The shiny new wireless generation is here. WiFi 6 (or 802.11ax which is the official IEEE standard name) is almost finalized and big manufacturers of consumer routers such as Netgear, ASUS etc have already started launching products that support this new technology.
Netgear recently launched 3 consumer WiFi routers that are working with the new 802.11ax standard and are among the first products launched in the market.
There are some notable advantages of the new WiFi6 compared to the current WiFi5 (802.11ac) generation as I have discussed here but we will experience the full potential of this new technology when compatible client devices will be manufactured as well (such as WiFi adapters, smartphones supporting WiFi6 etc).
In this article I will review and compare the three Netgear routers that are currently out in the market and support WiFi 6 technology. These are:
- Netgear Nighthawk AX4 – 4-Stream AX3000 (RAX40)
- Netgear Nighthawk AX8 – 8-Stream AX6000 (RAX80)
- Netgear Nighthawk AX12 – 12-Stream AX6000 (RAX120)
You should note that all of the above router models are backwards compatible with the existing WiFi technology supported by all wireless clients (smartphones, laptops, smart home devices etc) such as 802.11 b/g/n/ac standards.
Therefore, if you want to test the waters with this new wireless tech, don’t be afraid to buy one of the above models because all of your existing home or office wifi client devices will be working fine with them.
Quick Comparison Table
Let’s first see a side-by-side comparison of the three models in the table below with the most important features and specs.
(AX3000)
(AX6000)
(AX6000)
600Mbps + 2.4Gbps
1.2Gbps + 4.8Gbps
1.2Gbps + 4.8Gbps
(MU-MIMO)
2x2:2
(4-Stream)
4x4:4
(8-Stream)
4x4:4
(12-Stream)
1 Multi-Gigabit (1G, 2.5G, 5G)
Intel AnyWAN
GRX350
Broadcom BCM4908
Qualcomm
IPQ8074
(AX3000)
600Mbps + 2.4Gbps
(MU-MIMO)
2x2:2
(4-Stream)
Intel AnyWAN
GRX350
(AX6000)
1.2Gbps + 4.8Gbps
(MU-MIMO)
4x4:4
(8-Stream)
Broadcom BCM4908
(AX6000)
1.2Gbps + 4.8Gbps
(MU-MIMO)
4x4:4
(12-Stream)
1 Multi-Gigabit (1G, 2.5G, 5G)
Qualcomm
IPQ8074
Last update on 2023-09-30 at 09:55 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Netgear Nighthawk AX4 (RAX40) Brief Review
This is the entry level model of Netgear in the AX series of routers and is ideal for people who don’t have a large budget but they want to be early-adopters and test the new Wi-Fi 6 technology.
- Maximum Range : 1500 Sq Ft
- WIFI 6 – STREAM EVERYTHING AT FASTER SPEED: Simultaneously stream uninterrupted movies, games, video calls or download/transfer files at 3Gbps WiFi speed. Works with existing and new WiFi 6 devices like iPhone 11, Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy S10.
- WORKS WITH ALL INTERNET PROVIDERS: Replace your existing WiFi Router (separate modem or gateway required). Compatible with any Internet Service Provider up to 1Gbps including cable, satellite, fiber, DSL and more.
Last update on 2023-09-30 at 09:55 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
It’s the first Intel based CPU router in its class using an Intel/Lantiq chipset (SoC GRX350) so there is not much feedback from the market yet about the specific CPU.
One of the advantages of AX routers compared to current AC models is that the 802.11ax standard supports concurrent dual-band operation of both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands (i.e both frequency bands work under the new 802.11ax standard).
You should note that the current 802.11ac standard works only on 5GHz band and the AC routers just have another 2.4GHz band radio working with the older 802.11n standard.
This model boasts a total (theoretical) wireless speed of 3000Mbps which is split between 600Mbps (in the 2.4GHz band) and 2400Mbps (in the 5GHz band).
At around the same price point you can get a mid-range 802.11ac (WiFi5) device, so I believe the price point of Netgear AX4 is ideally positioned for someone that has the dilemma of buying either a WiFi5 (AC) router or a WiFi6 (AX) router.
