Last Updated: August 5, 2019 (Refresh Now)
NETGEAR Nighthawk AX12 12 Stream Wi Fi 6 Router RAX120 AX6000 Wireless Speed up to 6Gbps Coverage for Large to Very Large Homes 4 x 1G and 1 x 2 5 5G Ethernet Ports 2 x 3 0 USB
Last Updated: August 5, 2019 (Refresh Now)
7.5
SCORE
/10
Total Reviews
897
Old Reviews
234
Unverified
184
Spam Test
PASS
Yes
WIFI
2.2 GHz
PROCESSOR CLOCK
Quad Core
PROCESSOR TYPE
Yes
USB
Review Analysis - 479 recent, verified reviews
Detailed Mode
Network
218wifi, house, 5ghz, coverage, virgin
+76%
-24%
" ... Even in the same room you could get 60% signal strength. ... Coverage is perfect and signal strength is in the high 80s-90s in all the house and bandwidth rates are well over 100 Mbps on the 5Ghz network. ... "
" ... excellent product and works well in 4 bed house ... "
" ... I started wondering if it was our wifi, and bought a Netgear Nighthawk. ... Bam, not only have we got increased range throughout the house. ... "
" ... This router is just perfect for me, significantly improved me wifi range and I don't have lag spikes in games anymore. ... "
" ... I'm very pleased with this router it has made a tremedous diffrence to the WiFi Signal throughout my house. ... "
" ... Great router very fast bit the range isnt great on the wifi, and the VPN client runs at 30mbps which isn't bad for the CPU no problem hitting 220mbps with no vpn ... "
" ... Using it as an AP on the top floor fed by Cat6 cable as the original HH5 could not reach it reliably and the hh3 used for the purpose was a bit flakey. ... What a difference, the signal from the R7800 now reaches from top to bottom and is so powerful that it seems to overdrive the other neighbours boxes off the 2.4ghz channel it's set to (home hubs seem to spend all their time in auto hopping from channel to channel while the neighbours boxes do the same) ... Works well as an AP but it's range is so good, I will probably bring it down and use it as the single router with a drayteck vigour 130 and dump the HH5 ... "
" ... Would highly reccomend, great range and no connection drops. ... "
Wifi
149wifi, wi fi, coverage, 5ghz, virgin
+72%
-28%
" ... I recommend this router to anyone, its best in class ... "
" ... Brilliant router for use in a home and provides excellent coverage and speeds. ... "
" ... This leads me to the reason why this router only gets a four star for me. ... The speeds of the wi-fi are very good, however the range is surprisingly much lower than I expected. ... "
" ... Great Wifi Range and speed. ... "
" ... This product is one of the very best I have used, I am using it as the router within my network after turning the stock VM rubbish into modem mode only. ... Overall a solid procedure which I can highly recommend to anyone looking to upgrade the network set up and aren't to bothered about small bug within the software. ... "
" ... In short, it gives you a proper Wi-Fi network that allows connected devices to perform as you would expect. ... You'll be tweaking stuff for a while, but you really do get a basic, functioning Wi-Fi network inside of 5 minutes. ... The difference between "proper" Wi-Fi, and what you get with the standard ISP provided junk really is staggering, both in terms of performance and configurability. ... "
" ... If you wanna get decent wi fi conection on Virgin Hub 3.0, change you router, no doubts. ... "
" ... Needed VPN client capability which works perfectly. ... "
Setup
99router, netgear, easy to set, easy to setup, nighthawk
+86%
-14%
" ... Setting this up was an absolute breeze and it was up and configured in under 15 minutes, the user interface via the web interface is far more user-friendly with a cleaner UI and you can also use the Netgear application on your phone or tablet to get things up and running. ... "
" ... Setup was seriously easy especially when I've only ever used the provider's router. ... "
" ... Set parental controls with OpenDNS really easy. ... "
" ... The UI is easy enough to navigate around and found it relatively simple to set up some basic port forwarding for a cheeky game of 7 days to die on my home server. ... "
" ... Easy setup, good low level features and very performant! ... "
" ... Easy to install for sure, up and running within minutes ... "
" ... Genie app was easy to understand its no biggie it is pre setup with password basically plug and play after going through the setup. ... "
" ... Easy to set-up and provide a number of improvements over the Tilgin router supplied by my ISP: ... "
Software Platform
87nighthawk, vpn, netgear, apps, parental
+57%
-43%
" ... The QoS is also great for my Ps4 and SmartTV. ... "
" ... When I tried smart connect I had real issues connecting to the internet so I have each channel separated and I use 5G-1 for upstairs and 5G-2 for downstairs. ... "
" ... The nighthawk app is also a must have if you like to keep eye on things. ... "
