Home Enterprise NETGEAR WAX620 Review

NETGEAR WAX620 Review

by Ethan Carter Edwards

The NETGEAR WAX620 is a wall/ceiling mount, dual-band wireless access point engineered for small to medium-sized businesses. More specifically, high traffic and performance environments that need to be securely separated. Additionally, it offers Wireless Mesh technology to create seamless networks across campus.

The NETGEAR WAX620 is a wall/ceiling mount, dual-band wireless access point engineered for small to medium-sized businesses. More specifically, high traffic and performance environments that need to be securely separated. Additionally, it offers Wireless Mesh technology to create seamless networks across campus.

The WAX620 allows administrators up to eight separate networks, each with its own SSID. The WAX620 can have multiple networks for business and public use, allowing fine-tune control of access and security, potentially benefiting performance as well. Security also is a focus of the WAX620, as it supports WPA3 and MAC Address Authentication.

NETGEAR WAX620

The WAX620 features WiFi 6 (802.11ax), the latest and greatest of WiFi technology. It allows a very impressive 75 concurrent streams at once, as well as 256 max users. Other improvements of WiFi 6 include better throughput, power efficiency, and latency. The maximum theoretical throughput of the WAX620 is 1,200Mbps (2.4GHz) and 2,400Mbps (5.0GHz), which should be enough to support multiple 8K streams at one time. WiFi 6 is fully backward compatible, allowing businesses to start phasing it in without having to worry about compatibility issues.

The NETGEAR WAX620 also has Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+) functionality, allowing you to power and connect the device using only one cable. This is helpful if you are placing the device in an area without power outlets and managing it from a central location with consolidated power protection.

Backed by a 3-year warranty, the NETGEAR WAX620 goes for around $240 on Amazon for the version that ships with an AC power cord, and slightly less for the PoE-only mode.

NETGEAR WAX620 Specifications

Feature WAX620
WiFi Technology WiFi 6 (802.11ax)
Standards Supported 802.11b/g/n/ac/ax
Frequencies 2.4GHz, 5.0GHz
Speed 3.6Gbps (AX3600)
Maximum Theoretical Throughput 1,200Mbps (2.4GHz), 2,400Mbps (5.0GHz)
# of SSIDs 8
# of Max Users 256
# of Current Users 75
Wireless Mesh Yes
Coverage Area per  Unit 3,000 sq. ft.
Ethernet Port One 2.5G PoE+ Port
Security WiFi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2/WPA3), MAC Address Authentication
Dimensions 205.7 x 205.7 x 34.3 mm (8.09 x 8.09 x 1.35 in)
Weight 783 g (1.72lb)

NETGEAR WAX620 Design and Build

The NETGEAR WAX620 has a compact plastic build with various mounting options to best fit your needs. It is slightly larger than the NETGEAR WAX214 for example, but still small enough not to be noticed on the roof of larger areas like cafeterias or waiting rooms. Overall it looks very professional and clean.

NETGEAR WAX620 top

On the front side, it is branded with the NETGEAR logo with status LEDs on the bottom: power, network, 2.4GHz, and 5GHz.

On the backside, the LAN/PoE+ port, power port, and reset button reside in a concave area, allowing wall mounting to be easier. You can also see the mounting slots on both sides of the panel.

NETGEAR WAX620 ports

NETGEAR WAX620 Management

The NETGEAR WAX620, like other models in its lineup, is managed locally via a web-based interface. But it also has NETGEAR Insight functionally, if it suits your needs. To access the web interface, enter the WAX620’s IP address in a browser and you will be presented with a login page, once your credentials are entered you will be brought to a landing dashboard with two tabs.

In the Dashboard tab, you can see connectivity status, the number of connected devices, firmware version and updates, and information about the 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels.

NETGEAR WAX620 admin main screen

In the System area of the Monitoring section, you can see detailed information of the access point including the name, MAC Address, firmware versions, uptime, and much more.

In the Basic area of the Wireless Configuration section, you can add SSIDs (max of 8). You can name them, choose 2.4/5.0GHz, enable or disable Band Steering, give them VLAN IDs, and choose WPA level.

In the Advanced area of the Wireless Configuration section, there are multiple options to configure for both bands. Including max clients, RTS Threshold, MU-MIMO, and others.

The Firmware area allows you to manually upgrade or downgrade versions. It also allows you to boot the backup firmware version in case an upgraded version has issues. The Backup and Restore area allows you to do exactly what it sounds like, backing up and restoring configuration. The backup is downloaded in a password-protected tar format that can be re-uploaded to the AP, it is a good idea to take regular backups, so if a setting is accidentally changed you can roll back to a working configuration.

The Log section is fairly straightforward, with options to download, clear, save, and refresh the logs.

Conclusion

The NETGEAR WAX620 is a great solution for small to medium-sized businesses with high traffic that need security, performance, and flexibility. Its comprehensive web UI allows for easy remote management, allowing your off-site admins to work hassle-free.

Overall, the WAX620 does a great job of creating a secure and performant network for SMBs or bigger entities like schools. The WAX620 supports up to eight separate wireless networks with their own SSIDs, which allows admins to securely separate traffic from business to the guest, to IoT, and personal to allow the best performance for each task.

NETGEAR WAX620 Wireless Access Point on Amazon

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