The Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 is a tri-band router that can access the 6GHz radio spectrum.
This router is packed with features, such as multi-gig LAN and WAN capabilities, link aggregation, a powerful quad-core processor, and cyber threat protection provided by Bitdefender. It is powered by the most recent Wi-Fi 6 E technology and an optimised CPU. It is one of the most expensive and fastest consumer routers available, costing $600. Although Wi-Fi 6E client devices are scarce, the RAXE500 won’t let you down if you’re an early adopter looking to future-proof your network.
Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 review: Design
The Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 router is a large and powerful router that can be compared to the older, larger Nighthawk AX8 router. It retains the A-Wing design that gives it the appearance of something from a Star Wars prequel—a far cry from more traditional-looking routers like the Linksys Max-Stream MR8300—but at 12.0 x 8.6 x 3.3 inches, it’s one of the largest models on the market. The RAXE500 is 4-inches taller when the four antennas inside each wing are extended.
The RAXE500 router is a sleek, sculptural piece of networking equipment that can be discreetly stored or ecstatically displayed. The router has two inserts for hanging on a wall and thick rubber feet underneath. It has cooling fans and vents on the front and bottom; during our testing, the router’s temperature never exceeded 112 degrees Fahrenheit.
The RAXE500 Wi-Fi 6e system offers a large portion of the 6GHz spectrum in comparison to traditional triband routers with a 2.4GHz band and two 5GHz bands, doubles the number of available data channels, and provides an additional six ultra-wide 160MHz channels. This results in an increase in data carrying capacity of almost 5Gbps.
The RAXE500 is a router that uses Broadcom Wi-Fi 6e hardware. This router has a quad-core 1.8GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, and 512MB of flash storage for the router’s firmware and configurations. The RAXE500 has beamforming to match the transmission characteristics to the receiver, MU-MIMO for serving a large number of devices, and 1024QAM to boost the router’s efficiency when multiple systems are requesting data at once.
The RAXE500 is a 12-stream, 10.8Gbps data transmitter that can be used with broadband modems to send data at speeds of up to 10.8Gbps. The RAXE500 has connections on the back and a Multi-Gig data input port that can deliver up to 2.5Gbps when used with modern broadband modems.
The TP-Link Archer AX6000 offers eight wired LAN ports, but the RAXE500 has four dedicated downstream 1Gbps networking ports for a total of five. If the Multi-Gig port is not in use, it can function as an additional downstream 1Gbps Ethernet connection. ..
Feature
The web panel that was used to administer networks on Netgear’s Wi-Fi 6 routers is still used to control your network. Only a few new configuration options have been added to accommodate the new 6E frequencies: you can either combine the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz networks under a single SSID and let the router choose the best band for each client, or you can set separate names and security settings for each of the networks.
The Nighthawk mobile app allows you to see who is connected to your network, check the wireless signal strength as you move around the house, and turn the guest network on and off. It also supports dynamic DNS and a VPN service that you can use to access your home network from anywhere. Additionally, you will learn our article on Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 review. ..
The Nighthawk software is not effective at controlling access to specific websites. You can manually block specific websites, but you cannot impose time restrictions or timetables for each device. Additionally, a 30-day trial of the Netgear Armor security module is the only inclusion. After that, you will need to pay £34 to maintain the service for the first year and £85 per year after that if you want protection against intrusions, dubious websites, and suspicious network activity.
Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 review: Installation
The RAXE500 is a wireless router that can be used with the Nighthawk mobile app. We connected it to our modem and followed the directions to set up the router. After scanning the QR code on the router, we connected it to our Wi-Fi network and used the supplied LAN cable to connect it.
We were told to create a network name and password after the router was identified. The installation was finished after we responded to two security questions and waited a minute for the app to customise the router and preserve our settings.
There are no comparable 6GHz throughput results since the RAXE500 is the only Wi-Fi 6 router we have tested. In addition, we were unable to enable the 6GHz band on a laptop powered by an Intel AX210 6E CPU. A Netgear representative claims that this is a Windows 10 compatibility problem rather than a router problem. In fact, connecting a Samsung S21 Ultra 5G phone that is 6E ready to the 6GHz band was effortless. ..
