Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 5 GHz router review, is it worth it?

The Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 (R6900P) router released in 2016. It is powered by Broadcom BCM4708C0 @ 1 GHz chipset, 256 MB of RAM and 128 MB of flash. The AC1900 router is compatible with IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac standards, and the maximum speed that you can get with Nighthawk AC1900 is 600 + 1300 Mbps. The router has 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN and 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN ports.

The Nighthawk AC1900 is a popular router that offers an exceptional networking experience with its advanced features and cutting-edge technology. This router features USB connectors that provide additional functionality and expand the capabilities of your network. Netgear is often recognized for offering products that provide good value for the price.

Table of contents:

• Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 specifications
• Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 pictures

Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 (R6900P) specifications

Body

If you plan to move or travel frequently and need to take your router with you, the dimensions become important for portability. Smaller and more compact routers are generally easier to transport, while larger routers with external antennas or multiple ports may be bulkier and less convenient to carry. If you purchase a router online or have it shipped, the weight may affect the overall cost. Heavier routers can result in higher shipping charges, especially for international deliveries.

System

The Broadcom BCM4708C0 @ 1 GHz CPU provides processing power to handle various tasks and services within the Nighthawk AC1900 router. The Nighthawk AC1900 has 256 MB of RAM. Some advanced router features and software functionalities require a certain amount of RAM to operate properly. For example, routers with more RAM can support advanced security features, VPN services, or QoS (Quality of Service) prioritization more effectively.

The Nighthawk AC1900 has 128 MB of flash memory. A larger flash memory allows for more storage space to accommodate future firmware upgrades. The process of upgrading the firmware on routers has become relatively simple and user-friendly over the years. The Netgear provides easy-to-use interfaces and instructions to guide users through the firmware upgrade process. The Netgear packages the Nighthawk AC1900 router with 12 V / 3.5 A PSU. A good PSU is an essential component of a computer or electronic device that converts electrical power from an outlet into the appropriate voltage and current required to power the internal components of the device.

Network

The Nighthawk AC1900 router offers built-in security features to protect your network and connected devices. The IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses, represented as four sets of numbers separated by periods (e.g. 192.168.0.1). The Nighthawk AC1900 router also supports IPv6 protocol, allowing you to utilize the latest version of the Internet Protocol. The LAN ports are physical connectors on a Nighthawk AC1900 router that allow you to connect devices to your local network using Ethernet cables.

This router has Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports. If you have a high-speed internet plan that offers speeds of 1 Gbps or higher, gigabit Ethernet ports are essential to fully utilize the available bandwidth. WAN ports often require specific configuration settings based on the type of internet connection provided by your ISP. The Nighthawk AC1900 router supports Gigabit speed on its WAN port, that can support speeds up to 1000 Mbps. This router ensures that you can fully utilize high-speed internet connections provided by your ISP. The Nighthawk AC1900 comes with built-in OpenVPN client. OpenVPN employs a certificate-based authentication system, which enhances security and provides a more robust method of identity verification compared to traditional username/password authentication.

Wireless

The 3 x 3.3 dBi, RP-SMA antennas of Nighthawk AC1900 influence the quality and stability of the Wi-Fi signal. A properly positioned and well-designed antenna can minimize interference and signal degradation, leading to a more reliable and stable connection. This router is 2.4 GHz capable. The 2.4GHz band refers to the portion of the radio spectrum between 2.400 and 2.4835 gigahertz. This frequency range is unlicensed and globally available for various wireless applications, including Wi-Fi.

The Nighthawk AC1900 supports 5 GHz signals. Most modern devices, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and smart TVs, support dual-band Wi-Fi, which means they can connect to both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks. By utilizing the 5 GHz band, you can offload some devices from the crowded 2.4 GHz band, reducing congestion and improving overall network performance. The Nighthawk AC1900 AC Wi-Fi router is backward compatible with older Wi-Fi devices that support 802.11a/b/g/n standards.

The AC1900 refers to the maximum combined data transfer rate supported by the router across all Wi-Fi bands. The Nighthawk AC1900 is capable of a maximum throughput speed of 600 + 1300 Mbps. The real-world speed of a Nighthawk AC1900 router is typically lower than its theoretical maximum speed. The TX power of Nighthawk AC1900 can be adjusted by the user or set automatically by the router firmware. Higher TX power values indicate stronger signal transmission, which can result in a larger coverage area.

The Nighthawk AC1900 router offers several security protocols: WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPS. The WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) was the first security protocol for Wi-Fi networks but is now considered weak and easily compromised. It uses a static encryption key and has known vulnerabilities, so it is no longer recommended for securing Wi-Fi networks. The WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) was introduced as an improvement over WEP and provides stronger security. If WPA3 is not available, WPA2-Personal with AES encryption is still considered secure.

The Nighthawk AC1900 router offers WPS. The WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) provides a simplified and convenient method for connecting devices to a Wi-Fi network. Instead of manually entering the Wi-Fi network name (SSID) and password, users can use the WPS feature to establish a connection with the push of a button or by entering a PIN. The Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 router is capable of creating a guest network. Guests connected to the guest network usually have limited access to network settings and configurations. They are typically restricted from accessing devices connected to the primary network, such as printers, network-attached storage (NAS), or other shared resources.

Connectivity

USB ports can offer additional functionality depending on the router's capabilities. The USB 3 ports provide a fast interface for external storage with data transfer rates of up to 4.8 Gbps. By connecting a USB printer to the Nighthawk AC1900 router, you can make it accessible to all devices on your network. This eliminates the need for individual printer connections and allows multiple devices to use the printer simultaneously. The USB file server functionality of this router allows you to connect external storage devices, such as USB flash drives or hard drives to your network. This enables easy file sharing and access among devices connected to the network.

Administration

The default IP address of this router is 192.168.1.1. Explore the router's configuration interface to access more advanced settings such as port forwarding, DHCP settings, parental controls, firewall settings, and QoS (Quality of Service) settings. If you are unable to log in to the setup panel of your Netgear router, performing a reset can be a helpful troubleshooting step. It is highly recommended to change the default password of your Nighthawk AC1900 router after the initial setup. If you forget the new password in the future, you may need to perform a factory reset on the router to revert to the default settings.

The specifications above are based on the official data published by the manufacturer, but we also take user reviews into consideration. If you found an error or something lacking in the specifications above for the Netgear Nighthawk AC1900, then don’t hesite and signal the problem to us.

Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 (R6900P) pictures

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