" ... So £100 for software and £150 for some quality hardware. ... The duma software gives you the flexibility to control and monitor your network. ... block and Rename devices. ... "
" ... Now having a new router to set up is a chore for me without being bombarded with apps I don’t know if I need or not and now with everything set up I found that when I changed a setting or reserved a LAN or anything that required saving the router was not saving and after re-booting nothing was changed. ... "
" ... I can also command it using my Amazon Echo. ... Anytime I have people who visit me I just ask Alexa to enable guest mode. ... "
" ... Quick to set up and easy to manage with the Netgear Genie app. ... "
" ... The web, mobile and desktop top apps are again easy to use however they do allow more experienced users to get into the advanced settings and configure the device to their need. ... "
ISP
77netgear, modem, modem mode, broadband, virgin
+68%
-32%
" ... Very happy with this router. ... "
" ... Very good router. ... "
" ... Very happy with the router. ... "
" ... Replacing isp supplied router , bought with DM200 router. ... "
" ... We use fiber with 100/100 Mbps. ... "
" ... Decided to switch to modem mode and upgrade to a new router. ... "
" ... Good old Netgear! ... "
" ... The XR500 was easy to set up with the Virgin Hub being used in modem mode only. ... "
Ease of Use
67setup, user interface, router, easy to use, easy to setup
+94%
-6%
" ... Apart from that it is extremely easy to install and use the app on your phone. ... "
" ... Also easy to check and maintain from the web console. ... "
" ... Easy to setup external access to the network. ... "
" ... Lots of features, but I found it easy and obvious to navigate and set up the technical configuration which I need via the web interface. ... "
" ... Easy to set-up (although you have to be a little bit patient to wait for the web-browser interface). ... "
" ... it's much larger than your average router size it is about double the size of my old NETGEAR N600.Set up is really easy (made even more easier by the Netgear Nighthawk app. ... "
" ... Easy to set up for the average user but has a host of features for advanced users to set up. ... "
" ... It was very easy to set up if you want that, but that's not very important when there's a high chance it won't work anyway. ... "
Capacity
62signal, coverage, walls, throughout, wifi
+94%
-6%
" ... After investing in the Nighthawk, I instantly got 190mb - 200mb wifi throughout my house! ... "
" ... Well, initially, this was fantastic and our wifi speeds were amazing and able to accommodate all the devices in the house. ... "
" ... I'm very pleased with this router it has made a tremedous diffrence to the WiFi Signal throughout my house. ... "
" ... This router is fantastic, now achieving 200mb over most of the house on 5ghz. ... "
" ... Bought on Amazon Prime day sale - can't get over how good the signal is now in my awkward house. ... The whole family can now log in and get a dedicated wireless channel. ... "
" ... The night hawk is brilliant for more coverage over the house. ... "
" ... I have a 5 bedroom house spread over 3 floors. ... "
" ... Wifi signal has full bars where ever I go in my three bedroom house. ... "
Device Compatibility
61hub, connected, virgin, virgin media, hub 3
+72%
-28%
" ... Exceeds my Virgin router by miles no more being disconnected on my android and streaming is faster to. ... "
" ... This was easy to setup using the app on my smartphone. ... When I tried smart connect I had real issues connecting to the internet so I have each channel separated and I use 5G-1 for upstairs and 5G-2 for downstairs. ... "
" ... Just a note, they DO have OpenVPN support now and I was able to setup PIA for some of my devices. ... "
" ... Switched my Virgin Media Hub 3 to modem mode and connected the R7000. ... "
" ... Phones pretty much the same-connected automatically when home. ... The Netgear does the job I bought it for and I am happy with the speeds I get when multiple devices are connected. ... To summarise: Quite easy and fast to get installed and working on Virgin Hub 3. ... If only the Echo devices connected to it were as easy to connect. ... "
" ... My virgin hub 3 was giving 300mb right Brewster it but 15 feet away it was less than 50 and further in bedrooms it was less than 20mb. ... Wanted to increase the throughput speed and have more products connected. ... Got 250 Mbps on my 300 speed Virgin line wirelessly ... - smart connect allow switching across channels if it works ... "
" ... Bought this for my smart home to solve my amazon echo loss of connection issues. ... "
" ... I use it for online gaming and it is control all devices in my network and it can limit download and upload. ... "
Ports
59modem mode, virgin, ethernet, hub, hub 3
+73%
-27%
" ... This router is plugged into my BT home hub. ... "
