Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Disclaimer: Netgear has not paid me to write this review or asked me to endorse this product (AX 8). I was fortunate enough to be selected in beta testing of this router. I am providing feedback based on 2++ months real world use of this product. Pros: 1) Awesome design 2) New Netgear GUI for setup and configuration - very easy to use and fast. I had the router setup in < 5 mins 3) Performance is decent out of the box - I expect with future firmware updates, this performance will improve more. Also performance will be better once you have matching AX clients connecting to the router 4) No wi-fi drops 5) Can handle 20 streaming clients without any issues 7) No buffering or stuttering when streaming wireless or wired 8) No dead spots in a 3500 sq feet home and coverage (3 bars) 30ft outside of house 9) Can create a single SSID which can handle both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz clients seamlessly 10) No issues connecting legacy AC wireless devices (Android and iOS) 11) No issue with VPN 12) Gigabit fiber speed test is 940mb/s up and down with a 2ms ping to testing server Cons: 1) Price 2) You will need AX clients to really take advantage of this product. AX should be taking off in 2019+ 3) You will hear the fan when you first power up the router. Also make sure you upgrade to .36 of the firmware after you setup the router to make sure fan does not stay running under normal use 4) Would have liked to see 8 gigabit ports for this price point 5) Would like to see parental controls, anti-virus add-ons in the future Overall, I am very happy with the performance of this router (even on the first beta firmware). If you have a router that is more than 4 yrs old or have a household with lots of wireless devices, this router is a good choice. The price is a bit expensive, but the router is well built. I expect performance to get better as firmware starts to mature. I have used the router every day for 2 months and it has worked flawlessly. Have not found any wi-fi dead spots in the house. Video streaming, web surfing, gaming all work without any issues.