Nighthawk ax3600 review: Netgear Nighthawk Mesh Wi-Fi 6 AX3600 (MK83) Review: Slick, but Insufficient

Netgear Nighthawk Mesh Wi-Fi 6 AX3600 (MK83) Review: Slick, but Insufficient

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Mesh Enters the Wi-Fi 6 Era

(Image: © Tom’s Hardware)

Tom’s Hardware Verdict

Netgear’s Wi-Fi 6 AX3600 (MK83) brings some nice features to the mesh router arena, plus ease of setup, which is often a shortcoming for mesh gear. However, the additional charge for antimalware and the poor QoS performance, as well as other issues we experienced, means that most users will be better off looking elsewhere for a mesh networking solution.

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Pros

• +

  + Compact and easy to set up

• +

  + Abundant Ethernet ports

• +

  + Smooth firmware upgrade

• +

  + WPA-3 support

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Many locations, be it a multi-story house, an attic office, or an outside patio, present challenges in getting decent wireless coverage. And with the record number of us working and learning from home, a solid Wi-Fi signal has gone from ‘nice to have,’ to the ‘gotta have it’ category. Between streaming media services and Zoom meetings for every occasion from business transactions to birthday parties, dead zones are far less intolerable than they used to be.

There is no shortage of wireless accessories to fix dead spots, including wireless extenders and powerline networks with wireless access points to get the signal where it needs to go. But rather than going crazy trying to get all this gear to play well together, which can be a time sink even for a network expert and a significant challenge for novices, a simpler solution these days (though it’s often far from cheap) is a mesh networking kit. With a mesh kit, the manufacturer has done the heavy lifting, put multiple wireless units in one nice box that are all compatible and designed to work together out of the box,with a single set of directions to get it all up and running.

That’s what we’re looking at with the Netgear Nighthawk Mesh Wi-Fi 6 AX3600 (MK83) system. It consists of three pieces: a router and two satellites, which technically makes it a ‘Hub and spoke’ system rather than the ‘True mesh’ which has all identical wireless nodes. But purist considerations aside, this setup promises to cover 6,750 square feet of wireless goodness with Wi-Fi 6 speeds.

• Netgear Nighthawk Mesh Wi-Fi 6 AX3600 (MK83) at Amazon for $299.92

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The AX3600 comes as a three- or a four-piece system (we tested the former, MK83), with the option to add additional satellites if you need to cover more space. Each is composed of glossy black plastic sides with a textured top (which reminds me of the classic 80’s arcade game Q*bert), measuring 5.51 x 5.51 x 3.62 inches, with the router and the satellites having identical dimensions, and weighing 1.4 pounds for each of the three units. The glossy plastic tends to pick up fingerprints and smudges easily, so we’d strongly prefer textured plastic here.

The router (center in the image above) has three Gigabit Ethernet ports and a single WAN port. The simple way to tell the router apart from the satellite boxes is that the satellite (above left) has no WAN and just two LAN ports. The latter is a nifty feature to have to connect wired equipment (like set-top boxes or consoles) to the satellite access point.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

While there are no external antennas, each unit has five internal antennas. There is a single LED that glows blue when connected, flashes white when booting, and orange when ready to sync. Unfortunately, the light cannot be turned off, making this less than ideal for a bedroom application (unless you want to put a piece of black electrical tape over the LED).

Specifications

Both the router and the satellite units use a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor, and the router has 256 MB of flash memory for storage and 512 MB of RAM. The wireless is tri-band, that is Wi-Fi 6 AX3600 (5 GHz 1800 Mbps + 5 GHz 1200 Mbps + 2.4 GHz 600Mbps). This sums up to 3600 Mbps of theoretical bandwidth, hence the name of this kit, however it strikes us as odd to have two different bandwidths for the 5 GHz radios. Also, it is unclear if one of these is the backhaul between the router and a satellite, which would then be a bottleneck to the faster 5 GHz speed, unless directly connected to the router.

At least on paper, the AX3600 does have all of the wireless features that you would expect from a higher end piece of home networking gear—the three-piece kit we tested currently sells for just under $400. The list is lengthy, and covers MU-MIMO for simultaneous data streaming, explicit beamforming on both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies, OFDMA for both uplink and downlink and seven-stream WiFi for 4K video streaming.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The AX3600 does have QoS (Quality of Service) that can be toggled on, along with a “Performance optimization database.” We also went through the SpeedTest to identify the available bandwidth, to then have this mesh kit optimize it. That said, there is absolutely no control over the QoS, either by the type of traffic (such as to give video streaming or gaming priority), or to be able to give a specific device priority, such as a gaming rig. We think this deficit in granular control at least partially explains the poor QoS performance below. But first, let’s get the system up and routing.

