NETGEAR Nighthawk Mesh WiFi 6 System (MK63) Review

1. Introduction2. Unboxing and First Look3. Administration Interface4. Performance Analysis5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

Unfortunately, the NETGEAR Nighthawk WiFi 6 System doesn't provide the performance of NETGEAR's Orbi AX6000 at a more affordable price, but it does have some good things in its favour. On the plus side, it provides support for WiFi 6 and great performance for WiFi 6 clients up to 5m. However, 802.11ac performance is much more mediocre. The Nighthawk's abilities with 802.11n provide usable performance across a wide range, which makes for very workable legacy device support.

Although the smartphone app is somewhat light on features, the Web interface provides plenty of options to customise behaviour for home or business use. Gamers could set up port forwarding, but without the DumaOS there are fewer features here for this type of user. It's also a shame that you only get one Ethernet port for client devices on the router or each satellite, and no USB for printer or storage sharing.

Overall, then, NETGEAR Nighthawk Mesh WiFi 6 System is for a very specific type of user. If you've got WiFi 6 devices you want to use within 5m of the router, then this system will give them a welcome boost in wireless performance. Otherwise, performance and range aren't that different to an 802.11ac setup.

Fortunately, at £299.99, the price is on part with a top-end 802.11ac mesh WiFi setup too, so the NETGEAR Nighthawk Mesh WiFi 6 System is worth considering if you're after similar performance with 802.11ac but with bonus WiFi 6 as well, and the Orbi AX6000 is just too expensive.

The NETGEAR Nighthawk Mesh WiFi 6 System is available from Overclockers UK for £299.99.

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Pros:

• Good 802.11n coverage with decent performance.
• Excellent WiFi 6 performance up to 5m.
• Healthy level of management features via Web admin interface.
• Smartphone app makes setup easy.
• Keen price for WiFi 6.

Cons:

• Mediocre 802.11ac performance.
• Only one client Ethernet port per device.
• No USB for printer or storage sharing.

KitGuru Says: The NETGEAR Nighthawk Mesh WiFi 6 System provides an affordable entry to WiFi 6 abilities, but while it's fast with this type of client up to 5m, performance is otherwise midrange.

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