The wind howled something fierce last Tuesday. Not usually a problem. But, the sudden drop in Wi-Fi signal strength throughout the old Victorian was a clear indication something was amiss. You see, gale-force gusts play havoc with weaker signals, especially when the house is three stories of solid, stubbornly brick. Thankfully, the fix was already on its way: the Netgear Nighthawk AX8 (RAX80).

My initial setup impressions? Straightforward. The interface is clean, the firmware updates were seamless. It’s a breath of fresh air compared to some of the more labyrinthine router dashboards I’ve wrestled with in the past. And, yes, I’m looking at you, TP-Link Archer series, with your menus-within-menus! The RAX80, on the other hand, gets you up and running quickly.

The headline spec, of course, is Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) and its promise of increased speed and capacity. Specifically, this router boasts a theoretical 6 Gbps of wireless speed. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “That’s marketing hype, right?” Well, yes and no. The actual throughput you’ll experience will be lower. But even in a crowded network environment, the AX80’s ability to handle multiple devices simultaneously using MU-MIMO (Multi-User, Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output) is impressive. Tested it with four separate 4K streams running at once, no buffering, no issues.

Here’s a detail most people gloss over: the importance of channel selection. The AX80 automatically picks the least congested 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz channels. A smart move, indeed. But here’s a small caveat: the auto-channel selection, while good, isn’t perfect. You can, of course, manually tweak the channels via the admin panel, and I recommend taking a peek at what’s available in your area – it’s worth the ten minutes of effort.

The built-in QoS (Quality of Service) is a particularly welcome feature, allowing you to prioritize traffic for specific devices or applications. I configured it to give my work laptop the highest priority – ensuring a lag-free connection during video conferencing. That’s a lifesaver when dealing with clients.

Compared to my older Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 (R7000), the upgrade is substantial. The AX80 provides better coverage, faster speeds, and handles the increasing number of connected devices in my home with ease. Sure, I might have considered a high-end Asus offering, but honestly, the AX80 offered the perfect blend of performance, ease of use, and price point. It’s a solid performer for the average smart home.

So, if you’re looking to future-proof your home network and have a house larger than a shoebox, the Netgear Nighthawk AX8 (RAX80) is a worthy investment. For homes under 2,000 square feet, it’s probably overkill. But for the rest of us… go get yourself one. You won’t regret it.