Setup

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Mesh systems can often be a drudgery to set up, but the AX3600 performed well in this area. While it can also be done with a smartphone app, we proceeded via the web interface, and it was pretty painless.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

As part of the setup, the system’s firmware was upgraded to the latest available. This is an important step to ensure that the latest patches have been applied and any known security holes have been addressed.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

With the router connected and chugging, the next step is to add the satellites to the system. This was easier than most mesh systems, as we just had to plug in the satellite, wait for the flashing white LED to turn orange, and then hit the ‘Sync’ button on the satellite, followed by the ‘Sync’ button in the software, and then the satellite was all configured.

Security

The AX3600 does support WPA-3, the latest encryption standard, which is becoming increasingly important as all the previous standards have been cracked at this point.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The AX3600 does support network level antimalware security, which is termed “Netgear Armor” here. But while there is a free trial, it’s limited to 30 days, even on this top end mesh kit. Beyond that, you’re looking at an annual subscription for an additional cost of $69. 99 (although it’s currently on sale for less). Purchasers should factor this into the cost of the AX3600, because some competing products have network-level antivirus for the life of the product without an additional cost.

Performance

Right off the bat, we experienced connection issues. An Acer Aspire laptop we had with a Wi-Fi 6 card (AX201, driver version 22.40.0.7) was completely unable to connect to the router. We did discover that this was not the latest Intel driver for this card, which was subsequently upgraded to 22.60.0.6, but this didn’t solve the problem. Our testing was done with our standard Asus gaming laptop, model G512L, which also uses the same AX201 card, although did not have any connection issues.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Header Cell — Column 0	2.4 GHz near	2.4 GHz far	5 GHz near	5 GHz far
Bandwidth (Mbps)	unable	unable	315. 2	286.7

The AX3600 sends out a single SSID, and we were not able to separate it into separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz signals. Therefore, we were unable to test throughput on the 2.4 GHz frequency. The 5 GHz speeds we obtained of 315.2 Mbps on the near test and 286.7 Mbps on the far test are decent, but nothing exceptional among Wi-Fi 6 gear.

Testing Configuration

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Testing Configuration	QoS	FRAPS avg	min	max	8k dropped frames	Pingplotter spikes	Latency (Overwatch ms)
Ethernet	no	119. 8	100	142	n/a	0	69
Ethernet + 10 8k videos	no	36	0	82	16.20%	6	189
Ethernet + 10 8k videos	yes	20.2	2	42	34.80%	13	124
Router only 5 GHz	no	126.2	103	152	n/a	0	67
Router only 5 GHz	no	13. 4	0	51	3.40%	1	151
5 GHz + 10 8k videos	yes	16.1	0	59	50.80%	1	118
Satellite (5 GHz)	no	136.1	107	163	n/a	1	68
Satellite + 10 8k videos	no	24.9	0	50	9.20%	0	100
Satellite + 10 8k videos	yes	37. 6	0	90	17.80%	3	87

Stress testing the AX3600 mesh kit proved to be an exercise in disappointment, with a nearly nonexistent QoS that resulted in low frame rates on our game of Overwatch, and a high percentage of dropped frames. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Things started out reasonably well. When connected via the Ethernet cable, the frame rate of 119.8 was solid, with a low in-game latency of 69 ms. However, when we added in the ten 8K streaming videos, we saw the frame rate drop to 36.0 FPS, and at points the game froze with a frame rate of zero. We also had the latency rise to 189 ms, with a dropped frame rate on our streaming videos of 16.2%, plus six PingPlotter spikes. Turning on the QoS did nothing for us—in fact the FPS went even lower to 20.2, and the dropped frames on the video stream went even higher to 34.8%, for an overall worse performance.

In short, the AX3600 mesh kit performed poorly in a congested environment, and the QoS did not effectively manage the congestion. This then was replicated when connected via 5 GHz directly to the router, and additionally when we connected to the satellite unit.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

In terms of looks and advertised features, the Netgear Nighthawk Mesh Wi-Fi 6 AX3600 (MK83) sounds promising. But factor in the price, plus our experience with it on a congested network, and the AX3600 becomes a fairly poor value, with an MSRP of $499 and a current street price of $396. At that price, this gear is clearly in the high end of routers and mesh kits, and the performance on both throughput and congested testing is lacking.

Price aside, the AX3600 does have some pluses, such as the ease of setup, automatic firmware upgrade on setup, the support for the WPA-3 security, and the compact size of the units. But put together the high price with the lack of effective QoS, the unexceptional throughput, and the additional charge for antimalware protection, and it becomes clear that there are better options out there. Hopefully Netgear can take what works from the AX3600 and build on this experience going forward.

Netgear Nighthawk Mesh Wi-Fi 6 AX3600 (MK83): Price Comparison

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Jonas P. DeMuro is a freelance reviewer covering wireless networking hardware.