In my opinion, buying the AX4 instead of a regular AC router is a good choice to test the waters and have a future-proof device in your network.
PROS
- Relatively cheap for a WiFi6 device.
- Great choice if you want to test the new next-generation wireless technology.
- Pretty fast WiFi performance compared to a regular 802.11AC device.
- Very good choice for medium-size homes.
CONS
- We don’t have much feedback from the market about the Intel Chipset (CPU).
Netgear Nighthawk AX8 (RAX80) Brief Review
This is the mid-level model in the AX series supporting 8 wireless streams and total (theoretical) combined WiFi data speed of 6Gbps (6000 Mbps).
- WIFI 6 – STREAM EVERYTHING AT EPIC SPEED: Simultaneously stream uninterrupted movies, games, video calls or download/transfer files at 6Gbps WiFi speed; Works with existing and new WiFi 6 devices like iPhone 11, Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy S10.
- WORKS WITH ALL INTERNET PROVIDERS: Replace your existing WiFi Router (separate modem or gateway required); Compatible with any Internet Service Provider up to 2Gbps including cable, satellite, fiber, DSL and more.
- EASY TO SET-UP AND MANAGE: Connects to your existing cable modem and sets up and customizes in minutes with the Nighthawk app – easily manage your WiFi settings at the device and network level, test your Internet speed, view speed history and monitor data usage.
Last update on 2023-09-30 at 10:41 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
With 4 physical radio antennas on the box, it emits using 4×4 (i.e 4 transmit and 4 receive radio chains) with 4 spatial streams.
Moreover, this setup is doubled since there are 4 streams in the 2.4GHz band and 4 more streams in the 5GHz band thus providing actually 8 wireless spatial streams.
This means that more devices can now transmit and receive data simultaneously on each frequency band than existing AC router models.
NOTE: The specification 4×4:4 shown in our comparison table above (in “Wireless Streams”) follows the notation TxR:S whereby:
- T= number of Transmit Radio chains
- R= number of Receive Radio chains
- S= number of Spacial Streams
This device is ideal for medium to large homes with 30 to 50 wireless devices. Such a network usually consists of many user devices plus smart-home devices like IoT (Internet of Things), security cameras, smart thermostats, etc.
Actually, one of the advantages of the new 802.11AX technology is that it’s ideal for supporting many wifi clients and especially low-power IoT and smart home clients. The new WiFi6 minimizes congestion in the wireless medium and also helps client devices to consume less power.
Another important spec that I like on this model is its powerful processor and plenty of RAM. A quad-core 1.8 GHz and 1GB RAM are more than enough to support demanding traffic needs such as 4K and UHD video streaming which are known to be CPU hungry. It’s essential to have a powerful router hardware (in terms of CPU and RAM) in modern home networks nowadays.
PROS
- Powerful hardware (CPU and RAM).
- Relatively good price-point considering you are getting a next-generation WiFi device.
- Future-proof.
- Excellent choice for smart-homes with many WiFi devices connected.
- Plenty of LAN ports.
CONS
- No WPA3 protocol for WiFi security (although WPA2 is pretty secure).
Netgear Nighthawk AX12 (RAX120) Brief Review
This is currently the flagship product of Netgear in the WiFi6 series (although a higher-end model, the RAX200, with Tri-band radio will be released this summer).
- Maximum Range : 3500 Sq Ft
- UNLEASH FASTER SPEED, EVEN MORE POWER: Optimal for devices built to support WiFi 6: Playstation 5, iPhone 11 & 12, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro 13 & Mac Mini, Ultra Notebooks, Samsung S10 & S20.
- WIFI 6 – STREAM EVERYTHING AT FASTER SPEED: Simultaneously stream uninterrupted movies, games, video calls or download/transfer files at 6 Gbps WiFi speed.
Last update on 2023-09-30 at 09:55 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
This device is a powerhouse. You don’t find easily a router with 64-bit Quad-Core processor running at 2.2GHz. This makes sure that it will be able to handle even the most demanding traffic such as Virtual Reality gaming, 4K/8K Video Streaming, fast file transfers over the radio path etc.
