Netgear R6400 AC1750 Review

The Netgear R6400 AC1750 router is finally here. It’s the replacement for the much loved R6300 which has been with us a few years now (from 2012 actually). Well in fact a R6300 version 2 has been released since then, but this is the official replacement.

The R6400 has been given a bit of a facelift and now looks like a Nighthawk router.

Netgear have promised us that the R6400 is an improvement on its predecessor. Especially in the coverage department.

R6400 AC1750 Main

Netgear R6400 AC1750 Main
Netgear R6400 AC1750 Buy Button

Coverage sure would help. The R6300 was pretty good overall, but perhaps coverage wasn’t its strongest feature. Don’t expect the R6400 to be the best performer coverage or speed-wise either.

However, don’t let that put you off… it’s a solid mid-range AC router and copes with some pretty hardcore multi-tasking, both wired and wireless – for multiple clients.

Best router for multiple clients

So, is there anything else that we need to be aware of?

Netgear R6400 AC1750 Features

Ok, here are some of the key features that Netgear have given the R6400…

5 Features of the Netgear R6400

AC & Simultaneous Dual Band
Ok, so the R6400 is an AC1750 router. That’s 1.3Gbps on the 5GHz & a further 450 Mbps on the 2.4Ghz.

Of course, both frequencies can be run at the same time. This means that two SSID (wireless networks) will be broadcast. Always try to use the 5GHz AC if you can, to get the faster speeds.

We highly recommend using AC for any HD streaming and gaming, should wired Ethernet not be available.

Beamforming+
If your clients support it, Beamforming is a great way to increase speed, efficiency and reliability.

You see, by targeting wi-fi beamwidth in the direction of clients, rather than in all directions at all times, it’s possible to get more out of your wi-fi network.

Targeted beamwidth means that your wireless clients can roam further away from the R6400 without losing connectivity. It also means that speeds are faster at greater distances compared to not using Beamforming+.

The R6400 uses Implicit Beamforming. This means that even if your client doesn’t support Beamforming, it will send/receive traffic via the antenna closest to that particular client.

USB Ports – Two of Them
Just like its predecessor the R6300v2, the R6400 comes with two USB ports. One of them is USB 3.0 – useful for high speed access and sharing of centralized files.

The USB 3.0 port is conveniently located at the front of the router for easy access.

R6400 Ports

Netgear R6400 AC1750 Ports


Advanced QoS
Prioritizing your network traffic is very important. Not just if you share your router with other users, but also if you are the sole user on the network. Why? Because other clients will steal bandwidth (intentionally or not) and even your own device can start using that valuable Internet bandwidth.

Say for example, you’re playing an online game. You are the only user on the network. All is going well. No lag and you are fragging like a badman. Let’s say your console or PC (whatever you are playing the game on) decides to run an update in the background? Well guess what suffers…yup, you got it – your game!

By setting up QoS (Quality of Service for those of you who don’t know) you can ensure certain clients/devices and certain application/types get priority over others. This helps to make your network more efficient and ensure that you have less frustrating online experiences.

ReadyShare
What is ReadyShare? Well in a nutshell it makes sharing easy! Ok, I know you want more info than that, lol.

So there are 3 ways in which ReadyShare works

1) ReadyShare USB: Allows for easy access and sharing of your USB hard drive. Share over the wire or Wi-Fi for increased flexibility
2) ReadyShare Vault: Backup your PC or MAC software to an attached USB drive.
3) ReadyShare Printer: Print from remote locations around the home. The days of having to plug directly into your PC are now gone. Why not connect your USB printer to the R6400 and print to that. More convenient for everyone!

Airtime Fairness
Built into the Netgear R6400 is the Airtime Fairness feature. This stops older wireless device types from slowing down the faster devices.

Older devices can spend more than their fair share of time hogging Wi-Fi. By default, the R6400 ensures that all devices are equal – meaning your AC clients can get on with what they should be doing – kicking a$$ on the Wi-Fi!

More R6400 Features

A few more features within the R6400’s arsenal…

Guest Wireless
You can add a Guest Network to both the 2.4GHz band and the 5GHz band.
A Guest network allows visitors to your home or office to access the Internet, whilst keeping your local home network secure and unavailable. You can however allow guests to access your local network if that’s a requirement.

Access Control
Have control who access the Internet and when. With Parental Controls you can filter out what is available on the Internet. This can be done at a Service level or Keyword level…and based on time of course. If there are devices that should not have restricted access, these can be specified as a Trusted Computer.

DLNA
View video by attaching a USB Drive to the Netgear and then watching on any DLNA compatible device.

Netgear GENIE
Use the free Genie app to monitor and control the R6400 from your phone or tablet.

VPN Remotely
You can access the Netgear R6400 from anywhere in the world by using OpenVPN.
Using OpenVPN, it’s possible to securely access files and devices within your home network. This is very handy if you need to view or download a file sitting on your USB drive attached to the router) and you happen to be away from home.

Looks Like The Nighthawk

Netgear R6400 AC1750 Angled

Netgear R6400 AC1750 Technical Specs

  • 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
  • Simultaneous Dual Band (1.3Gbps 5GHz / 450Mbps 2.4GHz)
  • 1x 1Gbps WAN Port / 4x 1Gbps LAN Port
  • 1x USB 3.0 / 1x USB 2.0
  • 256MB RAM
  • Advanced QoS
  • Airtime Fairness
  • VPN Ready
  • WPA / WPA2

Do you agree/disagree? Why not comment below and let us know what you think…

Netgear R6400 AC1750 Main
Netgear R6400 AC1750 Buy Button

Netgear R6400 Wireless Router Default Login Details

This is a short guide to help you log into your R6400 wifi router. Note that you can also access the router with Netgear Genie.

What Is My Default R6400 IP Address?

The internal IP address of the R6400 by default is 192.168.1.1 – Netgear encourage you to log into the router by browsing to https://www.routerlogin.net or https://www.routerlogin.com – this will then bring up a username and password prompt.

How Do I Log Into The Netgear R6400?

There are default user name and password credentials to enter in order for you to log into the Netgear home screen:

Username: admin
Password: password

If any of the above is unsuccessful, we recommend you refer to the manual or contact Netgear support. You may have to conduct a factory reset of the R6400 if you do not know the user/pass.

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