Netgear MK83 Review: A Tawdry Mesh Set

Important note

In late December 2021, I realized that Netgear had been quietly and retrospectively removing major features from its existing Nighthawk and Orbi devices via firmware updates, effectively reducing the hardware’s capability.

I published this review before that time. Consequently, while the hands-on experience remains largely relevant, the rating or recommendation might no longer fully apply.

The Netgear MK83 Nighthawk Tri-band Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System, first announced on March 16, 2021, sure seems an upgrade to the previous Dual-band MK63 model. It has an additional 5GHz band and, therefore, more bandwidth.

But on the inside, it’s pretty much the same as its lesser cousin, from Wi-Fi settings, and features to real-world speeds due to its equally modest hardware and the Orbi-like dedicated backhaul band. That said, consider part of this review the MK83 vs MK63 matchup.

The bottom line is this new MK83 has nothing exciting. But if you’re looking for a reasonably easy mesh system that can handle around 300Mbps for a large home that’s not wired, it’s a decent buy at $400 for a 3-pack.

For a wired home, though, consider the MK63 or the Asus ZenWiFi AX Mini instead. You’ll get a much better bang for your buck even after adding a switch or two.

Dong’s note: I first published this post as a new piece on March 16, 2021, when the MK83 was announced. On July 22, I upgraded it to a full review after hands-on testing and real-world experience and subsequently updated it further as you’ll see in the performance section.

Netgear MK83 Nighthawk System is available as a 3-pack.

Table of Contents

1

Netgear MK83 Nighthawk: A shiny yet muted tri-band mesh system

I was pretty excited when I first learned about the MK83 a couple of months ago. After all, this is the second EasyMesh set on the market. And it’s a tri-band, so it must be better than the MK63 dual-band model, right?

Well, not really. The two are not that different after all.

Netgear MK83: Larger, shinier hardware that gets dirty fast

Similar to the MK63, the MK83 comes in three identical-looking hardware pieces, including a router (MR80) and two satellites (MS80). Each unit is about 35% larger than those of the MK63.

Thanks to the bigger physical size, though, the new mesh now has more ports. Specifically, you get one WAN and their LANs on the route and two LANs on the satellite. More ports are always nice.

However, what sure is not nice is the mirror-like shininess of each hardware piece, which quickly attracts dirt and fingerprints. That is where larger means bigger problem.

Indeed, I opened the package in my backyard, and the moment I removed the plastic that wrapped around each unit, the hardware became dirty almost instantly with all sorts of tiny particles stuck to it.

The more I tried to clean it with a towel, the dirtier it became. It was maddening. You might note that in the photos below.

Netgear MK83 Nighthawk: Detail photos

The Netgear MK83 Nighthawk includes two hardware types, an MR80 router (bottom) and two MS80 satellites.

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The top of each hardware unit is the same across the board.

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The back of each unit, router (left) vs satellite, is where they differentiate. Note the number of ports and the shiny surfaces that are dirt magnets.

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The underside of the hardware units, router (left) vs satellite.

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The Netgear MK83 Nighthawk comes with standard power adapters and a single network cable.

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Netgear Nighthawk MK83 vs MK63: Similarly low-key Wi-Fi

Similar to the MK63, the new MK83 system has low Wi-Fi specs and modest processing power.

For one, its additional 5GHz-2 band (which is its only advantage) is an oddball 3×3 AX with a ceiling speed of 1800Mbps. And so far, there are no 3×3 Wi-Fi 6 clients (yet) but just 2×2 devices. So this band will still capt at 1200Mbps.

But that’s a bit irrelevant since this in my trial; this band worked as the dedicated backhaul at all times — it linked the routers and satellite units together.

(Netgear hasn’t confirmed this, but it seems that its EasyMesh shares the same dedicated backhaul approach as the Orbi brand, where the 5GHz-2 band is never available to clients, even when you use wired backhauls.)

What’s most disappointing is this band has a terrible real-world performance — more in the performance section below.

So, in most cases, the MK83 will deliver similar throughputs to the MK63. In a wireless setup, it might be able to handle a few more simultaneous 5Ghz clients, but that’s about it.

Finally, like the MK63, the MK83 also doesn’t support the venerable 160MHz channel width, nor does it have Multi-Gig ports or a USB port. There’s no dual-WAN or Link Aggregation, either.

In short, despite being a Tri-band, the MK83 is a very modest mesh system, no matter how you look at it.