Performance
The Nighthawk RAXE500 outperforms other routers with its capacity to transfer data back and forth in the 2.4-, 5-, and 6GHz bands. We built a busy network with 10 simulated users using Ixia’s ixChariot network simulation software and a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, one of the few gadgets that can utilise Wi-Fi 6e’s capability. Using the RAXE500’s SmartConnect, channels 36 (for 5GHz) and 33 (for 6GHz), and positioning the router 15 feet away from the S21 phone, the RAXE500 was able to deliver a peak throughput of 1.153Gbps for the 6Ghz band and another 1.242Gbps for the 2.4- and 5GHz bands. At 15 feet, that amounts to 2.396Gbps in total.
The Netgear Nighthawk AX8 is a powerful Wi-Fi router that has a fast connection. Other routers did not perform as well as the Netgear Nighthawk AX8. This means that the Netgear Nighthawk AX8 is better than other routers.
The RAXE500’s throughput suffers from a rapid decrease with distance, similar to what happened with the AX8, making it the router to use close to your device. The total throughput fell to 215.8Mbps with 50 feet separating the RAXE500 from the Galaxy S21 phone, far behind the pace established by the TP-Link Archer AX6000 (396.4Mbps) or the Linksys MR9600 (363.3Mbps). The Netgear Nighthawk AX8’s 277.1Mbps was in the middle of the pack at this distance.
The RAXE500 moved at 148.6 Mbps at 75 feet, compared to the AX8’s 142.3 Mbps. The Asus AC-RT86U won in this range with 250.1Mbps and 40% greater provided bandwidth. The RAXE500 was able to move 18.9Mbps during our testing at a terminal distance of 90 feet, which is sufficient for some HD video and light web browsing. At this distance, the TP-Link Archer AX6000 and Linksys MR9600 were offline, but the Netgear AX8 had a similar bandwidth of 20.8Mbps.The RAXE500 had a 105-foot range. ..
Asus’ RAXE500 router was found to be the fastest in this category, moving at 148.6 Mbps. This is 40% more than the next fastest router, the AX8, which moved at 142.3 Mbps at 75 feet. The Asus AC-RT86U triumphed with 250.1Mbps and 40% more available bandwidth. During our testing, the RAXE500 was able to transmit 18.9Mbps at a terminal distance of 90 feet, which is adequate for some HD video and light web browsing. ..
The TP-Link Archer AX6000 and Linksys MR9600 were unavailable at this distance, but the Netgear AX8 had a comparable bandwidth of 20.8Mbps. The RAXE500’s range was 105 feet. It performed equally well when beaming a strong signal through a ceiling to a bedroom located one floor up from the router. When compared to the TP-Link Archer AX6000’s 671.4Mbps and the Netgear AX8’s 629.5Mbps, it was able to deliver 851.0Mbps.
Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 review: Security
Although it is said that security is “baked in” to the router, we were surprised to learn that the RAXE500 requires an additional fee. After a 30-day trial, the price is $69.99 per year. To scan every traffic and maintain its security, the programme can operate on the network level via the router. However, several rivals offer security without charging extra, particularly for higher quality equipment. However, users who do pay receive Bitdefender Security and Bitdefender VPN in addition to Bitdefender Security, so if you were going to pay for a VPN anyway, the cost is reasonable.
Price and availability
The Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 is a powerful Wi-Fi 6e router that is available from several major electronics retailers. It costs almost three times as much as some high-performance Wi-Fi 6 routers and nearly $200 more than the visually comparable Netgear Nighthawk RAX80 with Wi-Fi 6.
Conclusion
The Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 is incredibly fast. Compared to the triband design of the RAX200, the triband design with three distinct band frequencies makes a lot more sense. While older devices can use 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz, modern devices can benefit from the new, fancy 6Ghz band. Even though we gush about mesh WiFi systems, the Nighthawk RAXE500’s range and overall performance more than adequately cover our 4-bed semi-detached home with great speeds all around. Therefore, if you can locate your router properly, a mesh network is not required. We also discover that 6Ghz’s range problems are exaggerated; it can easily pass through a few rooms with brick walls.
