Nighthawk

Netgear really churned out an awesome piece of high tech equipment with R7000. Setup: It was supposed to be easy but the blame was not on the router. It took 2 hours for me and Netgear to figure out why a fully configured router was losing internet access. So, the initial setup takes less than 10 minutes if at all. I have to give 5 stars to Netegar. Now the problem I faced - The router is physically placed near the home theater equipment I can connect a lot of devices using hard wire method. One of the devices turned out to be culprit for my connection woes - and that device is Comcast's HD cable box. When connected (either directly to the router or through a Gigabit network switch which in turn connected to the router), the default IP address would change from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.100.1, thereby causing all devices to lose connection. Netgear and I spent time trying to pinpoint the problem and eliminating one device after the other. We then entered in the browser the auto-modified ip address and it was populating a window showing "Pace Micro Plc" username and password. Anyway, to cut short the story, we removed Comcast box from connecting directly to the router or to the switch and instead connected to the back of another device which has LAN ports. Problem solved. Netgear customer support from Philippines is simply superb. They are patient, pleasant, very courteous, and most importantly, they know their stuff and even if they don't, they will get the answer quickly for you. And when they say, they will call - they surely will. Connectivity: Once the problem mentioned above was resolved, everything else was a breeze. The router interface page is great. I put the primary 5 and 2.1 is hidden mode which is working with all my devices. The guest accounts are visible. The devices are connected without a drop in connection, granted this has only been a day since I fired up the device and more updates will follow in the months to come. At this point, I don't have any AC devices. Only N devices and they all work fine. I have at least several devices connected to it. Signal Strength: Strong signals anywhere in the home. Speeds are very good no matter where I am in the home. I heard that 5 ghz signal weakens the farther the distance and I experienced that problem with my Cisco EA4500 but this one seems to beam the 5 ghz signals to the far end of the world and perhaps other planets too (if the antennas are any bigger). 5 stars here. Thanks to mega-sized antennas. Features: QoS automatically identified my streaming databases on multiple devices and is now configured. No buffering issues in the limited testing I have done. Other standard set of features you would expect in a router are all there. One annoyance is the bright LED lights that a lot of people complained about. I spoke with Netgear and there is no way to disable them. I used, like others, black electrical insulation tape to cover them. So much for spending $200 and taping the damn thing. I am not impressed with it. But, I am not reducing any stars for this and am hoping that Netgear will add this feature in the next firmware. Between Asus and this one, I went with Netgear because it has been in industry building networking products only. Asus on the other hand has its finger in every pie you can possibly imagine so I am not sure that their heart is focused solely on building the best networking products. In addition, I've read that Asus does only downstream internet speed optimization where as R7000 does upstream as well as downstream but if you don't game this might not make a lot of difference I suppose. See this: [...] Footprint: Contrary to a lot of people citing it to be huge and stuff, I don't find it any larger than other standard routers I have seen. Yes, with those lights it can be in your face though. Yes, it is a tad bit bigger than others but I don't care so long as it performs well. Conclusion: I will be adding a couple of laptops the AC network cards and will report the speeds, signal strength and other attributes at that time. For now, I am quite pleased with my investment. Update Nov 2014 With over 12 devices connected so far, the router has had ZERO downtime or dropped connections since the past 11 months. Speeds are consistent and terrific. Need I say more?