Netgear Nighthawk MK83 vs MK63: Hardware specifications

Full Name	Netgear MK83 Nighthawk Tri-band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System	Netgear MK63 Nighthawk Dual-band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System
Mesh Set	One Router + Two Satellites	One Router + Two Satellites
Hardware Model	Router: MR80 Satellite: MS80	Router: MR60 Satellite: MS60
Wi-Fi Designation	Tri-band AX3600 (2x 5GHz and 1x 2. 4GHz)	Dual-band AX1800 (5GHz and 2.4GHz)
Dimensions (Each Unit)	5.51 x 5.51 x 3.62 in (14 x14 x 9.2 cm)	4.8 x 4.8 x 2.5 in  (12.19 x 12.19 x 6.35 cm)
Weight	Router (MR80): 1.4 lbs (635 grams) Satellite (MS80): 1.38 lbs (626 grams)	0.63 lb (286 grams) (Router or Satellite)
5GHz-1 Wi-Fi Specs	2×2 AX: Up to 1200Mbps (20 / 40 / 80MHz)	2×2 AX: Up to 1200Mbps Channel Width: 20 / 40 / 80MHz
5GHz-2 Wi-Fi Specs	3×3 AX: Up to 1800Mbps (20 / 40 / 80MHz)	None
2.4GHz Wi-Fi Specs	2 x 2 Wi-Fi 6  up to 600Mbps (20 / 40MHz)	2 x 2 Wi-Fi 6  Up to 600Mbps (20 / 40MHz)
Dedicated Backhaul Band	5GHz-2	None
Wired Backhaul	Yes	Yes
Wi-Fi Security	WPA3 / WPA2 / WPA	WPA3 / WPA2 / WPA
Backward Compatibility	802. 11b/a/g/n/ac	802.11b/a/g/n/ac
Mobile App	Netgear Nighthawk	Netgear Nighthawk
Web User Interface	Yes	Yes
AP Mode	Yes  (as a single unit or a mesh)	Yes  (as a single unit or a mesh)
USB Port	None	None
Gigabit Port	Router (MR80): 1x WAN, 3x LAN Satellite (MS80): 2x LAN	Router (MR80): 1x WAN/LAN, 1x LAN Satellite (MS80): 1x LAN
Link Aggregation	No	No
Dual-WAN	No	No
Processing Power	Quad-Code 1. 5GHz CPU,  256MB flash, 512MB RAM	Quad-Code 1.5GHz CPU,  128MB Flash and 256MB RAM
Warranty	1-Year	1-Year
Release Date	March 16, 2021	July 27, 2020
Price (at launch)	$499 (3-pack)	$280 (3-pack)

Hardware specifications: Netgear Nighthawk MK83 vs MK63

Neutered local web interface with mobile app coercion

With the MK83, it’s clear that Netgear has moved further in the mobile app coercion direction. The system has the familiar local web interface, but the networking vendor wants you to opt for the Nighthawk mobile app instead.

Here’s Netgear’s effort to steer users away from the web interface and lure them into getting a login account.

Specifically, when accessing the router’s web interface, you’ll be prompt to download the Nighthawk app, which requires a login account with Netgear.

And if you choose to proceed with the interface, the setup process would take you to a web page where you can log in with a Netgear account. Basically, unless you pay attention, you’d think that you must do that for the mesh to work.

Also, I noted that the interface wasn’t accessible via the default IP address, 192.168.1.1, anymore. Instead, I must use the routerlogin.net domain, which will ping Netgear each time.

And finally, while the router supports Dynamic DNS and port forwarding, it no longer has remote web management. So, the only way you can manage your network remotely is via the Nighthawk mobile app, which is a privacy concern.

Other than the shenanigans above, the web interface still includes a fair set of features for you to configure a network to a great extent and proves to be a much better way to manage the MK83 than the mobile app.

Buggy mobile app, pre-synced hardware

Indeed, the Nighthawk mobile app is far from good enough to deserve your attention.

For one, I tried using it for the setup process and ran into a lot of hiccups. There’s a function where you can use the phone’s camera to scan a QR quote to add the router, but it never worked.

On the other hand, the app kept bugging me to activate the Netgear Armor protection suite, which costs $70/year. So, I’d recommend you skip the app entirely unless you want to check on your home network when you’re out and about.

By the way, when it comes to getting the MK83 up and running, there’s a silver lining. Like the MK63’s case, the MK83’s hardware is pre-synced. As a result, you’d only need to set up the router unit. After that, plug the satellite in and place them around the house, and your mesh is ready.

The Netgear MK83’s Wi-Fi setting page within its web interface

Limited Wi-Fi settings

Like the MK63, the MK83 doesn’t have a lot of Wi-Fi settings. The only thing you can do is name the Wi-Fi network, pick a password/encryption method (WPA, WPA2, or WPA3), and the channel for each band. There’s nothing else.

As a result, I tested the mesh with a single SSID since there’s no way to separate the bands or force a device to connect to a particular band, be it the 2.4GHz or 5GHz.

In short, again, the MK83 is extremely similar to the MK63 in terms of network/Wi-Fi settings and features. In fact, the two are the same on this front.

Netgear MK83 Nighthawk Mesh: Reliable but subduced performance

Considering the MK83’s hardware specs, I didn’t expect much from its Wi-Fi throughputs. Yet, it still managed to disappoint me.

