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phoinix | Staff 18.3K Views
Sep 10, 2026 7:06 AM

Refurb: NETGEAR Nighthawk RAX43 5-Stream AX5 WiFi 6 Wireless Router

$40

$200

80% off
+ Free S&Hat Amazon
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Deal Details
Verdi! via Amazon has NETGEAR Nighthawk RAX43 5-Stream AX5 WiFi 6 Wireless Router (Renewed / Refurbished - Excellent) on sale for $39.99. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Deal Hunter phoinix for sharing this deal.

About this Item:
  • High-Performance Speeds: Delivers up to 574 Mbps on 2.4 GHz and 3603 Mbps on 5 GHz for smooth gaming, UHD streaming, and fast file transfers
  • Wi-Fi 6 Technology: Provides 4x greater capacity, 40% increased data throughput, and full backward compatibility with previous Wi-Fi standards
  • Easy Network Management: Nighthawk App enables simple setup, configuration, and control of the entire Wi-Fi network from a smartphone
  • Powerful Processing: 1.5 GHz triple-core processor supports simultaneous 4K UHD streaming across multiple devices including Smart TVs, mobiles, and gaming consoles
  • Enhanced Security: NETGEAR Armor provides automatic network protection against hackers, password thieves, ransomware, and brute force attacks

Editor's Notes

Written by citan359 | Staff
  • About this Deal:
  • About this Store:
  • Additional Notes:
    • Please see the original post for additional details & give the WIKI and additional forum comments a read for helpful discussion.

Original Post

Written by phoinix | Staff
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
Verdi! via Amazon has NETGEAR Nighthawk RAX43 5-Stream AX5 WiFi 6 Wireless Router (Renewed / Refurbished - Excellent) on sale for $39.99. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Deal Hunter phoinix for sharing this deal.

About this Item:
  • High-Performance Speeds: Delivers up to 574 Mbps on 2.4 GHz and 3603 Mbps on 5 GHz for smooth gaming, UHD streaming, and fast file transfers
  • Wi-Fi 6 Technology: Provides 4x greater capacity, 40% increased data throughput, and full backward compatibility with previous Wi-Fi standards
  • Easy Network Management: Nighthawk App enables simple setup, configuration, and control of the entire Wi-Fi network from a smartphone
  • Powerful Processing: 1.5 GHz triple-core processor supports simultaneous 4K UHD streaming across multiple devices including Smart TVs, mobiles, and gaming consoles
  • Enhanced Security: NETGEAR Armor provides automatic network protection against hackers, password thieves, ransomware, and brute force attacks

Editor's Notes

Written by citan359 | Staff
  • About this Deal:
  • About this Store:
  • Additional Notes:
    • Please see the original post for additional details & give the WIKI and additional forum comments a read for helpful discussion.

Original Post

Written by phoinix | Staff

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Top Comments

14u24me
303Comments
207Reputation
Summary from prior thread - this is out of support with little support for custom firmware.
Go to Comment
Deal-R-Dash
1.9KComments
338Reputation
This was the worst combo wifi/router I've ever owned. These refurbs are probably all of the returns lol. Do not even get me started on how pathetic Netgear "Armor" was and the non-existent free 3 years I was supposed to get with it being new. Amazon was great to offer a credit for the missing subscription but I sent it back right before 30 day return period expired with Amazon due to the crazy instability and random network lagging and wifi drops. IMHO this is a hard pass.
Go to Comment
zechs77
558Comments
133Reputation
Abort mission
ABORT MISSION
I have 2 dead ones sitting next to me. They straight up don't work well, flake out on connections multiple times daily.
Go to Comment

Community Reviews

The RAX43 is an older WiFi 6 router that can still work well as a basic home router or even as an extender or switch in a small house. It has been described as solid and tanklike, and some units have run fine for years, especially when flashed with third party firmware. The main drawbacks are weak range, frequent drops or instability on some refurbs, and little official support or custom firmware support. That makes it a practical fit only if you are comfortable with older hardware and possible reliability quirks.

  • The router may support third-party firmware workflows like OpenWRT when DD-WRT or FreshTomato support is limited.

    PsywardPsyward

  • The router can work fine for basic home networking when it is functioning properly.

    dealsandsteals123

  • The router can extend WiFi in a small house or apartment when used as an Ethernet switch and WiFi extender.

    Blasvader

  • The router can be repurposed as a cellspot in an AIMESH network after flashing multiple units.

    fr1tz

  • The router can be out of support, with little support for custom firmware options.

    14u24me

  • The router can show instability with random lag and WiFi drops, leading to returns before the 30-day window.

