Netgear Nighthawk M6 or Maxview Roam X

[Djordje]

Can you help me choose between the Netgear Nighthawk M6 (with an external antenna) and the Maxview Roam X for reliable internet in a campervan? Which one would you recommend, or is there a better option I should consider? I travel across both urban and rural areas.

 

[Jonno1103]

We use an M6 now & previously an M1. Can't fault them in terms of use. Having a coachbuiltwe've never needed to connect to the puck antenna even in the highlands of Scotland but obviously with a PVC being a steel box a MIMO antenna would be a good idea.

 

[TerryReis]

Used a netgear for a number of years with a directional Ariel. Very easy to set up and get connected. Currently using a starlink for ultimate connectivity but not got rid of netgear might come in handy again in the future.

 

[starquake]

Both are excellent although quite expensive for the performance - a left field suggestion of buying a decent antenna and a cheaper router and upgrading it in 3-4 year is likely to produce a cheaper and better solution over 8-10 years.

The key point is most campsites you won’t have 5g today so most of the performance of both you suggest won’t even be usable.

And most 5g deployed in uk to date can’t even perform to same level as the routers selected. ( ie the router is outpacing the network ).

Today the van has a mu5001 from zte and a panorama antenna. We got 280 down and 40 up today - and a better device wouldn’t have got more. I suspect when we are at our next campsite ( on a drive today ) we will get only 4g and any cat20 device with the same antenna will perform similarly. The only downside with the mu5001 is the 4g antenna performance isn’t as good as an older zte we have still in the van. However on 5g it at least works.

Total cost of my cat20 solution that will perform similarly is around 300 inc antenna. Links on forum for the cheap 5001 supplier on eBay.

We will replace the mu5001 with a newer model in 2-3 years for whatever newer 5g frequencies are bound to be available

 

[Millcourt]

Easy to get suckered in with faster advertised speeds offered by 5G etc. However, worth thinking carefully about your needs and where you will be mostly using your onboard router. Also whether or not you intend to use a UK SIM when roaming for streaming UK TV.

Have no experience of Maxview, but bought a Nighthawk M1 a couple of years ago. I have used this extensively throughout the UK, in France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Eire, in both urban and rural (some very remote off-grid) locations. Other than in in the Outer Hebrides where there was no EE network (using an IQGo SIM on the EE network at the time), I never experienced any problems with obtaining a satisfactory 4G signal capable of streaming video to our TV, as well as obviously meeting our fairly modest needs for email, social media etc. We found many rural locations where there was no 5G. As 5G networks use higher frequency signals, the cell size is smaller and many more cells are needed to cover the same area than with 4G. The likelihood is that if you go for a 5G router you will be using 4G a lot of the time for some years to come, especially if your travels tend to be in more remote locations.

Presently, a new Nighthawk M1 costs around £240, whereas the M6 cost around £700. For our use it seemed obvious that the M1 would be suitable. In a few years time, if our needs for more/faster connectivity justify 5G, I am expecting that the price of 5G routers will be very much cheaper and obviously the 5G networks will be much more extensive, we can consider ‘upgrading” then.

One other suggestion I would make is to delay drilling holes for an external aerial until you see whether or not you really need one for the places you visit. We do not have an external aerial. Perhaps we have just been lucky, as so far we have not failed to get a satisfactory signal with 4G.

One other thing to bear in mind if you are streaming TV/video is the data consumed. We watch most UK TV at SD, sometimes HD, but never UHD. With the relatively small screen size in the MoHo (unlike at home), a lower resolution is more than adequate. If you think you might want UHD, you probably need 5G and a fat wallet to meet the costs of the data you use. As a guide, streaming TV for one hour at SD uses around 1GByte, HD 3-4 GBytes and UHD upto 15 GBytes.

Hope our experience may be useful for you. Good luck whatever you decide.

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[CA]

I have the M6 pro (MR6450) - cost about £900 12 months ago. Previously had the M1.
Both work really well - the increase in speed for the M6 was substantial. Use this for work, and move lots of image files around; I need upload more than download.

Also appear to get 5g more and more, and in fact in most places - always check speeds when I arrive somewhere. Regularly see 500Mbps+ download and 70Mbps upload. I don’t have an external antenna, never needed one - and wouldn’t bother installing one.

Have used it across Europe and North America with no issues whatsoever.

It is expensive - but so is a full maxview type install. I like that this small device can go in the motorhome and also just as easily be taken out and packed on a trip somewhere when travelling light.