It was definitely the slowest among all tri-band Wi-Fi 6 mesh I’ve seen, as shown in the performance charts below. It was even slower than the MK63 in some tests.

And that’s because its dedicated wireless backhaul band (the 5GHz-2) was rather terrible.

I hook a computer to an MS80 satellite unit via a network cable to find out this backhaul speed. This satellite, by the way, was placed 40 feet (12m) from the router within the line of sight.

Now via a Gigabit connection, I got a sustained speed of around 400Mbps. And that was the max real-world bandwidth you could get out of an MS80 satellite in the intended wireless setup.

Even in a wired setup, the performance of the MK83’s satellite wasn’t better than that of the MK63, either. That’s because both capped at 1200Mbs of negotiated speed.

The MK83 did have slightly better coverage than the MK63. It’s hard to put this in numbers, but the mesh can handle some 5000 ft² (465 m²) when strategically placed around the house. Obviously, your mileage will vary depending on the layout of your home.

As for signal reliability, the MK83 passed my 3-day stress test with no disconnection. So, it was reliable enough.

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Update: Hardware failure in extended testing

In my extended anecdotal test, one of the MS80 units failed after three months. It disconnected from the system, flashed a white light constantly and there was nothing I could do to make it work. (If this happens to you, you’d need a replacement.)

While that might have been a fluke, this is the first mesh system that has failed this type of hardware reliability test in such a short time. For this reason, on October 20, 2021, I downgraded the rating and remove the system from my recommended list.

The rest of the review remains unchanged.

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Note, though, that this mesh didn’t work well with legacy devices. Specifically, my 1st Gen (pre-Wave 2) Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 4 devices rarely connected to the 5GHz band, but only the 2.4GHz. As a result, they all had slow speeds.

And there was nothing I could do to improve the situation since the MK83 has close to zero Wi-Fi customizability.

Performance

6.5 out of 10

Features

7 out of 10

Design and Setup

7. 5 out of 10

Value

5.5 out of 10

Pros

Extensive Wi-Fi coverage with reliable signals

Full web interface with optional mobile app

Dedicated backhaul band with optional wired backhaul

Simple settings, pre-synced hardware

Cons

Modest Wi-Fi specs, slow performance

Lacks Wi-Fi settings, no 160 MHz channel width

Mobile app and Netgear account coercion, no remote web management

No multi-gig port, Dual-WAN or Link Aggregation

Online protection require a mobile app and is not free

Dirt magnet, not wall-mountable hardware

One satellite unit fails the extended anecdotal hardware reliability test

Conclusion

The Netgear MK83 Nighthawk is not a bad Tri-band mesh system, but it sure is a disappointment considering it’s supposed to be a step-up from the older MK63 model. I had a hard time finding something noteworthy about it.

In all, the little gain in the extra Wi-Fi band and shininess is far from enough to justify the more than $100 additional cost compared to the MK63, especially for a wired home.

On top of that, the lack of a Dynamic DNS-based remote management can be a deal-breaker for advanced users.

If you have a sub-500Mbps broadband connection, this system will still work out well. But for $400, I don’t see why you shouldn’t check out these alternatives, instead.

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Netgear MK83 Review (versus MK63): Tasteless Tri-Band Alternative

First announced on March 16, 2021, the Netgear MK83 Nighthawk Tri-Band Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System really feels like an upgrade from the previous dual-band MK63 model. It has another 5GHz band and therefore more bandwidth.

But inside it’s very similar to its little brother, from Wi-Fi settings, features to actual speeds thanks to equally modest hardware and a dedicated backhaul lane like the Orbi. However, consider part of this MK83 vs MK63 match review.

The bottom line is that there is nothing exciting about this new MK83. But if you’re looking for a reasonably simple mesh system that can handle around 300Mbps for a large wired home, this is a worthy buy at $400 for a 3-pack.

However, for a secure home, consider the MK63 or Asus ZenWiFi AX Mini instead. You’ll get much better value for money even after adding a switch or two.

Dong note:

Netgear MK83 Nighthawk: a shiny but subdued tri-band mesh system

I was very excited when I first heard about the MK83 a couple of months ago. After all, this is the second EasyMesh kit on the market. And it’s tri-band, so it should be better than the dual-band model MK63, right?

Well, not exactly. After all, the two aren’t that different after all.

Netgear MK83: Bigger, shinier gear that gets dirty quickly

Like the MK63, the MK83 consists of three identical hardware components, including a router (MR80) and two satellites (MS80). Each unit is approximately 35% larger than the MK63.

But due to the larger physical size, the new network now has more ports. In particular, you get one global network and their local network on the route and two local networks on the satellite. More ports are always good.

What’s not nice is the specular sheen of each iron, which quickly attracts dirt and fingerprints. Here, more means bigger problems.

