Re: Must I pay for firewall subscription to use my new Netgear Nighthawk router

NO. There is a built in Firewall already on routers. Armor is a separate security program and application that helps detect addtiional security issues not handled by the firewall. 

https://community.netgear.com/t5/NETGEAR-Armor/What-is-the-NETGEAR-Armor-Protection-Score/td-p/1971704/jump-to/first-unread-message