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amazon Netgear Nighthawk X10 R9000 reviews
The Netgear Nighthawk X10 AD7200 Smart WiFi Router (R9000) is the second 802.11ad Router we’ve tested. Designed for large homes, this giant Router has full networking features, including multi-user data transfer, multiple outputs (MU-MIMO), circuitry for 802.11ad 60GHz networks, and WiFi technology. -Fi 160MHz. It’s the only device we’ve reviewed so far that has all three, as well as a 10G SPF+ LAN port, commonly found on enterprise-class routers. While its MU-MIMO performance was average in testing, it managed to get the fastest 5GHz range performance scores we’ve seen to date and achieve the 1Gbps in the speed tests our 802.11ad 60GHz transmission rate. It also offers plenty of LAN and USB ports, but for $499.99, it’s not small spending.
Design and Features
At 2.9 x 8.8 x 6.6 inches (HWD), the R9000 is huge but not as epic as the TP-Link Talon AD7200 Multi-Band WiFi Router (1.7 x 9 x 9 inches). It has four adjustable antennas, contains a blue LED that lights up when the WiFi radio is active. A long array of LED indicators placed along the front edge of the Router for power, internet, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 60 GHz radio bands, guest network, six Gigabit LAN ports, one 10G SPF+ LAN port, two USB ports. Here you will also find a WPS button and a WiFi On/Off button.
There are many I/O ports. There are two USB 3.0 ports located on the left side of the Router, and around are six Gigabit LAN ports, one WAN (Internet) port, one SPF + LAN port, and the Power, Reset, and LED On/Off buttons. The R9000 supports Ethernet Port Combination, allowing you to combine two LAN ports (port 1 and port 2) with improving file transfer speeds to compatible aggregation devices, such as network switches and network-attached storage (NAS). The 10G SPF+ LAN port, a feature commonly found in business routers, is used to connect the R9000 to 10 gigabit Ethernet devices, such as business servers and switches.
With a 1.7GHz quad-core CPU, the R9000 is a dual-band, quad-thread 802.11ac Router with a transfer speed of 800Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 1,733Mbps on the 5GHz band. Supporting 802.11ad networks, the TP-Link Talon operates in the 60GHz band and boasts a transfer rate of 4,600Mbps (theoretically). Unfortunately, for the 802.11ad speeds to work, each client must have WiFi circuitry supporting 802.11ad networks; however, from what this article claims, hardly any have it. The tech excels at transferring large data and streaming 4K video but cannot go through walls, restricting communication to the scope of the same room.
The R9000 supports MU-MIMO data transmission, sending data simultaneously to MU-MIMO-compatible clients instead of sequentially, and beamforming, which directs WiFi signals towards particular clients instead of dispersing them all over the frequency spectrum. This Router also supports 160MHz WiFi, much like the Linksys WRT3200ACM MU-MIMO Gigabit WiFi Router. This feature basically doubles the 80MHz channel width on the 5GHz band for quicker transfer speeds, but, unfortunately, there is currently no way to investigate this as no 160MHz clients exist yet. Other important function R9000 bare is backing up automatically to Amazon Drive cloud-based storage service and supporting Plex Media Server to manage and share photos, videos, and audio files stored on R9000 USB hard drives that’s connected.
You can use the Netgear Genie web-based control panel or the Genie mobile app to manage the R9000. The home page contains basic Internet and Wireless settings. Here you can also view attached devices (IP and MAC addresses), set up Guest Networks, configure Plex Media Servers, view Amazon Drive backup settings, and enable preferences. ReadySHARE printers and shared memory. You can also enable Parental Controls to limit internet time and block specific websites, but you’ll have first to download the web or mobile app.
About the page: Advanced Settings show detailed Router, Wireless, and Guest Network information. The Settings menu lets you do some advanced configurations for the Internet, Wireless, and Guest Network; also to set up basic WMM QoS but not full QoS. It allows a user to prioritize client and application-specific network traffic. The Advanced Security settings allow you to block specific websites and restrict access during certain hours. The Advanced Settings comprise enabling aggregation on Ethernet ports, configuring and making edits in Port Forwarding settings, enabling gateways, configuring VPN Services, and looking into network traffic.
Settings and Performance
Now being like the Netgear Nighthawk X4S Smart WiFi Router (R780), the R9000 also enjoys the ease of installation. After being connected to your PC and to your internet service, you will open your browser, type in www.routerlogin.net, and then the Setup Wizard will appear, guiding you through basic internet and wireless network settings.
