NETGEAR R6120-100NAR AC1200 Dual Band WiFi Router - Certified Refurbished

My old Belkin router was having difficulties in 2022, namely in handling some of the Zoom/VPN traffic for my work and Sonos speakers... so I decided to upgrade. This Netgear at $25 was the right price point, and surprisingly easy to install. This refurb version came to my door looking brand new, with stickers and clear film all attached (the official looking sticker on the bottom also gives the SSID and password, so clearly was refurbished by Netgear themselves). The instructions say to download the Nighthawk app for setup, but this is actually not necessary - I just plugged in the power cord, attached the ethernet cable coming out of my cable modem, and I was "online." The first website you try to load, the router does go into setup mode where you have to sign up for a Netgear account, add a password, SSID, etc - but this is done via a web interface, so you don't need to install anything extra if you don't want. I did end up installing the Nighthawk App on my phone, but actually found it rather useful in seeing the traffic info, broadcasting guest access, having the ability to pause connection to a specific device, etc. Having dual 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz access points is a nice plus. The router allegedly supports up to 20 device, which should be adequate for most homes. I was up and running in 10min, most of that time actually being used to upgrade the firmware on the router. If you're looking for a simple economical wifi router, look no further.

The Netgear R6120 router is small & compact. But it is very difficult to install. It took me 4 phone calls and about 5 hours on the phone with Tech Support to finally get my laptop, printer & TV to get to communicate with the router. And it too an additional $50 (but it only cost me $37 so I guess it was worth it) to pay for 2 years of "High Level Tech Support", but at least you get a direct phone number to call!!! Now that it's working right, it works quickly & can handle up to 20 devices.

I liked that this router had both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz wi-Fi signals. I don’t like that it did not have a USB port to add a USB storage device for file storage sharing. Most of all I don’t like the fact that this so-called one gig router was only capable of producing 100 Mb Wi-Fi on 5GHz, and way less on 2.4 GHz. That’s what I would call misleading advertising. I have no choice but to return it because I have one gig Internet service and this is unusable for that.

If you’re looking for a modem that provides a 2GHZ and a 5GHZ connection this is great! It’s a decent price and provides what I need. I currently have spectrum and their new routers only provide an automatic connection to a 5GHZ network and most smart lights and other things I have at home need a 2ghz network. This was actually recommended to me by a spectrum employee when I called them asking why the new router they have wasn’t giving me the 2 networks like the old one I had. So I simply just ordered this one and used it to replace my spectrum one! Super easy to set up as well it Has an app that Guides you right through it!

Decent range router for the price range compared to some others

Very complicated to hook up & get help - have to load an app to phone, etc, etc. Not just plug n play. Got WiFi to phone, but not to TV - sent it back frustrated.

Blocking and unblocking devices! Whenever you block a device via the app it won't easily let you unblock it... You have to windup having to access router www page so as to administer devices.

This equipment works well and the price was competitive. I did not download the instructions beforehand and I had to have assistance to install. Must download the suggested app!