Update: The Nighthawk Mesh Q&A has been extended through Tuesday, June 2! Here is your chance to ask your Nighthawk Mesh WiFi 6 System questions to Arun, so don't miss out! Join us on Wednesday, May 27 from 11AM to 12PM PDT for a Nighthawk Mesh Q&A with Product Manager, Arun Kulathamony. As Nighthawk Mesh quickly becomes a top choice for mesh WiFi, Arun will be on hand to help answer all of your questions about NETGEAR’s latest WiFi 6 Mesh System and to discuss all things Nighthawk Mesh. To participate, please ask your questions in this discussion thread in advance of the Q&A or during the scheduled date and time. We look forward to having you join the conversation! Watch our "What is Nighthawk Mesh?" Livestream:

schumaku wrote: What is the meaning of AMA? Can't locate this anywhere in the Nighthawk Mesh marketing, specs, manual ... In my understanding, the key difference to the Netgear Orbi systems is that we're facing with the Nighthawk Mesh an industry standard WiFi EasyMesh system here. However, no word of this ... probably not certified, but why? AMA (Ask Me Anything) is bascially a Q&A session. In this case, Product Manager of Nighthawk Mesh, Arun, will be tuning into this thread and answering questions. Your question on the difference between Orbi/Nighthawk Mesh and EasyMesh is actually a great question that he will be able to address during Wednesday's AMA/Q&A.

Question 1 : This is related to this community thread (Q&A with Product Manager), why is the model not listed in the popup list to pick for the Nighthawk Mesh Wifi6 System (MR60, MS60)? Isn't this the system we are wanting to discuss on this thread? Question 2: If AX is backward compatible, we do we still need to enable or disable AX feature on the router? Question 3: Where is there an option to disable beam forming if it is support to be good in extending range? Question 4: Are you aware of the intermitten disconnectivity issues reported by the communicty that is inherent in the MK6x system?

I bought into this system thinking that it will have better signal strength and range (and thus better stability) than my single C3700 cable modem router. I was very disappointed to continue to experience frequent intermitten disconnections with my mobile devices regardess of distance within my 2 story 2500 sq ft home. Using only the modem router WIFI, I never have a disconnection issue other than weaker signals on the 2nd floor. With the Mesh Wifi 6 router system (updated with the latest firmware), I have the satellite on the 2nd floor and the router wired to my modem with the modem's WIFI is turned off. When using the cable modem router only, I have solid signal in my kitchen on the first floor. Using the MR60, my Galaxy S9+ indicated a good link rate, but when it comes to connectivity on games/apps, they keep getting disconnections. The knighthawk app is sometimes working with the router and not working at other times. If anyone is looking to invest in a wifi 6 mesh system to future proof, you may want to consider twice. With the modem router, configuation update is within 10 seconds. With the wifi 6 mesh system, configuration update for even a small change (like a checkbox to enable some feature) takes more than a minute.

akong akong wrote:I bought into this system thinking that it will have better signal strength and range (and thus better stability) than my single C3700 cable modem router. I was very disappointed to continue to experience frequent intermitten disconnections with my mobile devices regardess of distance within my 2 story 2500 sq ft home. Using only the modem router WIFI, I never have a disconnection issue other than weaker signals on the 2nd floor. With the Mesh Wifi 6 router system (updated with the latest firmware), I have the satellite on the 2nd floor and the router wired to my modem with the modem's WIFI is turned off. When using the cable modem router only, I have solid signal in my kitchen on the first floor. Using the MR60, my Galaxy S9+ indicated a good link rate, but when it comes to connectivity on games/apps, they keep getting disconnections. The knighthawk app is sometimes working with the router and not working at other times. If anyone is looking to invest in a wifi 6 mesh system to future proof, you may want to consider twice. With the modem router, configuation update is within 10 seconds. With the wifi 6 mesh system, configuration update for even a small change (like a checkbox to enable some feature) takes more than a minute.akong , sorry to hear you are having problems with the Nighthawk Mesh system. Please reach out to Netgear support to create a case so we can help to understand your problems and try to fix them.

Netgear Nighthawk Wifi 6 Mesh Range Extender EAX80Hardware Version EAX80Firmware Version V1.0.0.36_1.0.1 I have purchased several of the Netgear Nighthawk Wifi 6 Mesh Range Extender and all units after the initial setup the 5G settings will return to default settings (Netgear-5G). I did notify Netgear and so far they replaced one unit and I have not heard back on a fix. Has anyone else experienced this problem?

Nighthawk Mesh Q&A with Product Manager, Arun K. - May 27 to June 2

42 Replies

mjcalabrese
Apprentice
Jun 01, 2020
MK62-100NAS - Netgear Nighthawk Wifi 6 Mesh AX1800
Hardware Version MR60 / MS60
Firmware Version MR60-V1.0.4.92_2.0.38 / MS60-V1.0.4.92_2.0.38

Recently purchased this system and it is working fairly well, but I have run into some issues that tech support has yet to answer for me. Maybe you can help me.

