NETGEAR Nighthawk 6-Stream Dual-Band WiFi 6 Router RAX54S

Name: NETGEAR Nighthawk 6-Stream Dual-Band WiFi 6 Router RAX54S
Price: 159.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.3 (120 reviews)

Curated from 120 real Reddit conversations

Refreshed on: January 14, 2025

NETGEAR Nighthawk 6-Stream Dual-Band WiFi 6 Router RAX54S

Brand: NETGEAR

Price: $159

Snoop Score:

4.3

Sentiment

1.5

Popularity

0.3

Technical

6.5

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Snoop's Take

The NETGEAR Nighthawk 6-Stream Dual-Band WiFi 6 Router (RAX54S) is a robust networking device designed to deliver high-speed connectivity across large areas. It replaces your existing router and supports up to 25 devices over a coverage area of 2,500 square feet, all while offering WiFi 6 speeds up to 5.4 Gbps. Consumer sentiment is a mixed bag. While some users applaud its performance—one even noted, "Great value for the money."—a significant portion of feedback lambasts firmware bugs, connectivity issues, and an infuriating mandatory subscription model. Several comments skew negative, emphasizing instability and poor customer support. The conversation clearly reveals that while speed and feature sets are solid on paper, the practical user experience is hampered by serious service and stability shortcomings. In summary, if you’re after raw speed and expansive coverage and can put up with some quirks, this router might suffice. However, for those prioritizing flawless firmware and reliable support, the Nighthawk 6-Stream could be more trouble than it’s worth.

Not for you? Check out our other rated Routers

I’d rather not look for a new brand, but I’d also rather not be a rolling netcode incident.
Positive Feedback

When you crack the hood, a router is really just a small server running a base Linux distribution.
Negative Feedback

4.3

NETGEAR Nighthawk 6-Stream Dual-Band WiFi 6 Router RAX54S

Buy on Amazon for $159

Home Entertainment

9 / 10

Remote Work and Learning

7 / 10

Smart Home Integration

8 / 10

Large Household Coverage

9 / 10

See how this compares to all Routers

What it does well!

Key strengths users can’t stop talking about.

Reliable and long-lasting performance

“I’d rather not look for a new brand, but I’d also rather not be a rolling netcode incident.”➕

“Still works. No problems.”➕

Good value and multifunction capabilities

“Great value for the money.”➕

“They have the ability to do some routing as well as switching, all for the price of a switch.”➕

Where it needs some work!

Areas to watch—feedback on possible improvements.

Firmware bugs and update issues

“When you crack the hood, a router is really just a small server running a base Linux distribution.”➕

“Seems silly not to.”➕

“Zero issues from the get go and much more comprehensive controls.”➕

Poor customer support and business practices

“Worst company ever, the people running it are clearly idiots.”➕

“Better off avoiding the hassle and using any other brand.”➕

Network connectivity issues

“This could certainly be a bug in a core feature of the router, but like I said those are generally pretty rare.”➕

“my RAX200 which cost 600$ at the time cant do the single thing - connect my devices to the internet.”➕

Router instability and hardware failures

“I made my family switch from a Nighthawk to an ASUS years ago and never looked back.”➕

“Never going to buy Netgear again and recommend others to keep away from it.”➕

“I was pretty upset it failed so quickly, I tend to keep stuff like that a long time.”➕

Security vulnerabilities

“Looks like it is vulnerable as well.”➕

“This is quite clever: it uses the vulnerability to kill the router's web server.”➕

Mandatory account/app setup complicates router usage

“Now, I have to use this terrible Nighthawk app that displays incorrect information and has next to no options at all.”➕

“I don't like ANY router or device that demands registering an accoint to use.”➕

“Netgear failed at so many points in my experience. It's really inexcusable.”➕

Router instability and connectivity issues

“What the fuck Netgear.”➕

“That is extremely highly suspicious behavior. Thats basically spyware, malware, or something really really bad.”➕

“My nighthawk died would not route anymore.”➕

Forced paid subscription and poor firmware performance

“Netgear's current consumer products are absolute garbage designed to funnel you into predatory paid support plans.”➕

“Their business model borders on a deliberate scam with how they to force anyone who buys their hardware into a paid subscription program they don't need.”➕

“Netgear 100% sucked butts.”➕

Compare On All Talked About Dimensions

Product Name	Price	Score	See Details	Buy Now
BOSCH PR20EVS Colt Palm Router	$79	6.9	Details	Buy
BOSCH 1617EVS 2.25 Horesepower Electronic Fixed-Base Router	$149	6.4	Details	Buy
TP-Link AX1800 WiFi 6 Router V4 (Archer AX21)	$59	5.7	Details	Buy
TP-Link AC1900 Smart WiFi Router (Archer A8)	$49	5.6	Details	Buy
ASUS RT-AX1800S Dual Band WiFi 6 Extendable Router	$69	5.6	Details	Buy
TP-Link AXE5400 Tri-Band WiFi 6E Router	$129	5.0	Details	Buy
ASUS RT-AX3000 Ultra-Fast Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Router	$109	5.0	Details	Buy
TP-Link Dual-Band AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 Router Archer AX55	$71	4.9	Details	Buy
TP-Link Deco AX3000 WiFi 6 Mesh System	$149	4.6	Details	Buy
TP-Link AX5400 WiFi 6 Router (Archer AX73)	$99	4.4	Details	Buy
NETGEAR Nighthawk 6-Stream Dual-Band WiFi 6 Router RAX54S	$159	4.3	Details	Buy
TP-Link Archer C54 Renewed WiFi Router	$19	3.8	Details	Buy
NETGEAR 4-Stream WiFi 6 Router (R6700AX)	$64	3.5	Details	Buy
DBIT N300 Easy Setup Wireless Wi-Fi Router	$19	3.0	Details	Buy
TP-Link AC1200 WiFi Router (Archer A54)	$29	2.1	Details	Buy

Core Power Plays

The specs and strengths that make it shine.

