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This router is full to the brim with the best in networking technology, such as 60GHz 802.11ad, Multiple Output (MU-MIMI) streaming, Multi-User Multiple Input, and 160MHz Wi-Fi technology. Nothing is worse than being midway through a Netflix marathon only to see your favorite show get stuck in a loading cycle. If you stream lots of content in high resolution and require super-fast Wi-Fi delivery for other internet needs, the NETGEAR Nighthawk X10 AD7200 should be top of your shopping list. However, there is a major caveat with this device, namely its excessive price. If you can get this WiFi router for under $400 you can consider yourself lucky.
That said, Netgear Armor does include Bitdefender Security for your devices and Bitdefender VPN for use outside the home. Don’t even think about spending more than this unless your internet connection exceeds 1 Gbps, and even then you can expect diminishing returns. For large homes, you will have a much better experience if you use one or more Wi-Fi extenders or choose a mesh Wi-Fi system instead of a traditional wireless router. Wi-Fi extenders connect to your existing network and project it further, while mesh systems use a number of interlocking nodes to cover a large area without slowing down your connection or introducing lag. Other features, like range, speed, and ports all impact the usability of a router and can have a huge effect on your overall experience and satisfaction.
A Solid Alternative to the Asus GS-AX5400
There's almost nothing that can be done these days without some sort of internet connection. Whether its streaming the latest season of Luke Cage on Netflix or pulling up work email on your phone, a good internet connection has become essential. However, if you want to achieve backward compatibility and higher speeds with slow networks, the ‘ac’ network types best. It has to be in a central location, kept away from other obstructions and gadgets. Even with a great positioning, there will still be some places in your home where the wireless signal cannot reach.
It all makes for a less robust mesh system than other Orbi setups, but I hardly noticed in my tests. In fact, the ZenWiFi AX offers the same multigig WAN ports as the Orbi AX6000, which is a great piece of future-proofing that you don't always get in this price range. I’m a fan of TP-Link’s Tether app, where you can review traffic, split bands, create a guest network, schedule reboots, set automatic updates, and even tell the LED to turn off at night.
Other mesh routers we've tested
The TP-Link Archer C5400X is the gaming router to beat, with some of the best performance you'll see in any single home networking device. It offers best-in-class tri-band performance, delivering 1Gbps over its 2.4GHz band and 2.167Gbps over each of its two 5GHz channels. It also has impressive coverage, with more than 100-feet of superb coverage that will blanket most homes in strong, clear Wi-Fi signal.
Look me up on Twitter (@rycrist) or send a message straight to my inbox by clicking the envelope icon on my CNET profile page. Our How to Buy a Router guide answers a lot of questions on the terminology you'll come across when shopping for a router. Rich Scherr is a seasoned technology and financial journalist who spent nearly two decades as the editor of Potomac and Bay Area Tech Wire.
Best for multigig home internet plans
You'll see 802.11ac routers with labels like AC1200, AC1750, AC3200, and so on. For example, a router that can achieve a maximum link rate of 450Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 1,300Mbps on the 5GHz band is considered an AC1750 router. A tri-band AC3200 router gives you 600Mbps over the 2.4GHz band and 1,300Mbps over each of the two 5GHz bands, and an AC5400 router is capable of speeds of up to 1Gbps on the 2.4GHz band and 2.1Gbps on each of the two 5GHz bands. Nowadays, any router worth its salt will offer at least two radio bands, a 2.4GHz band and a 5GHz band. The 2.4GHz band operates at a lower frequency than the 5GHz band and offers better range because it is more adept at penetrating walls and other structures. However, it doesn't offer the fat pipe and high-speed access that you get with the 5GHz band.
The RG-E5 is easy to install and manage and gets you into a Wi-Fi 6 network without spending a bundle. If you require multi-gig ports and parental control software, be prepared to spend significantly more money for a router like the TP-Link Archer AX11000. And while it may only be a two unit system, it doesn't skimp out on network speeds.
However, if you’re new to having wireless internet at home and are looking to install a broadband package soon, you might be wondering why you need a wireless router in the first place. After all, it’s important to know why you need something in the first place before discerning whether you’re up to make the purchase, and what exactly thebest wireless routeris for you. Choosing thebestwireless routerthat will suit your needs can be very overwhelming, especially if you have notbought awireless routerbefore. However, if you are ignorant about what you want to but, you will end up buying the wrong router.
You want positive feedback on something, so read through what others say about each product Facebook or Quora, before deciding which one to buy. Barbara Booth is a former CNBC reporter whose work spans a wide range of business and social topics, including work/life issues, international business and personal finance. In addition to CNBC, her work has been seen in USA Today, Huffington Post, Yahoo Finance, HerMoney, and for various television news programs including the Nightly Business Report. There are lots of great mesh systems up for sale at this point, and prices have come down significantly in the last few years. For more information and our top recommendations, be sure to check out our full rundown of the best mesh Wi-Fi systems of the year. We’ll send you the fastest internet options, so you don’t have to find them.
The end effect is that your speeds should be more consistent throughout your home, with fewer dead zones where coverage drops out altogether. There are a number of other factors that we take into consideration whenever we test a mesh router. I run each of my speed tests to the same server, which gives me a good, comparative look at how quickly each one is able to send and receive data. Most of the mesh routers I'm testing these days do just fine, with average latency usually coming in between 15ms and 20ms per ping, but some systems will see latency spikes when they're routing your connection through a satellite extender. That means connecting to a mesh system at range might not be the best bet for gamers, or for anyone else particularly concerned with latency.
After setup, you can also use either approach to access the router's settings or change your Wi-Fi password. You need to be connected to your modem in order to send and receive data from the web -- your router lets you do that without need for a wire. It's basically a big, fancy antenna for your modem that lets you connect with it wirelessly, over Wi-Fi. You can also use that local Wi-Fi network to connect with other devices at home, like printers or remote storage servers. Gaming routers promise high performance and low latency for die-hard gamers, and it isn't uncommon to find them selling for $300 or even $400. At about $250 or less, the Asus RT-AX86U dual-band router isn't inexpensive either, but it's a strong value relative to routers like those -- and the performance it delivers as a gaming router is flat-out great.
With a mesh router, I can still hit triple-digit speeds in those back rooms, which are about as fast as when I'm connecting closer to the router. Consistently delivering a stable high-speed Wi-Fi connection, the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 mesh system tops our Best Mesh Wi-Fi Routers guide and is ideal for large homes or houses with dead spots. This system performed well in tests, offering great coverage and close to maximum speeds at close-, mid-, and long-range. I encountered a slight issue during setup that was resolved with a factory reset and firmware update.
If you’re looking for a central approach, then look for a router that has built-in security features. Some routers include a built-in firewall, virus scanner, and even the ability to protect all of your devices from malware and ransomware. There are a few things that can increase the range of a router, eliminate dead spots in a Wi-Fi network, and improve connectivity. The first is the number of antennas that a router has and the orientation of those antennas. As a general rule of thumb, a router that has multiple antennas that can be rotated manually will have a greater range, and provide better coverage, than a router with just a single antenna.
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