Customer Ratings & Reviews

On paper NETGEAR over promises with the RAXE500. Compared to my previous router the AC2400, the RAXE500 comes with all the bells and whistles. But I bought the RAXE500 trusting that NETGEAR wouldn’t release an unfinished product or a badly finished product that could at least match the features that the AC2400 had. The RAXE500 does not match the AC2400 in features or even reliability. The RAXE500 USB ports do not work for streaming from an external hard drive. The exact same setup as the AC2400 does not work on the RAXE500. Playing videos drop out every 4 to 6 minutes. The only temporary fix that I had to figure out myself was to log into the RAXE500 and reboot the router from the menu. Videos can play without dropping out for about a day, give or take and then I have to reboot all over again. THIS WAS NOT A PROBLEM WITH THE AC2400. Netgear Support has not done anything even after I told them about the return period. I have exchanged the RAXE500 3 times thinking that the router was defective. It is very clear that all of the RAXE500’s don’t work and Netgear Support’s best “advise” is “to play around with the channel”. Needless to say, my older and cheaper AC2400 did not need any channel “playing”. My advice is to spend your money on a router made by another brand.

I don't really write reviews, good or bad, but in this case I just had to. The web interface and responsiveness is by far the absolute worst that I have ever seen for such a wealthy prominent company. Laggy, sign in repeatedly, and even then the interface does what it wants. I tried several hundred times to set up a network share and have been unsuccessful. If you ask me, they found 2 people that learned a little about html scripting and had them write the web interface in ten minutes. An absolute and total disgrace. It was this way about 5 years ago when I tried Netgear and I thought, surely they have improved... No they didn't. 100% garbage. Netgear should be ashamed of themselves for releasing that quality of work. Oh and let me mention, they don't shove their monthly subscription in your face, they cram it straight down your throat.

I’ve used Netgear Routers, Modems and Extenders for as long as NETGEARS been makin em! Tried Lynksys, and a few others, but ALWAYS came back to NETGEAR! My point is…..inKNOW ROUTERS!. And I KNOW NetGear Routers, and Networking! Been doing it a VERY long time! Well, I bought this AX11000 WiFi 6 Router, ….WHY WiFi 6? I have NO F’n idea LOL….Thought “Bigger, more Expensive is better, I guess…..anywayyyy I get router #1….go thru installation, no problem, I like using a Computer for set up, the NightHawk app is ok if your not really “Networking or Tech Savvy” but using a Computer gives you access to MANY MANY More settings! Well, got it all up and running….saw my 2.4 & 5ghz Channels…..used same SSID & pswd so all devices hooked right up, but HERE is where the Trouble started….I have over 1000mbps coming INTO the router, so I ran the 1st (of MANY) SPeed Tests, and low & Behold with around 1100mbps coming into the router, my 2.4ghz band was only readin around 25-30 mbps D/L side, and 1.5-3mbps Upstream???…..scratch head….run speed test on 5ghz channel, now I oughta be HAULIN BUTT on this channel right?……. 90-120mbps Downstream, and 12-17mbps upstream! Double, Triple, checked all my settings, used a dozen or more different speed tests with different servers, CHANGED A BUNCH of settings, one at a time….speed test, repeat….never got more than 100-120mbps downstream on 5ghz channel, so obviously this Router is faulty ! No biggie, it’s happened before, returned it for a new one, same model got it home and set up….SAME ISSUES! Went on every BLOG I could find on the subject no come to find out this is a VERY COMMON issue with this router! Was on the phone with Nether for over an HOUR performing EXACTLY the same Troubleshooting procedures I had already performed humpteen times! LOL….TOOK OVER AN HOUR for the Netgear Tech to emit to me they have had issues with this router! Grrrrrrrr ya THINK ya could have BEGAN the conversation with that lil TidBit? Grrrrrrr Soooooo I sent the 2nd one Back and got one of my Old Trusty Ax12 /AX6000 Routers, and HOLY CRAP……Guess what? ……2.4ghz channel, 220mbps downstream, 12-18mbps upstream, and on the 5ghz Channel, ya ready?………back to my good ol 880-900mbps downstream, and 25-40mbps Upstream! I’ve found that using the following settings Maximized my Speeds by a pretty good margin from the Recommended NetGear settings: FIRST: UPDTE TO NEWEST FIRMWARE!! 1) AX ENABLED 2) Smart Connect DISABLED! (Smart Connect allows the Router to judge how much signal goes to each device. And your 5ghz channel becomes “Hidden” and you will only see the One SSID……..I like to decide which one of my devices gets how much Power! So I highly recommend leaving this box Unchecked! 3) Set Security level to WPA3 Personal or WPA2/WPA3, if you have some older devices still using WPA2, UNDER NO Circumstances should you use WEP, WPA, WPA/WPA2, 4) Hidden Network: A router can be configured to hide its network name (SSID) you’re router might incorrectly use “closed” to mean “Hidden” and “Broadcast” to men Open! Hiding the network name doesn’t conceal the Netwerk from detection or security against unauthorized access. And because of the way that Devices search for and connect to Wi-Fi networks, using a Hidden network might expose information that can be used to identify you and the hidden networks you use, such as your home Network! 5) Channel: Set to “AUTO” 6) Channel Width: set to 20 MHz for the 2.4 GHz band and set to auto for all widths (20mhz, 40mhz, & 80mhz) for the 5ghz Band. 7) DHCP: set to “Enabled” if your Router is the only DHCP Server on the Network! 8) MAC Address filtering, authentication, access control: SET TO DISABLED! when this feature is enabled, your router can be set up to allow only devices that have specified MAC addresses to join the Network! Sorry for the “Novel”, but I sure wish someone had told ME all of this stuff, …. Could’ve saved me DAYS! But, I have found that using the settings I have described above are the PERFECT Set up for ME! Every Set-up is gonna differ, but under normal conditions, these are Optimal Settings for a Netgear Router AND Extender! Hope it helps SOMEONE! LOL