I actually opened the package in my backyard, and the moment I removed the plastic that wrapped each unit, the equipment almost immediately became dirty with all sorts of small particles stuck to it.

The more I tried to clean it with a towel, the dirtier it got. It was crazy. You can see it in the photos below.

Netgear MK83 Nighthawk Detailed Images

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The back of each unit is where they stand out. Pay attention to the number of doors and shiny surfaces that attract dirt.

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The lower part of the hardware units.

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Netgear Nighthawk MK83 vs. MK63: Similar Discreet Wi-Fi

Like the MK63, the new MK83 system has poor Wi-Fi performance and modest processing power.

First, its extra 5GHz-2 band (which is its only advantage) is an odd 3×3 AX clocked at 1800Mbps. And while there are no 3×3 Wi-Fi 6 clients (yet), but only 2×2 devices. So that tape will still be 1200 Mbps.

But that’s a little out of place because it’s in my trial; this band always acted as a dedicated backhaul — it connected routers and satellite devices together.

(Netgear has not confirmed this, but it appears that its EasyMesh shares the same dedicated backhaul strategy as the Orbi brand, where the 5GHz-2 band is never available to customers, even when using a wired backhaul.)

What the most disappointing thing is that this band has a terribly real performance — more in the performance section below.

So in most cases MK83 provides the same throughput as MK63. In a wireless setup, it can handle a few more simultaneous 5Ghz clients, but that’s about it.

Finally, like the MK63, the MK83 does not support the venerable 160 MHz channel width, nor does it have multi-gigabit ports or a USB port. There is also no dual WAN or link aggregation.

In short, despite being a Tri-band, the MK83 is a very modest mesh system no matter how you look at it.

Netgear Nighthawk MK83 vs MK63 Hardware Specifications

Full Name	Netgear MK83 Nighthawk Tri-band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System	Netgear MK63 Nighthawk Dual Band Wi-Fi 6 Mesh System
Mesh set	One router + two satellites	One router + two satellites
Hardware model	Router: MR80 Satellite: MS80	Router: MR60 Satellite: MS60
Wi-Fi designation	Tri-band AX3600 (2x 5 GHz and 1x 2. 4 GHz)	Dual-band AX1800 (5 GHz and 2.4 GHz)
Dimensions (each unit)	5.51 x 5.51 x 3.62 inches (14 x 14 x 9.2 cm)	4.8 x 4.8 x 2.5 inches (12.19 x 12.19 x 6.35 cm)
Weight	Router (MR80): 1.4 lb (635 grams) Satellite (MS80): 1.38 lb (626 grams)	0.63 lb (286 grams) (Router or Satellite)
Specification Wi-Fi 5 GHz-1	2 × 2 AX: up to 1200 Mbps (20/40/80 MHz)	2 × 2 AX: up to 1200 Mbps Channel width: 20/40/80 MHz
Specification Wi-Fi 5 GHz-2	3 × 3 AX: up to 1800 Mbps (20/40/80 MHz)	No
2.4 GHz Wi-Fi specifications	2 x 2 Wi-Fi 6 up to 600 Mbps (20/40 MHz)	2 x 2 Wi-Fi 6 Up to 600 Mbps (20/40 MHz)
Dedicated hop range	5GHz-2	No
Wired transport network	yes	yes
Wi-Fi security	WPA3/WPA2/WPA	WPA3/WPA2/WPA
Backwards compatible	802. 11b/a/g/n/ac	802.11b/a/g/n/ac
Mobile application	Netgear Nighthawk	Netgear Nighthawk
Internet user interface	yes	yes
AP mode	yes (as standalone device or network)	yes (as standalone device or network)
USB connector	No	No
Gigabit port	Router (MR80): 1x WAN, 3x LAN Satellite (MS80): 2x LAN	Router (MR80): 1x WAN/LAN, 1x LAN Satellite (MS80): 1x LAN
Link aggregation	No	No
Dual WAN	No	No
Process power	Quad-core 1. 5 GHz, 256 MB Flash, 512 MB RAM	Quad-core 1.5 GHz, 128 MB flash and 256 MB RAM
Warranty	1 year	1 year
Production date	March 16, 2021	July 27, 2020
Price (at launch)	$499 (3 packs)	$280 (3 packs)

Castrated local web interface with mobile app forcing

With the MK83, it’s clear that Netgear has gone further in the direction of forcing mobile apps. The system has a familiar local web interface, but your network provider wants you to choose the Nighthawk mobile app instead.

Here is an attempt by Netgear to distract users from the web interface and encourage them to get a login account.

In particular, when you access the router’s web interface, you will be prompted to download the Nighthawk application, which requires a Netgear account.

And if you choose to continue with the interface, the installation process will take you to a web page where you can log in with your Netgear account. Basically, if you’re not paying attention, you might think that you need to do this in order for the network to work.

