Netgear RangeMax 240 Wireless Router

NETGEAR’S RangeMax 240 Wireless Router has nearly twice the short-range speed of our previous performance champs, thanks to Airgo Networks’ True Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MIMO) Gen 3 chip. The device didn’t fulfill one of MIMO’s core benefits, however, fast performance at long range.

Three Flexible Antenna

Along the back of the router are three flexible antenna you can bend at 90-degree angles. You can also rotate the outer two antennae 180 degrees each and the middle one 360 degrees, orienting them in ways to maximize coverage.We wish the company included brackets for mounting the router high on a wall for an unobstructed signal, though.

Setup with Start Wizard

Installation was a snap with Netgear’s SmartWizard utility. Plus, you can tweak network settings via the browser-based configuration tool. Extensive security features include Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) encryption, Media Access Control (MAC) address filtering, and network address translation (NAT) and stateful packet inspection (SPI) firewalls.

With a rated maximum speed of 240Mbps, more than double that of first-generation MIMO routers, the RangeMax 240 annihilated the competition in lab tests conducted at a 10-foot range. The device pushed data through our maximum-performance trial at a scorching 93.8Mbps, crushing previous top scores. In our mixed-mode test, the router earned a similarly stellar 83.3Mbps. When we increased the distance to 200 feet for our long-range test, however, the router slowed down significantly, managing only 24.2Mbps—a number that trailed even some first-generation MIMO routers