Netgear Nighthawk RS600 review: a high-quality and fast WiFi 7 router with a few flaws
Table of Contents
We’re getting up close and personal with Netgear’s Nighthawk RS600 in today’s review, a high-end WiFi 7 router that brings all the bells and whistles to the table. The obelisk-looking router hits shelves at a healthy price tag of around $500, making it one of the more premium products in today’s market. So, it’ll be interesting to see whether it’s worth the cost.
Fortunately, the RS600 delivers excellent speeds in both wired and wireless modes, hitting ranges that certainly impress when compared to other similarly priced alternatives. Equipped with a slew of connectivity options, WiFi 7 speeds, and 6GHz frequency, the RS600 is also no slouch – making it a great choice for individuals who require wide coverage and high speeds.
So, how well does it do in the end? We found out by putting it through all the usual tests, pitting it against a number of routers, including some of Netgear’s own alternatives.
- Standard: WiFi 7
- Frequency Bands: 2.4, 5, 6GHz
- Max Speed: 18Gbps
- LAN Ports: 1x 10Gbps, 3x 1Gbps
- WAN ports: 1x 10Gbps
- CPU: Quad-core 2.0GHz
- Memory: 512MB NAND flash and 2GB RAM
- USB: 1x USB 3.0
- Dimensions (HxWxD): 257.5×101.6x150mm (10.1x4x5.9in)
- Weight: 1.24kg/2.73lb
The Nighthawk RS600 from Netgear is a fast and effective WiFi 7 router. Bringing the latest connections and speeds to your network with three frequencies and 10Gbps ports, signal strength or download speed shouldn’t be an issue throughout your home.
Annoyingly, the router locks quite a few features behind a paywall – despite costing hundreds of dollars – and with some rather long setup and load times, it can be a bit frustrating. That is one of the few flaws we found with this router, however, making it a fine choice for anyone looking to improve home speeds and connectivity.
- Compact and sleek design
- Great configuration options and plenty of settings
- Plenty of speed, and includes two 10Gbps ports
- Great number of connectivity options
- Easy to set up and configure, and helpful for newbies
- Locks a lot of strong features behind a paywall
- The length of setup and changing settings can be tedious
- Still can be on the expensive side
Design
From the moment you unbox it, the thoughtful design and build quality are immediately apparent. Netgear provides clear, upfront instructions right away, ensuring you understand how to set up the device and guiding you through each step of the process.
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 front on, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 profile, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 rear, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 side on, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 box contetns, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 box, Image by PC Guide
Pulling it out of the box, you get a rather tall, obelisk-looking router that’s surprisingly heavy for its size. Measuring in at 257.5×101.6x150mm (10.1x4x5.9in) and weighing 1.24kg (2.73lb), it is an intimidating router to install in your home. But it will certainly stay in place.
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Ports and general Ethernet connections are made at the rear of the device; with a fair few good options to choose from. Particularly, a 10Gbps WAN port, so if you have the best broadband around, you can be sure not to limit your network. This can then be run to a single LAN port that has a 10Gbps connection, while three others are just 1 Gbps each.
It also offers fast speeds on wireless, too, since it implements the full range of 2.4, 5, and 6GHz wireless networks. Available as separate networks or as one that connects you to the best possible speed for your device. That also applies to the guest network this router offers – which can be made available for that extra layer of security.
On the rear, there is also the recessed reset switch, a rather satisfying power button, a USB 3 Type-A port, and a rather big barrel power connector. As for the front, it’s stacked with an array of LED lights and a couple of buttons, providing you with a great deal of information right off the bat.
As for the general look, it otherwise isn’t too eye-catching. That said, the top is weirdly a more coppery color that certainly stands out in comparison to the rest of the build. A small design flourish that certainly doesn’t go unrecognized.
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 back portss, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 front buttons, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 front LEDs, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 front lights, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 top, Image by PC Guide
Other features
When it comes to the setup, Netgear makes it rather simple. Scanning the QR code on top leads you to the app, which walks you through a detailed, step-by-step setup process without requiring you to switch between screens. The trade-off, however, is that the setup takes a bit of time to complete.
During the setup process, there are several periods of waiting required, where the router is either optimizing itself or running a particular setup. This can become tiresome after a while, if truth be told. Particularly frustrating was being prompted to update the firmware, and then once into the dashboard, having to do it again since it didn’t update to the latest one anyway.
