NETGEAR Nighthawk X10 Smart WiFi Router

I have to say that I’ve always been a huge fan of NETGEAR products. I purchased this router along with the NETGEAR cable modem , the CM700 which has been a great improvement over what our cable company provides us with. It’s been going strong since I purchased it and it never drops the signal and there’s no buffering issues to deal with. We currently have the following devices connected to this router: 1. 2 iPad Pros (2020 12” models) 2. A networked surround sound processor that is a 11.2 model and we rarely use the internet on this device. 3. A music server that plays music in different rooms via (3) in wall iPods that can play different music for guest ) 4. 2 Roku Ultra devices 5. A Wi-Fi Thermostat 6. A Windows Desktop Computer in a guest bedroom for guest to use. 7. A Homeseer Pro smart home device for lighting control and other devices 8. 2 iPhones ( 2nd generation ) as we use them as phones mostly 9. A MacBook Pro 10. A Windows Gaming Desktop thats very seldom used now that’s liquid cooled. This is the main controlling PC for the router and making changes to passwords. Running Windows 7 pro. 11. Apple TV streaming device ( 2019 version 64gb model ) mostly for AirPlay. 12. An Astell&Kern Kann Alpha High Resolution player and a newer Astell&Kern music ripper/player. 13. A NETGEAR Nighthawk S8000 switch for additional managed devices in our den. 14. A Home Alarm system 15. An Oppo UDP-205 Multiplayer as it plays every format I throw at it 16. A HTPC that we rarely use now, but it gets used to stream movies occasionally from the Sony players below. 17. A Windows 10 PC that is essentially a Windows Home Server since they got rid of their WHS program, a huge loss for Windows users for a cheap alternative to a business server 18. A Firewall Device between the modem and router. It’s for added Protection and it was expensive. 19. An outdoor camera system that runs through the Homeseer device as well as the internet ( 8 HD cameras ) 20. A Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller, 16 Zone 3rd Generation unit we recently installed, needed 11 zones. 21. A Kaleidoscope movie server that is incredible and plays 4K disc in incredibly sharp detail. 22. A Chamberland garage door unit to close the door remotely if we leave it up. 23. ( 4 ) Sony 300 disc BluRay , DVD, and CD units that hold most of our movies. They are daisy chained and eliminate the need for storage in our den of boxes for CDs, Blu-Ray movies, etc. We generally watch the Kaleidoscope movie server when we want to watch a physical disc we have in 4K format. It plays back 4K movies in incredible detail and it has taken the place of the Windows 10 computer as the picture looks much sharper. It’s incredible how expensive a video card has become that will render a proper 4K video. We decided not to use our 4K Smart TV to control our streaming choices. We use our HTPC and the Kaleidoscope movie server as it has the best picture quality. We do have two connected Ethernet cables from the router to the managed switch for streaming and it works good, but for the best quality, the Kaleidoscope movie server is the best item we’ve ever purchased. I know that China and Japan are getting 8K devices, but I don’t think I’ll live long enough to need to upgrade to 8K. It’s the most future proof router we’ve ever owned. It’s also extremely rare that all of these devices are running at the same time. Generally the 2 iPads are running, the two iPhones are connected as well as the Thermostat, the Smart Home Hub in standby, the alarm, one of the 2 Roku Ultra devices and the Surround Sound receiver are running at the same time. The Windows 10 PC that has 20TB in raid 5 storage is constantly running as well, but it is cut off from time to time. We have a program that allows us to download all of our DVDs and BluRays to this computer so we don’t have to look for a certain movie or have an entertainment center full of boxes. It’s just become easier to stream everything from the various streaming devices. So we don’t really need anything else now. You would think that the 4 Sony players and the Kaleidoscope movie server would be enough space, but there’s over 2,000 CDs ripped in uncompressed Flac format that eats up about 7GBs of space. There are also multiple MQA files as well as High Resolution files we purchased from HDTracks and other services. The closet that we have the rack server unit in is where we have several shelves for the empty boxes for the Blu-ray and CD boxes. I like that I have an app that lets me update the router and lets me reboot it when our power goes out. The Homeseer Pro is hooked to a battery backup as it isn’t cloud dependent. You can still lock and unlock doors for security. The alarm is also on battery