Bought the Nighthawk AXE11000 to replace the AX11000 to get the better range and signal strength. The AXE11000, when activating the IPV6, it would not detect or turn on, and got way slower speeds tests than compared to the AX11000. Tried to update the software and still didn't work. Took it back. Wasn't worth it. The AX11000 works way better. May reconsider if the get the bugs worked out.

1 year manufacturer’s warranty on a $500 dollar item is astonishing really. Still no fix after hours and hours of troubleshooting, and can’t replace it. Nothing was damaged or mishandled. We dont know whats wrong with it and our ISP has nothing to do with it. Do not buy.

I'm about out of moves with this router.  I have a setup where a RAX200 is in Access Point Mode with wireless off at my demarcation smart panel.  I then have an unmanaged Luxul Switch that routes signal to wall Ethernet outlets.  The RAXE500 is at the highest point in a loft and constantly drops IoT devices under 20 feet away and the speeds range from 200 mbps upto 1780 mbps in areas nearby the RAXE500. Both 6E and WiFi 6 connections seem to do the same speed fluctuations.  Have about 17 devices connected and ISP speeds @ 100 down 100 up. AT&T fiber direct, no cable modem. Fresh CAT 8 cables everywhere. I previously had an X10 and the RAX200 in nearly the same setup and never dropped devices and speeds on WiFi 6 held at mainly 1400 mpbs. I am about to give up on this RAXE500. I buy a new Nighthawk nearly every year, but this one is not ready for prime time. Period.

Spent hours on the phone with netgear. Couldnt figure out the issues and problems. Returned

Jeez!!! The connection between out Pixel 7 phones and the AXE1100 was solid, with an excellent signal strength. But, that's about it!' Our wired connections (PS5, Desktop Computer, TV's) kept dropping off regularly. We tried every setting possible for hours. We talked to Technical support twice without success. We are taking it back for a refund, and planning on keep using our old and beloved Nighthawk X10 AD7200!!!!!!! I think the new Wifi 6 / 6E technology is NOT ready for primetime yet. We will wait another 2 to 3 years.

