Mobile 5G Router in Test: The Netgear Nighthawk M6

Netgear is a good address for many when it comes to high-quality routers and hotspots. Our customers purchase various Netgear devices as bundles in our store and the feedback is positive across the board! We were all the more excited when we received the Netgear Nighthawk M6, the latest generation of the M series, and placed it directly in our store after a short time. Enthusiasm that should be infectious, because the M6 remains true to the usual qualities and adds updated features and new standards where necessary!

Like its predecessors, the Netgear Nighthawk M6 is a compact device with a square footprint of 10.5 by 10.5 cm and a height of 2.1 cm. The device weighs just 252g with the battery installed, making it ultra-portable.

The small plastic casing is deceptive, because under the hood is a fast Qualcomm processor with a 5G modem and WiFi 6 with a theoretical maximum data throughput speed of up to 3.6 Gbps and an Internet bandwidth of up to 2.5 Gbps via the 5G mobile network. In practice, however, the 5G speed is unlikely to be achieved due to the coverage and the split antenna cells. However, the speed is sufficient for a home Internet setup with good reception without any problems.

The package includes a removable 5,040 mAh battery. According to the manufacturer, this ensures a maximum battery life of 13 hours. In our practical test, it only lasted around 8.5 hours. However, this is not uncommon with 5G routers, as the power consumption also depends on the reception strength and the type of load.

On the outside of the router there is a USB-C port for power supply, a 1 Gbps Ethernet port and two TS-9 slots hidden behind small dust covers for connecting external antennas.

Overall, the haptics of the router appear high-quality and robust.

The Netgear M6 has its own firewall to keep your network secure. This means you don’t have to worry about someone infiltrating your private WLAN from your backpack when you’re out and about.

The M6 is more than just a mobile hotspot. With its boost function, you can increase the router’s coverage by up to 40%. This means that dead spots are a thing of the past, even in larger homes. If you want to use the router in this mode, it must be plugged into a socket with the battery removed. A cool feature that ensures a long battery life and also allows you to use the router at home or in the office without any problems.

In our test apartment (4 rooms, 70 square meters), the signal reached as far as the garden and the property boundary. For many people, the M6 should therefore also meet all the requirements of a stationary home WLAN.

You can use the router’s 2.4-inch LCD touch display to set up the device, monitor your data consumption and control access to the network.

Thanks to WiFi 6 and IPv4v6 support, you can network almost anything you can imagine. The router’s network can accommodate up to 32 devices and with the aforementioned throughput of up to 3.6 Gbps, these devices can communicate faster and more securely than ever before.

Admittedly: The M6 really leaves little to be desired. If you are looking for a mobile and compact 5G router for apartments and shared apartments with up to 5 rooms, the M6 is a good choice. However, if you are looking for a large multi-storey house or a dedicated stationary use in an open-plan office, you might not be entirely happy with the range of the M6.

The high price for the small router should of course also be noted. Although this is certainly justified when you consider the build quality and features of the M6, it may not be suitable for certain budgets.

In the Digital Republic Shop, we therefore also offer the M6 at a discount as a bundle with one year of unlimited 5G Internet in Switzerland. This means you are connected for a whole year at the standard price of the router and don’t have to worry about any internet charges.