Nighthawk X8 Smart WiFi Router

802.11ac Tri-Band Quad Stream Gigabit

The Next Wave in WiFi

The Nighthawk X8 AC5300 Smart WiFi Router is the next wave in WiFi. Tri-Band WiFi and Quad Stream performance boosts X8's combined wireless speeds to up to 5.3Gbps. Four external Active Antennas plus four internal antennas amplify WiFi range. Six gigabit Ethernet ports means even more wired devices can connect and with port aggregation 2 ports can combine to double maximum wired speeds. Nighthawk X8 is the next wave in WiFi.

The Next Wave in WiFi

Nighthawk X8 is the next wave in WiFi with combined speeds up to 5.3Gbps, industry's first Active Antennas, and 2x wired speeds with port aggregation.

Nighthawk X8

Blazing speed, broadened range and best-in-class technology features make the Nighthawk X8 the ultimate in WiFi. Learn more in this product tour.

  • Get fastest speeds available up to 5.3Gbps
  • Tri-band WiFi delivers more WiFi to more devices
  • Quad Stream delivers up to four data streams per WiFi band
  • 4 active antennas and 4 internal antennas amplify and maximize range
  • 6 Gigabit Ethernet ports—aggregate two ports for faster file transfers
  • Smart Connect intelligently selects the fastest WiFi band for every device
  • MU-MIMO capable for simultaneous streaming of data to multiple devices
  • Dynamic QoS prioritizes bandwidth by application and device
  • ReadyCLOUD® USB Access — Secure personal access to USB storage from anywhere

Fastest Tri-Band WiFi Router

The Nighthawk X8 AC5300 Smart WiFi Router with breakthrough Tri-Band WiFi technology delivers a massive combined wireless speed of up to 5.3Gbps. X8 uses Smart Connect to optimize WiFi performance by intelligently assigning every device to the fastest WiFi band possible and doing so allows devices to connect at their maximum speed. Load Balancing distributes WiFi devices ensuring usage of both the 5GHz WiFi bands. Even if everyone and everything in the home that’s connected to the Internet is streaming, gaming, working, playing, socializing or updating at the same time, the X8 won’t miss a beat—you’ll enjoy seamless clarity and zero lag.

Dynamic Quality of Service

If you like gaming and streaming videos, then you'll benefit from Dynamic Quality of Service (QoS). Dynamic QoS resolves Internet traffic congestion when you have competing Internet demands at home. Dynamic QoS identifies your online activities by application and device, and then utilizes bandwidth allocation, and traffic prioritization techniques, to automatically allocate more bandwidth to latency sensitive applications like online gaming and video streaming, while ensuring that lower priority applications continue to work.

Industry's First Active Antennas

Each new generation of routers grows more powerful than the last, delivering stronger WiFi signals with greater range. At the same time, the WiFi signals on mobile devices are not getting more powerful. This difference in WiFi performance reduces overall WiFi range and speed.

To meet this challenge, NETGEAR developed the industry’s first Active Antennas technology. NETGEAR moved the WiFi amplifiers from their usual location, on the router’s motherboard, to the top of the antennas. These Active Antennas help improve WiFi performance by amplifying signal in the antenna itself. This allows the router to receive cleaner and stronger signals from your mobile devices, avoiding signal degradation between the antennas and motherboard.

Manufacturer Part Number
R8500-100CNS
EAN/UPC
0606449111996,606449111996
Full Product Specifications

Note:

  • The full product specifications below are from the manufacturer and may contain information related to other package quantities that will not apply to the product that you are reviewing. Please confirm the actual content and/or package quantity from the main product specifications page.
  • These specifications may represent the entire product series/model/line to which this product belongs with specific configuration differences between the individual products stated.
  • These specifications may have been copied from the same product in other region/country in which case there might be minor differences in region-specific data such as Input Voltage, Terms of Warranty etc.

Product Number: R8500

WiFi Technology

  • 802.11ac

WiFi Performance

  • AC5300 (1000 + 2166 + 2166 Mbps)†

WiFi Range

  • Very large homes

WiFi Band

  • Simultaneous Tri-Band WiFi - Tx/Rx 4x4 (2.4GHz) + 4x4 (5GHz) + 4x4 (5GHz)

Beamforming

  • Implicit & Explicit Beamforming for 2.4 & 5GHz bands

Number of Ethernet Ports

  • Seven (7) 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet ports: 1 WAN & 6 LAN
  • Dual Gigabit Ethernet Port Aggregation

Number of USB Ports

  • Two (2) USB ports: 1 USB 3.0 & 1 USB 2.0 port

Key Features

  • Smart Connect intelligently selects the fastest WiFi band for every device
  • Load Balancing distributes WiFi devices ensuring usage of both 5GHz WiFi bands
  • MU-MIMO capable‡—simultaneous streaming of data for multiple devices
  • Eight (8) high performance antennas with high-powered amplifiers
  • Four (4) external Active Antennas enhance weak signals and reduce interference for best WiFi performance (patent pending)
  • Dynamic QoS prioritizes network traffic by application & device
  • ReadyCLOUD® USB Access—Personal & secure cloud access to USB storage anytime, anywhere
  • ReadySHARE® Vault—PC software for automatic backup to USB hard drive connected to the router
  • DLNA® server to find & play your media on TVs & game consoles
  • VPN support—secure remote access to your home network & Internet
  • Enhanced Parental Controls to manage web filtering & accessibility by profiles or devices
  • NETGEAR® genie® home network manager includes remote access to manage your network away from home

Security

  • Customized free URL to set up personal FTP server
  • VPN support—secure remote access
  • Guest network access—separate & secure
  • WiFi Protected Access® (WPA/WPA2—PSK)
  • Double firewall protection (SPI and NAT)
  • Denial-of-service (DoS) attack prevention

Processor

  • Powerful dual core 1.4GHz processor

Memory

  • 128 MB Flash and 512 MB RAM

Physical Specifications

  • Dimensions: 12.44 x 10.39 x 2.40 in (316 x 264 x 61 mm)
  • Weight: 3.70 lb (1680 g)

Package Content

  • Nighthawk X8 AC5300 Router (R8500)
  • Ethernet cable
  • Quick install guide
  • Power adapter

Standards

  • Two (2) USB ports: 1 USB 3.0 & 1 USB 2.0 port
  • IEEE® 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz 1024QAM support
  • IEEE® 802.11 a/n/ac 5GHz1024QAM support
  • Seven (7) 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet ports: 1 WAN & 6 LAN

System Requirements

  • Microsoft® Windows 7, 8, Vista®, XP®, 2000, Mac OS®, UNIX®, or Linux®
  • Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 5.0, Firefox® 2.0, Safari® 1.4, Google Chrome 11.0 browsers or higher

†Maximum wireless signal rate derived from IEEE 802.11 specifications. Actual data throughput and wireless coverage will vary and may be lowered by network and environmental conditions, including network traffic volume and building construction.

‡MU-MIMO feature requires firmware upgrade. MU-MIMO firmware upgrade not currently available for this product, but currently anticipated to be released before the end of 2015. MU-MIMO capability requires both router and client device to support MU-MIMO. Please see www.netgear.com/mumimo for more details.

NETGEAR makes no representations or warranties about this product’s compatibility with future standards. Performance Mode requires 1024QAM support on WiFi client for 2.4/5GHz. Up to 2166/1000 Mbps wireless speeds possible when connecting to other 2166 @5GHz 802.11ac/1000 @2.4GHz Mbps devices.