 

[WestonDan]

Easy to get suckered in with faster advertised speeds offered by 5G etc. However, worth thinking carefully about your needs and where you will be mostly using your onboard router. Also whether or not you intend to use a UK SIM when roaming for streaming UK TV.

Have no experience of Maxview, but bought a Nighthawk M1 a couple of years ago. I have used this extensively throughout the UK, in France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Eire, in both urban and rural (some very remote off-grid) locations. Other than in in the Outer Hebrides where there was no EE network (using an IQGo SIM on the EE network at the time), I never experienced any problems with obtaining a satisfactory 4G signal capable of streaming video to our TV, as well as obviously meeting our fairly modest needs for email, social media etc. We found many rural locations where there was no 5G. As 5G networks use higher frequency signals, the cell size is smaller and many more cells are needed to cover the same area than with 4G. The likelihood is that if you go for a 5G router you will be using 4G a lot of the time for some years to come, especially if your travels tend to be in more remote locations.

Presently, a new Nighthawk M1 costs around £240, whereas the M6 cost around £700. For our use it seemed obvious that the M1 would be suitable. In a few years time, if our needs for more/faster connectivity justify 5G, I am expecting that the price of 5G routers will be very much cheaper and obviously the 5G networks will be much more extensive, we can consider ‘upgrading” then.

One other suggestion I would make is to delay drilling holes for an external aerial until you see whether or not you really need one for the places you visit. We do not have an external aerial. Perhaps we have just been lucky, as so far we have not failed to get a satisfactory signal with 4G.

One other thing to bear in mind if you are streaming TV/video is the data consumed. We watch most UK TV at SD, sometimes HD, but never UHD. With the relatively small screen size in the MoHo (unlike at home), a lower resolution is more than adequate. If you think you might want UHD, you probably need 5G and a fat wallet to meet the costs of the data you use. As a guide, streaming TV for one hour at SD uses around 1GByte, HD 3-4 GBytes and UHD upto 15 GBytes.

Hope our experience may be useful for you. Good luck whatever you decide.

Millcourt Hi, just catching up on 'wireless router articles' and saw your response back in December about the Nighthawk M1 v M6, and thought it was a good answer. I had a question though, and it's why when Netgear have an M2, M3, M4 and M5, why these aren't mentioned? Negear Nighthawk M3 for example has 5G, so wouldn't that be a better cost option? Would value your view.

 

[Millcourt]

Hi WestonDan

Don’t think I can fully answer your questions, as I have no working knowledge of the other models in the range. I expect they have somewhat different specifications to do with things like max number of simultaneous devices connected, max theoretical upload/download speeds and obviously whether 4G or 5G. I suspect most of these differences matter little in practical terms (other than perhaps 4G or 5G) for use in a motorhome in UK/Europe.

When I bought my M1 in May 2023 I paid Amazon £269 and, since my report above in December 2024, it has continued to work without problems and meets all my needs. I do not recall that the M3 was available in May 2023 and I am unsure as to whether or not the M2, M4 and M5 are currently available new. The M1, M6 and M6 Pro seem to be widely advertised. Out of interest I just checked the current Amazon prices. You are probably already aware, the M1 is now £310, the M3 £400, the M6 £640 and the M6 Pro £720.

I noticed that Amazon are currently advertising M1’s which are “used but very good condition” for £210. If I was buying now, I think I would adopt a pragmatic approach (and being a Yorkshireman avoid spending more than needed ), buy a refurbished M1 for £210, check it out and if not happy return it to Amazon within 28 days for a full refund. In 2 or 3 years time when it will be reasonable to expect near full coverage at 5G and the likelihood that 5G routers will be much cheaper, I would consider upgrading then.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

 

[starquake]

Hi WestonDan

I noticed that Amazon are currently advertising M1’s which are “used but very good condition” for £210. If I was buying now, I think I would adopt a pragmatic approach (and being a Yorkshireman avoid spending more than needed ), buy a refurbished M1 for £210, check it out and if not happy return it to Amazon within 28 days for a full refund. In 2 or 3 years time when it will be reasonable to expect near full coverage at 5G and the likelihood that 5G routers will be much cheaper, I would consider upgrading then.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

Worth noting I havn't been to a campsite in 2025 WITHOUT 5g coverage. I'm 3/3 at moment, with the 4th site being this Friday so will report back.

These are rural locations in UK in all cases, where in 2024 they did not have 5g. Personally I would not reccomend anyone buy a 4g router at this point given many cell sites are now being upgraded to dual running. Equally if you use Vodafone or Three their networks are merging, making both of their 5g footprints SIGNIFICANTLY larger.