I also noticed that the interface is no longer reachable at the default IP address, 192.168.1.1. Instead, I have to use a domain that Netgear pings every time.

Finally, although the router supports dynamic DNS and port forwarding, it no longer has remote network management. So the only way to control the network remotely is through the Nighthawk mobile app, which is a privacy issue.

Apart from the above, the web interface still contains a sufficient set of functions for setting up the network to a large extent and proves to be a much better way to handle MK83 than the mobile app.

Glitchy mobile app, pre-synced hardware

Nighthawk’s mobile app isn’t really good enough to warrant your attention.

I first tried to use it for the installation process and encountered many failures. There is a feature where you can use your phone’s camera to scan a QR code to add a router, but it never worked.

On the other hand, the app kept preventing me from activating the $70/year Netgear Armor protection package. Therefore, I would recommend that you skip the app entirely if you don’t want to check your home network when you’re not at home.

By the way, when it comes to getting the MK83 up and running, there’s a silver lining. As with the MK63, the MK83’s hardware is pre-synced. As a result, you only need to configure the router. After that, connect the satellites and place them around the house, and your network is ready.

Limited Wi-Fi settings

Like the MK63, the MK83 does not have many Wi-Fi settings. All you can do is name the Wi-Fi network, choose a password/encryption method (WPA, WPA2 or WPA3) and a channel for each band. There is nothing else.

As a result, I tested the network with one SSID, because there is no way to split the bands or force the device to connect to a specific band, whether it be 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz.

In short, again, the MK83 is very similar to the MK63 in terms of network/Wi-Fi settings and features. In fact, in this respect they are the same.

Netgear MK83 Nighthawk Mesh: Reliable but sub-par performance

Given the MK83’s hardware specs, I wasn’t expecting much from its Wi-Fi capabilities. However, he managed to disappoint me.

This was definitely the slowest of all the tri-band Wi-Fi 6 networks I’ve seen, as shown in the performance charts below. In some tests it was even slower than the MK63.

And that’s because his dedicated wireless band (5GHz-2) was pretty terrible.

I am connecting my computer to the MS80 satellite unit with a network cable to find out this baud rate. By the way, this satellite was at a distance of 40 feet (12 m) from the router within sight.

I now have a sustained speed of about 400 Mbps over the gigabit connection. And that was the maximum real throughput you could get from the MS80 satellite in the intended wireless setup.

Even in a wired installation, the satellite performance of MK83 was not better than that of MK63. This is because both are limited to a negotiated speed of 1200Mbps.

MK83 had slightly better coverage than MK63. It’s hard to quantify, but the network can handle about 5,000 feet2 (465 m2) when strategically placed around a home. Obviously your mileage will vary depending on the layout of your home.

In terms of signal reliability, the MK83 passed my 3-day stress test without shutting down. So it was pretty reliable.

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Update :

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Note, however, that this grid did not work well with older devices. Specifically, my 1st gen (pre-wave 2) Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 4 devices rarely connect to the 5GHz band, only 2.4GHz. As a result, they all had low speeds.

And there was nothing I could do to improve the situation, because the MK83 has almost zero Wi-Fi adaptability.

Conclusion The

Netgear MK83 Nighthawk is a poor tri-band mesh system, but it’s really disappointing considering it should be a step up from the old MK63 model. I hardly found anything remarkable in it.

Overall, the small gain in extra Wi-Fi bandwidth and gloss is far from enough to justify the extra $100+ over the MK63, especially for a fixed home.

Also, the lack of DNS-based dynamic remote management can be a hindrance for advanced users.

If you have a broadband connection below 500 Mbps, this system will still work well. But for $400, I don’t see why you shouldn’t check out those options instead.

Are you looking for other Wi-Fi solutions? Check them all out here.

Flagship Router for $100 —

Any user needs a powerful and modern Wi-Fi router, both for home and office. Today I have a very interesting device on review called Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600.

This is the latest sixth generation of Wi-Fi router, earlier I talked about a slightly simplified version of Xiaomi Mi Router AX1800, and you can learn more about it at the link below.

If you are looking to buy a professional and powerful router, then the new AIoT Router AX3600 is the right choice for you. But do not forget about the cost, which is almost twice the Mi Router AX1800 model.

The AX3600 now starts at $100, and for that price you get a wide range of features and functions.

Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 16% OFF

Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 16% OFF

$102.86

$122.45

Buy

Aliexpress

The new device from Xiaomi is considered the flagship in the category of routers, it is powered by a quad-core processor from Qualcomm and a dual-core network accelerator. It is also worth noting that the device has two bands — 2.4 and 5 GHz and operates according to the a / b / g / n / ac / ax standard.

Before I talk about the real performance of the new flagship router, I would like to share my impression of what comes in the box and the appearance of the device.

