Netgear R6250-100NAS AC1600 Dual Band Wi-Fi Gigabit Router (R6250)

I have two of these. Replaced the firmware on one with "Advanced Tomato" firmware, which works perfectly on this router and unlocks a lot of its capability for managing our home network. Have used the other one for years. Fast, reliable, decent range, even nice looking with no freaky antennas sticking out all over the place. Would buy it again.

This is a quick note to say that I purchased this router 2 1/2 years ago. Not many people come back to give a status update after so long. It has been running every day since I installed it in 2016 without a single day down. I found the instructions easy to follow and it was easy to set up. (Just remember to jot down all the IDs and passwords - not only the ID and password to access the router for the internet but also the ID and password to administer the router.) The iphone-based app also works like a charm. If and when this thing dies, or if the time comes where I need something faster or with newer features, I will absolutely buy the successor to this product.Update, April 2021: it is still going strong after 4 1/2 years with never a down day, and never even a call to tech support. It’s still able to stream video to 2 devices. I can’t say that many tech products are still functional after over 4 years. Unless I hear a compelling reason, I’m going to continue with this router.

First off, the Netgear AC1600 R6250-100NAS is as good-looking as the previous recent releases from the Netgear fold. A shiny, black flat front, which beautifully disguises the computerized grunt beneath. Boasting a 800MHz dual processor, the R6250-100NAS has no problems with routing traffic in and around your network and beyond – either using the wired Gigabit ports, or the wireless network, which is capable of a combined throughput speed of 1.6Gbps. Latency and jitter test results against the Internet returned very good, which we put down to the dual processor. Only 15ms RTT for latency and 7ms jitter, which is very respectable. This was tested on an ADSL circuit.Setup is straight-forward. There is the option to use the Netgear Genie app, meaning no CD installation is required (although CD installation can be done if preferred). The Genie app is also a monitoring tool, so you can keep an eye on the performance of the R6250-100NAS from your PC, phone or tablet.We really liked the inclusion of the USB 3.0 port, which should be standard on all routers these days. However, it would have been nice to have more than one USB port. So often, users like to have a hard drive and a USB printer as shared devices.Other features that we liked were the intuitive QoS and Parental Control settings.The Netgear AC1600 R6250-100NAS is a welcome addition to the Netgear family…

Somehow it didn't really work out for our Wifi connection - maybe because we have three floors in the house? Not sure, but we bought it to enhance the connectivity, and honestly it didn't really do much. Had to return.

Work perfectly

Big improvement over the old D-Link.

Initial impressions:I had been meaning to replace my old Linksys WRT54G router for a couple of years. My initial interest in this Netgear model came from an excellent review on thewirecutter (TWC) review site. I had considered buying this router months ago, but I didn't want to spend 150 at the time. TWC has since posted a hold on this recommendation for a lower cost alternative, but I was able to grab this unit at 90 (same price as TWC value recommendation) during a lightning sale.Set-up:I have some basic networking experience and I've configured a number of routers over the years. I was able to quickly update the firmware and change SSIDs/Usernames/Passwords from the default. I haven't had time to activate the 'Guest' SSID but there is an inactive account set up out of the box. I found the menus much easier than the dated Linksys WRT menus, and the stronger hardware specs made a noticeable difference in menu load times as well as flashing the firmware. More to come...Range:Due to poor home wiring (coax for cable) I'm forced to place my modem (Motorola SurfBoard SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem) in the front corner of my home opposed to a more central location. My old Linksys struggled with getting a strong signal to the back opposite corner of the house and we also have a child monitor that runs on the same 2.4 GHz band causing signal interference with the 802.11G resulting in loss/degradation of signal. Out of the box this unit is configured with two bands enabled with unique SSIDs ( re-named the SSID so I will use generic) `wireless network' (2.4/5 GHz band) and `wireless network-5G' (5GHz band). Both SSIDs gave me a strong to full signal in the most remote portions of the house through many interior walls. I'm not sure of the exact range at the time of writing but my upper floor is a roughly 1,100 sq/ft with a 600 sq/ft bonus room (furthest point from router).Speed- Internet speed test only run via most recent Chrome browser (laptop) xfinity's speed test site. And OOKLA Speedtest app on iphone5. I haven't had time to test internal network speeds on the 5G band.(before):I ran a speed test on both my laptop and iphone 5 in multiple locations throughout the house with my old G router. I was getting consistent speeds of 20Mbit/s down and 10Mbit/s up in areas with a strong signal and mid/upper teens (down) where the signal was weaker. The bonus room was hit or miss and connection was routinely dropped.(after):I ran tests on both the SSIDs on the new unit and my down speeds were consistent with the before results on the 2.4 GHz band. Then I ran them again on the 5GHz band. My wireless down speeds were now the same as wired (CAT 5e to GB port) 60Mbit/s down! I didn't even know Comcast had upped my speed. Some of my devices can't pick up the 5G SSID but most devices are N which can handle 5Ghz.More to come...

The only reason I have not given it 5 stars is that I haven't had it long enough to know how long and well it will work. At present, it is AWESOME. Connectivity worked right away. Set up was simple and I set the same wifi passwords as I had on the previous one. All my devices worked immediately without my having to re-input passwords. I stood int he backyard of my 1800sq ft house with doors closed and had full connectivity. I also stood across the street at the neighbor's front yard and in my garage. Never lost connection. I have now had it over 2 weeks and haven't had to do any rebooting, reconfiguring or troubleshooting. I can't tell you what a relief this is! If you read my one-star review on the ARRIS / Motorola Surfboard eXtreme SBG6782-AC you will know what I was experiencing with an all-in-one modem/router. The experts were right....seperate devices are the way to go! I will add a star and follow up if it continues to be this good in 6 months!

It's a beast. Excellent range, and firmware for custom rules.