" ... My virgin hub 3 was giving 300mb right Brewster it but 15 feet away it was less than 50 and further in bedrooms it was less than 20mb. ... Wanted to increase the throughput speed and have more products connected. ... "
" ... Other router features seem very good - strong wifi on 2.4 and 5 Ghz, 4 ethernet connections, lots of good more techie configuration options as well. ... "
" ... Now the not so Super hub is in modem mode and sending everything to this not only had my internet now reached the 200+MB that I am paying for but my devices don’t drop out. ... "
" ... This router was bought to replace the cumbersome Virgin Media Hub 3.0 and is far better at providing the speeds we pay for. ... "
" ... The best way to test this is to do a speed test from a laptop hard-wired into the router by ethernet cable and if that's good or as expected, then the likelihood is you have slow and congested wi-fi. ... "
" ... So, I have my old ISP router connected to the ADSL socket and the netgear acting as a wired access point. ... "
" ... I read reviews and took the plunge and invested in the Nighthawk AC2300 and upgraded wifi usb dongle for laptop. ... "
Product Reliability
47working, weeks, stopped working, issues, failed
+43%
-57%
" ... It is an untested refurbished product and it was not working when I tried to use it! ... "
" ... After searching online, it appears this is a common problem. ... "
" ... After all this the 90 days ran out on the day of purchase. ... "
" ... Maybe once a week. ... Then, tonight, the whole unit just stopped working. ... "
" ... Lasted three months before requiring continuous resetting to maintain reliability, not what I would have expected from this manufacturer ... "
" ... I have persevered for 6 months with this router but it has finally failed completely refusing to do anything at all. ... "
" ... Plagued with issues. ... So from day one I had issues. ... "
" ... The replacement I ordered stopped working, and was unable to even factory reset at all. ... "
Firmware
41netgear, router, firmware update, latest, dd wrt
+39%
-61%
" ... Then with a recent firmware update the issue returned. ... "
" ... Worked correctly for the first 6 months, however after a firmware update, the 5Ghz band refused to work and the router become incredibly slow. ... "
" ... Unfortunately there appear to be a number of buggy problems with the wifi and firmware. ... The firmware also has an issue reserving fixed IP addresses, it ignores the setup. ... Spoke to Netgear support, they asked me to update the firmware (they acknowledged that the auto-firmware update feature doesn't work). ... When I google the issues I see I am not alone and the firmware updates don't ever fix it. ... "
" ... I did a firmware downgrade, changed settings, factory reset about 5 times. ... Don't buy it, so many problems with Nighthawk, their firmware is awful as well google the problems they have with it. ... "
" ... Everybody is having problems with this firmware and Netgear seem incapable of fixing it. ... This firmware was released a month ago and there is still no resolution*** to the problem. ... It's a pile of crap with Netgear firmware. ... Some others still have problems with this older firmware (from March 2017) and advise flashing with 3rd party firmware like XWRT-Vortex . ... "
" ... This was a brilliant router until Netgear messed up their latest firmware updates. ... I’m posting this in the hope Netgear fix the issues. ... "
" ... I'm returning to get a more open high end router, so I can run Untangle firmware - or something similar - which will probably be more of a pain to configure. ... "
" ... I had updated the software as it recommends on set up, thought that was the problem with the slow speeds, so did a factory reset and down graded firmware, speeds increased for a while now back to above . ... "
Apps
35apps, mobile, genie app, management, ios
+77%
-23%
" ... The app for iphone/ipad is great too, with its own speed test, which is handy and ability to see at ease what is on your network at any time. ... "
" ... Running a lot of devices at the same time with no issue (streaming, social media, email etc). ... "
" ... - mobile sppp and desk top app are great and easy to navigate ... "
" ... The set up of this device is as easy as anything, the app takes you through the directions if you have trouble. ... "
" ... The Genie app looks dated. ... "
" ... The Grnie app is great, remotely control my network and check data usage. ... "
" ... Now having a new router to set up is a chore for me without being bombarded with apps I don’t know if I need or not and now with everything set up I found that when I changed a setting or reserved a LAN or anything that required saving the router was not saving and after re-booting nothing was changed. ... "
" ... but Google helped thank god . ... "
Overall performance
35performance, speeds, download, upload, virgin
+83%
-17%
