Back-to-School WiFi Router Buying Guide

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Back-to-School season is here! Whether you’re excited to be back or dreading those long days & nights of studying, one thing is for sure, you can’t get by the school year without good WiFi. Regardless if you need to provide your household with great WiFi coverage and speeds so that your kids can study without any WiFi mishaps or you need to keep your devices connected while in your dorm room or apartment, NETGEAR has a solution for you.

WiFi for your Dorm

Chances are, WiFi in your dorm is slow and unreliable. After all, your school may be providing WiFi for hundreds or even thousands of  students. This means everyone’s devices are compet ing for bandwidth and, during peak hours, that could bring your WiFi to a crawl. Also: just how secure is your dorm’s WiFi? The last thing you want is to have your school data compromised. By having your own router, you can help eliminate those issues because you will have your own secure and private network for you and your devices.

NETGEAR Recommendation: Nighthawk R7000

The Nighthawk R7000 provides the ultimate experience in Internet and WiFi connectivity. Supporting blazing-fast speeds, the R7000 is built w

ith performance in mind. With lag-free WiFi, you’ll be able to study without any interruptions, use the Internet with ease for research, or access large school files without issues. Features like the Nighthawk App and ReadyCLOUD give you access to your network remotely, as well access to your secure personal cloud. Additionally, with NETGEAR Armor built-in, you’ll receive best-in-class cybersecurity for all of your connected devices on your personal network, keeping your important school data safe and protect you from malware, identity theft, fraud and more.

WiFi for your Apartment

If you’re living off-campus, then you’ll definitely need Internet and a wireless network. When setting up Internet service, you will more than likely end up with outdated equipment that offers less than ideal performance. On top of that, you’ll be paying a monthly rental fee for something that you don’t really need to pay if you have your own equipment. By owning your own Cable Modem Router, you can ensure you will get the Internet speeds you are paying for, while eliminating Internet Service Provider (ISP) monthly fees. Additionally, you’ll be able to enjoy surfing the web, streaming and gaming without having to worry about performance.

NETGEAR Recommendation: C6300 WiFi Cable Modem Router

The C6300 Cable Modem Router allows you to bring the Internet and WiFi into your apartment in a 2-in-1 device. Capable of speeds up to 680 Mbps, you’ll be able to benefit from high-speed offerings from major Internet Service Providers like Xfinity, Spectrum, Cox and more. With the ultimate in WiFi range, you’ll be able to get WiFi throughout your apartment, allowing you to roam around freely. By giving you a fast, connected apartment, you’ll not only be able to fulfill any school needs, but also any leisurely activities like streaming HD video and gaming.

WiFi for Off-Campus Studying

Don’t like the idea of being cooped up while studying? Are you more inclined to study somewhere with livelier scenery, like a café, restaurant, park, or just outside on campus grounds? Rather than opting for public WiFi, a more secure way would be through a mobile hotspot or mobile router. This way, you can take WiFi on-the-go and share WiFi between your devices. Even better, a mobile router or mobile hotspot offer access to the fastest broadband speeds available, while giving you a reliable and secure connection, allowing you to stay connected just as you would on a home network.

NETGEAR Recommendation: Nighthawk M1 Mobile Router

The Nighthawk M1 Mobile Router helps you take WiFi on-the-go whenever and wherever you need it, truly giving you the flexibility to study anywhere you’d like. Since you won’t be using slow, unsecure public WiFi, you’ll be able to experience ultrafast LTE speeds all while creating a secure network for you and your devices. Capable of supporting up to 20 WiFi devices simultaneously, you can provide Guest Access to your fast, secure WiFi with classmates you may be studying with. Whether you’re downloading or uploading important school files, accessing multimedia and video files, or just have downtime for streaming music & video, the Nighthawk M1 lets you access data-heavy files and apps with ease.

WiFi for the Household

If you’ve heard complaints all Summer about the WiFi at home, those complaints will likely continue into the school year. Gripes from the family about coverage, speeds, and connectivity may signal the need to upgrade your home WiFi. Study sessions and homework time requiring WiFi shouldn’t mean you have to be as close to your router as possible for a better connection.

With award-winning Mesh WiFi providing the best coverage possible, every room in your home will be the best place to do homework. If your current network doesn’t have the bandwidth to support all of the connected devices in your home and is affecting your WiFi performance, a WiFi 6 router using the latest WiFi technology is ideal for connected capacity while providing the bandwidth needed across your network.

NETGEAR Recommendation: Orbi Mesh WiFi System (for best coverage), Nighthawk WiFi 6 (for the Smart Home with multiple devices)

Orbi Mesh WiFi has been praised by the likes of Engadget, The Wirecutter, PC Mag, Forbes and more as the mesh WiFi system to beat. Not only does Orbi provide whole home WiFi coverage to eliminate WiFi dead zones, it also delivers the fastest speeds available throughout your home so that you can enjoy lag-free WiFi. This means your homework and study time can be done anywhere in your home without interruptions. Need to filter content or limit and monitor time spent online? Circle on NETGEAR Smart Parental Controls allow you to do that and more, ensuring study time is really study time.

Nighthawk WiFi 6 Routers are designed with the Smart Home in mind. Supporting the latest WiFi standard and technology (802.11ax), NETGEAR’s Nighthawk WiFi 6 Routers not only provide the fastest WiFi speeds, but also support connected capacity. This means they can handle the bandwidth needed for homes with multiple connected devices – think mobile devices, laptops, and smart home devices like thermostats, lighting, smart speakers and more. With more bandwidth to allocate, you’ll never have to worry about WiFi performance when preparing for those mid-term exams.  

Is your current WiFi Back-to-School ready? Will you be upgrading your WiFi network for worry-free studying? Tell us about your Back-to-School checklist below!