No. I just dumped the orbi because of it. Not only do they continue to release buggy firmware that breaks things, they’ve removed the ability to block the automatic updates. So you’re screwed whenever they push a broken release.
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CES 2022: Netgear Launches Nighthawk RAXE300 WiFi 6E Router
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I think it actually looks kinda cool. Always liked the appearance of their routers.
I have an Asus AX86U which is only WiFi6. There isn’t much need for me to want a 6E router anytime soon. It’s very reliable and I run Merlin on it.
I have an Asus AX86U which is only WiFi6. There isn’t much need for me to want a 6E router anytime soon. It’s very reliable and I run Merlin on it.
If you dont have a 100Mbps fiber connection... so whats that imported that go 6E?
I'd prefer wireless tech that is a fraction of the power load than what it is today
I find it horrible too. When I used to pc game a while back I just wanted to build with a simple elegant case that was quiet. Most causes out there looked like they were out of transformers, all Klingon angles, led lit fans, clear plastic sides, lol.
You don't. It will magically fly to the most optimal spot in the house for the best connection on each wifi client.
I would have picked up a 6E mesh system, but instead went for the Asus XT8 "just Wi-Fi 6" system to kick off my new year purchase and to close off the Fall 2021 purchase series wherein I upgraded all smartphones and computers and even my printer in house ... I mean.. it was a crazy Fall 2021. Thought why not, let's just top everything off with new Wi-Fi, too!
All of my devices (except the printer, that does 802.11n or maybe 802.11ac) now do Wi-Fi 802.11ax, none of my devices do 802.11axe today and they will not be upgraded anytime soon. I could wait for Wi-Fi 8 or newer before upgrading my Wi-Fi hardware again.
The Asus XT8 does WPA3 anyway, so it is great until the time we have newer protocols.
I am coming from two Airport Expresses that did 802.11n 300 Mbps.
All of my devices (except the printer, that does 802.11n or maybe 802.11ac) now do Wi-Fi 802.11ax, none of my devices do 802.11axe today and they will not be upgraded anytime soon. I could wait for Wi-Fi 8 or newer before upgrading my Wi-Fi hardware again.
The Asus XT8 does WPA3 anyway, so it is great until the time we have newer protocols.
I am coming from two Airport Expresses that did 802.11n 300 Mbps.
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From your lips to God's ears. It would solve a lot of our coverage and throughput problems.
Do you realize how expensive routers are getting? A good router used to cost 100-150$.
Does it actually sodding WORK in a 2400 sq ft 2 story home with dozens of WiFi devices?
I've dumped enough into a 6-node Linksys Velop mesh network, only to keep having network access stall randomly on random devices. Spent months adding & rearranging nodes to little result.
I've dumped enough into a 6-node Linksys Velop mesh network, only to keep having network access stall randomly on random devices. Spent months adding & rearranging nodes to little result.
It's being said WiFi 7 will be out in the next 2 to 3 years plus other new WiFi tech is coming soon. So you won't be short of upgrade options lol. I just got the eero Pro 6 and if it works I don't plan on upgrading anytime soon. I got it as I plan on getting gigabit internet this year once it's available. Only WiFi 6 devices we currently have are 2 of the newest Apple 4K TV boxes.
Explain like I’m five… why should I want to upgrade to wifi 6 at this point?
My internet connection is 200 Mbps. I’m currently using a Gooogle wifi mesh with four total units in a two-story house. Two of the units are connected to wifi switches so TV, stereo, XBox, AppleTV, etc. can be hard-wired. Two are using the Ethernet port to hard-wire an iMac and a Windows PC.
I can simultaneously stream 4K to both TVs, game on the PC, and support whatever wireless devices anyone has. Right now, there are 24 devices online. I rarely, if ever, transfer large files internally… basically, whatever I do on the network appears to be constrained by my ISP speed rather than anything else.
I like me some electronics and technology, so I’m not opposed to upgrading, but I do want at least some vague rational justification.
My internet connection is 200 Mbps. I’m currently using a Gooogle wifi mesh with four total units in a two-story house. Two of the units are connected to wifi switches so TV, stereo, XBox, AppleTV, etc. can be hard-wired. Two are using the Ethernet port to hard-wire an iMac and a Windows PC.