    Deal-R-Dash

  • Some refurbished units can be dead or non-functional and can flake out on connections multiple times daily.

    zechs77

  • The router's range can be limited, so it may not cover larger homes without additional placement or setup.

    Blasvader

Common Questions (4)

AI-generated summary based on comments from the community. Updated ago

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26 Comments

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Sep 10, 2026 10:47 PM
886 Comments
Joined Mar 2009
VladStarSep 10, 2026 10:47 PM
886 Comments
Quote from CalmShoe2276 View quoted comment :
Yeah man I got two!! Awesome router but idk it keeps dropping. Dd-wrt. Maybe needs to be updated. What a tank!
I have two T-Mobile AC1900 in one location, two in the other. All flashed with FreshTomato 2025.X firmware. No issues at all.

p.s. you have to make sure their vents are not blocked for the air flow. Packet drops may be caused by overheating.
Last edited by VladStar September 10, 2026 at 03:52 PM.
Sep 10, 2026 10:58 PM
23 Comments
Joined May 2025
DarkKittenSep 10, 2026 10:58 PM
23 Comments
Mine did not last long previously
Sep 11, 2026 1:27 AM
1.3K Comments
Joined Apr 2008
sr27Sep 11, 2026 1:27 AM
1.3K Comments
I remember these from pre-covid days. Yes it's that old. Back then it was so infamous, you could find them new from 50-80$ in store. I still did not touch them.
Sep 11, 2026 2:00 AM
883 Comments
Joined Nov 2013
PinakoSep 11, 2026 2:00 AM
883 Comments
Quote from CalmShoe2276 View quoted comment :
Hope this thing works. Im not paying hundreds for a router and my T-Mobile provided asus router is having issues finally
Hah. I have two of these Asus RT-68U on the latest FreshTomato. I've been wanting to replace them with something new, but it's not easy to find something better with a reasonable price. These are legendary.
Sep 11, 2026 5:28 AM
1.2K Comments
Joined Aug 2021
tropicalbSep 11, 2026 5:28 AM
1.2K Comments
Quote from VladStar View quoted comment :
I have two T-Mobile AC1900 in one location, two in the other. All flashed with FreshTomato 2025.X firmware. No issues at all.

p.s. you have to make sure their vents are not blocked for the air flow. Packet drops may be caused by overheating.
Hey there, time to upgrade the firmware on your Fresh Tomato routers. It's now at version 2026.3! https://github.com/FreshTomato-Pr...tomato-arm
Sep 11, 2026 3:08 PM
134 Comments
Joined Feb 2021
Yoster77Sep 11, 2026 3:08 PM
134 Comments
Remove - Thought this was the RAX45
Last edited by Yoster77 September 11, 2026 at 08:12 AM.
Sep 11, 2026 10:17 PM
52 Comments
Joined Dec 2015
PsywardSep 11, 2026 10:17 PM
52 Comments
Quote from kalukola View quoted comment :

is that the tmobile asus cellspot router? the one that can be flashed to an asus RT-AC68U and still get updates? i still have and use mines.
what happened to yours????
RT-AC68U is WiFi-5 and seriously out-of-date.
Wifi-6 is soooo much better, but 3rd party firmware support from DDWRT or fresh Tomato is almost nonexistent.
The answer is to use OpenWRT on a WiFi-6 router. Many WiFi-6 routers can run OpenWRT.

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Sep 11, 2026 10:20 PM
52 Comments
Joined Dec 2015
PsywardSep 11, 2026 10:20 PM
52 Comments
Quote from CalmShoe2276 View quoted comment :
Yeah man I got two!! Awesome router but idk it keeps dropping. Dd-wrt. Maybe needs to be updated. What a tank!
RT-AC68U is WiFi-5 and seriously out-of-date.
Wifi-6 is soooo much better, but 3rd party firmware support from DDWRT or fresh Tomato is almost nonexistent.
The answer is to use OpenWRT on a WiFi-6 router. Many WiFi-6 routers can run OpenWRT.
1
Sep 12, 2026 6:08 PM
23 Comments
Joined Jul 2024
IndigoHamster565Sep 12, 2026 6:08 PM
23 Comments
Is this thing good for 1 bedroom 750sqf apartment? And does support Xfinity network?
I don't know anything about routers lol
Sep 13, 2026 3:56 AM
656 Comments
Joined Sep 2011
qinqinSep 13, 2026 3:56 AM
656 Comments
good range for this?
Sep 13, 2026 7:09 AM
55 Comments
Joined Mar 2012
mattsmithSep 13, 2026 7:09 AM
55 Comments
Dead. Showing as $59.99 now.

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