Last Updated: November 25, 2018 (Refresh Now)
NETGEAR R8500 100NAS WiFi Router Discontinued
Last Updated: November 25, 2018 (Refresh Now)
5.5
SCORE
/10
Total Reviews
1000
Old Reviews
295
Unverified
414
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Yes
WIFI
Review Analysis - 291 recent, verified reviews
Detailed Mode
Network
104netgear, wifi, network, house, nighthawk
+63%
-37%
" ... It's like a router on steroids. ... "
" ... No dead spots in my house anymore. ... "
" ... Router worked great, really fast good range and I loved the lagg connection to my NAS. ... "
" ... I needed a router with a greater range and this does exactly that. ... "
" ... The wifi range is excellent. ... "
" ... So far this is the mother of all routers. ... but this Mega-Router was more powerful and it really fixed my problems. ... "
" ... Great Router, must have for speed increase. ... "
" ... Router works great. ... "
Product Reliability
94netgear, stopped working, router, reboot, rebooting
+18%
-82%
" ... A device should not be defective less than one year old and if it is, it should not be this frustrating to look over your defective product. ... "
" ... I’ve owned this router for over a year. ... The last two months the 2.4 ghz channel has been cutting out randomly about once per week. ... "
" ... Worked for 6 months then router became ubstable. ... "
" ... worked for 3 weeks, went down a few times and then just died. ... "
" ... worst router ever, did not last few months, first had issue with 2G and then with 5G, just got tired of resetting to factory default to get it going. ... "
" ... Some things keep working, some don't. ... "
" ... Works great, but after a year, it died all of sudden, while my other ASUS WiFi which I have bought 3 years before is still working. ... This is the second time NetGear failed me. ... "
" ... After a month of disappointments with this thing, it is going back. ... "
Wifi
69wifi, network, netgear, wi fi, r8500
+49%
-51%
" ... Less than one year of purchase of this router, I found a problem in one of 5 ghz wireless network. ... There was a defect in the network which resulted in my home devices being randomly kicked out of our wireless network at home. ... The router comes with much more problems of logging in (even when I repeatedly type in the correct password). ... "
" ... Amber LED, no wifi, can't ping it. ... "
" ... It did nothing to it the router was just stuck router it was turning off and on by it self from the start router displayed only one 5g channel router couldn't find 5g2 and that's not checking the box to unite both channels from the settings ... "
" ... Do not buy this router!!! ... "
" ... Wifi stopped working and when I power cycled the router it goes into continuous reboot. ... "
" ... Do not buy this model or brand of router. ... "
" ... All WiFi and wired connections would be lost and a manual reboot required. ... "
" ... From now on, I will be very dodgy to ever buy a Netgear router again. ... "
ISP
55netgear, provider, mbps, internet, wifi
+58%
-42%
" ... And because of this, when I enable the smart connect function in this router, I find my devices that being able to connect at all. ... "
" ... It's like a router on steroids. ... "
" ... Brought our download speed over wifi up to what we are actually paying for. ... "
" ... Swapping in another router everything's fine. ... "
" ... Router works great. ... "
" ... I even bought the nighthawk extender that worked great also. ... "
" ... Setting up the new modem was easy - even with Xfinity validation requirements (info included in modem package). ... Getting the Netgear router to work was trickier. ... "
" ... When it worked, it had good range and throughput compared to the previous Netgear N router. ... This will be my last Netgear. ... "
Setup
45router, netgear, easy to set, easy, support
+73%
-27%
" ... Setup via GUI is easy. ... "
" ... Very easy to use for the moderately tech savvy person and awesome range! ... "
" ... Easy to set up and modifying the settings was a breeze as well. ... "
" ... The setup was straight-forward and, with my small mid-level acquaintance with routers, was able to accomplish some advance tasks to my satisfaction. ... "
" ... The setup is very easy and straight-forward. ... "
" ... Also very easy to set up using the instructions included, if you're comfortable with technology - you don't have to be a techie to install and set this up. ... "
" ... Installation was extremely easy ... "
" ... It took a little effort to get the setup done correctly because I didn't answer the questions correctly at the first set up and I wanted a static IP for the router. ... "
Returns
34replacement, returned, amazon, refund, send
+3%
-97%
" ... 50% of our weekend gone due to their horrible product support and bad return policies! ... "
" ... Going to return it and find another brand. ... "
