NETGEAR Nighthawk Tri-Band WiFi 7 Router (RS300) – BE9300 Wireless Speed (up to 9.3Gbps) - Coverage up to 2,500 sq. ft., 100 Devices – 2.5 Gig Internet Port

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.

So far so good, but not without compatibility issues and annoyances. 1. Basic setup was very easy, but you have to have an active cable modem or other digital service internet connection to setup the router. 2.5 Gb Ethernet RJ-45 interface is there. There are also 2 additional 2.5 Gb RJ-45 internet interfaces plus 2 1 Gb RJ-45 internet interfaces. Annoyance: The Nighthawk phone/ipad app only supports basic setup. If you want to do something like disable SSID broadcast, you need to manually login directly to the router via laptop from a browser. Other routers can be setup without the connection, and then plugged into a live internet connection like a cable router. 2. Some older networked appliance type devices may have WiFi compatibility issues. Example: Older Apple TV boxes like the Generation 2 Apple TV A1469 will hang on initial connection request to the network. You will get to the screen where you can select a network SSID for AppleTV to choose, but it will bomb out with a message: "There was a problem connecting to the internet. The WIFI password entered is not correct. Try Again. (-3900)" - or - "There was a problem connecting to the internet. The WIFI password entered is not correct. Try Again. (-100)" Often this happens before the system has even prompted you to enter in a password. You have only selected the network. This is a modem chip type communications issue which is actually somewhat common with older WiFi devices built to older WiFi specs and newer WiFi6/WiFi6E/WiFi7 routers, not just Apple and not just NETGEAR. One workaround in my case was to DISABLE Access Control on the router and retry setup of the old Apple TV device. This did not work. Another workaround of changing authentication to downgrade WPA2/WPA3 back to WPA2 on the router and retry setup. WPA2 is apparently not always reliably detected by the NETGEAR Router. This did not work, either. Annoyance: The Nighthawk app also is too basic to handle this as well, and info on the WPA settings is not under the SECURITY tab, but under the INFO on the wireless network - but not changeable there. Again, you have to login. Another workaround of disabling all router security also did not work. With some routers it will work, but the older Apple TV boxes will return to an error state of (-100) or (-3900) once security is turned back on. Before you return your router, consider replacing the older devices unless you have no option. In my instance, the Gen 2 Apple TV 1469 box is the only device I have that had connection issues. The device is very old and getting a new one is not that expensive. You may run into similar problems with older Home WiFi appliances adhering to older WiFi specs, even if you replace the router with a different brand. Search their knowledge bases before deciding to return the router and getting something else. Do your research on the device and the specific routers you are looking at, and don’t blindly trust what the router vendor tells you.. Keep in mind that WiFi7 is also still an interim draft specification at this time (January 2025), but it has backwards compatibility. WiFi7 is faster than WiFi6 or 6E, but not much can take advantage of the speed yet. WiFi6 is a released spec. WiFi6E is somewhat proprietary and has no backwards compatibility or limited backwards compatibility, but it is faster than 6. I did, however, still notice a definite improvement in my Internet TV devices on the new NETGEAR RS300 Router.

Description: Works perfectly. It was a smooth and easy set up. Night Hawk mobile app is simple to use. A little pricey but worth it for people that need consistent, reliable WiFi. If cost is an issue, you could always opt in for the Asurion protection coverage. For a great 5-6+ year router investment.

The RS180 is an effective replacement for the ISP-provided CR1000A router, which frequently rebooted during high usage, such as streaming. This device offers a straightforward installation process and includes guest Wi-Fi functionality. It supports dual-band operation, automatically switching between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, with an option for manual band selection. Performance tests indicate that the 5 GHz Wi-Fi provides upload and download speeds comparable to LAN connections. Additionally, the RS180 operates at a cool temperature, unlike the CR1000A, which tended to run warm. Overall, the RS180 enhances network stability and performance, making it suitable for home use where reliable connectivity is essential.

Nice modem but a few frustrations. (1) Installation. it sent me to an iphone app to adjust the router, and if I recall, that wanted me to set up a netgear account and I think there was some kind of software pathway dead end where I finally had to talk to customer service for an hour. I would have been better off using plain dumb routerlogin.net and signing on to the router as admin + password and changing "password." And just using the plain dumb web interface to set a recognizable home wifi network name and wifi password. (2) A year later. i began having awful problems with the web software NOTION not loading, and I run my business on Notion!! Chat GPT eventually showed me the router was the problem (e.g. my computer ran NOTION OK via my phone wifi). We (I just said "we" = chatgpt and I) logged onto routerlogin.net (once I painfully found my router portal password). We turned off some Smart service that let me disable the 6 GHZ band which in turn disables some obscure software called "WIFI 7" which can corrupt NOTION. Long story short, the router runs great without using 6 GHz and Notion immediately went back to normal. ChatGPT advised me that a lot of more sophisticated web services might have trouble with WIFI 7 and even ethernet-tethered computers can get messed up if they are part of a router system that includes active 6 GHz and therefore active WIFi7. This seemed to be my experience. (3) SIGNAL. Very strong. Our inbound internet line ends in a bad place in the basement, where the modem is, so that's where the router is, and we benefit from a strong router.