NETGEAR
NETGEAR Nighthawk AX5400 WiFi 6 Router with One Year Advanced Internet Security Included, RAX54S-100NAS
Bottom line: The NETGEAR Nighthawk AX5400 WiFi 6 Router ($159.99 on Amazon as of 2026-10-07): WiFi 6 AX5400 dual-band throughput rated up to 5.4Gbps; main trade-off: NETGEAR Armor security becomes a paid subscription after year one.
As an Amazon Associate, SpecPicks earns from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure →
*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated 2026-10-07. Price and availability subject to change.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✓ WiFi 6 AX5400 dual-band throughput rated up to 5.4Gbps
- ✓ One free year of NETGEAR Armor advanced internet security
- ✓ WiFi 6 handles more simultaneous devices than WiFi 5 routers
- ✓ Setup and controls through the NETGEAR Nighthawk mobile app
Cons
- ✗ NETGEAR Armor security becomes a paid subscription after year one
- ✗ 5.4Gbps is a combined dual-band max, not real single-device speed
- ✗ Full WiFi 6 speeds need WiFi 6-capable client devices
- ✗ Security and parental controls require a NETGEAR account and app
SpecPicks Verdict
SpecPicks scored NETGEAR Nighthawk AX5400 WiFi 6 Router using a rating × review-volume × price-fit model applied to published specs and reviews across the networking category. NETGEAR's networking lineup sits within the broader category mid-tier; price and specs are the deciding factors over brand loyalty here. Judge it on the specification table and the price rather than on sentiment: check the figures that decide your use case, then put it side-by-side with two or three close alternatives in the Compare tool before clicking through.
Common buyer scenarios for networking of this kind: matching it to an existing build, replacing a failing part, or upgrading from a previous-generation equivalent. Check the spec table below against your current setup — particularly socket / form-factor / power-rating fields — and confirm compatibility on the retailer's listing before purchase. Prices and stock are set by the retailer and may have moved since this page was last updated.
Full Specifications
| Brand | NETGEAR |
|---|---|
| Color | Black |
| Voltage | 100 Volts |
| Coverage | Home |
| Frequency | 5 GHz |
| Model Name | RAX54S |
| Unit Count | 1.0 Count |
| Antenna Type | Internal |
| Connectivity | WiFi |
| Model Number | RAX54S-100NAS |
| Control Method | App |
| Controller Type | App Control |
| Mfr Part Number | RAX54S-100NAS |
| Number of Ports | 4 |
| Special Feature | Internet Security, WPS |
| Antenna Location | Security |
| Security Protocol | WPA2/WPA3 |
| Compatible Devices | Personal Computer |
| Data Transfer Rate | 1000 Megabits Per Second |
| LAN Port Bandwidth | 10/100/1000 megabits_per_second |
Ready to buy?
NETGEAR Nighthawk AX5400 WiFi 6 Router with One Year Advanced Internet Security Included, RAX54S-100NAS is listed on Amazon. Price, availability, shipping and returns are set by Amazon and its sellers — check the listing for current terms. SpecPicks earns a small commission on qualifying purchases — thank you for supporting independent review work.
*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated 2026-10-07. Price and availability subject to change.
Related Networking
More guides & deep dives from the SpecPicks archive
Browse all articles & guides →- How to Build a Windows 98 Retro PC in 2026
- Emulation Hardware in 2026: FPGA, Software, and Cart-Reader Ecosystems
- Best 1440p Gaming GPUs in 2026
- Best Budget Gaming PC Build 2026 — ~$1,000 ($800 on Sale)
- Best Retro Handhelds in 2026 — From $35 to $500
- The Complete Voodoo5 5500 AGP Driver Guide (2026 Edition)
- RTX 4070 Super vs RX 7800 XT — Which to Buy in 2026
More reviews from the SpecPicks archive
Browse all reviews →- Dual RTX 3090 LLM Training: 2026 Benchmarks & Build Guide
- Can the RTX 3060 12GB Run Qwen3-27B Locally in 2026?
- Best CPU for the RTX 3060 12GB (No Bottleneck) in 2026
- Best Storage Upgrades for a Legacy or Retro PC in 2026
- One Monitor, Two PCs: Monitor KVM vs Dual-Input for a Gaming Rig and AI Box
- BOSGAME VTA-439: AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 Mini PC for Linux
- The Sound Blaster Monopoly: How Creative Labs Owned PC Audio
- Ollama vs LM Studio MLX in 2026: Which Local Runner Wins?
- Rescue Dying Vintage IDE & SATA Drives with a USB Adapter Before They Fail
- Field Report: Running Qwen 3.6 35B-A3B on a 32GB M2 Mac
- Stable Diffusion WebUI Forge on an RTX 3060 12GB: Setup and Real Throughput
- CompactFlash as an IDE Hard Drive for Your Win98 Retro Build
- Build a Raspberry Pi 4 AirPlay Receiver in 2026: Full Walkthrough
- vLLM vs llama.cpp on a 12GB GPU: Which Serves Local LLMs Faster?
- AMD Ryzen AI Max 395 Box: Can a 128GB Unified-Memory APU Replace a Dual-3090 Local LLM Rig?
- Self-Host Jellyfin on a Raspberry Pi 4 8GB in 2026: Setup and Real Transcode Limits
- US Forces Anthropic to Disable Claude Fable 5: Local Fallbacks
- Best Wireless Productivity Keyboards Under $50 in 2026
- How to Fix a Raspberry Pi 5 That Won't Boot: Power, microSD, and Display Diagnostics
- Do you need a shifter for sim racing? Logitech G29 + Thrustmaster TH8A
- Framework RTX 5070 12GB Module: Why It's $1,199, Not $699
- Crucial BX500 vs Samsung 870 EVO: Best 1TB SATA SSD for Game Storage
- Raspberry Pi 4 8GB in 2026: Still the Right Pick for Retro Emulation and Home Servers?
- Best Webcam for Streaming Under $200 (2026)
Earliest SpecPicks reviews
Browse full archive →- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 8B (2026)
- Best GPU for Qwen 3 14B (2026)
- Best GPU for Qwen 3 32B (2026)
- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 70B (2026)
- Best GPU for DeepSeek-R1 32B (2026)
- Best GPU for Llama 3.1 405B (2026)
- How to run Llama 3.1 8B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Qwen 3 14B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Qwen 3 32B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Llama 3.1 70B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run DeepSeek-R1 32B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
- How to run Llama 3.1 8B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090