I thought it would be 2-3 years away myself this time last year, Three at least seem to be upgrading cell towers remotely to dual mode operation at a rate of knots.

 

[WestonDan]

Hi WestonDan

Don’t think I can fully answer your questions, as I have no working knowledge of the other models in the range. I expect they have somewhat different specifications to do with things like max number of simultaneous devices connected, max theoretical upload/download speeds and obviously whether 4G or 5G. I suspect most of these differences matter little in practical terms (other than perhaps 4G or 5G) for use in a motorhome in UK/Europe.

When I bought my M1 in May 2023 I paid Amazon £269 and, since my report above in December 2024, it has continued to work without problems and meets all my needs. I do not recall that the M3 was available in May 2023 and I am unsure as to whether or not the M2, M4 and M5 are currently available new. The M1, M6 and M6 Pro seem to be widely advertised. Out of interest I just checked the current Amazon prices. You are probably already aware, the M1 is now £310, the M3 £400, the M6 £640 and the M6 Pro £720.

I noticed that Amazon are currently advertising M1’s which are “used but very good condition” for £210. If I was buying now, I think I would adopt a pragmatic approach (and being a Yorkshireman avoid spending more than needed ), buy a refurbished M1 for £210, check it out and if not happy return it to Amazon within 28 days for a full refund. In 2 or 3 years time when it will be reasonable to expect near full coverage at 5G and the likelihood that 5G routers will be much cheaper, I would consider upgrading then.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

Millcourt Thank you for taking the time to write that; really helpful and I think I’ll do just that - buy an older one and see how I get on. Regards, Dan

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[MisterB]

Had a Netgear M2 for a few years now, it's been fantastic and never failed to get a signal wherever we've been. We now have starlink but would never get rid of the M2

 

[starquake]

Worth noting I havn't been to a campsite in 2025 WITHOUT 5g coverage. I'm 3/3 at moment, with the 4th site being this Friday so will report back.

4/4 from Cromer (C&C West Runton) this weekend. Three was 4g only, better than last time, good enough for streaming. EE had 5g. First site without Three 5g though.

So far, not a single site which failed to have 5g last time has had 0 5g coverage still;
As such I still reiterate that 5g is now commonplace in rural locations it was not in coverage in 2023 and 2024.

 

[Wh05apk]

We have a max view roam 5g, and have to admit it has been far better than expected, in France and Spain we have not been able to stream UK TV at all, and have had speeds up to 750mb!
As #starquake said, I would go 5g as it is becoming more and more common.

 

[fishplug]

Another vote for 5G to 'futureproof'.

If you've only got 4G signal then you'll still be getting as much as is available, but when you're in a 5G area the difference is phenomenal.

I'm a fan of Teltonika products, but there are other comparable (and arguably better for the money) options out there.

If you travel abroad regularly then I'd also be considering something that's eSIM compatible as they are typically a lot cheaper and you can 'download' them so you don't have to drive to a shop that sells a physical SIM. Also useful if you're 'border hopping' as you can instantly select which SIM you want based on your location which can be useful.

 

[fishplug]

I waited too long to edit my post above, but for the avoidance of doubt, eSIM compatible routers are typically more expensive - however the eSIMs themselves are typically cheaper....

I didn't think that was clear from my earlier post.

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[starquake]

I think I'll just get a programmable esim once normal sims become difficult (ie, a normal sim you can program with an esim).

But at moment personally I'm not that bothered as the real sims in France at least appear cheaper than the esim varients.

 

[fishplug]

Mine also doesn't support eSIM, but if I was buying an LTE router today with a view to futreproofing, it would probably be a consideration.

I'm quite happy with what I've got for now though. Have travelled perfectly well with it in various European countries but an eSIM would have been 'nice to have' a couple of times - notably in Morocco (which I'm fully aware isn't in Europe...)

 

[WestonDan]

Had a Netgear M2 for a few years now, it's been fantastic and never failed to get a signal wherever we've been. We now have starlink but would never get rid of the M2

Thank you - good to know. Starlink seems to be the answer for serious travellers who need solid connectivity, but we’re only away for a couple of weeks for now, and only need additional connectivity for minor things.

 

[DaveKerry]

I've not read through all the posts so apologies if it's been covered.

When I was in Curry's 1 day I saw a TP Link router that takes a SIM card for £70-£80 so I bought it knowing we could put a sim in when in Spain.
In Spain the sim on Orange cost about 20 euros for 150Gb that last's 1 month, it's enough for Netflix, prime, computers and phones.
I don't know if our setup is worse or better than others but suits us fine.