" ... Because it was still brand new, Amazon issued a replacement. ... "
" ... The only fix to it is getting it replaced. ... So the main reason there are so many used units for sale is because there are that many broken units being returned. ... "
" ... she said RMA. ... "
" ... I tried to return and they stated it was outside the return window as I got as a Christmas present for a second home and installed it 60 days later. ... "
" ... Returned it and now can't get refund. ... "
" ... I gave up and returned it. ... "
Device Compatibility
34connected, network, wifi, router, wireless devices
+35%
-65%
" ... Setting it up the device required me to have a mobile device. ... "
" ... WON'T STAY CONNECTED!! ... "
" ... Seems to get stupid whenever I add another device. ... "
" ... Very bad if you have a Sonos system. ... "
" ... Some devices connected normally, Apple devices seemed to have a really hard time connecting and staying connected. ... "
" ... Netgear support said I "overloaded" the router, with 22 devices. ... "
" ... Product does not work with many 2.5ghz devices and the off/on switch did not work. ... "
" ... On phone with support now. ... "
Firmware
30netgear, latest, dd wrt, updated the firmware, router
+13%
-87%
" ... I can confirm the same 2.4 GHZ issue occurs on 3rd party firmware as well such as DD-WRT. ... "
" ... Don't put new firmware bad thing to do. ... "
" ... Factory reset - NG ... "
" ... In my estimation, it was definitely a firmware bug, though there may still have been some hardware defects - perhaps hardware issues that the firmware "bugs" were intentionally designed to cover up. ... With my final unit, it was revealed that a series of specific firmware changes could make it work (for another twelve hours), but that wasn't good enough. ... "
" ... Even after upgrade of firmware. ... "
" ... Inferior router - many problems 'do not buy' firmware gets corrupted and not repairable. ... "
" ... Again, Netgear firmware caused this problem. ... "
" ... no custom firmware or anything special -- actually mainly using in AP mode! ... Tried doing the TFTP firmware load since it was showing ping TTL of 100ms while booting like the forums suggested, but no luck and from what I hear they are horrible about processing RMAs for these affected units. ... "
Marketplace
29support, replacement, customer service, amazon warehouse, return
+48%
-52%
" ... Called Netgear and they won’t honor the warranty because it came from Amazon warehouse deals. ... "
" ... Their product support STINKS!!!! ... "
" ... I would not buy a netgear product again. ... "
" ... Because it was still brand new, Amazon issued a replacement. ... "
" ... I bought a used one sold by amazon warehouse and it didn't work. ... "
" ... I must say this is the worst 383 dollars I have ever spent on Amazon. ... "
" ... DO NOT BUY THESE USED FROM AMAZON WAREHOUSE !! ... Well amazon seems to feel like that can sell these units people are sending back. ... "
" ... my plan is to ship this particular unit back as DEFECTIVE to Amazon. ... "
Ease of Use
21easy, set, setup, interface, simple
+76%
-24%
" ... Setup via GUI is easy. ... "
" ... Easy to set up and modifying the settings was a breeze as well. ... "
" ... Also very easy to set up using the instructions included, if you're comfortable with technology - you don't have to be a techie to install and set this up. ... "
" ... It was easy to set up and smart as well. ... "
" ... Not a problem with set-up or its use. ... "
" ... Easy setup with a smartphone or computer. ... "
" ... Easy to setup and I have WiFi all over my house. ... "
" ... I set it up, which was simple. ... "
Price
21worth every, well worth, waste, penny, 300
+52%
-48%
" ... worth every penny ... "
" ... Money well spent if you ask me. ... "
" ... Well worth the money if you can get one that works :(. ... "
" ... More expensive than some other options, but well worth the cost. ... "
" ... I was a little reluctant to spend that much money but it was well worth it. ... "
" ... Completely worth the investment! ... "
" ... Cost me nearly $300, compare to the original price of $370 or something. ... "
" ... Great upgrade and worth the extra money. ... "
Overall performance
21speeds, speed tests, blazing, speed on speed, fast
+90%
-10%
" ... Works like a champ. ... "
" ... Works well so far. ... "
" ... Speed test typically shows down 930Mbps and 950Mbps up. ... "
" ... I have a full 1Gbit feed, and have seen speed tests of 952 Mbps, so it can get there when it works. ... "
" ... The Nighthawk X8 was simply the best across the board. ... "
" ... Speed and distance are great. ... "
" ... Speeds and range are very good. ... "
" ... Speeds that I could not imagine are now possible. ... "
Capacity
18throughout, sq ft, basement, story, router
+100%
" ... My husband insisted that we needed this for our new house. ... This sits in a closet in our attic and we get terrific signal throughout all 3 floors of our house, plus the front and back yards and inside the garage. ... "