Advanced technical features and WiFi 6E capabilities

“This. Finally.”➕

“No shortage of asterisks and moving part to this!”➕

Hidden Hero Hacks

Unexpected tricks and side‑door uses you’ll love.

Dedicated use cases and port forwarding features

“this is great for using as a dedicated router for Quest 2 streaming.”➕

“easy to port forward wit as well if you or your kid are into minecraft.”➕

Buyer’s Cheat Sheet

What to check before you click ‘Add to Cart.’

Model variations and retailer exclusives

“Costco probably had Netgear make them the RS280s as a Costco exclusive so that Costco never has to make good on price-matching guarantees since no one else sells the *exact* same model.”➕

Comparisons between Spectrum and alternative router options with security concerns

“Not sure if I spent enough on my own router to make a difference but I'm not very familiar with these things.”➕

“Their security sucks, so anyone with access to their networks can get access to your home network.”➕

“Spectrum switched to separate modem and routers not gateways like cox uses.”➕

“NETGEAR may have more options to customize your network.”➕

Discussion on alternative networking equipment and router brands

“Would never recommend for a newbie to networking.”➕

“Its a great router and a great software, but difficult to modify if you don't know what you are doing.”➕

“But if you want to create a managed vlan network with custom routing or anything else you can think of, you are in for a treat.”➕

“The learning curve isn't terrible.”➕

Longevity and reliability expectations

“It's probably overkill for the average person, but will be sufficient for at least 10 years assuming no defects or damage.”➕

Price and return policy comparisons

“Not sure on returns for the BuyDig website, but Amazon has good returns.”➕

Cautionary Callouts

Know the pitfalls before they catch you off guard.

General industry commentary

“The problem is that every other company has worse reviews, particularly with gigabit internet speeds.”➕

“I've never had a router fail....in fact, I almost always recommend that folks buy used routers.”➕

“I’ve used mid level routers for 8 years and the only reason I replaced is is because I tinker.”➕

Periodic ping behavior and login redirection in Netgear routers

“I was just curious what's happening here and wanted to share my findings with you guys.”➕

“This is probably the traffic from the router telling that site it is still accessible.”➕

“Ping (using ICMP) is also a very bad way to tell a server that a client is still available.”➕

“My guess is that the device pinging the site is its way to check if the internet is still available.”➕

General negative sentiment and firmware issues with Netgear products

“netgear is a TERRIBLE brand.”➕

“Their Soho is shit. Has been for the last decade.”➕

“I prefer the netgear UI much more to the TP-link.”➕

“Yeah, gave up on Netgear years ago because of terrible firmware.”➕

Mesh networking challenges with Netgear firmware

“Can this be done with Netgear's firmware? aftermarket?”➕

“Netgear does have it's own proprietary mesh stuff like the MK63 set, so there's no way they're going to make meshing available on their older routers.”➕

“Those routers aren't really good at being 'smart' when SSIDs are identical.. you might have connection issues.”➕

Router DNS/IPv6 configuration challenges and fixes with Netgear routers

“after setting the router IPv6 path to the pihole all device traffic on my network is viewable and ads are BLOCKED!!!”➕

“my block rate has skyrocketed up to 26% - 36%.”➕

“it took me a couple of trial and errors to get everything the way I want it with around 50% block rates consistently.”➕

“They really hid them far away from the other DNS settings.”➕

Warranty and support concerns

“The warranty is a year and the support ends before the warranty? Hell no.”➕

“I would not recommend buying this.”➕

Connection stability issues

“It kept dropping the connections so I returned it though.”➕

Missing simultaneous 2.5GbE support

“They couldn't include 2.5GbE for both LAN and WAN at the same time? Disappointing.”➕

General Netgear culture commentary

“Classic netgear meme”➕

Nostalgia for older, reliable Netgear routers

“I do remember my WRT54G fondly.”➕

NETGEAR Nighthawk 6-Stream Dual-Band WiFi 6 Router RAX54S

Curated from 120 real Reddit conversations

NETGEAR Nighthawk 6-Stream Dual-Band WiFi 6 Router RAX54S

Snoop's Take

NETGEAR Nighthawk 6-Stream Dual-Band WiFi 6 Router RAX54S

Home Entertainment

Remote Work and Learning

Smart Home Integration

Large Household Coverage

What it does well!

Where it needs some work!

Compare On All Talked About Dimensions

Core Power Plays

Hidden Hero Hacks

Buyer’s Cheat Sheet

Cautionary Callouts

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