The MS60 unit is currently connected via 5GHz backhaul. This causes some bandwidth reductions 40-60% on the MS60 end. I tested with a CAT5e cable and the MS60s speeds nearly matched the MR60 devices. Is this to be expected if Ethernet backhaul is not used?
The MS60 does not sync to the MR60 when it comes to the 2.4 GHz channels. Currently the MR60 is assigned to Channel 11, but the MS60 is using Channel 8. I see no way to set the channels on the MS60 end - Can this be added in the future? [Or at least only choose from channels 1 - 6 - 11 on the 2.4 GHz end so there is no overlap/interference]. on 5GHz, the channels are sync'd to Channel 153, but this is probably because the 5G backhaul is in use.
On occasion, I will lose connectivity on 5GHz devices connected to the MS60. Not sure what the reason is, but I have tried to reset the network connections on these devices (laptop, Smart TV, and iPhone XR) and do not see any IP Address being issued, but I do see the successful DHCP request in the MR60 logs. I was about to reboot everything last evening so I walked upstairs to the MR60 and my iPhone connected ... [hmm, must be the MS60, so I rebooted it and everything was working again --- could it be the MS60 is defective?]

Thanks for any help you can give me on these topics/questions.
- akong
  Guide
  Jun 01, 2020
  Hi there, the backhaul connection from my understanding is supposed to be WIFI6 on 5GHz band, which I expect it to be optimal regardless of whether your end devices are in the 2 or 5 GHz band, when connecting to the satellite. You do not get to configure how the backhaul connects because the satellite will attempt to communicate with the router optimally (which is what I don't trust Netgear is doing a good job on at this time). They should provide us more granular configurable information between the satellite and the router (or at least allow us to configure whether the backhaul connection can be in WIFI 5 or 6 mode. The only reason I bought into this product was the hope that my end device connections to the satellite does not degrade due to the WIFI 6 feature. However, it appears there are inherent latency issues associated with the Mesh network as a whole. I hope they can sort out a solution via firmware.
- arunkmony
  NETGEAR Employee Retired
  Jun 03, 2020
  
  mjcalabrese wrote:
  
  MK62-100NAS - Netgear Nighthawk Wifi 6 Mesh AX1800
  
  Hardware Version MR60 / MS60
  
  Firmware Version MR60-V1.0.4.92_2.0.38 / MS60-V1.0.4.92_2.0.38
  
  Recently purchased this system and it is working fairly well, but I have run into some issues that tech support has yet to answer for me. Maybe you can help me.
  
  The MS60 unit is currently connected via 5GHz backhaul. This causes some bandwidth reductions 40-60% on the MS60 end. I tested with a CAT5e cable and the MS60s speeds nearly matched the MR60 devices. Is this to be expected if Ethernet backhaul is not used?
  
  The backhaul for MR60 is shared so as you add more devices to the network, you may see the speeds reducing a bit. Ethernet does not suffer from this, so when ethernet backhaul is used, the speed reduction will not occur.
  
  The MS60 does not sync to the MR60 when it comes to the 2.4 GHz channels. Currently the MR60 is assigned to Channel 11, but the MS60 is using Channel 8. I see no way to set the channels on the MS60 end - Can this be added in the future? [Or at least only choose from channels 1 - 6 - 11 on the 2.4 GHz end so there is no overlap/interference]. on 5GHz, the channels are sync'd to Channel 153, but this is probably because the 5G backhaul is in use.
  
  There is an option to fix the 2.4G channel. Please check the user manual for configuring it. If you are interested in being part of users to try new test firmware please PM me and I'll connect with the team. https://www.netgear.com/support/product/mk62.aspx#docs
  
  On occasion, I will lose connectivity on 5GHz devices connected to the MS60. Not sure what the reason is, but I have tried to reset the network connections on these devices (laptop, Smart TV, and iPhone XR) and do not see any IP Address being issued, but I do see the successful DHCP request in the MR60 logs. I was about to reboot everything last evening so I walked upstairs to the MR60 and my iPhone connected ... [hmm, must be the MS60, so I rebooted it and everything was working again --- could it be the MS60 is defective?]
  
  Thanks for any help you can give me on these topics/questions.
  
  It's unlikely to have a defective satellite. In case you see the problem again, please raise a support ticket so we can help with debugging the issue.
  - akong
    Guide
    Jun 03, 2020
    arunkmony wrote:
    The backhaul for MR60 is shared so as you add more devices to the network, you may see the speeds reducing a bit. Ethernet does not suffer from this, so when ethernet backhaul is used, the speed reduction will not occur.
    Just for my own sanity check...Are you saying the backhaul connection is competing in the same channel as the rest of the end devices over the 5GHz band? If so, why not allows us to configure a different channel in the 5GHz band for the backhaul?
SP95
Aspirant
Jun 02, 2020
My parents currently have a Nighthawk R6700 router and just purchased the Mesh wifi 6 system. Am I able to tie the mesh system to the current router to use it as a booster?
Dustin_V
NETGEAR Employee Retired
Jun 03, 2020
Thank you all for participating in our Nighthawk Mesh Q&A. We hope that this Q&A was helpful and that you learned a bit more about NETGEAR's latest Mesh WiFi System. Special thanks to arunkmony for taking time to help answer questions from our Community.