backup and has a cellular module to keep it going for awhile, now it needs a new battery pack. Too bad Radio Shack is gone as the manufacturer charges 3xs the price plus a service call. I have replaced the ones in our old system myself. I have never had any problems or issues with this system set up as it currently is now. I’m getting ready to update the modem to the CM1000 as we are getting ready for a temporary visitor who’s going to be here for awhile. So that may mean another computer or iPad and iPhone and possibly a Roku device added to the current load. We’ve had NETGEAR devices for years and we’ve never had problems with our internet devices dropping connections or buffering issues. We generally have to replace them because more items have been added over the years that are network connected and we have needed more connections and bandwidth. All of the above items are located in our guest room closet in a rack mount system it has a separate cooling unit to keep these items from frying. It’s a large closet and it backs up to our Den where most of the connected devices are located. It’s now not as needed as once before as it is huge and it’s outdated for us as I don’t run my business from home anymore either. So we’re getting ready to buy a entertainment center that will accommodate our equipment and get rid of the 40 unit rack system. Regardless, I think this is an incredible router and when I purchased it, it was the best model that NETGEAR offered. I don’t know why so many other people have had issues with this router, but I have not had any of the problems mentioned in other reviews that are lower rated at all. I went through 3 different Motorola modems with in a few weeks and they all got extremely hot. They all fried and one was like $150 at the time. I decided that since I had been so happy with our NETGEAR modem, then I would try a NETGEAR router. It’s working like a champ as well. I installed two fans on each side of the modem in a push / pull method and they are on a heat detection sensor. It’s only been on in the hottest months and with a lot of devices in use at the same time. But it’s fine for the two of us and we generally have two iPad Pros running, a Roku player, 2 iPhones and our security system, thermostat, and Homeseer Pro working at the same time. I have not had any of the issues with firmware updates causing issues or even a glitch. I purchased this brand new in late 2017 when it first came out and it has been the best router ever. There’s been times where multiple devices have been using the internet connection and it has never gotten hot, or as far as I know, the fans have never kicked in that are built into this modem. I also think that the app is great as you can update the router without even getting up off the couch. I generally back up my firmware in case I have a problem or something, but if this router was to quit working tomorrow, I couldn’t complain about it as this beast has been working overtime since we got it. I would t be exactly happy as I don’t think I paid quite as much for mine as they are selling for now. But I bought this to replace another NETGEAR router and I wanted one that could handle all of the internet connected devices that we use on a daily basis. We never experience buffering issues or slow devices and that is why this is the best router that I’ve ever owned. Ours is almost 5yrs old now and it works just as well as it has since day one. I just can’t say enough about how much this router has made our life better and hooking everything up was time consuming, but simple as we have so many things that are hooked up to the router. We have had a couple of issues with ransom ware and keyloggers compromising our Internet in the past, but adding the firewall was the end of the problems. One came through Norton and that was very disappointing, we had been using the NETGEAR anual antivirus software that is available for this router, but we just decided to try a firewall device and it’s stopped any further issues with this problem. Almost everything is on a VPN network anyway, but some items just cannot be added like the Wi-Fi thermostat. I am considering going back to our “smart” thermostat. The only issue is that it’s also connected to the service team and they know when there’s an issue with our HVAC system before we do most of the time. It’s well worth the price and I think it is the best router on the market. There are newer gaming routers by NETGEAR that are pricier, but we need the number of ports that this router provides. We have a 24 port managed NETGEAR switch , but it is not being used, yet. I have been using NETGEAR routers for years now and this is the most expensive one I’ve ever purchased, but absolutely worth every penny that it cost to acquire.