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Looking for a Netgear Wi-Fi 6 router that’s slightly better than the RAX40 at a somewhat reasonable cost? Here’s the one you should consider, the new Nighthawk AX5400 RAX50.
Netgear Nighthawk AX5400 RAX50: The RAX120 sans multi-gig port
Appearance-wise, the new Netgear Nighthawk RAX50 router basically the RAX40 with two additional antennas. But at the retail price of some $300, it’s clearly more expensive, in fact, almost double the financial damage.
But at a closer look, you might find reasons to tolerate the high price. For one, well, it’s not the most expensive Wi-Fi 6 router on the market. And most importantly, on the inside, the RAX50 is more similar to the high-end RAX120.
Indeed, the RAX50, too, features 4×4 Wi-Fi 6 on the 5 GHz band and supports the venerable 160 MHz channel width to deliver up to 4800 Mbps.
No multi-gig port, USB 3.0, Armor ready
But the similarity ends there. Unlike the RAX120 with a 5 Gbps network port, the Nighthawk AX5400 only features Gigabit, with the usual four LANs and one WAN.
As a result, in real-world usage, the fastest wireless connection you get out of it will be 1 Gbps. However, the extra Wi-Fi bandwidth will come in handy when you have multiple concurrent active clients. Netgear says the router can handle some 25 Wi-Fi devices at the same time.
The RAX50 has one USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) port to host a storage device. On this front, it shares the same features as other USB-enabled routers from Netgear. It can work as a mini NAS server.
It’s worth noting that the RAX50 is the first Wi-Fi 6 router that has the Netgear Armor online protection feature, right out of the box. Most other Netgear Wi-Fi 6 routers will get this feature via a firmware update.
Netgear Nighthawk RAX50: Hardware specifications
Despite having more antennas, the RAX50 actually has a slightly smaller footprint than the RAX40. But it’s definitely much smaller than the RAX120, or the RAX200. In fact, it’s somewhat like those two, without the wing-shaped antennas.
| Model | RAX50 |
| Full Name | Netgear Nighthawk AX6 6-Stream AX54000 WiFi 6 Router |
| Dimensions | 11.65 x 8.11 x 2.25 inc (295.8 x 206 x 57.2 mm) |
| Weight | 1.25 lb (566 g) |
| Processing Power | 1.5 GHz triple-core proccessor, 256MB flash and 512MB RAM |
| Wi-Fi Technology | Dual-band Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) AX5400 |
| 5GHz Wi-Fi Specs | 5GHz AX: 4×4 20/40/80/160 MHz, up to 4.8 Gbps |
| 2.4GHz Wi-Fi Specs | 2.4GHz AX: 2×2 20/40 MHz up to 600 Mbps |
| Backward Compatibility | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi |
| Wireless Security | WPA, WPA2, WPA3 |
| Mobile App | Netgear Nighthawk |
| Web User Interface | Yes |
| Bridge Mode | Yes |
| AP Mode | Yes |
| USB Port | One USB 3.0 port |
| Regular Network Ports | Four Gigabit LAN port ports, one Gigabit WAN port |
| Link Aggregation | No |
| Multi-Gig Port | None |
| Suggested Retail Price | $300 |
Should I get it?
If you’re looking for frill-free Wi-Fi 6 router that has no multi-gig capability, the Nighthawk RAX50 available now. It’s worth the consideration. If you can wait, though, check back for a full review to see if it has enough to deliver for your hard-earned dollars.
Update: The long-awaited review of the RAX50 is now available here.
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