Wi-Fi 6 was designed with the future of routers in mind. A router spends most of its time directing and managing network traffic to keep internet speeds high even with a ton of connections. As our homes get smarter, we have more connections than ever that need to check in consistently and reliably. Wi-Fi 6 is designed to bring more capacity to a network and even allows for greater speed with a lot of devices. Wi-Fi 6 mesh systems have come down in price, and the Netgear Nighthawk MK62 is one of the best choices for most people.
Best Overall: Netgear Nighthawk MK62
The Nighthawk Mesh WiFi 6 System from Netgear takes on compact AC-only mesh systems with its compact housing and understated design. Measuring only 4.8 inches wide and 2.5 inches tall, each router has a smaller footprint than a CD case. This compact design makes this mesh system one of the easiest to integrate into a home.
While you do give up some speed compared to the larger and more expensive mesh systems, the AX1800 speeds should be more than enough for most homes. 4K streams should be a breeze, and if you need a few more wired connections, a network switch could be connected to one of the gigabit LAN ports available on each router.
Netgear claims these routers can cover a 3000 sq ft home, and of course, more satellite units could be added down the line. This is helped by compatibility with Wi-Fi Certified EashMesh. EasyMesh is a Wi-Fi standard developed to help ensure future compatibility with mesh products. This is all brought together with Netgear’s robust Nighthawk app.
Pros:
- Small housing
- WPA-3 security
- Wi-Fi EasyMesh support
Cons:
- Only dual-band
- AX1800
- 1 LAN port
Best Overall
Netgear Nighthawk MK62
- $230 from Amazon
Easy entry to Wi-Fi 6 mesh
Fast enough for most people in a small housing that can blend in anywhere, build your Wi-Fi 6 mesh with the Nighthawk MK62 system.
Best Speeds: Netgear Orbi Wi-Fi 6 System (RBK852)
Netgear’s Orbi line is one of the most flexible mesh networking systems, and the Nighthawk line has one of the most complete Wi-Fi 6 offerings. This all comes together with the affectionately named RK852, a Wi-Fi 6 version of Netgear’s Orbi mesh routers. While it’s quite expensive, it’s also quite fast at AX6000 with tri-band and comes with Netgear’s respected Orbi software.
The addition of this package to Netgear’s Orbi family makes it one of the fastest mesh networks available with a design that fits in with the modern and stylish appearance that people have come to expect from mesh routers. The Orbi should be fairly easy to blend in with any room’s decor.
On the back of the main router is a 2.5Gbps WAN Ethernet port that can be combined with one of the four gigabit LAN Ethernet ports to support an even higher speed uplink. This high-speed uplink is the main thing that keeps this router ahead of the competition for high-speed coverage. The satellite router also comes with four Ethernet ports allowing for up to eight wired devices to be connected at once.
Pros:
- 2.5Gbps WAN port with link aggregation
- 4x 1Gbps Ethernet per unit
- Tri-band Wi-Fi
Cons:
- Expensive
- Large size
Best Speeds
Netgear Orbi Wi-Fi 6 System (RBK852)
- $700 from Amazon
Orbi gets Wi-Fi 6
Netgear Orbi Wi-Fi 6 brings the next wave of mesh with fast AX6000 speeds. This is great for large coverage with a lot of devices.
Fast on a budget: Arris SURFboard mAX Plus Mesh AX7800
Despite having a silly way of capitalizing letters, the Arris SURFboard mAX Plus Mesh is a serious set of Wi-Fi 6 routers with a fast backhaul for top speeds. Arris has some experience in networking, and you may recognize the Arris name from many modems and routers provided by ISPs.
Boasting support for AX7800 speeds, the Arris SURFboard series dedicates four data streams to a fast 4.8Gbps backhaul to keep speeds between routers as high as possible. While the wireless features are impressive, the wired performance leaves something to be desired. That’s not all bad if you want a Wi-Fi focused network and have little need for wireless connectivity.
There are four Ethernet ports per unit on the bottom of the main router; one will be used for uplink all the time while another can be used with link aggregation for faster speeds. While a faster Ethernet option would have been nice, most people likely won’t need more than the available 2Gbps for internet any time soon. For any normal usage, this should be plenty fast.
Pros:
- 4x 1Gbps Ethernet per unit
- Link Aggregation
- Fast AX7800 speeds
Cons:
- No multi-gig Ethernet
- Still quite expensive
Fast on a budget
Arris SURFboard mAX Plus Mesh AX7800
- $475 from Amazon
Mesh as fast as possible
The SURFboard mAX Plus provides fast AX7800 speeds with a dedicated backhaul and capacity for internet speeds over 1Gbps.
Best WPA3: Linksys MX10 Velop
The Linksys MX10 Velop is just the name given to the two-pack of Linksys MX5 Velop routers. These routers are capable of delivering AX7800 speeds across three Wi-Fi bands. While these speeds are quite high, the wired connection to your modem will max out at 1Gbps, and other wired devices will be limited to the same speed. While this is more than enough for the vast majority of people, it would have been nice to see more wired capability.
