NETGEAR Orbi Mesh WiFi 6 System (RBK852) On Sale

Still high as giraffe pussy.



I couldn't imagine spending that much knowing that when I need to replace, expand, or upgrade then I'm on the hook for another chunk of change.

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Korkstand

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I almost responded to initial post that may as well go with Ubiquiti but didn't want to come across as a fanboy...i recommend that to any of my friends that as for my 2 cents

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I almost responded to initial post that may as well go with Ubiquiti but didn't want to come across as a fanboy..

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I have that problem sometimes too.


And BTW Ubiquiti has their own set of issues, especially right now with the security concerns on top, but they're not unique here. There's no such thing as a perfect company or product, but so far nothing comes close to Ubiquiti for me in terms of price/performance/value, features, options, TCO, etc. Also, after initially being hesitant about drilling holes in the ceiling, the wife is fully on board with the look of the access points, mostly because they are hardly noticeable up there. Better than having giant air fresheners sitting on shelves or whatever.

Ya I got the 752 for $300 as well last year, such a damn beast. Satellite reaches to my pool and out past it to my firepit in the backyard full bars it's glorious.

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Ya I got the 752 for $300 as well last year, such a damn beast. Satellite reaches to my pool and out past it to my firepit in the backyard full bars it's glorious.

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I’m debating on getting the 753 (3 piece version) from Costco for $429. Still seems like a lot but should be a beast system . It’s a slight downgrade from the 852/853 but not that much

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I’m debating on getting the 753 (3 piece version) from Costco for $429. Still seems like a lot but should be a beast system . It’s a slight downgrade from the 852/853 but not that much

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The 753 with a router and two satellites for $429 may not have as much bandwidth, but it will cover 1 1/2 times more territory. I have the 752 and it covers my whole house and backyard, as well. It's fantastic.

So what follows is my reasonably educated guess as to why some people have trouble with Orbi and some other mesh systems.


From what I've read, Orbi in particular turns the power levels *way* up. The result is your client devices show a strong signal at long range, but there are a couple problems with this.

The first problem is that networking is a two-way street, so if the client device isn't powerful enough to talk back, then that strong signal can be wasted. This might not be a big problem if a lot of your usage is asymmetric (like streaming video), but it can be noticeable and annoying when there's a lot of back and forth like video calls or even web browsing.

The second problem is the client device decides which access point it wants to connect to, so if you have multiple very powerful units shouting over each other, different clients will handle that differently and some don't do it well at all. Most of the mesh systems claim to be smart about this and try to "suggest" to clients that they should move to a different AP, but that can cause problems with some clients too.

What it boils down to is the wifi experience is better when you have more lower powered access points rather than fewer high powered ones.

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What it boils down to is the wifi experience is better when you have more lower powered access points rather than fewer high powered ones.

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Sounds like the 3 piece Orbi may be quirky. I have a two piece and couldn't be happier. I still question why some devices hook up the the router and not the satellite, or vice-versa, because obviously, in my mind the device is closer to the wifi that it is not hooked up to. But it's really no big deal since ce it's a difference of 350 mbps vs 250 mbps. Still way more than needed for a laptop.

You're right, though, the Orbi volume is high, so the signal is very strong, even 100+ feet and a few walls away. I think a router and a satellite are enough for most homes with the Orbis.

On my second set of the Orbi system from Costco. Same problem. Everything works great on the main router and satellite 1. The problem is Satellite 2 blocks some devices from connecting. Thinking I will return. Save myself the extra dollars and just get a 1 satellite system or try a different system altogether.

I have Asus AiMesh products and they seem to be cheaper entry levels than Netgear. I have owned both Netgear and Asus products and can't really find a major quality difference.