Netgear RAX20 4-Stream AX1800 WiFi 6 Router w/ USB 3.0 Port EXPIRED

Almost all routers require that so anyone can't just go in and hijack your stuff

These low end broadcom routers aren't technically triple or quadcore processors (relative to higher end designs) but I digress.

If only 160mhz channel width offered practical benefits on 5Ghz


Wifi 6 radios are generally faster in terms of processing speed (1.5Ghz vs 800mhz on Broadcom ARM A7), but these lower end 2x2 AX designs are equivalent to 2x2 AC1200 "spec" for AC clients in regards to performance at distance. Real world performance depends on amplifiers, amplification value, antenna height, tuning and specific clients used as not all perform identical. (IE: intel client vs broadcom and or qualcomm).

These entry 2x2 designs are great for AX clients, but end up in a weird bubble of performing worse than first gen AC 3x3 designs and higher end last gen 4x4 wave 2 radios with certain legacy hardware.

I don't want to steer people the wrong way as theres obvious benefits of running these cheaper AX routers with AX clients, but its not a 1 stop solution for overall improvement of wifi performance, especially since majority clients are indeed AC right now and that wont change until client pricing of AX hardware is cheap enough for IoT.

My recommendation.. Look for a deal on a 4x4 or newer 3x3 radio for consistency in upgrade paths, but thats at least double the price realistically speaking (on sale).

3x3 AX (new) will change this in around a year. Stuff like AX68U should be marked down as low as $100-120. This is at least an "upgrade" from legacy AC1750 spec.

To follow up on this, a lot of people don't care to secure it any further than "you must be connected to the network to access the config page". But you might not want everyone with the wifi pass to be able to change settings (guests, family, whatever). It's another layer of access control.