This is the only model in this comparison article that is certified and supports the new WPA3 security standard (although the other models will probably support this in the future).
Don’t get me wrong here. The current WPA2 is pretty secure IF a complex and long password key is used (i.e more than 12-13 characters including letters, numbers, special symbols etc).
The new WPA3 however will take WiFi security to the next level. It will eliminate offline password-guessing and brute-force attacks even when a user chooses a short and weak password. Also, it will be backwards compatible with current WiFi devices which use the WPA2 protocol.
Another feature I like on RAX120 is the multi-gigabit port. This is a special hardware port that supports multiple speeds such as 1Gbps, 2.5Gbps and 5Gbps.
A great use case of this is when having a high-speed NAS (Network Attached Storage) for backup and media-storage purposes in your home network.
Modern NAS devices are equipped with higher speed LAN ports (above 1Gbps) so you can connect the NAS directly to the multi-gig port of RAX120 thus achieving super-high-speed file transfer and backup setup.
Netgear claims a 50% more WiFi range by using this device. It is ideally suited for very large homes with many devices (more than 50). Although WiFi6 does not actually transmit signals with more power, the extended range in my opinion is achieved by minimizing interference and congestion in the wireless medium.
PROS
- Super powerful processor.
- LAN speeds of up to 5Gbps can be achieved by using the multi-gig port.
- Uses the newest WPA3 security protocol.
- 50% greater range as claimed by Netgear.
CONS
- Very expensive for a wireless router.
So, this concludes the brief review of each router model. Coming up next is a brief comparison between the 3 models we are discussing in this post:
AX4 (RAX40) Vs AX8 (RAX80)
The main obvious difference between the two routers comes in the WiFi speed specs. Although the speed on the wireless medium is always theoretical (as given by the manufacturer) the AX8 supports 6Gbps combined bandwidth compared to 3Gbps on the AX4.
The above will make a difference only if you have high-end client devices that can support high speeds (e.g 2×2 client devices).
A related characteristic to the above has to do with the MU-MIMO streams which are double on the RAX80 compared to RAX40. This in theory means that more concurrent devices can send and receive traffic at the same time.
Moreover, the “processing heart” of AX8 (i.e the CPU and RAM) are much better in my opinion compared to AX4. I would prefer the Broadcom chipset (which has a good history in wireless devices) compared to the Intel one (although we don’t know much yet about this specific CPU).
My opinion between the two models.
- If you want to buy a Netgear next-generation router (AX series) and you have some decent budget, then I would recommend the AX8 over the AX4.
- If you are in the dilemma of buying a current AC (WiFi5) router or a next-generation AX (WiFi6) device, then I would certainly recommend the AX4 (RAX40) over any AC router model.
AX8 (RAX80) Vs AX12 (RAX120)
The absolute speeds on the WiFi path are the same on both models (6Gbps). The main difference comes in the number of simultaneous streams in the 5Ghz band. The AX12 has 8 streams compared to 4 streams of the AX8 (again, this refers to the 5Ghz band. On 2.4GHz band, they have the same streams).
The only reason that I would buy the AX12 instead of AX8 is the multi-gig port and WPA3. However, if you don’t have a speedy NAS device or multi-gig switch (to utilize the multi-gig port), I personally don’t see a reason to shell-out several hundred dollars for getting the AX12.
My opinion between the two models.
I would buy the AX8 instead of AX12 since it’s better priced and will satisfy even the most demanding home networks. Honestly, the extra specs that you see on AX12 will not make much of a difference compared to AX8.
Does the ax80 have the ability to upgrade to wpa3 with an upgraded firmware
Currently the AX80 does not support WPA3 (even with upgraded firmware). However, as this new security protocol (WPA3) becomes more widely supported, the general consensus is that at some point it will be supported with a firmware upgrade.
What’s up with the lies about the prices?
Michael, thanks for your comment.
The prices shown are retrieved automatically from Amazon’s API so we have no control of that. The API shows the lowest price available for the product which might be the price for a used product for example.