Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/12/31/this-top-tier-netgear-nighthaw.html
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that coupon code is invalid
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same here the code does not work
Fix the code and I’ll buy one. 20SAVE20 not working.
Be wary of the 1.9gbits claim; I have a DOCIS 3.0 modem and my ISP won’t let me get more than 330mbit with it.
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That NETGEAR Armor feature that lets you micromanage the router security from your phone while away from the house.
I feel a great disturbance in the cyber.
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These claims…don’t make any sense at all.
You can get Internet speeds of up to 1.9 Gbps and downloads at 960 Mbps? Is this 1.9 Gbps symmetrical (IOW you can only get 960 Mbps per channel)? If so, then is it really 1.9 Gbps? And of course the odds of your cable provider offering/supporting these speeds is slim to begin with. Then “that’s even while using multiple devices at peak hours”? Really? I mean, isn’t this just how networking equipment is supposed to work?
I’ve used Netgear consumer equipment, and it’s … okish. It’s generally a lot better if you can throw out whatever crap firmware they use and put on something decent like DD-WRT (which coincidentally isn’t supported on this device).
One other thing to keep in mind is this is a very old device – originally sold in 2013. That’s positively ancient in terms of network equipment. Even if the price is attractive, I wouldn’t recommend getting such an old device especially since it’s unlikely you’d get any patches or security fixes for such an old device.
I bought one of these on sale a few years back for the in-laws home and it needed to be rebooted every single day because it would randomly decide “fuck you I don’t want to serve wireless clients anymore” so I wasn’t very impressed with this hardware in particular. Maybe it’s since been improved with firmware updates, but I’m not sure. When clients could connect, the speeds were pretty good and the range was great.
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Does this matter if I am Joe Consumer who just wants 1 piece of hardware to make my 175mbps Xfinity internet work well in my 2 story 1700sf wood-frame house? That’s all I’m after here. No game consoles, no desktop PCs. A couple phones/ipads and a Chromecast (none of this other IOT baloney).
You seem knowledgeable so I am genuinely asking.
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I bought a T-Mobile branded one of these 3 years back. Also a refurb.
It was pretty great actually. As you mention, the perf numbers mentioned were not supported by my ISP, but the thing was rock solid until fairly recently. I work from home now, and so the first hint that my router has an issue which might give me more than an hour of downtime a week, it is easily justifiable to buy a new one. And so I did.
What I really liked was the VPN function. I could connect without any special client with the built in Windows VPN function. The new one I bought (a Nighthawk R7000N) gives you a customized OpenVPN client instead. I haven’t set this up yet, but this adds some labor but opens some intruiging possibilities…
Overall my feeling is that these are great products and cannot be beat for the refurb price, but it is just OK at MSRP.
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You’re probably fine with just about any name-brand piece of decent consumer-level equipment. (Don’t go for the bargain basement or top end, go for the mid-range.) That said, you probably want to get something newer. Not only does the hardware constantly improve, but you are more likely to be able to get security and performance updates from the vendor.
This particular Netgear router was originally made over 5 years ago. Chances are slim they are still supporting it which is probably why it’s so cheap. And to be honest, the price for the refurb equipment here is good, but not spectacular. If I were in the market, I’d rather spend a little more to get something newer.
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Netgear does still provide updates for their old routers. Their operating system is very user-friendly, which I like, but (as I only just discovered on a router at a family member’s house) it doesn’t include ssh access, which is problematic for some modern applications.
I’ve generally bought ASUS routers, in part because both the built-in OS and the open replacements (especially Merlin) are all pretty good, but I have a small Mikrotik I bought for one application and it works so well that I can see changing out my home system for a Mikrotik-based mesh system.
I’d say change your ISP, but this is 'Murica, land of the “fuck you”. followed by Nelson going, “Ha, ha.”
I’m quite lucky that I live in an area where comcast and RCN cable providers both compete. That said, the service is reliable. ATT DSL is trash so there’s still just the two options.
Apropos, but NetGear Nighthawk sounds exactly like a cyberdeck model from CP2020. 
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