Netgear Nighthawk AX5400 review

The Netgear Nighthawk AX5400 is designed to look like any modern router. All black plastic with four pointy antennas jutting out. If homely aesthetics is your concern, then the Netgear Nighthawk might pose a threat to your minimalist lifestyle. It’s not one bit suspicious but be that as it may, the pointy antennas do help the range.

The performance on the Nighthawk AX5400 is top-notch. It’s hella fast. Capable of delivering Wi-Fi speeds of up to 600Mbps on 2.4GHz, and even faster networking speeds on 5GHz. There’s even Beamforming+ to throughput faster and stable connection speeds over 5GHz. 

We tested it with a host of household products like the Apple MacBook Air (M1), a 4K smart telly, Apple iPhone 13 and 12, a gaming PC, PS5 and the list goes on. Needless to say, the Nighthawk can deliver exceptional results over Wi-Fi 5GHz. This 802.11ax dual-band Wi-Fi is definitely faster than many of the competition that sells Wi-Fi 6 routers for nearly half the price. 

Netgear Armor is definitely much more reliable than D-Link’s McAfee tie-up. It can protect a bunch of connected devices on the network, from smartphones and PCs to doorbells and security cameras. The only downside is that you will have to cough up ₹5,299 to keep the protection service running. You get a taste of the service for the first month. Although it blocks a certain threat, it doesn’t really give you the exact information regarding the threat.

The app and set-up on the Netgear are exceptionally good. Compared to the D-Link app, the Netgear app is leagues ahead. It’s snappier and stable compared to D-Link’s. You can get most of the information and controls that you need in the palm of your hand.

The only drawback is the range. The Netgear Nighthawk AX5400 has a very limited range. A mere 60feet of distance can reduce the network speed drastically. Heck, if there’s a concrete wall, then the range is almost halved. It’s not a fun feeling to have your Wi-Fi router dwindled out while you scroll through memes on the loo. 

In comparison, the ₹9,999 D-Link DIR-X5460 has six antennas and can reach every nook and cranny of a Mumbai two BHK home. The D-Link router also has Wi-Fi 6, but it’s not as fast as Netgear, nor does it have the additional features for home networking enthusiasts.

Netgear Nighthawk AX5400 is a great Wi-Fi router for folks with a smaller apartment with multiple connected devices. It offers great security for almost every smart product. To be fair, all these niceties come at a cost. A fat cheque of ₹19,299 to get the thing home, and another ₹5,299 to keep the network secured. We wish it had more range to make the package tempting. There’s a way to extend the Wi-Fi network into a mesh system but that’s an additional cost.