" ... If/when I upgrade to 1Gbps internet, I will update this review to reflect the speed performance and how well it handles that. ... "
" ... I’m on a 1Gb connection and this is the first time I have been able to achieve anything close to the advertised speed. ... "
" ... Happy with the performance. ... "
" ... It really is fast. ... "
" ... Overall, does the job. ... "
" ... And this one does the job perfectly! ... - consistent download and upload speeds! ... "
" ... Very fast and good set up. ... "
" ... What's more, like many people we are adding smart switches and sockets to the house, and with every new device, the creaking performance seemed to get even worse. ... "
Price
22price, money, worth every penny, worth, cost
+59%
-41%
" ... This is a steal of a price in my opinion. ... Worth every penny. ... "
" ... A very worthwhile investment. ... "
" ... Well, if it didn't cost £240 it would be funny. ... Is it worth the money? ... "
" ... Worth every penny. ... "
" ... Worth every penny . ... "
" ... For the money, it is worth the £140 I spent on it. ... "
" ... Highly recommended if you’ve got the budget. ... "
" ... - It's not the cheapest option, but overall it seems like value for money ... "
Returns
17back, sent it back, send, return, returned
+12%
-88%
" ... Returned for refund. ... "
" ... after it went wrong again i had enough and sent it back to amazon for a refund. ... "
" ... Failed outside the return window so no refund from Amazon ... "
" ... I have contacted Amazon to see where I stand if I am eligible for a refund or if I could replace it for another brand of router. ... "
" ... I am not able to send the item back for a refund either as I no longer have the box (with it been 2-3 weeks since I had it delivered), I thought it would work, and work fine, but it hasn't and I regret buying this, ... "
" ... Amazon offered a refund or a replacement so I sent it back. ... "
" ... I have contacted my Lawyers. ... "
" ... So the unit is being returned and an exchange unit has been requested. ... "
Features
15mode, lot, led lights, extra features, turn
+87%
-13%
" ... Most of the features are there and work well. ... "
" ... One really really nice feature is, you can switch off those led lights, apart from power on led. ... "
" ... Genie looks very similar to the old router with some useful extra features. ... "
" ... There are many other features I could talk about but the review would be too long. ... "
" ... Allows for a lot of customisation ... "
" ... Easy to use with loads of features ... "
" ... Indeed when you do along with other features the performance increase was negligible – hence not as advertised. ... "
" ... led lights were annoying . ... "
Gaming
11lag, games, gamer, virgin, game
+91%
-9%
" ... Best of all for gaming it automatically detects when games are being played and prioritises that connection making it super simple for gamers to get the best connection and not be hampered by someone else trying to hog the network. ... "
" ... It's great seeing the bandwidth utilisation and setting priority for gaming devices. ... "
" ... I am not a gamer so upload speeds aren't important to me. ... "
" ... And by the way, I want to reduce the bandwidth for a gaming PC so the adults could watch a movie on Netflix or something. ... "
" ... Once you start to get used to the little nuances it does come together, you will see improvement in your game play. ... I am playing C.O.D WWII and we all know how frustrating the lag can be, this box of tricks can help you eradicate all the frustration, not instantly, like anything it takes a bit effort, put in the time and reap the rewards. ... "
" ... The set up was a doddle and the security was pre set, though I was baffled as to where to find the gaming dashboard, apparently it's online which I found a bit odd but you don't need to have it on constantly since it's browser based and can eat the RAM, the android also has an app which is minimalist but easy to get your head around, the remote access router is fun to troll the family while your at work. ... "
" ... If you are a gamer. ... "
" ... Gaming are very very good i had 30 to 31 ping solid no lags while all 4 to 5 people gaming at the same time. ... "
Marketplace
9r7800, one, bought, sent it back, see
+56%
-44%
" ... As usual Amazon return service is excellent. ... "
" ... Very happy thank you ... "
" ... Bought the R7800 when on deal. ... "
" ... Bit the bullet and bought the R7800 via Amazon. ... "
Internet
8speed, drops, connection, time, get
+63%
-38%
" ... All devices had super quick internet speed. ... "
" ... Check speed of internet. ... "
" ... Again, another restart usually it then reports internet is up. ... "
" ... You won't need to worry about internet again. ... "
" ... Really fast 5GHz speed - I get nearly all of my 1Gbit internet connection. ... "
Design
7design, pretty, like, bit, big
+71%
