NETGEAR Wireless Desktop Access Point (WAX206)- WiFi 6 Dual-Band AX3200 Speed, 4x1G Ethernet Ports, 1x2.5G WAN, Up to 128 Devices, WPA3 Security, Up to 3 Separate WiFi Networks, MU-MIMO, 802.11ax

I purchased this as part of an overall upgrade of my home network where I wanted more overall wi-fi and wired coverage; my house has an unusually long footprint, so the router is on one side of the house, leaving a smaller signal at the end. I tried a plug-in wi-fi repeater, but it can only do so much.So I wired the other half of the house with Cat 6 and two switches, and then bought this for the wi-fi side of the coin so I can work in the living room rather than having to depend on the repeater or my cell phone.I read the manual so I knew what I was getting into; I didn't need routing capabilities so I knew after basic setup I would switch it from router to access point mode. It took two minutes to turn off, unlike what has been said here, and it was a breeze to setup, though I did also configure it with a static IP so it doesn't have to wrestle with other devices to get a low-number address. My router is a RAX20 Nighthawk so the mobile apps aren't compatible and I'm combining a SOHO access point with a home router, but both of them work just fine together.After that...I can say this was a great purchase and a fine value. I have a 400 mbps cable connection, and now I'm getting that in the living room and a bedroom on wi-fi, and it has a wide breadth which has filled in the remaining holes I had in a lack of coverage through the house and the front area, allowing me to eventually get in some wireless cameras with a very strong signal. I like the look of the WAX206, and that I can have three separate SSIDs in case I ever decide to start a guest-only network.

In addition to the WAS206, I have two NetGear switches (both 1Gbs). I'm using this device as an Access Point (AP) for a split network (2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz). It is working great allowing everyone to move from areas where the Comcast Gateway supports the WIFI network to areas not reachable by the Comcast modem/router/access point.Yes, I did try the XFi-Pod, but it failed for two reasons. First, I have a split network and it doesn't support a split network. The device will only support one SSID (on both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz). My network uses different SSID for 2.4 and 5, as well as, different passwords for both SSIDs. Comcast's recommendation was to buy a WIFI extender.After looking at all the choices on Amazon, I landed upon the NetGear WAS206 because of its functionality and great price ($89.95, normally $149.99). After reading the reviews, I realized it will run both as a router and as an AP (access point). Of course, it won't run both at the same time.Using a laptop and an Ethernet cable, I was able to connect to the device and set it up.NOTE: NetGear has not done anything to fix (even in the latest firmware about Chrome and other saying it is unsafe to connect to the device. It is safe! NetGear and all hardware manufacturers should insist Google, Firefox, Opera, and all other browser developers not call their devices unsafe. I don't how they should do it. I just have the requirement for the browsers to not call NetGear and other devices with web pages to be unsafe!I did run into some issues. After talking on the phone with NetGear (not a good phone system), I have a great working split access point. It has three SSIDs, 2.4, 5, and a guest one supporting both 2.4 and 5.I don't have a problem with combined networks. I have a problem in going back and reconfiguring all of my devices (wall plugs, light bulbs, Amazon Fire, Amazon Echo, tablets, cell phones, and many other IOT devices).Finally, should I need it to become a router, it can become a router. It is the best of both worlds.I can highly recommend this device as an access point and router (based upon what I saw) and NetGear support. Clearly five stars.

It works and works well once you understand the not so obvious points. The instruction manual might work 99% of the time but if you have something unusual about your installation you are in the try something and see and that could be frustrating. Better detailed instructions that a professional installer might use would be better. Even still, it was surprising how little could be changed in the admin menus. There is probably enough for most but how about changing the IP address? If your situation is the least be complicated, being about to change the IP address could avoid lot of conflicts and complications.

I chose this router based on the combination of WiFi 6 and supposed compatibility with OpenWRT, but that comes with an asterisk for now.If you've never heard of OpenWRT, and you're at all tech savvy, it's worth looking up. Basically it's aftermarket firmware that is more feature rich, and often more secure and much more stable than the OEM firmware.When the current "Candidate" (RC) version 23.05 of OpenWRT is Released, this will all be much easier. For now, it's necessary to find or generate a pre-release build of OpenWRT that includes the LuCI graphical interface (including SSL).Through a naive mistake, I ended up with an unconfigured router running a terminal-only OS, and had to learn some things quickly to get it working.There was also some research to get the LEDs firing properly.On to performance...The WiFi 6 works great.Standing near the router I get close to 400mbps down on my fairly old phone. The same test 30 feet and 2 rooms farther away drops to low 300s. A bit farther, through another couple of walls and down to 2 "bars" it's around 100.The WiFi 6 doesn't handle walls quite as well as slower technologies do.I ended up using the old slow router (also Linksys running OpenWRT) to extend non-WiFi-6 network access to the distant reaches of the front yard. Works great, though not blazingly fast.If I had to do it again, I would consider a router with external antennas in hope of getting better range.