Do I want this?
Eh, probably not great but for $99 maybe not bad.
I’m too far into Ubiquiti to mess with consumer Wi-Fi any longer (for work that bled over to home).
Full review here but the below stood out Netgear RAX43 AX5 WiFi 6 Router Review – MBReviews
The Netgear RAX43 also advertises the support for Smart Parental Controls and the Netgear Armor, but be very aware that those are subscription-based services and you can only use them for free for a month.
I have the RAX45 (Costco version) and I have to say it has been trouble free for me running a combination of Wi-Fi networks serving streaming and home office, with a wired network and the USB port serving media. Overall, for my needs it’s been solid.
If you need to upgrade from what you have now, I’d say this is a good price for what you get. It’s refurbished, but that should be fine, as long as you put it thru its paces for the 90 day warranty period.
I have had Netgear routers for the past 10 years or so, but I just upgraded to a Linksys that is comparable to this model. I’m happy with the switch.
My old Netgear was getting flaky, and my Internet got a speed bump, so it was time to upgrade. The Linksys MR5500 cost me $40 more than this item on sale at the mothership. It has a few things I really like:
Much smaller than the Netgears, and only 2 antennas. I’m not into the upside down spider look.
Just a simple status light on the front. So classy.
The mesh thing really works. I got a used $45 mesh node from Amazon. After a few odd button pushes in the web interface for the MR5500, I just have to turn the mesh node on and it automatically connects and adds itself to the mesh network. Pretty slick. And the mesh node can be configured as a standalone WiFi router, so it’s handy to have as a backup if the main one craps out.
Linksys pushes their app and cloud-based configuration l, which is really annoying. But there is a hidden but official way to configure everything via the web.
It has been 100% solid for the past few months.
It can handle my 500mbit connection.
It seems to be power efficient, which is helpful since I run my equipment on a 12 volt UPS.
I haven’t looked at this Netgear model, but the pictures suggest it has one feature I really wanted on my Linksys: detachable antennas. I wanted to upgrade one to a directional Alfa antenna so I could get more range outside.
Also, the 4 antennas on the Netgear surely work better than the 2 little ones on my Linksys. If I had serious gamers in my home, they might want an aggro upside down spider, not a classy little router.
I never tried the security or parental features on my Netgear. But they might be worth a look.
In short, I am happier with a smaller, less visually-busy router that has been solid for me. I think it’s worth the $40 premium (when on sale).
I own this exact model and bought it brand new and it has worked great for me. I bought it on sale and took a chance and it was an excellent upgrade from the RAX1500 that I had. This is a good upgrade. Do a little searching and you can find it brand new for this price, if not, buy it.