Content

1. Xiaomi Aiotr Ax3600: Characteristics
2. Packing
3. Design
4. Features
5. Connection
6. Speed ​​
8. CONCULITIONS and CONTRACTIONS INFORMATIONS AND HOUSE CONCLUM
9. Competitors and Alternative
10. Video reviews and speed tests:

Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600: Specs

Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600
Processor	IPQ8071A A53 quad-core 64-bit 1.0 GHz + core module 1.7 GHz
RAM	256 MB
Memory	512 MB
Band	2.4 GHz, 5 GHz
Antenna	6xExternal high gain antennas + 1xAloT Antenna
Operating system	MiWiFi ROM operating system smart router based on OpenWRT deep customization
Wireless standard	IEEE 802. 11a/b/g/n/ac/ax, IEEE802.3/3u/3ab
Price:	$102

Unpacking

The device comes in a fairly large package, where on the front you can see the image of the router, the model name and the main features.

Inside the box I found the router itself, there is also a 24W power adapter and an Ethernet cable and instructions for use.

One drawback is the Chinese version of the device, so all labels and instructions are only in Chinese.

Design

As you might have guessed, the router itself is quite impressive in size and will be easy to spot in any interior of your apartment, home or office.

The case is made of black matte plastic, and on the side and bottom faces there are special ventilation holes for better cooling.

On the front of the Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 there are two indicators — this is the status of the device and the network. There is also a stamped model name and brand logo.

The reverse side of the router has 1 GIG WAN port and three additional LAN ports. Nearby is a power connector and an additional reset button for resetting to factory settings.

The bottom of the cabinet has four anti-slip feet and a perforated grill for effective cooling.

It is worth noting that the router practically does not heat up during operation, and you can observe the exit of warm air through the holes.

There are seven non-removable antennas with a six-channel signal amplifier on the case. Two antennas operate at a frequency of 2.4 GHz, and the rest at a frequency of 5 GHz.

The center antenna is called AIoT and has a built-in blue LED. This antenna is designed to automatically detect various Xiaomi smart home devices and connect them with a single touch.

The last function is quite convenient, so now you do not need to enter the password for the router, as the router will automatically transfer all the necessary data to pair with Xiaomi devices.

As for the look of the new router, I liked the build quality and materials used. The disadvantages I can attribute are the lack of an additional USB connection and a rather bulky size.

Functions and features

The main feature of the new Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 is Wi-Fi 6 support and a set of modern technologies such as OFDMA and MU-MIMO. Therefore, data transfer is carried out by several streams simultaneously for all users.

Qualcomm’s IPQ8071A quad-core chipset, clocked at 1 GHz, is installed inside the case. In addition, there is a dual-core NPU network accelerator with a frequency of 1.7GHz. As for the amount of memory, everything is fine here, the device has 256 MB of RAM and 512 MB of internal memory.

With powerful performance, the maximum speed is up to 2976Mb/s. Also, the router is able to distribute the Internet simultaneously to 256 different devices.

OFDMA technology helps to send several data streams in one common data array.

Connecting

When connecting for the first time, many users will face a strong problem, since the Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 is designed for the Chinese market. All device settings will be in Chinese.

But it’s not worth worrying about temporarily, I can advise you to use Google Chrome to configure the router, which will automatically translate Chinese into English, Russian or any other.

The first thing to do is set up the network for 2.4 and 5 GHz. In the router settings menu, you can set automatic detection of the best signal depending on your provider or set all settings manually.

I would like to note a new feature of the router — the presence of a third-generation security protocol. Also after the update, the router began to support a bandwidth of 160 MHz.

In the general settings of the router, you can find the following network settings — these are static and dynamic IP and connection via PPPoE.

Advanced settings offer the following features — organic network speeds, DDNS server, port forwarding, VPN server and others.

Speed ​​tests

The most interesting section that I want to talk about is testing the router in real life. Will the new Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 router be as good as the manufacturer claims, let’s check.

If you look at the test picture below, you can see that the signal level and speed regardless of the distance and the number of walls are quite positive.

For example, the speed of the router was about 144 Mb / s near the router itself, and at the farthest point of the house it was about 130 Mb / s. As you can see, the deviation is small and the signal is quite stable.

My provider can’t provide stable 1 Gig internet and the maximum speed test is gaining about 650 Mb/s at 5 GHz.

Conclusion and reviews

Undoubtedly, the new flagship Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 router has a lot of potential compared to its competitors and predecessors.

In practice, the AX3600 router has a stable 2.4GHz signal with good network coverage. Also, the maximum speed at 5 GHz is pretty good, as for its price.

In addition, there are some drawbacks. For example, I can attribute them to the lack of media streaming or the so-called DLNA service, there is also no iPTV support.

For a large coverage area, I would recommend using the Mesh system from multiple devices. But if you have a small apartment or office space, then one Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 router will be enough.

Price and where to buy cheaper?

Nowadays, it is easy to find trusted sellers from China with good prices for devices, and here is one of them.