Netgear Orbi WiFi Satellite Series

DONT BUY IT! – This system is sketchy at best for wifi on phones. It turns itself off at times “reset” & theres nothing you can do to turn it on again till its good and ready. we have regretted every day since day 7. only works for direct link (ethernet). there is absolutely no reliability. i dont know how this made it to market. Show details

Disappointing for the price – Been hankering for a Netgear Orbi for years. Decided now was the time to buy when my previous system began to stumble handling the increasing number of wifi devices I have around the home. However, sorry to say the Orbi has been a disappointment ...at least from my experience. Orbi box contains the router and satellite units, two power bricks and… Read more

cables, 2m Ethernet cable and Quick Start Guide. While almost identical in appearance, the router and satellite are clearly labelled as to their purpose making it easier for non-technical installers. The router unit connects to your internet along with a satellite unit which connects via a 5 Ghz “back channel” to the router. The satellite can be placed some distance from the router within your home allowing your WiFi signal to spread out across your house. This “back channel is only used by the Orbi to communicate data between the router unit and its satellite and cannot be used to communicate with any our your wireless devices.

The Netgear Orbi mesh system operates over two channels. The 2.4 Ghz channel (for better range) and a 5 Ghz channel (for slightly lesser range but faster data transfer) plus the 5 Ghz backhaul channel. You don’t pick which channel is used as the Orbi automates all this for a simpler user experience. It should only connect those devices technically able to do so to the to 5 Ghz channel while older legacy devices will connect to the slower 2.4 Ghz channel. Additionally, this model uses the new WiFi6 standard which improves range and performance on newer devices that support this (eg fully compatible with the Apple iPhones and iPads used in my household). Along with this is access to the latest WPA3 security protocol for those newer devices also supporting it.

First the good things... The hardware is an absolute beast and blasts out a signal across the house and into my yard. Left my previous mesh router in its wake. Also, setup is reasonably simple and took about 15 or so minutes. To setup, download the Netgear Orbi app from the Google or Apple app stores onto your phone or tablet (must have bluetooth turned on), connect the router to an internet source via the WAN port and both satellite and router to power. Then just follow the app on the wizard to work through the setup. App is clear and uncluttered but also lacking in a lot of features to fine tune and control the Orbi. This is great for users just wanting a set and forget system but a little lacking for those of us hankering for more control. However, if you want to get into the more technical capabilities of the router, you can access these settings through a browser interface on your computer (although the range of settings is not as extensive as those I have seen from other manufacturers). Be aware that these units are very large in size. Both the router and its satellite are physically identical and only different in the role they play along with some differences in their physical connectivity. While 231mm in height, 183mm in width but only 71mm deep, they are mostly white plastic with a silver accented base. There are lights that shine through the gap between the white and silver areas but this is just to inform you what is happening. eg setup mode or syncing between router and satellite etc. If you lose internet access it will glow a very bright violet colour. Fortunately, during all normal operation it has no lights so can be left in the open pretending to be some some form of artwork positioned on a side cupboard etc.

The router has input via a 1 Gbps WAN port along with three ethernet ports (10/100/1000 Mbps). The satellite has only two (10/100/1000 Mbps) ethernet ports.

Now what I didn't like... When you read the description of the product, Netgear actively promotes a feature called Netgear Armor. This is a security stystem integrated into the product (created by respected antivirus manufacturer BitDefender). Amongst a slew of security claims it says it will;

* Block viruses, spyware, ransomware and malicious links * Scan connected devices and ensure they are not vulnerable to hackers * Remotely lock and/or wipe data on lost/stolen Android and Apple devices * Provide immediate alerts when threats are detected and blocked

Having this sort of security would make a buyer feel extremely well protected and certainly seem a bargain when included in the purchase of the Netgear Orbi ...except it’s not. Reading the small print reveals there is an ongoing subscription required after an (unstated) trial period. Only after installation (or searching the Internet) do you find the trial period is only one month (I believe that in the US it is one year?) after which you will need an annual subscription of $99.99 (auto renewed each year). Also, general opinion from technical people is that you still need to have separate security software installed locally on your devices. The consensus is controlling device security from the router is not that effective. If it was included at no extra cost (and many other router manufacturers do this ) then that would be great ...alas not. Not even Parental Controls are included which is something most other manufacturers do at no additional cost.

During my 30 day trial, I was nagged about how some of my devices were accessing sites known for spamming (they weren’t really). Blocking these sites decreased the functionality of that device and I had to tell the Orbi to “unblock” the site. During a scan, it identified over three hundred other vulnerabilities on my network and while its supposed indicate specifics when you click on these, often there was nothing while others were telling me to update the device with the latest software (which it already had?) Another issue was one of my laptops kept disconnecting from the internet (it remained connected to the Orbi though?) after about ten minutes of use and you would have to "forget" the connection and then reconnect it before going through the cycle all over again. Two other devices wouldn't even connect to the Orbi at all.

Maybe this was a setting issue or incompatibility with legacy devices and WiFi 6? Don't know but after a few hours of troubleshooting and factory resetting, I gave up on it. Maybe it would be different for others but I returned it and bought a competitor's mesh system and have had no issue with any of my devices. If you need to contact tech support at Netgear, make sure this is done in the first 90 days. After that, tech support by phone, email and chat is no longer free and you will need to pay for a service contract. Warranty on the box indicates one year but when you create a Netgear account (you are required to do this as part of the setup) I noticed that hardware is actually warranted in Australia for two years.

To sum up, this is the device you need if looking to push high speed internet through your house. Its not difficult to set up (unless you have a number of older legacy devices which may have been the cause of the issue I experienced) and copes extremely well working with the increasing number of wifi connected devices in our homes. However, the problems experienced with some of my devices, the annual cost of security, no parental controls and only a 90day (included) tech support left me feeling a bit cheated...particularly as the cost of this system is near the upper end for a home wifi network.