550mb. Using the nighthawk app I could see with the RS500 60% signal level in some of the dead spot areas, now getting 90+%. I've got a 1GB connection from Spectrum and they overprovision so wirelessly with iphone 17 getting over 1gb a floor above or under the router and up to a room away still. Wired to PCs getting 1.1-1.2 gb too. I tested speeds in every room of my house with each system to record speeds. I found a single, more powerful router to be a much better and consistent solution for 3 floors and 7 people.

Netgear nighthawk. Spend what you can afford for the coverage you need.

Considering that you’re using a very old 802.11n-only device, an upgrade to a decent WiFi6 device will modernize you greatly. These can be very inexpensive. I picked up a used Netgear Nighthawk WiFi6 router for $30 and it covers my apartment perfectly, despite the 200 neighbors. Then, when the future arrives and it’s time to expand, I’d buy something new. WiFi7 prices are only going to fall faster and WiFi7 clients will become all that more common, so it will pay to wait. Network gear is one of those things that you can’t future-proof. The tech changes fast enough, and the prices change fast enough, and the client support lags enough to the point where it’s is more efficient to buy for today, and not for 24 months from now.

Netgear nighthawk for 6. Using tplink easy mesh for 7 and been happy so far

Definitely 👍. I use a Netgear Nighthawk with WiFi 6.

I dont know about this model but fuck Netgeat Nighthawk. I owned a different one few years ago that was supposed to be a a high spec version, and it caused me infinite problems, which all disappeared when I bought a different one.

I agree. I have tried numerous Netgear products, going back to a PCMCIA card, and all of them have had problems. The last Nighthawk I had constantly resulted in "Connected, No internet" for too many devices.