Additionally, a separate restart was required between each change of the network – meaning, if you made any changes to the guest network, you’d have to wait some time for everything to switch back on. Ultimately, while this is quite annoying, most users won’t be changing network settings every day, so this shouldn’t really be a problem after the initial setup.
Netgear also locks a lot of key functionality behind a paywall. The premium parental controls (anything beyond making a profile and pausing internet to devices) require a subscription, and so does their Armor extra security. That can be quite a turn away for those wanting to keep their network safe without paying more when the router isn’t cheap in the first place.
There is also a web user interface you can utilize, too, which keeps some features to itself and does not include them in the app. Particularly, the USB storage sharing is a better way to make changes without taking up your phone’s power and processing.
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 web user interface ReadySHARE, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 almost done, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 parental control profile, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 firmware update, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 guest networks, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 app dashboard 2, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 smart parental controls, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 router powering on, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 app setup, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 settings, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 WiFi network setup, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 app dashboard, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 up and running, Image by PC Guide
Netgear Nighthawk RS600 personalizing router, Image by PC Guide
Pricing
For the pricing of the router, it is available for $500/£500 at full price. That might seem a bit much for a router, but you are getting the latest WiFi 7 connectivity – which still warrants a high price point. Like the RS700S we reviewed, that router is a couple of hundred dollars above Netgear’s, as is the Orbi 770, closing in on nearly a thousand. Acer, in comparison, offers the X7 and T7 for a bit less, which we included in our testing.
Performance
After all the setup and configuration, I put the router through our testing lab. Using a Google Pixel 9 Pro phone with WiFiMan and SpeedTest apps, I tested the strength and speed of the WiFi network at various distances. I also used a PC connected to the router for checking the LAN and USB speeds. Here’s how it performed in our tests.
Netgear router test upload speed 6GHz, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test download speed 2.4GHz, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test upload speed 2.4GHz, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test PHY upload 5GHz, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test PHY download 6GHz, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test PHY download 2.4GHz, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test download speed 5GHz, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test PHY upload 6GHz, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test PHY upload 2.4GHz, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test upload speed 5GHz, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test signal strength 6GHz, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test signal strength 5GHz, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test signal strength 2.4GHz, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test PHY download 5GHz, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test latency 6GHz, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test latency 5GHz, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test latency 2.4GHz, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test LAN SSD, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test LAN speed, Image by PC Guide
Netgear router test download speed 6GHz, Image by PC Guide
Signal strength
First is the signal strength, a measurement of how good the connection between the phone and the router is. Measured at four distances: 10ft/3m, 30ft/9m, 60ft/18m with a room in between, and 90ft/27m with two rooms in between. It is given in a negative dBm, so the closer to zero, the stronger the signal.
In the case of the RS600, comparing it to other WiFi 7 routers, you can see the differences. Overall, it generally has a very decent signal integrity over long distances, and it is even one of the few that manages to retain a connection over 90 feet. Managing to do so at 6GHz, it keeps the connection possible as a standalone, if it might not be the quickest.
| Distance (ft) | Acer Predator Connect X7 2.4GHz | Acer Predator Connect X7 5GHz | Acer Predator Connect X7 6GHz | Acer Predator Connect T7 2.4GHz | Acer Predator Connect T7 5GHz | Acer Predator Connect T7 6GHz | Netgear Nighthawk RS600 2.4GHz | Netgear Nighthawk RS600 5GHz | Netgear Nighthawk RS600 6GHz |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | -43 | -49 | -55 | -45 | -52 | -59 | -42 | -49 | -50 |
| 30 | -58 | -62 | -66 | -59 | -63 | -68 | -47 | -53 | -58 |
| 60 | -62 | -77 | -78 | -68 | -76 | -77 | -66 | -69 | -72 |
| 90 | -86 | -87 |
Speed
At these various distances and frequencies, I checked the maximum speed possible between the router and phone. Measured as the PHY upload and download, it gives us an idea of how good the connection is at transferring data. The RS600, once again, has a solid connection capability. Even if the 2.4GHz is a bit slower, the 5GHz and 6GHz definitely make up for it with some strong long-range ability.