I purchased this router to replace a old Apple Airport that I have had since 2008 to be able to take advantage of the 802.11ac that my mobile devices and laptop are able to use. I am an IT Pro by day but never got around to replacing the AirPort as it did what it needed to do and did not want to spend the money on something new just yet. However, now that all of my mobile devices and work laptop can use 802.11ac, I decided to go ahead and purchase something to replace it as I wanted to get the most out of my network and because of the 1TB HDD bundle that the Nighthawk included. Background on Network - My home was wired with Cat6 drops in every room of the house by myself and tested to insure connections were solid. The cable modem is a ARRIS SB6121 that I purchased from Amazon to replace a older DOCSIS 2.0 modem that could not longer handle the DL speed from my ISP. Reason for Purchase - After reading many different reviews on Amazon and Newegg on many different routers my choices were the TP-Link Archer C7, Asus RT-N66U, Asus RT-AC68U, and Netgear Nighthawk. I chose the R7000 based on the reviews online, the constant support by two devs on the DD-WRT forums, and because of the 1TB Toshiba HD bundle. Setup/Configuration - I ordered it on Friday (7/3) and received it at my door on Sunday (7/5). It was set up later that night and I began to upload the custom DD-WRT firmware by Kong that I got from the DD-WRT Forums. Once uploaded, the setup was a breeze and after following a few guides from the forums, I had the Wireless setup for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz with two separate SSIDs for both and optimized for maximum speeds. It got to be to late and I stopped for the night, the next night I got back into performing setup and configuration of the DD-WRT software. I optimized QoS for it as we do streaming and gaming in our household on both LAN and WLAN. I then used a 2GB USB flash drive formatted with ext2 to install YAMon2 which is "Yet Another Monitor". This allows me to see a breakdown on bandwidth usage monthly, daily, and hourly along with overall network and per device on both LAN and WLAN. As my ISP has a Usage meter and I am charged if I go over 350GB of data in a billing period, this gives me an extra way to monitor the usage and make sure I am not going to go over. This USB Drive was plugged into the back USB port of the router as the USB 3.0 is not needed for it. As I had also received a 1TB Toshiba HDD with this purchase, I wanted to have it set up as a NAS for backups and storage for my desktop and laptop computer. This was as easy as plugging the hard drive into the USB 3.0 port on the front of the router and setting up the SAMBA server through the DD-WRT software. Was able to connect to it and transfer data within 15 minutes of plugging it in. There is more to do as far as the DD-WRT firmware is concerned, but for the moment, it is working very well and is doing what I need it to do. I plan on setting up a VPN with this, and the DD-WRT can do that, just have not had the time to set it up yet. Pros - 1. Overall design is very sleek and would look nice out in the open. I have this placed in my networking closet in the middle of my house and heat is not an issue. 2. 802.11ac is fantastic after unlocking more settings using the DD-WRT firmware, have great signal coverage throughout my house and outside. I have a 75Mbps DL from my ISP and after running multiple SpeedTests on both my iPhone 6 and Desktop computer, I average about 78Mbps DL on both devices. I have Beamforming running on the firmware, but have not fully tested it yet, so cannot report on it. 3. Stock firmware looked easy to use if you are just wanting to use it to set up your network, did not mess with it much, but for someone that does not have experience with networking, custom firmware's, and in-depth configuration. The Factory Firmware would work just fine for doing what you need to do. 4. If you purchase this router and want to have some fun with it, there are many guides on how to install DD-WRT onto your router. I had looked at both Tomato by Shibby and the DD-WRT by Kong, I went with the DD-WRT by Kong as it is in constant development and new builds are always being released. Cons - 1. Right now I have not found any major fallback on this router apart from the two Ethernet cables were Cat 5e, but I keep a box of Cat 6 on hand and made a few patch cables for it.

Mi caso antes de comprar el router fue como creo mucho otros, usaban el modem/router que te da el proveedor de internet y el lag en juegos era muy fastidioso o cargar videos o streams tardaba su momento. Tras una investigacion, llegue a la conclusion que el router "stock" de la compañia de internet no daba para mas, decidi que era tiempo de comprar un router mejor. Tras leer varios reviews en internet, me decidi ir por este por lo que ofrecia y no creo haberme equivocado en la decision. Se necesita tener un conocimiento basico de redes para hacer el setup del router, pero no es nada que con una investigacion en google de 10/15 minutos no resuelva. La aplicacion del celular es sencilla y cuenta con muchas de las funciones que necesitas. El interfaz de la computadora es un poco mas complicado pero ofrece muchos ajustes, como la posibilidad de tener una red de invitados, tener QoS y restringir el acceso a otros dispositivos. Tambien tiene control parental pero ese no tuve la oportunidad de probar. El router tiene las dos bandas 2.4 y 5 GHz y junto con el MUMIMO dan una experiencia de internet muy buena. Los streams cargan casi instantaneamente y los juegos rara vez se lagean. Definitivamente una muy buena compra.

