NETGEARNighthawk WiFi 6 Router (RAX120) 12-Stream Dual-Band Gigabit Router, AX6000 Wireless Speed (Up to 6 Gbps), Coverage Up to 3,500 sq.ft. and 30 Devices

I've upgraded to this router (12 stream, 3,500 sq ft version), from an ASUS AC88u router, meshed with a AC66U.I bought this router used for $270 from Amazon warehouse. This listing has that option below the brand new one. I would recommend you buy this router used. The listing said mine has cosmetic flaws, but I think that's just put there as a catch-all description, because the router is flawless.I'm very picky about my stuff, but I knew that routers are items people commonly buy, then return, because they think it's broken when they don't know how to use it. If it's not up to your standards, then return or exchange it.The ASUS system started to suffer after I added 6 cameras, many speakers, and 2 nest thermostats: connections would drop for 10 seconds every few hours, which is a deal-breaker if you do stuff like gaming, or school work.The connection has been very solid, and I can say the advertised range is true. I no longer need a mesh for whole-house 5Ghz.I'm a cyber security professional, so I have a pretty good understanding of networking, and this router really nails the connection, user-interface, and letting you tweak features that actually matter. Tweaking features won't wreck your connection or sacrifice stability, unlike ASUS.Wifi 6 with OFDMA really works. This router feels like it has really good "airtime fairness," which means it doesn't let a few connections hog all the bandwidth. The 2.4 GHz is as fast as my old AC (wifi 5) 5GHz.I just want to warn, that you kind of have to know what you're doing to set this up correctly. Some providers, like AT&T use carrier-grade NAT, so if you don't correctly bridge the modem, configure the correct internet connection for your WAN address (the address you see when going to a site like IP chicken), then port forwarding and other services won't work. Internet will still work, so if you never need to do those things, you wouldn't need to worry.I'll describe the process vaguely, so you'd know where to start if you want to do what I'm talking about. You basically have to set up the WAN or "internet" settings of this unit, to match the WAN of your modem. If you had an old router and did that, and you're replacing it. Spoof the old router's MAC address to the new router.Misc info: the "router" (technically it's a switch, access point, and gateway. Making this distinction to be specific) has a fan at the top that turns on when it's getting hot. It only spins when it needs to. Mine hasn't span yet.

**The first picture is the actual router (picture I've sent in to NetGear >=7 times now)**The second picture is the first page of all the support cases I've opened trying to get NetGear to fulfill the warranty, and replace the router which started overheating and shutting down to reboot.***The RMA was refunded after they had asked me to send in proof of purchase for the 7th time, and I hadn't seen the email for a few days. 'Refunded' means they turned the RMA from accepted to rejected, and put me back at ground zero in terms of getting them to fulfill warranty.I apologize for the roughness of this review, I'm going to revise it and collect more evidence (transcripts, pictures, etc.). I wanted to get this news about NetGEAR out now, though.This might have been a decent router, it started out working alright. Then, my Wi-Fi network started going down/crashing at least once a day. After a bit of troubleshooting, I realized the router was overheating, which would cause it to shutdown. Then it would take a few minutes to reboot and get the network back up.Fortunately (you would think), I had the device covered by warranty! I began speaking with NETGEAR support about the issue back in July 2023. I uploaded proof of purchase and picture of the router to several different agents, and finally they sent the case on to the 'RMA' team for approval.The RMA team approved the RMA, and I was asked for credit card information to pay for shipping. I happily did this, looking forward to receiving the replacement router within 1-2 weeks (estimate).I waited over a week, then decided to go to the netgear site to check on the status of the shipment. My RMA had been REJECTED after I PAID FOR SHIPPING. Apparently, the RMA team required a proof of purchase and a picture of the actual router w/serial number. If you remember, I'd sent this in multiple times to different agents.At this point, I've dealt with several more agents and uploaded the pictures at least 7 times now to different people. Since the RMA was rejected after it had been accepted since I hadn't resent in the pictures to the RMA team in time, I've finally managed to get the case sent BACK to the RMA team.Now, I'm waiting on an email from the RMA team asking for picture of proof of purchase/etc. that I've already sent in >=7 times, and uploaded directly to the NetGEAR portal, to the support case, a week ago. If I hadn't spoken to an agent about the issue again today, my replacement would have just stayed rejected. Honestly, I doubt I'll ever get the replacement, and this was a huge waste of money since I'm using the much less expensive router that I had before this, and it's working better.---- The above was written on 8/30/2023. Within a day or two of this, I had spoken with another agent who had messaged the RMA team asking for a resolution to this case within 24 hours.Below section is an update from 9/9/2023 ---------I'm speaking with another NetGEAR support agent now, because the only activity on the main support case with this router has been an email that I've received telling me the case will be closed in 5 days. The Agent said to keep waiting for an email. Also reminded me about the hardware device warranty that lasts 1 year from point of purchase. I purchased this router around January 2023,<b> so I think they may just be trying to stretch this until Feb 2024.</b>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------