Please feel free to continue the Nighthawk Mesh WiFi 6 discussion here:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Nighthawk-Mesh-System/bd-p/en-home-nighthawk-mesh-system

For additional information about Nighthawk Mesh WiFi 6, please visit:

https://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/nighthawk-mesh/mk62.aspx
akong
Guide
Jun 08, 2020
After coordinating with Netgear support, I have changed MR60 to AP mode on 6/7/2020 in the hope of addressing the intermittent disconnection issue on my mobile devices. The support's recommendation is to have the mesh router, in AP mode, to continue to use DHCP from the gateway. It worked for about a day when one of my mobile devices failed to get the IP address via DHCP gateway. Regardless of what I do on that mobile device (ie, disable WIFI, enable WIFI, forget WIFI and reconfigure WIFI connection, restarting the mobile device, etc... nothing seems to work to obtain the IP address from the WIFI connection. I finally have to resolve to using fix IP address which connects correctly to the WIFI network but warns that internet will not be accessible (and sure enough internet was not available). I logged in to verify MR60 configuration and see that via DHCP, it is getting the DNS info from Spectrum instead of from openDNS. Against the router's warning, I just reconfigure the MR60 to use a static IP address with the pair of open DNS ip addresses and disabled DHCP. This somehow allowed all my mobile devices to use the DHCP service properly from the cable router, so now my mobile device were able to obtain an IP address again from the cable modem router itself. I am not sure what really transpired but if it is working now. I am not sure if it is a reconfiguration action (thus a reboot?) with the MR60 or the disabling of DHCP that resolved the IP addressing issue. However, since it is now working fine, I will keep the static configuration to continue testing. The only outstanding issue I have left is still the seemingly non-seamless WIFI connection that we hoped we will experience seamlessly with a true mesh system. There is still this intermittent disconnection requiring the mobile device to automatically reconnect to WIFI in the background even through signals are still 3 to 4 bars strong. This defeats the purpose of a Mesh system. I will continue to test this configuration for a week before the next support call with Netgear.
- akong
  Guide
  Jun 09, 2020
  Here is the day 2 testing result after tech support suggestion to switch to AP mode:
  
  With static IP configuration, the mobile device failed to reach the internet after receiving a firmware update on the Mesh system. I have to reset it to DHCP on AP mode, but it still fails to obtain an IP address. After reseting the router to DHCP enabled, my mobile device is able to connect again. It appears that only a reboot of the MR60 on AP mode is the only way to fix an issue when a mobile device failed to obtain IP address from the main router. So now on AP mode, I have two issues instead of one:
  
  1. The original issue with intermittent disconnection still exist (router or AP mode, same experience)
  2. When a mobile device failed to obtain an IP address from the router, only a reboot of the MR-60 fix the issue (new issue with AP mode)
Dzango
Aspirant
Aug 18, 2020
Manual (Nighthawk mesh MK 63) side 12 - Figure 5 shows the connection from the modem to the router. The cable is connected to the Ethernet port but the text below says 3. Connect your modem to the Internet port of your router with the Ethernet cable that came with your router.
I suppose that the text is OK but the figure is not.
- schumaku
  Guru - Experienced User
  Aug 18, 2020
  Dzango wrote:
  Manual (Nighthawk mesh MK 63) side 12 - Figure 5 shows the connection from the modem to the router. The cable is connected to the Ethernet port but the text below says 3.
  Excellent obeservation - Figure 5 is wrong, indeed.
  
  arunkmony please.
steveof2620
Star
Dec 25, 2020
Probalbly the worse WIFI system I've used. In terms of stability, I was better off with my old system. Constantly having to reboot and reconnect devices because the connections just keep dropping out over and over and over again.

Purchasing this system was a huge mistake.
Achung
Aspirant
Dec 30, 2020
Nighthawk MR60 EasyMesh Certified.

Hi, I saw Nighthawk MR60 has been certified EasyMesh R1 announced on Wi-Fi Alliance by December 24, 2020.
https://www.wi-fi.org/content/search-page?keys=MR60

When do you plan to release this EasyMesh Certified firmware? I want to upgrade my MR60 for this firmware.
Thanks
- schumaku
  Guru - Experienced User
  Dec 30, 2020
  Achung wrote:
  Hi, I saw Nighthawk MR60 has been certified EasyMesh R1 announced on Wi-Fi Alliance by December 24, 2020.
  https://www.wi-fi.org/content/search-page?keys=MR60
  Much more wondering why MR60 system has not made it towards easyMesh R2 level available for a year now arunkmony ?
  
  PS. Can't see any specific firmware level on the certificate.

Forum Discussion

Nighthawk Mesh Q&A with Product Manager, Arun K. - May 27 to June 2