" ... In the family room I am getting anywhere from 80Mbs to 112Mbs internet speeds. ... 2.4G band has a stronger signal but is not as fast, where the 5G band has a much weaker signal in my family room but is faster. ... "
" ... Got this for my family! ... "
" ... I previously had three routers, one on each floor, to get reasonable connectivity throughout my 4,000 sq ft house. ... And even then, I couldn't get it in one corner of my basement separated by concrete walls. ... "
" ... It's only for people who have a lot of competition for bandwidth in their house. ... "
" ... It supports over 10 wireless devises in our home and does great with congestion from neighbors. ... "
" ... For a big House whit a lot of People absolutly Great. ... "
" ... WiFi reaches the corners of a 3000+ sq ft, 2-story home and remains plenty strong (I still prefer wired where possible, but the WiFi is now strong enough to depend upon anywhere in the house). ... "
Software Platform
17web, reboot, gui, windows 10, interface
+24%
-76%
" ... I even tried all the suggestions from the Netgear community web site. ... "
" ... I checked my Windows 10 network options and everything was correct with network discovery turned on and my workgroup configured correctly. ... "
" ... tried everything I could find out on the web to reset it and stop it. ... "
" ... For those that have complex configurations, it’s a tedious process of make entries, click apply and wait, reboot and wait some more ... They also still don’t allow you to configure your own NTP server IP address and have their own built-in database of what they want you to use. ... "
" ... After searching web it looks a very common issue. ... "
" ... The software could use some help but when everything was working it seemed fine. ... "
" ... Started disconnecting my wemo switchs and Alexa dots. ... "
" ... After searching in the Internet how to solve the problem I discovered this has been reported a lot of times in the official support forums. ... "
Lagging
16rebooting, reboot loop, boot, reset, looping
-100%
" ... I explained the issue, we did some troubleshooting, and after another reset the internet was back. ... "
" ... The infamous "Looping Reboot" problem. ... "
" ... Resetting repowering numerous times did nothing. ... "
" ... It was stuck in the reboot loop. ... "
" ... It's stuck in the boot loop again. ... "
" ... It started rebooting every couple of minutes. ... "
" ... first one was stuck in a reboot ... "
" ... tried 2 in 3 days and they both would work for a hour and then start a reboot loop. ... "
Ports
12ports, r8500, ac68, usb 2, usb
+42%
-58%
" ... My LAN was still visible and accessible, though depricated, but the WAN was unreachable. ... "
" ... The WLAN connector doesn't make a great connection, so I have had a number of issues where the Internet just stops working and I have to go jiggle the connector (I've got expensive CAT6 metal-shielded cables too!). ... "
" ... Did you try a different outlet?" ... "Did you try a different power adapter with similar specifications?" ... "
" ... I’m forced to use an Ethernet connecting every time I want to administer any Netgear router and one reason I’m done with them. ... Used an ASUS USB-AC68 USB 3.0 3x4 (1300 Mb), PCIe Half Mini Card Intel AC 7260 2x2 (867 Mb) and Netgear A6200 USB 2.0 (867 Mb) adapters for testing. ... USB-AC68 using 3.0 client: RT-AC5300 just couldn’t keep up with R8500, even with MIMO ... 232 Mb peak / 168 Mb typical download w/MIMO ... A6200 USB 2.0 adapter: R8500 crushes on the download but about same on upload ... Gigabit Ethernet: R8500 consistent performer with RT-AC5300 having higher upload speeds but bad download. ... "
" ... The unit gets so bricked you cannot even TFTP to it via the LAN port to reflash, the only way to recover is to take it apart and use the TTL adapter to force erase and reflash. ... "
" ... - It has link aggregation on 2 ports but I never was able to set it up due to it dying. ... "
" ... 10. setting it back to defaults requires some black magic in trying to intercept and upload files via COM ports and TTL connections, and tftp. ... "
Delivery
11arrived, arrives, shipping, received, delivered
+55%
-45%
" ... Was in great condition. ... "
" ... Was delivered (PRIME!) ... Awesome delivery speed and packaging. ... "
" ... The shipping version was 1.0.2.64. ... "
" ... As for my experience: Delivered quickly, unpacked easily, setup quickly and easily. ... "
" ... - Received, installed, configured, tested. ... - Received, installed, configured, tested. ... "
" ... My first R8500 arrived and worked great for all of 4 days. ... "
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Specifications
Connectivity
WiFi: Yes
Recommendations
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