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Forum Discussion
Nighthawk RS100 vs RS300 - IoT devices
Hello!
My goal is to have all of my IoT devices on a separate network. I've been googling and searching on this forum on whether or not nighthawk RS100 or RS300 can set up IoT devices on a separate network.
So far what I've been learning is that
RS100 - you can have IoT devices set up in the guest wifi network but no guarantee all IoT devices would work properly.
RS300 - I've got mixed search results on whether RS300 has a separate IoT wifi network. some post/site say yes, others say no.
my questions is if RS100 and RS300 both can only have IoT devices on the guest wifi network, then why should I spend more on the RS300 (I don't have faster speed and wider wifi range coverage). I would spend more on the RS300 if it has a IoT wifi network feature.
Can anyone pls confirm which is which? which wifi router should I get?
Thank you for your time!
Tate
8 Replies
Netgear created the IoT WiFi network to make it easier for users to get devices connected to WiFi. The smartphone apps for some IoT devices are poorly written and struggle when customer WiFi systems broadcast the same WiFi network on both 2.4G and 5G frequencies. Having a separate WiFi signal that can be restricted by frequency (or even temporarily disabled) makes the connection process easier.
Both the primary network (wired and WiFi) and the IoT network share the same IP subnet and all devices can communicate with each other. Only the Guest WiFi network is "walled off" on Netgear routers. Thus, there is no difference in capability between the RS100, RS300, RS500, RS700, etc.
Another benefit to the RS300 is it includes the 6ghz band while the rs100 doesn't. While you might not have any 6ghz devices yet, more and more devices are incorporating it.
None of the RS series routers offer the IoT network feature. You can create a guest network and could isolate the 2.4 Ghz devices, but you wouldn't be able to control them from the devices connected to the main wifi. The RS200 router would be a better choice for your use case.
You can create a guest network and could isolate the 2.4 Ghz devices, but you wouldn't be able to control them from the devices connected to the main wifi
There is a setting to "Allow guests to see each other and access my local network" - enablng that should give you the same functionality as the IoT network feature.
Netgear's IoT network does not isolate the IoT devices.
not behind the firewall
I don't know what you mean by this. FWIW, there is nothing in the manual that suggests the firewall is not in effect for the guest network.
Yes, I meant if that option is unchecked for isolation (default setting), then the IoT devices can't be controlled from the main wifi network.
Totally "Egg on my face" for not reading the manual. No mention of IoT Network at all.
NG Orbi AX, AXE and BE series systems have dedicated separate IoT networks. Nighthawk series routers do not have a separate IoT network.
Users have used Guest Network for some devices, however would not be recommended. GN is exposed to the WAN side internet and not behind the firewall and that the GN is blocked from WLAN and LAN side of the router. So if you have an IoT devices on the GN, it's supporting IoT support app or software used on any device connected on the WLAN or LAN side of the router, may not work right or at all.
My goal is to have all of my IoT devices on a separate network. I've been googling and searching on this forum on whether or not nighthawk RS100 or RS300 can set up IoT devices on a separate network.
So far what I've been learning is that
RS100 - you can have IoT devices set up in the guest wifi network but no guarantee all IoT devices would work properly.
RS300 - I've got mixed search results on whether RS300 has a separate IoT wifi network. some post/site say yes, others say no.
my questions is if RS100 and RS300 both can only have IoT devices on the guest wifi network, then why should I spend more on the RS300 (I don't have faster speed and wider wifi range coverage). I would spend more on the RS300 if it has a IoT wifi network feature.
Can anyone pls confirm which is which? which wifi router should I get?GN is exposed to the WAN side internet and not behind the firewall
It is not obvious (to me) how a person could validate that assertion.
- Guest devices are still part of the Network Address Translation (NAT) process, and appear to have the same public IP address as every device connected to the router.
- Supposing that someone could infer which NAT "port" relates to a specific device on the Guest network,
