Netgear R6080 (AC1000) Router Review

The Netgear R6080 (Ac1000) Wi-Fi router is a popular product for home users and small businesses. The router reaches a wireless speed of 1000 Mbps, which is great for activities like online gaming and HD streaming.

The Netgear R6080 (Ac1000) provides seamless wireless or Wi-Fi for 15 devices. The router can maximize speed and minimize interference through selection between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands.

The router protects the network with high-level WPA/WPA2 security and firewall protection. The Netgear R6080 creates a guest network, which is separate from your home network. Thus, your private data is secured.

It comes with the Nighthawk app. You can use the app to configure the router, manage web filtering, website access, and pause Wi-Fi connection to specific devices connected to your home network.

The Nighthawk makes it easy for the user to set up the router. You just need to connect the router via the Ethernet cable. The app guides you through simple and small installation steps. There are 4 Ethernet ports, which provide faster internet connection over longer ranges.

If you want to stream HD videos or play HD-graphics games online, this router will do a good job. In today’s review article, we are going to share our personal experience with the Netgear R6080 (Ac1000) Wi-Fi router. Read on!

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Specifications

Size: 7.2 x 5.4 x 1.8 inches

Antennas: 2 non-detachable

Wi-Fi Spec: 5 GHz 802.11ac dual-band

Ports: N/A

Peak Performance: 1000 Mbps

Range: 1000 sqft.

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Networking

The Netgear R6080 is a dual-band wireless router, which offers boosted wireless coverage and performance for the entire home. The simultaneous dual-band wireless technology with up to 300 and 700 Mbps speed, the router simply avoid wireless interference for HD media streaming.

The Netgear R6080 Ac1000 is compatible with 802.11 a/b/g/n devices. We have personally tested the networking speed of the router. First, we tested the router for the 2.4 GHz frequency band.

At 5 feet, we measured the speed of 564 Mbps. Then, we increased the distance up to 15 feet and measured the speed, this time, the speed was 347 Mbps. The speed measured at 30 was 128 Mbps, which means that at 30 feet, the speed went down significantly.

Also, we switched from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz and tested the speed of the router. At 5 feet, the speed measured was 596 Mbps. At 15 feet, the speed measured was 388 Mbps and at 30 feet, it was 254 Mbps. This means that 5 GHz performed well at longer distances.

We also created a guest network and tested the router with it. We found that the guest network had no access to our home network. It also protected our shared USB HDD with all our personal data. It is because the Wi-Fi connection was secured with WPA/WPA2 security.

Design

The Netgear RT6080 (Ac1000) has an attractive design. It has a black finish, which does not leave fingerprints. When you look at the front of the router, you will see there are 4 LED indicators for Power, WLAN, LAN, and Wi-Fi.

The dimensions of the Netgear RT6080 (Ac1000) are 7.2 x 5.4 x 1.8 inches. The weight of the router is 0.55 pounds or 250 grams.

On the backside of the Netgear R6080 router, you will see 4 Gigabit LAN ports, A Wan Port, a WPS button, a Reset button, and a Power ON-OFF button. The Netgear R6080 has no USB port, which we think is the biggest disadvantage of this router.

There are two antennas positioned in the rear panel of the router. In addition to the antennas, the back panel has a Reset/WPS button, which is used for rebooting the router and connecting to the WPS-enabled devices. It depends on how long you press the button. The manufacturer suggests pressing the button for 5 seconds to reset the router.

Hardware

The Netgear R6080 (Ac1000) is an older model that uses the AC wireless standard. It has MediaTek SoC with 580 MHz CPU with flash memory of about 8 Mb and 64 MB of RAM. The WLAN hardware is MediaTek MT7612E and MT7628A.

The CPU is an older model, which is only MHz. However, it still powers the wireless capability and allows the user to achieve up to 700 Mbps on 5 GHz radio frequency band. At the same time, you can achieve 300 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band.

Installation

The installation of Netgear R6080 (Ac1000) Wi-Fi router is not easy. You have to follow a few steps to install the router. You can connect to the Wi-Fi networks of the router or use a wired connection. If you want to set up your PC to use a static IP, you can change the settings of the PC so that it uses DHCP.

The first step is to connect the router to the computer using an Ethernet cable. You must join the Local area network (LAN) of the router. To connect your PC to the router using an Ethernet cable, you must ensure that the Wi-Fi router receives the power.

Secondly, connect the Ethernet cable to the PC port and then connect the other end to any of the 4 Ethernet ports. This way, your PC will be connected to LAN. You will see a message on your display screen notifying that the Ethernet cable has connected successfully.

Next, join the Wi-Fi network and choose either the WPS or the manual method to add a Wi-Fi device, for instance, your laptop, an iPad, smartphone, or a gaming device. You want to connect the Wi-Fi device to the router and for this, you can use the app to manage the Wi-Fi connections.

The app will scan all Wi-Fi networks in the home. Carefully look at the network and select it. Now, enter the Wi-Fi password and click the connect button. You will see that the device is connected to the router’s Wi-Fi network.

What We Liked

• Stylish Design
• Dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz support
• Max speed 1000 Mbps
• Affordable Price

What We didn’t Like

• Non-detachable antennas
• No MU-MIMO and Beamforming
• Complex Installation

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