NetGear Nighthawk X10 As A High-End Home Router

[bug77]

I have the X6 and while it does its job flawlessly, it's in a price range where you can never vouch it's worth the money.

As for software, a couple months ago a couple of serious flaws were disclosed. A few weeks later I was using Netgear's software to check for an update and it was coming up empty. Yet when browsing their website, surely enough a newer version was readily available. Just before posting this I did another check (through their software) and this time it found a newer version. All in all, a bit funky, but gets the job done.

[M@GOid]

My router started behaving erratically, so for a couple of days I was wondering about putting a old desire to test: build my own x86 wifi router. I have a low power quad-core Athlon (25W TPD, but can be underclocked) and a mini-itx board collecting dust, so I was about to give it a try.

First, I will install a distro suitable for the job, using hardware I already have. Later, if things goes well, I pretend to buy a better PCI-Ex wifi card, a gigabit switch, a USB Ethernet adapter, a 12v dc-dc converter (to use a small powerbrick) for the motherboard and build a plastic custom small chassis to hold everything together.

The advantages are the modularity that the PC platform allows, custom building it for my needs, it can be easily upgraded to accommodate new technology (just change the wifi card), I will not be at the mercy of others to get security updates after a few years (programmed obsolescence) and most importantly, it will not cost me a freaking 450 dollars for a very robust router.

[Redfoxmoon]

Did you try LEDE release on it? Afaik the people on that device didn't complain about lack of ipv6.
(LEDE=future of OpenWRT since most devs migrated there)

Yep. IPv6 works fine on LEDE on the 1900ACS, although WiFi ac is still eh-eh. that's just about the only problem

[starshipeleven]

My router started behaving erratically, so for a couple of days I was wondering about putting a old desire to test: build my own x86 wifi router. I have a low power quad-core Athlon (25W TPD, but can be underclocked) and a mini-itx board collecting dust, so I was about to give it a try.

First, I will install a distro suitable for the job, using hardware I already have. Later, if things goes well, I pretend to buy a better PCI-Ex wifi card, a gigabit switch, a USB Ethernet adapter, a 12v dc-dc converter (to use a small powerbrick) for the motherboard and build a plastic custom small chassis to hold everything together.

I'll sound like a marketer, but can I suggest trying LEDE's x86 builds? It's a distro made for that. https://lede-project.org/

[torsionbar28]

Personally I've never been a fan of these all-in-one devices. Aside from the fact that they're very expensive for what they do, they never have the configuration flexibility or the long term support that individual components do.

For example, I use a pfSense APU1D2 firewall, a Ubiquiti Unifi Pro wireless access point, and a Netgear 8 port gigabit switch. The three components together cost slightly less than this $450 Nighthawk device. If I want to upgrade from 1Gb to 10Gb switching, I only need to replace the switch. If I want to upgrade the Wifi to some newer future standard, I only replace the access point, etc. With the all-in-ones, you have to discard the entire $450 machine to upgrade any one capability. Not to mention that if support ends for the Nighthawk (and these consumer devices always have abysmally short support life) and some vulnerability is discovered, you have to replace the whole $450 device. And lastly, the all-in-ones mean you have to co-locate the three functions, firewall, wifi, and switching. If you want the firewall in a closet with your cable modem, the switching in your home office, and the wifi device in the living room, you simply can't do that with an all-in-one.

Don't even get me started on the hideous alien spacecraft appearance of these all-in-ones. Only a millenial living in his parents basement wants to look at something like that in a living space.

[TheLexMachine]

I have had this router for a little over a month now. It's a fucking beast and does whatever I ask of it. The only issue I had was with the initial setup process which was a total 180 from the other Netgear routers I've used in the past. Older models, you could just login to the router's web interface and do an automatic guided setup or do the manual config or run the router config software on the CD, but this one wouldn't do that. No, you could only make it get up and go out of the box by connecting to it and unlocking it with the magical Netgear UP app on an Android or iWhatever device, which runs an automatic config setup process. In that regard, I wasn't happy and I felt like it was a bit of a "Fuck you!" to enthusiast users who prefer to click through menus and config every little thing instead of just setting every feature to auto. Also, UPnP was auto-enabled out of the box, despite the fact that it's 2017.

[Michael]

I have had this router for a little over a month now. It's a fucking beast and does whatever I ask of it. The only issue I had was with the initial setup process which was a total 180 from the other Netgear routers I've used in the past. Older models, you could just login to the router's web interface and do an automatic guided setup or do the manual config or run the router config software on the CD, but this one wouldn't do that. No, you could only make it get up and go out of the box by connecting to it and unlocking it with the magical Netgear UP app on an Android or iWhatever device, which runs an automatic config setup process. In that regard, I wasn't happy and I felt like it was a bit of a "Fuck you!" to enthusiast users who prefer to click through menus and config every little thing instead of just setting every feature to auto. Also, UPnP was auto-enabled out of the box, despite the fact that it's 2017.

I never had to install any app at all... I went straight to the router web interface.

[GraysonPeddie]

I trust myself in using Ubiquiti equipment, such as my EdgeRouter ER-5 PoE and UniFi AC-Lite. Don't touch the router and only upgrade/add access points as needed. The only thing you should touch is the UniFi controller running in a server and that's it.

[TheLexMachine]

I never had to install any app at all... I went straight to the router web interface.

I had to use the Netgear UP app to get the router functional and that's the one and only option that the snazzy Netgear setup portfolio in the box gave and the router allowed. At first, I thought the router might have been a lemon because nothing was accessible via the web interface and the router wouldn't do anything at all except stay on, cause it would reject every attempt to get into the interface. I hadn't bothered to read the directions, cause I assumed it was more or less just like every other Netgear router I had used in the past. It wasn't. Then I figured that I might as well read the directions, saw what I had to do, and quickly connected an Android tablet with the app installed and running, which trigged the initial network config and firmware update processes. After those processes were done, I got full access to the router and was able to manually config it with the Netgear Genie app or via the web interface.

[horizonbrave]

I guess it's not all about performances. At least with Asus router I might get a different (or enhanced) firmware by Merlin.. it just gives a bit of peace of mind on security as well.