The R9000 very impressively scored in our transfer rate tests. It scored 558Mbps in the 5GHz proximity test (same room), which is better than D-Link AC5300 Ultra WiFi Router (DIR-895L/R) (515Mbps) and TP-Link Talon (440Mbps), two of the fastest, and just slightly behind Linksys WRT3200ACM (569Mbps). At 30 feet, it again sets a new record among all routers, with 392Mbps, surpassing even D-Link DIR-895L/R (324Mbps), TP-Link Talon (237Mbps), and Linksys WRT3200ACM (238Mbps).
Performance of the 2.4GHz band is also good. In the proximity test, the R9000 managed 99.1Mbps, beating D-Link’s DIR-895L/R at 98.4Mbps and TP-Link Talon at 98.9Mbps. The Linksys WRT3200ACM managed to come in at only 76Mbps here. At 30 feet, the R9000’s 73.3Mbps beats out D-Link DIR-895L/R at 71Mbps and Linksys WRT3200ACM at 58.5Mbps; however, it falls behind the TP-Link Talon at 79.8Mbps.
To test the 802.11ad WiFi strength of the R9000, I used an Acer TravelMate P648 Series laptop equipped with the Qualcomm Atheros Sparrow 11ad Wireless Network Adapter. It clocked close to 951Mbps during the close test, almost twice the speed of the 5GHz transfer rate. TP-Link Talon also glided through seamlessly at 945Mbps. Like the TP-Link Talon, the R9000 can’t maintain a signal at 30 feet, though, which is to be expected with the limited range of 802.11ad WiFi.
To get around the MU-MIMO capabilities of the R9000, I set up three identical Acer Aspire Es equipped with the Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 wireless 802.11ac network adapter as clients. At the vicinity test, the R9000 scored the lowest at 156.3Mbps, going behind the Linksys WRT3200ACM (174Mbps), D-Link DIR-895L/R (264.6Mbps), and TP-Link Talon (226Mbps) but a bit ahead of the Zyxel Armor Z2 AC2600 MU-MIMO Dual Band Gigabit Router (NBG6817) (150Mbps) and Asus RT-AC88U Dual Band Router (138Mbps). At 30 feet, the R9000 scored 112Mbps, again lagging behind the Linksys WRT3200ACM (138Mbps), D-Link DIR-895L/R (134.5Mbps), and TP-Link Talon (113Mbps) while outranking the Zyxel Z2 (72Mbps) and Asus RT-AC88U(80Mbps).
Excellent speeds of file transfer indeed. It gives an average of 89.1MBps in a hard drive reading test and 77.1MBps in hard drive writing tests, beating the Linksys WRT3200ACM that recorded 88MBps read and 74MBps write. D-Link DIR-895L/R recorded 44.1MBps (read) and 33.2MBps (write), and TP-Link Talon registered 56.8MBps and 27.9MBps for the respective tasks.
To conclude
You will pay a pretty penny for the Netgear Nighthawk R9000 Smart WiFi Router, but the Router of the highest order, full of features that deliver some of the fastest transfer speed performances we have ever seen. Other routers may feature MU-MIMO, 160MHz, or even 802.11ad WiFi capabilities; the R9000 is the only Router that we have so far seen to combine all three. It then comes with six Gigabit LAN ports, one SPF+ LAN port for 10-gigabit connectivity over fiber (a feature we could not find advertised for any consumer-grade router), the ability to backup Amazon Drive automatically, and Plex Media Server. To be frank, among the gigabit-lovin’ customer base, there aren’t many around to take advantage of the 802.11.ad and 160MHz WiFi features, but if you want to be at the very forefront of the wave, the Netgear Nighthawk X10 R9000 is your Router choice. Our fresh editor for premium routers.
where can you get a Netgear Nighthawk X10 R9000 online
NETGEAR Nighthawk X10 AD7200 802.11ac/ad Quad-Stream WiFi Router, 1.7GHz Quad-core Processor, Plex Media Server, Compatible with Amazon Alexa (R9000): Buy it now
Tech Reviewer & Product Analyst
Định Bia has spent over 10 years testing consumer electronics with a focus on smart technology. He work as a product advisor at Biareview where he helped customers find the right devices for their needs. He personally tests every product featured on this site using a consistent evaluation framework covering quality, durability, and value. All reviews are based on experience, not influenced by the manufacturer.