Four Ethernet ports and a USB 3.0 port on each unit allow for a lot of expansion. The Wi-Fi 6 Velops are quite a bit larger than the Velop dual-band or tri-band AC mesh routers. Compared to a traditional router, however, the internal antennas help keep the appearance understated.
If you already have a Velop system, there’s no need to get rid of it thanks to compatibility with the entire Velop family of routers. The most powerful routers, in this case, the Wi-Fi 6 Velops, should be connected directly to the modem with the older routers providing extra coverage in areas that don’t need as much speed.
Pros:
- 4x 1Gbps Ethernet per unit
- AX7800 speeds
- Tri-band
Cons:
- No multi-gig Ethernet
- Expensive
Best WPA3
Linksys MX10 Velop
- $700 from Amazon
Expand your Velop mesh
Add coverage, capacity, and speed to your Velop mesh with the Linksys MX10 Velop. Wi-Fi 6 and Ethernet keep speeds high.
Most Flexible: Asus RT-AX92U
Asus was one of the first companies to make a Wi-Fi 6 router for consumers and quickly followed that up with the RT-AX92U mesh system. Thanks to fast tri-band speeds, these routers can connect with a fast backhaul of up to 4.8Gbps, and each unit has four gigabit Ethernet ports.
Disappointingly, there is no multi-gig Ethernet, but link aggregation can combine two of the gigabit ports for up to 2Gbps internet support. This will be quite a bit faster than most people have access to. Thanks to Asus’ AiMesh software, another Asus router can be added in as a mesh point, but you’ll need to make sure it has full tri-band Wi-Fi 6 support to get the most out of your network.
I like the more traditional gaming router appearance. The gamer aesthetic here isn’t for nothing since Asus included its gaming software to keep ping times low and prioritize game traffic on your network. Gaming and mesh don’t normally mix, but Asus has managed to bring the two together with some of the best technology available.
Pros:
- Link Aggregation
- 4x 1Gbps Ethernet per unit
- Tri-band
- Built for gaming
Cons:
- Hard to conceal
- No multi-gig Ethernet
Most Flexible
Asus RT-AX92U
- $370 from Amazon
Even the gamers need mesh
Asus has a great Wi-Fi 6 and mesh solution with software to keep games lag-free. Four LAN ports keep all of your consoles online.
Best Mesh Add-on: Netgear Nighthawk EAX80
If you’ve already bought a Wi-Fi 6 router, like the Netgear Nighthawk AX8 but find yourself needing more coverage, Netgear has a solution. The Netgear Nighthawk EAX80 is an eight-stream Wi-Fi 6 mesh expansion capable of speeds up to AX6000. It’s compatible with any existing router, though I would recommend a Wi-Fi 6 router with at least a matching eight data streams.
You can set this router up with the same Wi-Fi name as your existing wireless network, so there’s no need to manually switch between two different networks like older extenders.
Four gigabit Ethernet ports onboard and a USB 3.0 port make this a great way to bring the network to your media setup or a desktop PC that doesn’t have Wi-Fi. You can also use it to improve the signal to the rest of your home like any mesh.
There are a lot more if-then considerations due to the extender being reliant on the speeds of the base router, but this is true for any mesh. If you have already invested in Wi-Fi 6 and just need a bit more coverage, this is a great option.
Pros:
- 4x 1Gbps Ethernet
- Keep your Wi-Fi name
Cons:
- Only dual-band
- Needs existing router
Best Mesh Add-on
Netgear Nighthawk EAX80
- $250 from Amazon
Add mesh to your Wi-Fi 6 network
Add range and four Ethernet ports to your Wi-Fi 6 network without sacrificing speed or capacity with the fast Nighthawk EAX80.
Can you make your own mesh?
Something to keep in mind about mesh networks is that pretty much any router with a powerful enough CPU and enough RAM can technically act as a mesh router. Asus has taken this further than most other manufacturers by including its AiMesh in nearly all of its routers. It is technically possible to put together your own Wi-Fi 6 mesh with compatible routers, but the setup process will be more complicated than a complete mesh system. This technology is more promising with Wi-Fi 6 routers thanks to the improved capacity and speeds over previous generations of routers. Some routers such as the Netgear Nighthawk MK62 are even compatible with EasyMesh which is a standard for connecting future devices.
Bottom line
Most people simply don’t need much more than gigabit speeds on their home Wi-Fi networks. Luckily, even Wi-Fi 6 mesh systems are available for people that don’t need a ton of speed but still want to take advantage of the other advancements. The Netgear Nighthawk MK62 strikes a great balance between speed and features offering expandable coverage and plenty of speed for most people.
Wi-Fi 6 mesh systems are bringing features like MU-MIMO and better handling of multiple connections to your whole home. Not that many devices sold in the past couple of years support Wi-Fi 6, but many new phones are supporting the protocol. Thankfully all of these devices support older versions of Wi-Fi to maintain compatibility with the added benefit of better connections between the base router and satellite units.
Credits — The team that worked on this guide
Samuel Contreras When Samuel is not writing about networking and carriers, he spends most of his time researching computer components and obsessing over what CPU goes into the ultimate Windows 98 computer. It’s the Pentium 3.
