Netgear Ax1800 Review
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| Telstra | |
| Formerly |
List
|
| Type |
Public |
|
|
| Industry |
Telecommunications |
| Founded |
1 July 1975 ( 1975-07-01 ) [1] |
| Headquarters |
Telstra Corporate Centre Melbourne , Victoria , Australia |
|
Area served
|
Australia Worldwide (selected products) |
|
Key people
|
Andy Penn ( CEO ) < Vicki Brady ( CFO )< John Mullen ( Chairman ) |
| Products |
Fixed line and mobile telephony , Internet , data services, network services, and Pay TV |
| Brands | Belong |
| Revenue |
 A$ 26 billion (2017) [2] |
 A$ 6.2 billion (2017) [2] |
|
|
A$ 3.9 billion (2017) [2] |
|
|
Total assets |
A$ 42.1 billion (2017) [2] |
|
Total equity |
A$ 14.6 billion (2017) [2] |
|
Number of employees
|
~26,000 (2019) [2] |
|
Subsidiaries |
150 subsidiaries< Foxtel (35%)< Sensis (30%) |
| Website |
telstra .com .au |
Cons
Netgear’s AX1800 mesh extender (EAX20), which is both big and ugly, pushes data in areas that are not accessible to other extenders. The Netgear EAX20 also supports the latest Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) techniques, and provides extra security. The perfect extender wouldn’t be so costly, large and lacking a USB port to plug in a printer/hard drive. Although it is not as compact and concealable as wall-plug extenders like many others, its top performance, features, and range more than make up for that. In other words, it tops the best Wi-Fi extenders list as the extender to get today for all-out performance. This extender is also the only one to be included in the top Wi-Fi routers list. It allows you to create a mesh extension that can work with a single router, without losing Wi-Fi 6.
Editor’s Comment: Pricing and information for our Netgear AX1800 Mesh Extender (EAX20) reviews are periodically updated. From September 2020 when the review was published, our Netgear AX1800 MESH Extender EAX20 rating has not changed.
The Dark Side’s Power
Nighthawk’s mesh router is a bit familiar. That’s because the basic design of Netgear Orbi’s dual-band mesh system, priced at a lower price, looks very similar. Nighthawk takes the same, boxy shape with cheese-grater-like heat vents at top and paints it black. Nighthawk also adds Wi-Fi support to the front.
Satellite and router come equipped with one spare gigabit Ethernet cable, which can be used to wire them together to improve system performance.
Back when I reviewed Orbi’s Orbi, I loved the simple, minimalist design. I also think that it is a good fit here. It has a pleasing appearance without drawing too many attention to its own. You won’t be embarrassed by leaving both of your devices open where they will do their best.
Note: Another design change is the Nighthawk mesh system, which adds an Ethernet port to the satellite’s rear. The dual-band Orbi Mesh system doesn’t have this option. That’s useful to have in case you want a wired connection between the router and the satellite for faster system performance, or if you want to wire something like a media streamer directly to the satellite.
But the Nighthawk may not offer everything. Which is not surprising considering it is Wi-Fi 6 on a limited budget. The router doesn’t have a multigig Ethernet port like the Netgear Orbi 6, so you will only get 1 gigabit of internet per second. It won’t come with any additional bells and whistles. Don’t consider purchasing a third band as an additional backhaul to transmit data between the routers and satellites.
Nighthawk’s specs are that it is a dual-band AX1800 router. The “AX” indicates the Nighthawk supports Wi Fi 6 (802.11ax), and the “1800”, the top speed of both bands. As always, combined speed ratings like those are a bit misleading since you can only connect to one band at a time. Netgear asserts that the speed of the 2.4GHz frequency band is up to 600 Mbps while the 5GHz band has speeds that can exceed 1,200Mbps.
High-end triband Wi Fi 6 Mesh Routers Like Netgear’s Orbi 6, AmpliFi Alien and the Arris surfboard max pro all achieved faster speeds on all distances. But at a distance between five feet (blue), we found that the Netgear Nighthawk was in fact the fastest mesh router.
Last Thoughts
For review we were provided with a router, two satellite units and the entire system. The mesh network provides a great deal of coverage for homes that are moderately large. A router that includes one satellite can also be bought for $199.99 (MK62). This is available to those who have smaller homes and don’t require the same coverage. A further satellite can be purchased at $129.99 per satellite (MS60). While these are very low prices for a system as powerful as the NETGEAR Nighthawk AX1800 Mesh WIFI 6 system, the pricing makes sense. It has some interesting features that stood out to us. The units do not feel exceptionally built, but they don’t feel cheap either. The design of the units is straightforward, yet not sloppy. You get reliable, middle of the road performance from this network, which is also competitive in other class classes… and all for an affordable price.
However, it is precisely in its averageness that the Nighthawk AX1800 breaks from what “average” should be – and we’d expect more. Much like the Razer Huntsman TE provided enthusiast features on at entry-level prices, the Nighthawk AX1800 offers features that are outside of its product tier. Although the ads were at first disconcerting, the Nighthawk AX1800 offers remote access and network security.
Nighthawk AX1800, Mesh WiFi 6 may be worth considering for average users who are looking for an inexpensive mesh network solution. This system is like a freshly graduated sidekick-turned-hero with satellite sidekicks of its own: it will get the job done with a little help from some friends.
To facilitate this article’s review, the manufacturer supplied the product.
Conclusion
It almost feels like NETGEAR has read my previous review and taken note of all my concerns, then fixed them here with the Orbi Pro WiFi 6 Mini, also known as AX1800. The dual-band WiFi router, which is a mesh WiFi router, costs less and can be set up in fewer steps than the previous one. It is compatible with WiFi 5 backwards, so there’s no need for you to update devices. A business can have a maximum of 4,000 sq. feet. With up to four SSIDs, the Mini offers security that is tight, such as admin, employee and guest WiFi networks.
Just like the other Pro models, the Orbi Pro WiFi 6 Mini is remotely managed through NETGEAR Insight. This setup had the biggest advantage that it found my Orbi and was ready for use as soon as I plugged it in. It automatically updated its firmware as well. It was much more straightforward than the Pro model. Although it took 10 minutes to locate and set up the satellite, that wasn’t a problem. The satellite saw it immediately and performed whatever magic it did behind-the scenes. Orbi Mini should be easy to set up for smaller businesses, even if they don’t have IT specialists.
The Orbi Pro WiFi 6 Mini brings out the best in the Pro. There is plenty of love for both small and large businesses as well home offices, or even professional users.
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.Netgear Ax1800 Review