{"id":49799,"date":"2014-12-14T10:30:42","date_gmt":"2014-12-14T18:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/?p=49799"},"modified":"2017-10-09T13:24:12","modified_gmt":"2017-10-09T20:24:12","slug":"best-wireless-router-netgear-nighthawk-x4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/best-wireless-router-netgear-nighthawk-x4\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding the Best Wireless Router for Smooth Wi-Fi Streaming"},"content":{"rendered":"

I received this product for free, as a NETGEAR ambassador<\/a>, in exchange for my\u00a0honest, unbiased opinion.<\/em>
\n\"NETGEAR_Ambassador_150x150\"
\nIt’s been a few months since\u00a0we\u2019ve “cut the cable,” as they say. We no longer have cable TV,\u00a0just Internet. Besides three or four of our favorite shows, we don\u2019t care watch too much television\u00a0anyway. A reasonably priced subscription to\u00a0Hulu Plus<\/a> makes it possible for us to keep caught-up\u00a0with Director Coulson and his Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.<\/em> and the goings on of the families of The Middle<\/em> and black-ish<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0The challenge has been in finding the best wireless router to smoothly stream these shows. That’s why we were so glad to be able to test out the NETGEAR\u00a0Nighthawk X4 (model AC2350 \/ R7500).<\/p>\n

\"Finding<\/p>\n

Finding the Best Wireless Router<\/h3>\n

The devices that\u00a0“stream” these shows come in several\u00a0flavors: a box (Roku), a stick (Chromecast), a game console (Xbox), or whatever you prefer. Then you need to connect\u00a0that device to the Internet. Most devices have the\u00a0option to for a wired connection. This\u00a0usually gives you the fastest download speeds has\u00a0limitations such as getting a long enough cable, having a wall output in\u00a0the right place, and having to string the\u00a0unsightly things all over. A\u00a0better option is going wireless, also known as Wi-Fi. That sounds pretty simple, but there\u2019s more to it.<\/p>\n

Most of the time the modem you lease from your Internet provider already has Wi-Fi built-in. That’s great, well, it would be if it wasn\u2019t based on centuries old technology. You won’t get the same speed from their built-in Wi-Fi that you’d get from a wired connection.\u00a0Speedtest.net shows that\u00a0our\u00a0internet provider’s Wi-Fi performed at HALF\u00a0the speed of a wired connection.<\/p>\n

NETGEAR Nighthawk X4 Makes Streaming Smooth<\/h3>\n

That’s what amazed me about the NETGEAR\u00a0Nighthawk X4. The speeds I got through Wi-Fi were the same as\u00a0through the\u00a0wired connection! More than\u00a0100 Gigabit over Wi-Fi?! Just imagine what that means when streaming video, playing online games, and downloading big files all at the same time. Now our expensive Apple devices can actually connect to something that is able to transmit and receive using\u00a0the latest 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard.<\/p>\n

\"Finding<\/p>\n

The four external antennas can be pointed in all possible directions so that \u00a0I can receive a strong signal\u00a0everywhere around the house. You can connect two super fast USB 3.0 devices (external\u00a0drives, scanners, printers) and one eSATA external drive,\u00a0which makes it easy to access from\u00a0multiple desktops, laptops, and tablets.<\/p>\n

Another\u00a0feature that the NETGEAR\u00a0Nighthawk X4 has that your provider’s modem probably doesn’t have is that it\u00a0can prioritize streaming content. So, even if someone else is using the Internet at the same time your favorite show is on, you can continue watching without having to deal with those annoying\u00a0“buffering” messages.<\/p>\n

It might be silly but one of my favorite features of this router is a switch on the back\u00a0that\u00a0turns off the flashing indicators. Then, only\u00a0the power LED stays on. We happen to have the router on a shelf in our bedroom. So having those\u00a0lights flashing\u00a0all night long when you’re trying to sleep\u00a0can be really irritating.<\/p>\n

\"Finding<\/p>\n

Honestly, I think\u00a0that getting an external Wi-Fi router is a good investment.\u00a0Being able to wirelessly get all\u00a0speed you’re already paying for, plus the extra features, makes the purchase\u00a0worth it. The Nighthawk X4<\/a> worked well for our needs but, for those that\u00a0put a heavier or lighter load on their internet, NETGEAR offers a large range of other routers which might better suit your needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I received this product for free, as a NETGEAR ambassador, in exchange for my\u00a0honest, unbiased opinion. It’s been a few months…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":49840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[261],"yoast_head":"\nFinding the Best Wireless Router for Smooth Wi-Fi Streaming<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In looking for the best wireless router to maximize our Wi-Fi Internet connection, check out how our NETGEAR Nighthawk X4 review w\/ streaming media at home.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/best-wireless-router-netgear-nighthawk-x4\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Finding the Best Wireless Router for Smooth Wi-Fi Streaming\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In looking for the best wireless router to maximize our Wi-Fi Internet connection, check out how our NETGEAR Nighthawk X4 review w\/ streaming media at home.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/best-wireless-router-netgear-nighthawk-x4\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Family Lifestyle Mom Blog Cookies & Clogs | San Francisco Bay Area California\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cookiesandclogs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-12-14T18:30:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-10-09T20:24:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/netgear-nighthawk-x4-01.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"621\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Frans\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cookiesandclogs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cookiesandclogs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Frans\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/best-wireless-router-netgear-nighthawk-x4\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/best-wireless-router-netgear-nighthawk-x4\/\",\"name\":\"Finding the Best Wireless Router for Smooth Wi-Fi Streaming\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-14T18:30:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-10-09T20:24:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/#\/schema\/person\/db4adde9d6a5f03d4dda1a393a9c70f2\"},\"description\":\"In looking for the best wireless router to maximize our Wi-Fi Internet connection, check out how our NETGEAR Nighthawk X4 review w\/ streaming media at home.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/best-wireless-router-netgear-nighthawk-x4\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/best-wireless-router-netgear-nighthawk-x4\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/best-wireless-router-netgear-nighthawk-x4\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Finding the Best Wireless Router for Smooth Wi-Fi Streaming\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/\",\"name\":\"Family Lifestyle Mom Blog Cookies & Clogs | San Francisco Bay Area California\",\"description\":\"Family lifestyle parent blog with a focus on tech, travel, and cars. 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