As for the actual measured bandwidth, the RS600 certainly maxes out our broadband at 5 and 6GHz up to 60ft, managing to keep a great connection across the board. Even if at 90ft, the router manages to sustain a connection, albeit fairly weak. So it has got some great capabilities. In the case of LAN, it has no issues, as you might expect, and we haven’t got the broadband to check the 10Gbps ability.
| Distance (ft) | Acer Predator Connect X7 2.4GHz | Acer Predator Connect X7 5GHz | Acer Predator Connect X7 6GHz | Acer Predator Connect T7 2.4GHz | Acer Predator Connect T7 5GHz | Acer Predator Connect T7 6GHz | Netgear Nighthawk RS600 2.4GHz | Netgear Nighthawk RS600 5GHz | Netgear Nighthawk RS600 6GHz |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 143/258 | 1200/1200 | 1921/1837 | 206/258 | 1200/1080 | 2161/1837 | 146/216 | 2268/2450 | 2161/2450 |
| 30 | 130/172 | 648/720 | 1361/1225 | 129/172 | 680/720 | 1633/1633 | 65/216 | 1921/2268 | 1633/1837 |
| 60 | 97/137 | 136/360 | 544/551 | 172/154 | 272/324 | 576/551 | 51/146 | 1088/1102 | 408/735 |
| 90 | 32/136 | 8.0/61.0 |
| Distance (ft) | Acer Predator Connect X7 2.4GHz | Acer Predator Connect X7 5GHz | Acer Predator Connect X7 6GHz | Acer Predator Connect T7 2.4GHz | Acer Predator Connect T7 5GHz | Acer Predator Connect T7 6GHz | Netgear Nighthawk RS600 2.4GHz | Netgear Nighthawk RS600 5GHz | Netgear Nighthawk RS600 6GHz |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 54.4/41.4 | 274/289 | 274/289 | 62.8/42.2 | 278/289 | 269/289 | 58.7/34.5 | 275/289 | 276/289 |
| 30 | 44.7/19.2 | 271/290 | 274/288 | 41.8/13.3 | 220/285 | 240/290 | 30.8/15.0 | 267/289 | 255/289 |
| 60 | 21.8/3.19 | 208/141 | 268/204 | 25.1/1.18 | 212/147 | 199/226 | 21.2/1.33 | 262/281 | 261/291 |
| 90 | 37/18.3 | 17.8/6.4 |
| Acer Predator Connect X7 LAN | Acer Predator Connect T7 LAN | Netgear Nighthawk RS600 LAN | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Download/ Upload | 268.31/283.83 | 267.65/281.4 | 276.53/284.68 |
Latency
Another quick check I did was the latency reported to the router itself, and how long it takes for the data to go between the two devices. In this case, the RS600 is slightly higher overall, particularly in the more crowded 2.4GHz spectrum, but it’s not exactly outrageous either, nothing too bad, until it gets to 90ft.
| Distance (ft) | Acer Predator Connect X7 2.4GHz | Acer Predator Connect X7 5GHz | Acer Predator Connect X7 6GHz | Acer Predator Connect T7 2.4GHz | Acer Predator Connect T7 5GHz | Acer Predator Connect T7 6GHz | Netgear Nighthawk RS600 2.4GHz | Netgear Nighthawk RS600 5GHz | Netgear Nighthawk RS600 6GHz |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 9 | 11 |
| 30 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 6 | 6 | 21 | 9 | 8 |
| 60 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 8 | 9 |
| 90 | 10 | 36 |
File transfer
Lastly, I checked the USB connection speed. Plugging in an SSD to a USB sled into the router and sharing it to the PC – which was connected via Ethernet. For this test, I used CrystalDiskMark to benchmark the speeds. With that, it reached over 88 MB/s read and write speeds in sequential, a relatively speedy option to use for some basic storage and usage, but a NAS is still a better option for big capacities.
| Acer Predator Connect X7 SSD | Acer Predator Connect T7 SSD | Netgear Nighthawk RS600 SSD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Read/Write | 59.81/37.9 | 90.09/41.66 | 88.05/88.45 |
- Standard: WiFi 7
- Frequency Bands: 2.4, 5, 6GHz
- Max Speed: 18Gbps
- LAN Ports: 1x 10Gbps, 3x 1Gbps
- WAN ports: 1x 10Gbps
- CPU: Quad-core 2.0GHz
- Memory: 512MB NAND flash and 2GB RAM
- USB: 1x USB 3.0
- Dimensions (HxWxD): 257.5×101.6x150mm (10.1x4x5.9in)
- Weight: 1.24kg/2.73lb
Conclusion
Overall, the Netgear Nighthawk RS600 is a rather capable WiFi 7 router, offering great speeds and connectivity across the spectrum. However, it does drop the ball by locking some handy features behind a paywall, mainly its Armor and parental controls. Considering you’re already having to pay a substantial amount for the router, it can be a bitter pill to swallow. But you can get by without those features, and its speed and design might just make it worth it.
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