What Value Does Netgear R6400 AC1750 Router Add? 

Netgear R6400 is the cooler brother of the original 802.11ac R6300 router, hence considered an upgrade. It inherits features like R6300’s casing style and the two USB ports. It’s a mid-range high performing 802.11ac Wi-Fi router with dual-band technology.

That makes it ideal for HD gaming, video streaming and every other online bric-a-brac necessary to rock your medium office and home.

Speaking of dual-band technology, you are looking at a router that supports its 5GHz band with throughput up to 1300 Mbps and the 2.4GHz band up to 450 Mbps working hand in hand.

This comes with Beamforming+ smart, signal-focusing technology. The assurance here is increased speed, reliability, extended and improved Wi-Fi coverage.

So, if you are using it in a huge house with a backyard garden, you would access a strong internet signal from every spot!

This is made further possible by the power amplified external antennas used by this router. Unlike its predecessor R6300 which has six antennas, Netgear R6400 has three.

They are permanently fixed at the back of the router, are adjustable but not upgradable. That calls for handling the device with care.

 The Looks 

Netgear R6400 has an angled look; more like the submarines, you see in cartoons. It’s black, large; 11.2 x 7.2 x 2.4 inches in size and weighs 719 grams.

If space on your desk is limited, you could use mounting slots at the bottom of the router and hang it on the wall; it’s safer there anyway.

But there’s more to the size than meets the eye.

This router is equipped with Broadcom BCM4708 dual-core 800MHz processor, 128MB flash and 256MB RAM to enable it to keep its word on performance.

From the hard work of distributing internet signal far and wide, Netgear R6400 is expected to heat up.

Don’t fret about it! That’s taken care of by the rectangular holes on the casing’s back and side.

With the understanding that this router doesn’t have an inbuilt modem to bring in the internet signal from your ISP, you are expected to buy one and marry it to Netgear R6400 router.

There’s no better groom for the R6400 than Netgear CM600 cable modem; he’s a natural.

Netgear R6400 router comes with five Gigabit Ethernet ports with auto-sensing technology. The four similar LAN ports connect to laptops and other networking devices in the army while the yellow WAN port connects to the modem.

Neighboring the network ports is the USB 2.0 slot for your printer, On/Off power button and the power input port. All these sit in the rear side of the router together with the three antennas.

The face has one USB 3.0 port for your network storage drive; you can now back up all data from your network in one place. There are also 12 LED to indicate the state of the router once powered up.

If you aren’t a techie, don’t sweat the setup; it is simple and straight forward. Every Netgear R6400 comes with a power adapter, Ethernet cable and quick installation guide to walk you through the setup.

Make sure you have the small sticker bearing information needed to access the router’s interface once you power it up.

If you don’t find it, flip the router upside down and read the Router Login details on its belly.

 Setting Up Netgear R6400 Router 

Like many other Netgear routers, R6400 uses Netgear Genie interface as the means to allow you control access to your network.

Once powered, you need a laptop, smartphone, tablet or MAC to go on. If you choose to use a laptop, make sure it that supports 3 x 3 450 Mbps adapter or 802.11ac adapter.

Netgear R6400 is compatible with Microsoft Windows 7, 8, Vista, XP, 2000 and 10, Mac OS, UNIX, and Linux.

As for browsers, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0, Firefox 2.0, Safari 1.4 or Google Chrome 11.0 and their later versions are supported.

The setup requires that you connect to the network with the name specified at the bottom of the router alongside the password provided before opening the browser.

On the browser’s address bar, use the customized free URL; routerlogin.net to access Netgear Genie.

This interface allows you to manage your router. Below the given ‘admin’ account, set up your password.

You are led to an opportunity to download the ReadySHARE Vault app for backing up data from your PC to the connected USB storage drive.

This is also a good time to update the router’s firmware.

You may have heard of routers that require you to turn them off then on every few hours due to signal dropping.

Updating your Netgear R6400’s firmware before using it saves you the agony.

The good thing, this router alerts you during the early setup stages to ensure that you don’t miss out.

 Security Options 

Still, within the setup session, the router allows you to register it with the manufacturer, access the Nighthawk App and setup parental control using Circle with Disney app.

You also have an opportunity to change your Wi-Fi network name and password if you reopen routerlogin.net page and go through the authentication process.

It’s important to change the names and passwords of both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wireless networks to give you better control.

With these changes, connectivity is lost calling for the need to return to the list of networks in your computer and log in to any of the two networks you created.

You can now test the router’s speed to see if it delivers what it says.

Besides the access security set above, Netgear R6400 provides you with Denial-of-Service attack protection and double firewall protection using SPI and NAT firewalls.

Should your family choose to make you the de-facto techie, don’t fret accessing the network while you are away? The router assures you of secure remote access; VPN support.