× Introducing the Orbi 970 Series Mesh System with WiFi 7 technology. For more information visit the NETGEAR Press Room.
Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
Reply

RAX75, RAX80 or RAX120

gagandeep
Guide

RAX75, RAX80 or RAX120

Hi I have about 14 IoT devices on 2.4 GHz (smart swtiches, 1 printer, 3 Wifi Cameras on 720 so not too much data transfer load) that are serviced mainly by R7800 acting like AP. I also have 6 Laptops, Mobiles and iPads where moderate work is done via 5GHz. The 5GHz devices are serviced by AX88U Asus but I have seriously had it with the device having so many connectivity issues especially with my Wifi-6 enabled Note 10 Plus. I am planning to return AX88U and was wondering if I could go in for a good offer from on online retailer who is selling RAX75 for a good price? I am curious to know what is the difference between RAX75 and RAX80 - both have same specs when we do comparison on Netgear website? Also do they have a good coverage as compared to RAX120 which has more internal antennas? Range is of concern to me but RAX120 seems to be an overkill in my situation. Please advise! Thanks in advance!
Message 1 of 5
gagandeep
Guide

Re: RAX75, RAX80 or RAX120

Sorry please read the first sentence content as "......3 Wifi Cameras that have 720p resolution... so not too much data load"

Message 2 of 5
GabboCH
Apprentice

Re: RAX75, RAX80 or RAX120

For now I would stay away from the Netgear Wifi6 devices.

There are many issues with Wifi connectivity, slow transfer speeds & even problems with LAN connection speeds.

 

Check out some of the threads at the top of the community relating to RAX80 or RAX120.

These issues have been on-going for 6 months with not even acceptance from Netgear that they have problems so little chance of a firmware update coming soon to fix them.

Message 3 of 5
GabboCH
Apprentice

Re: RAX75, RAX80 or RAX120

Given the relative price difference between a good Wifi5 and Wifi6 router I would recommend a good Wifi5 router for now.

You are not the first here to mention problems with the Asus Wifi6 routers so given the number of problems with the Netgear equivelant as well it seems the problem is with the relatively new technology/chipsets rather than a problem specific to a certain supplier.

 

I paid €350 for the RAX80 and have had >3 months with daily issues with connection, dial-up-modem like Wifi speed etc.

I replaced the router with a €89 Wifi5 Triband extender (also from netgear the S6X/EX8000) and everything works correctly.

 

I dont own any Wifi6 capable devices but have a large number of IoT devices, sonos, cameras, TVs, phones, tablets so expected the new router to handle a large number of connections better without compromising the network performance like Wifi5.

 

At the moment I see an investment in Wifi6 as a "pre-order", expect lots of beta testing and frustration.....

Message 4 of 5
gagandeep
Guide

Re: RAX75, RAX80 or RAX120

Thanks @GabboCH for the reply. I totally agree with you!!

My original issue was that I have Note 10 Plus and I bought AX88U via eBay. I did see wifi-6 logo on my phone. But my biggest issue was that whenever I used to go outside the home for an errand and come back, whenever the cellphone reconnected to the router, it gave me 6-40 mbps download speed instead of my 200 mpbs connection capacity. Upon turning wifi off and then on, on my cellphone, the phone connected with full 200mbps download glory speed! Asus initially refused any issues but then on my 4th call, it said another user was having issues and they would address it via another firmware update and I could return my device to seller on eBay or send to Asus (i need to pay shipping cost) for repair. I chose to return to seller on eBay. Yesterday, I got informed via another forum subscription that a new AX88U firmware update was out.......and I was in a bitter situation as I was waiting for seller on eBay to accept my return request. He is a good guy who did not use the router on Ax devices. Now that I have purchased from him and using it on ax client, we came across this issue. Immediately, I updated the router firmware. I then went outside my home for a short walk but when I came back, my cellphone still had poor download speed with router upon reconnecting on 5Ghz. I explained this new observation and sent screenshots of speedtest and the seller kindly accepted my return request. Sadly this update did not sort out my issue.
But here is the good part: I had purchased a new AX88U at full price from Amazon. Initially I noted my 2.4 Ghz speed was very poor 4-25 mbps even when "6" was seen in wifi logo, means cellphone and router were on some new signal standard. With this update, I am getting 7 ms ping and 120-130 mbps download speed (same speeds on 2.4 Ghz with the "faulty" router described above). So this update did really speed up the internet speeds most evidently seen on 2.4 Ghz frequency. Also worth noting: I am not having the "poor download speed upon reconnect" with the brand new router that I just got.

So in a nutshell - I was pulling my hair out, seller on ebay was disappointed, customer care had several calls etc - what a waste of everyone's time. I am not sure how new router will behave, but, man, what an ordeal - better option was to stay away. The R7800 gives similar performance as I do not have too many devices and just 200mbps internet speed, its available less than US$ 100 on eBay!!

Message 5 of 5
Discussion stats
  • 4 replies
  • 6599 views
  • 2 kudos
  • 2 in conversation
Announcements

Orbi WiFi 7