I purchased this unit on July 16, 2023, yesterday on November 26, 2023 I experienced a lost of internet connection. I realized the 2.4 band was not longer available only the 5G band was available. At first I thought it was an internet provider issue so I called the internet provider and they confirmed there was no issues on their end. I began to trouble shoot the device by rebooting it followed by reseting to factory settings. The problem continued and only the 5G band was showing and I was not able to connect to the internet. Unfortunately, I did not buy warranty from Best Buy therefore I had to contact NetGear for the 1 year manufacture warranty. After being on the phone for almost 2hours and trouble shooting the device, their tech informed me that they will contact me back to see if they can approve an exchange. The total cost of this device at the time of purchase was $606.35 and only worked for 4months. Fortunately, I still had my old NetGear device that still works and was able to connect to the internet.

Armor trial required, must agree to allow Netgear to collect analytics. No thanks. You can't even get to the configuration page without first agreeing to the Armor trial and allowing Netgear to collect analytics which including personally identifiable information. Same with the Netgear app. You can't use the app without agreeing to similar terms. Netgear says, don't agree, device must be returned. No problem. My money is green and after 25 years of using Netgear, they lost a customer.

This router was going to be an upgrade to my old Google Wi-Fi router. Unfortunately, it did not live up to its expectations in my Google router that is going on for five years. Old had better overall performance. Had to return to Best Buy. 

Constantly disconnects select devices and requires a reboot of either the device(s) that disconnected or the nighthawk router. All of a sudden one or several of my devices disconnect and the nighthawk app confirms that they have been disconnected while the remainder of my devices keep there connections and continue to operate normal. I will be returning this to Best Buy shortly...

I really wanted to love this router. It's beautiful and build quality is great. I always bought Netgear products and unfortunately, this will be my last. For a $599.99 product, I should not have to pay for more features such as security or help with troubleshooting above and beyond the simple stuff. Absurd. Setting up the router has been a big pain in the A**. When you finally get to personalize your SSID, new wifi password, new router login pw, etc. etc. you have to answer some security questions then press configure. Every. Single. Time. it fails. "Configuration error". It will change your wifi name and password but it will always say "configuration error". Only way to bypass this is to go to 192.168.1.1 and go through the genie. It's so frustrating. I can't switch devices from 5g to 2.4 or 5g to 6g. I'm over it. Also, no QOS Had the ISP technician come over and check everything over. On their router everything was blazing fast. Here, I am stuck at 750 and lower. Called support and they couldnt figure out why it's not getting the speeds. I'm returning this.

Not much to say...! This gaming router is way over priced. Performance on 5ghz suck. There aren't much advanced control you can do like QoS and not even a built in SPI - don't waste your $$$ on this router. I am returning it to Best Buy and recommended they drop This from their store.

Netgear is still selling this router without a fix for the 5g dropping issue that has been an issue for almost a year. Also, they will make you pay for support after 90 days, with no guarantee that they will have a fix. This has been firmware broken for almost a year and the current solution per Netgear is to download beta firmware and test it for them then let them know if it works or not. Choose another router vendor

This router does not work. I have dsl and this buffers you tube and doesn't connect to the app. My older router works better than the new router. I was on the phone with technical support for hours. Please do not buy and waste your money like I did. You will be sorry.

It’s netgear Slow and poor rang over priced so not buy old

worked for 4 days then lost wifi, I would not buy this router, for this price I expected the router to last longer then 4 days, not I have a router I have to reboot each day to get it to work

The firmware on this router is horrible. The access control that used to work flawlessly on my old netgear doesn’t work at all. So much for an extra level of security. For the money, it should work flawlessly. I’ve always been a netgear fan, but this router gives me pause for concern with their other products.

This is a brand new router introduced by Netgear. The product has lots of bugs and are not perfected yet, very unstable working. Spent 2 solid days with tech support and finally decided to return it. I bought this product because if it high 4.5 rating but I am not sure how it can be possible.