Do we like Netgear?
Makes Wi-Fi routers (Nighthawk, Orbi), switches and business networking gear. Based in San Jose, California.
Our score: 5 out of 10. Mixed. We like the product range and the fast patching of some flaws. But its routers keep turning up in botnets, and the FCC exemption raises questions. We'd hold off for now.
Netgear is a US networking company founded in 1996 and based in San Jose. It sells Nighthawk and Orbi home routers and Wi-Fi systems. It also sells switches and access points to small and mid-sized businesses. Co-founder Patrick Lo ran it for nearly three decades, then retired in January 2024. The board picked CJ Prober, a former Life360, Tile and GoPro executive, to take over.
The biggest cloud over Netgear is security. In 2024 the US Justice Department said a Chinese state-backed hacking group had taken over small-office routers to hide its activity. It said the vast majority were Cisco and Netgear models that had reached end of life and no longer got security patches. That's a failing of the whole industry, not just Netgear. Still, the DOJ's wording points at gear no longer being supported.
On the vulnerability front, security firm Field Effect reported that Netgear patched two critical flaws in some home and gaming routers. One could allow remote code execution and the other an authentication bypass. Field Effect noted that the IDs hint the bugs were found in 2021 and 2023 but only fixed later. It also said Netgear routers have a history of being pulled into botnets like Mozi and Mirai.
In March 2026 the FCC banned new foreign-made consumer routers. Netgear became the first company to win conditional approval to keep selling and updating its routers, after the Defense Department judged them not to pose unacceptable risks. Cybersecurity Dive reported that neither the FCC nor the Pentagon explained why. Critics have called the ban industrial policy dressed up as cybersecurity. Netgear's CEO said the approval reflects rigorous standards.
Netgear has had run-ins before. In 2005 it agreed to pay $700,000 to settle a class action over inflated Wi-Fi speed claims. It denied any liability and agreed to add a disclaimer to its boxes. On the green side, its own site says it has published sustainability reports since 2014 and signed up to an energy-efficiency agreement for small network gear. That's a company claim, not an independent audit.
Overall, Netgear is a mainstream, publicly listed brand with no huge scandal in what we found. But its security record, with old routers ending up in hacking networks, keeps it in the middle of the pack. That's why we land on a 5.