It’s extremely easy to do using either a mobile app or the router’s website. The nice thing about the NETGEAR Orbi is the setup. You can easily add another satellite and connect it into your Orbi mesh later if you need to. A typical home of about 2000 square feet should only need the 2-pack Orbi (the router and one satellite). The Mesh routers are typically a bit more expensive because you get a much wider coverage, easy setup and management, and faster throughput (versus older or less-expensive routers). Setting Up the NETGEAR Orbiįor most people who are looking to upgrade their WiFi environment, you are probably weighing the options between just a simple WiFi router and one of these new Mesh routers. There is an informative knowledge base article about this on the NETGEAR site.Īre you a WiFi expert now? (I’m still trying to figure it all out and I geek out on this stuff a lot!) Anyway, let’s take a look at the NETGEAR Orbi and the features. With the NETGEAR Orbi, the dedicated channel is a 1.7GBps 5MHz one. One of the bands is dedicated to connecting directly with the satellite and nothing more, while the other two bands are for devices that connect and use the WiFi. What sets the NETGEAR Orbi apart from others is the fact that it is a Tri-Band Mesh router. (Yes, it is marketing material, but the tests were done by an independent vendor). NETGEAR has an interesting page talking about the comparison versus Google WiFi and Eero. But, not every Mesh router/satellite combo works the same. Where extenders tend to have reduced throughput and speeds, Mesh routers seem to retain much faster speeds. You can think about Mesh routers as Extenders on steroids. There is a primary device that connects to your LAN (Ethernet network) and then satellites that connect to the main mesh device and then extends the WiFi signal. Mesh WiFi routers like the NETGEAR Orbi come with 2 or more actual devices. Some of these are managed meaning the Mesh router has to log into the router manufacturer’s mothership and you authenticate with them, and there are others like the NETGEAR Orbi that allows you to directly manage the device. There are several providers who have recently entered this space. Now there is a new option, Option 3) known as Mesh WiFi. So while you may have full bars of signal when attached to the Extender’s signal, the actual speed and throughput will be dramatically less, which is normally not that desirable. It is only slightly worse than the best signal it is grabbing. The idea behind these is they can grab an existing Wifi signal and then amplify it to extend the range of the WiFi signal. Option 2) I could set up a wireless Extender or Repeater. This is the path that many people take, provided they have an Ethernet connection. You normally only want one router doing this management. For example, you would not want the Access Point to be a DHCP server (assigning IP addresses to devices on your network). An Access Point is similar to a regular WiFi router but some of the features are not available. In this case, you would want to set the WiFi router as an Access Point. To make things simple, I could set the same SSID as my main Nighthawk X8. Option 1) For starters, since I ran Ethernet cabling to my garage, I could simply put another WiFi router out there. But, I wanted to extend my WiFi range a bit further in order to get strong coverage in my garage and garden (to support some NETGEAR Arlo security cameras I have). However, at the edges of the home, in my garage, and in my garden area, the WiFi signal is pretty spotty (which is to be expected). With the Nighthawk X8, it’s pretty easy for me to blanket most of my small (1600 sq ft) home in WiFi goodness. There is a new standard coming, 802.11ad, and a few routers are emerging that support that, but for now, the 802.11ac router is the one to really consider the best for right now.ĭisclaimer: I am a NETGEAR Ambassador and I received this product in exchange for my honest, unbiased opinion and review. The latest mainstream standard is 802.11ac which many modern devices now have. Technology has evolved a bit with traditional routers, with new WiFi standards emerging. With a traditional WiFi router, your wireless network is broadcast from a single source, namely the router. (Sorry.)īefore I dive into my review of the NETGEAR Orbi, let’s talk a bit about what a mesh WiFi network is. The Orbi was added so I could experience a new trend in WiFi- mesh networks. Although I recently removed multiple WiFi routers from my home and consolidated all of my SSIDs under one name to make things simpler, I do have two NETGEAR routers running currently, the Nighthawk X8 (my primary router – see my review here) and now a NETGEAR Orbi (model RBK50) which provides additional coverage in other areas of my house. Testing various WiFi routers is starting to become an informal hobby of mine.
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