-29%
" ... · Large and unique design won't be for everyone ... "
" ... And it looks pretty good too! ... "
" ... Bigger than I was expecting but pleasing on the eye nonetheless. ... "
" ... The wife even said it looks better than the old one. ... "
" ... It's a bit big, and looks like it might morph and take over the world, but I wouldn't be without it now. ... "
Controls
5router, reset, led lights, device, button
+40%
-60%
" ... - AND its reset button simply does not work (I've read multiple forums about hard reset and I'm a tech savvy person, so not doing anything stupid here), so the router has become useless after 6 months and not fixable. ... "
" ... simply selecting the device(s) and clicking "Allow" doesn't work. ... "
Lagging
5reboots, reboot, lag, 2, slow
+40%
-60%
" ... Doesn't even work 90% of the time, only does for 5 mins after restart. ... "
" ... - I spent the last 2 days doing factory resets as it either becomes unavailable or get stuck in a reboot loop. ... "
" ... The operating system is a bit slow to respond but that’s perhaps not surprising, its very graphical so it going to be slow. ... "
Cables
5see, plug, r9000, lightweight, happens
+20%
-80%
" ... So in other words, they hard wire THEIR provider so you must subscribe to PureVPN. ... "
" ... Cannot see it wireless or cable connect. ... "
" ... You know, those cables we've all been using for decades, just plug them in and they work. ... "
Band
5bands, band, 5ghz, problem, across
+80%
-20%
" ... R8000P Nighthawk X6S Tri-Band AC4000 Ordered 25/9/2017. ... "
" ... Tri-band is great to split the usage across the items of the family and guests. ... "
" ... The benefit of having two 5Ghz bands and the option of smart joining them is very nice. ... "
" ... The X6 seemed to fit the bill perfectly with it's tri-band capability and great range, far better than I expected on the dual 5G bands. ... "
Delivery
5product, item, delivered, arrived, well
+80%
-20%
" ... and this certainly delivered. ... "
" ... Item as described and delivered promptly. ... "
" ... This item arrived on time and was well packaged. ... "
" ... great product and ontime delivery ... "
Data reception
5virgin, 2 4g, wi fi, virgin media, router
+40%
-60%
" ... The 2.4g signal was rubbish it kept dropping off. ... The internet connection on the 2.4g connection kept informing me that there was no connection. ... "
" ... I then found all my 2.4G wifi devices stopped working - couldn't get to the Internet. ... "
Bluetooth
5replace, hub, bt home hub, wifi, purchased
+80%
-20%
" ... BT home hub in the bin. ... "
" ... Replace the BT Hub3. ... "
" ... Bought to replace a series of poor BT Home Hub 6,s - it’s far superior and much more reliable. ... "
" ... Purchased this to replace my BT SMARTHUB. ... "
For Running
3get
+100%
" ... I have set everything that is wireless up on 5g and is running great. ... "
" ... It took me about 10 minutes to have the R7800 up and running. ... "
" ... To put it simply this is what you get, once you get it up and running: ... "
Memory
3flash, drives, broadband
+67%
-33%
" ... 3.2 GB (R8000) ... "
" ... Purchased this over the D7800 as better processor and memory. ... "
Print Quality
3+100%
" ... I have yet to try out other features (like the print server, PC backup, etc). ... "
" ... Plus a printer. ... The Echos and printer are, by design, always connected. ... "
" ... I bought this for a small office of 10 people sharing a printer and ... "
Video Playback
3youtube, watching, video, streaming
+67%
-33%
" ... Then start to have a few games, refer back to the video watching, it is worth seeking out how others have set the controls within this beast of a router. ... "
" ... Streaming videos and internet surfing are very snappy. ... "
Defective Delivery
3working, box
-100%
" ... Got a defective unit. ... "
" ... It is an untested refurbished product and it was not working when I tried to use it! ... "
" ... The box was not sealed ... "
Display Clarity
3like, led lights, led, kids
+67%
-33%
" ... led lights were annoying . ... "
" ... Very bright LED's, but they can all be turned off. ... "
Comfort
3would, hands
+33%
-67%
" ... It’s painful. ... "
" ... After a week the first major problem raised it's head. ... "
Build Quality
3build quality, routers, months, lightweight, happens
+33%
-67%
" ... The connection would then just stay dropped. ... "
" ... Broke after only 2 months of use. ... Cheaply built, do not buy! ... "
Battery Life
3fault
-100%
" ... Then it wants to charge you money for the full version. ... "
" ... 4 hours later same thing happens. ... "
" ... This lasted 48 hours and the fault developed again. ... "
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Specifications
Connectivity
WiFi: Yes
USB: Yes
Number of USB ports: 6
Performance
Processor Clock: 2.2 GHz
Processor Type: Quad Core
Yes
WIFI
2.2 GHz
PROCESSOR CLOCK
Quad Core
PROCESSOR TYPE
Yes
USB