UPDATE 2018: The router is still running strong after 3 years with regular firmware updates, will post more about circle app soon To start with, this router is a BEAST. So I received this router totally sealed in the factory packaging and the delivery by amazon was too quick. The package contains the normal instructions manual, warranty papers, 3 High power antennaes, the BEAST (router), its adapter(quite big) and a Cat 5 ethernet cable that is everything you need to run this. Installation: TOO DAMN EASY Simply plug in the adapter, connect the router with the modem using the ethernet supplied, turn it on and then open a internet browser on your PC/Mac and Bam it sets up everything automatically and is ready in a minute without your intervention. It also takes you to download the Netgear router management app (Netgear Genie), The auto PC/Mac backup app(Netgear Readyshare Vault), the Wireless printing app to use the printer/scanner connected via USB to the router(Netgear Readyshare USB control centre). Range: As it has two bands 2.4Ghz(greater penetrance power so greater range, comparatively low speed-600Mbps) and a 5.0Ghz(lesser penetrance power, a bit lesser range but very high speed-1300Mbps) 2.4Ghz Band: Well it reaches every nook and corner of the house(which is around 3000-4000 square feet) with consistent connection crossing many cement walls, covering ground, first and second floor with the router being kept on the first floor. So i would say it beats my previous router(Belkin Dual Band AC750+) totally which failed to supply my ground floor adequately. Now I'm getting fairly good signal even in rooms in which I had no WiFi signal detectable earlier. 5.0Ghz- I'm particularly impressed by the 5.0Ghz band as it's range is a HUGE (read HUUUUUUGE) improvement as compared to my previous router which was also an AC class router. This band is covering all the rooms and the balcony adequately on the first floor and the second floor, haven't tested this band on the ground floor yet. And the speed is blazingly fast on this band(1300Mbps) You also get a "Smart Connect" feature in which the router connects your device with the best available band automatically to give you the best possible internet experience on that device NOTE: the internet speed & ping depends on your Internet Service Provider and not on the router. The speed on Local network(between a PC and the other devices) is the one that is controlled by the router. Looks: Although it is slightly bigger but it looks beautiful, and aggressive at the same time just like the stealth fighter jet, LockHeed Martin Nighthawk. LAN Ports: Well you get 4 Gigabit Ports so of-course you can use them for a super-fast local connection (1 Gigabit speed) as compared to the legacy 10/100Mbps LAN ports on my previous router although I hardly use them. USB Ports : 2 available, one is USB 3.0 at the front and the other is USB 2.0 at the back. You can connect a printer to the port and print or scan wirelessly. You can also make your printer AirPrint compatible by using the Netgear Genie app on the PC/Mac You can also connect a PenDrive or an External HDD and use it as Network Storage device to store, open and share files on a network. The router also has a downloading client which downloads the files to the connected hard disk automatically even when the computers are turned off by using it's own processor. The processor reminds me of the 1Ghz Dual Core processor that is the heart of this router and is quite strong to support a number of wirelessly connected devices ensuring stability of the connection. Guest Access: You can enable guest access which starts another Wifi with a different SSID(WiFi name) specifically for the guests and you can decide the duration for which the guests can access your internet connection. The difference in guest access is that the guests cannot control your modem or access devices like External HDD connected to your router if you want it to be personal. Parental Control: You can decide what your children can access on the internet and even disconnect the device from the network using Netgear Genie if you see your child accessing the internet late at night when he/she isn't supposed to be using it. iTunes Server: You can enable this to access media files on the attached Storage media on any AirPlay compatible Apple device. FTP Server: You can make your own FTP server for file access on the attached external HDD or Pendrive remotely by creating your free customised Netgear FTP domain name. VPN : is also supported in the stock firmware Dynamic DNS : available Then the router officially supports After market firmwares like DD-WRT, OpenWRT etc for advanced users Warranty : 90 days complimentary phone support + 2 years limited hardware warranty by Netgear India And the list goes on...... If this router does fall in your budget, just buy it without any second thought. Even I was confused between ASUS 68U and this one but I'm happy to get this. And thanks to Amazon for making it possible by giving a great deal on this router

I bought this router 9 years ago, and used it on and off. The hardware was always good - still is - but the software sucks. It did the basics ok, but Netgear kept telling me to use their phone app (which doesn't have the functionality of the webui), to sign up for services like parental control and security (for a subscription fee), some devices dropped wifi connection without being able to re-connect (despite showing a strong signal), and the router would force me to go through a wizard in a pop-up browser windows after a restart, before granting access to the actual interface. In short, the stock firmware has limited functionality, and does its best to funnel you through the netgear site, wizard and app, and to sign you up for add-on services. Bad form! After I buy the product, get out of the way and let me use it. But then I discovered FRESHTOMATO opensource router firmware. It's free, easy to install, and has a clear and easy interface. Now this router is awesome! In fact, the nighthawk r7000 (and r8000) are among the recommended routers for freshtomato. Since I flashed the firmware, the router has a ton of new features including the ability to run multiple VPNs, a long list of DDNS clients, Access Control (limited the amount of time that the kids can be connected to the internet), NAS support, and even a built in torrent app.

You won't go wrong with this router for signal strength and robust functionality. For the price, however, I was hoping to get a far more reliable router. There are a lot of options in the web UI to control things like QoS (Quality of Service) so you can prioritize certain applications over others. For example, in your household you might have someone playing online multiplayer games, another person watching Netflix, and someone else downloading files in the background. You don't want lag in online multiplayer games, so there are settings to prioritize that traffic and ensure it goes through before others. Netflix can also be somewhat prioritized, but because of buffering it doesn't matter if its traffic takes second place to online gaming. And so on. Great in theory, but when you start enabling these options the router software becomes flaky and the connection is overall unreliable. After trying many combinations, I had to simply disable most of the advanced features so that devices that connect wirelessly aren't constantly dropped from the network. A shame, since I was looking forward to using those features. My next step is to try replacing the firmware with OpenWRT, dd-wrt, Tomato, or maybe even see if I can get OpenBSD running with pf acting as a firewall. This device has some serious hardware in it, and hopefully a third-party firmware will let me get the functionality I had expected out of the box. Or perhaps Netgear will release another firmware update that solves these issues. Regardless, I still give it four stars since it's a solid product as long as you don't try to use many of the advanced features.

Es una gran opción para mejorar el alcance WiFi de tu casa, además de la seguridad que ofrece así como el monitoreo remoto de tu red. Es una gran compra