Netgear Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 5 GHz router review, is it worth it?

The Netgear Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 (RAX120) router released in 2019. It is powered by Qualcomm Atheros IPQ8074 @ 2.2 GHz chipset, 1024 MB of RAM and 512 MB of flash. The AX6000 router is compatible with IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax standards, and the maximum speed that you can get with Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 is 1148 + 4804 Mbps. The router has 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps, 1 x 10/100/1000/2500 Mbps WAN and 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN ports.

The Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 is a popular router model from Netgear that has received positive reviews from many users. You can connect supported USB devices to the Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 router. The external storage devices such as USB flash drives or external hard drives add file-server functionality to this router. Netgear products typically adhere to industry-standard networking protocols and standards, ensuring compatibility with other devices and systems.

Table of contents:

• Netgear Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 specifications
• Netgear Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 pictures

Netgear Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 (RAX120) specifications

Body

The dimensions and design of a router can impact its cooling capabilities. Routers with larger dimensions may have more space for internal cooling mechanisms, such as larger fans or heat sinks, which can help dissipate heat more effectively. The weight of router is not typically a critical factor for most home or office setups.

System

The Netgear Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 router is equipped with Qualcomm Atheros IPQ8074 @ 2.2 GHz processor. The router's memory (1024 MB) cannot be expanded. When choosing a router, it is important to consider both the flash memory and RAM specifications. The Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 has 512 MB of flash. A larger flash memory allows for more space to store configuration backups. It enables you to save multiple versions of your router's configuration settings, which can be useful for restoring previous configurations or reverting changes if needed.

Within the Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 router's interface, look for a section related to firmware or system settings. The exact location and wording may vary depending on the router's make and model. The Netgear Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 router comes with 19 V / 3.16 A PSU. This unit is responsible for providing electrical power to the router, and if it becomes faulty, it can be replaced with a new, compatible one.

Network

The Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 router supports multiple networking standards to ensure compatibility with various devices and systems. The IPv4 is the fourth iteration of the Internet Protocol (IP) and is the most widely used version of IP on the internet today. The latest firmware supports IPv6 protocol that provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic across the Internet.

The Netgear Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 has 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN and 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps, 1 x 10/100/1000/2500 Mbps WAN ports. LAN or Ethernet ports (RJ-45) are used to connect devices to the local area network (LAN). Gigabit Ethernet ports of the Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 router allow for faster communication between devices within your local network. WAN ports are the entry point to your local network, making them a potential target for unauthorized access or attacks. It's important to secure your WAN connection by using strong passwords, enabling encryption protocols, and keeping the router's firmware up to date to mitigate security risks.

The Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 router supports Gigabit WAN. Having a Gigabit WAN port is beneficial when your internet service plan supports high-speed connectivity, as it ensures that your router's WAN connection can handle the maximum speed provided by your ISP. The Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 router also supports 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet on its WAN port. OpenVPN is a popular choice for VPN deployments due to its strong security, flexibility, and broad compatibility. It is commonly used by individuals, businesses, and organizations to establish secure remote access connections and protect sensitive data transmitted over public networks.

Wireless

This router has 8 x 3 dBi, internal antennas. Antennas play a significant role in Wi-Fi performance and coverage. They are essential components of wireless routers that transmit and receive radio signals to establish wireless connections with devices. The Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 is compatible with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. Many IoT (Internet of Things) devices, smart home devices, and older Wi-Fi-enabled devices primarily operate on the 2.4 GHz band.

The 2.4 GHz band is heavily utilized by various devices like cordless phones, Bluetooth devices, and microwaves, leading to higher interference levels. The 5 GHz band is less congested, resulting in reduced interference and a clearer wireless signal. The Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 router is 5 GHz capable. This router is a Wi-Fi 6 router. 802.11ax is the sixth-generation Wi-Fi standard, commonly referred to as Wi-Fi 6. It builds upon the previous Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) standard and brings significant improvements in speed, capacity, and overall performance.

The AX6000 is a performance indicator that represents the router's theoretical maximum speed. The theoretical maximum speed (1148 + 4804 Mbps) represents the highest data transfer rate that the router is capable of achieving under ideal conditions. The TX power (30 dBm) of a router refers to the transmission power or signal strength at which the router broadcasts its Wi-Fi signal. It determines the range and coverage area of the wireless network.

The Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 router offers several security protocols: WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPA3, 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 WPA3 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 3) is the latest Wi-Fi security protocol designed to address vulnerabilities and strengthen security for wireless networks. It improves encryption, introduces stronger authentication protocols, and protects against brute-force attacks. The Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 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. A guest network on the Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 router is a separate network that provides internet access to guests or visitors without giving them access to your main or primary network. It allows you to create a dedicated network segment for guests, keeping their devices isolated from your private network, thereby enhancing security and privacy.

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. You can attach a compatible USB printer to the Netgear Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 device. USB print servers allow you to connect a USB printer to your network, making it accessible to multiple devices. This eliminates the need for each device to have a direct USB connection to the printer. It has built-in NAS functionality. You can connect external storage devices such as USB flash drives or USB hard drives to your router. This allows you to share files, documents, photos, and media across devices on your network. It can be convenient for accessing and sharing files without the need for separate file servers or cloud storage.

Administration

The default IP addresses of the Netgear Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 device is 192.168.1.1. These address allows you to access the router's console login page. Regularly changing the password is a good security practice to protect your network and devices from unauthorized access. It is also recommended to use strong, unique passwords for other devices and online accounts connected to your network for enhanced security. By changing the default password, you improve the security of your router and reduce the risk of unauthorized individuals gaining control over your network. It helps prevent unauthorized access to your router's settings, network configurations, and sensitive information.

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 AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6, then don’t hesite and signal the problem to us.

Netgear Nighthawk AX12 Dual-Band WiFi 6 (RAX120) pictures

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