I can simultaneously stream 4K to both TVs, game on the PC, and support whatever wireless devices anyone has. Right now, there are 24 devices online. I rarely, if ever, transfer large files internally… basically, whatever I do on the network appears to be constrained by my ISP speed rather than anything else.
I like me some electronics and technology, so I’m not opposed to upgrading, but I do want at least some vague rational justification.
The reason I want to upgrade to the mesh system with 6E is that my Roku constantly buffers when there are a lot of devices connected to the node in the main family room. The Roku is about 3 ft from the node and it still buffers. My hope is that this would her fixed with the updated mesh system. Connection is 1000Mbps, Unfortunately I would need to spend $1500-$2000 for this system and that is just too much IMO for this.
I bought an Orbi mesh system a few years ago to replace my Airport Extremes. It was £400 for a pack of three. Seemed a little expensive but ok considering the cost of three Airport Extremes. Unfortunately, After a year I decided that the coverage just wasn't good enough as we had a dead spot in our kitchen. So I looked to buy another satellite as they'd always said you could buy extra. It was discontinued. So unless you buy exactly the sized mesh system you're going to need then you're out of luck. I bought a 6000 square foot system for a 2000 square foot house and it wasn't good enough so I'd now be *very* wary of spending any more on another Orbi mesh system that supposedly can cover x thousands of square feet.
I won't be upgrading unless my internet connection starts to saturate this bandwidth. I am currently on a 50 Mbps line, and Airport Express (set up as router) and another on another floor (set up as extender) wasn't cutting it with 6 devices. I was barely managing the full speed allocation.
I do not see myself going gigabit anytime soon, but will certainly be going 100 Mbps or 150 within a year. So, considering my use if it does not change dramatically over the next 6-8 years, I will not require upgrading Wi-Fi hardware on the router side since realistically I could comfortably pull 500-600 Mbps on my hardware any day. It is why I put down this insane amount of money on these devices. My costliest router ever was an Apple AirPort Express. Now, it is this mesh system.
In my experience, the key to the Orbi routers is to NOT change the unique admin password that comes with the main router. That makes using their app and updating the firmware with it run much more smoothly. I thought I had bought a total lemon of a system until I did a factory reset and stuck with the original admin password that it came with.
What most people forget there is only so many channels on WIFI, and you are sharing those channels with the homes around you and the more routers and devices around your home the more it effects your bandwidth on the channels you share with people around you. I just built a beautiful AMD gaming tower and the motherboard had WIFI6e and Thunderbolt 4 right on it, So I will be upgrading to WIFI 6e later this year.
Looks like my gaming PC is going to be a lot more expandable than the up and coming Mac Pro Tower. I loved my 2009, Mac Pro tower, but with a 3080 Ti card, and upgradable RAM and 5 m.2 SSD slots on the motherboard, I have left pretty much left the Apple world because of the lock down of the Apple systems and none expandablity.
Looks like my gaming PC is going to be a lot more expandable than the up and coming Mac Pro Tower. I loved my 2009, Mac Pro tower, but with a 3080 Ti card, and upgradable RAM and 5 m.2 SSD slots on the motherboard, I have left pretty much left the Apple world because of the lock down of the Apple systems and none expandablity.
Linksys...lol...same crap, tip, get some semi professional gear like Ubiquiti, that is, if you're a bit into networking, but even without you should be able to manage.
My current system.
Extreme overkill (AirPort mesh)
I've mentioned this before but now that I have an all-Extreme WiFi network, I thought I'd post an AirPort Utility screen grab. My final AirPort Express died, leaving a small gap in my network, but instead switching to a true third party mesh network I decided to add one more AirPort Extreme...
forums.macrumors.com
This works very well (for Apple devices), but that's probably because I have a wired GigE backbone for all of it. I don't actually need this many for full coverage, but having this many makes it easier to strategically place the AirPort Extremes for maximum speed where it matters. The AirPort Expresses are for music only so I've turned off WiFi on those.
Luckily the AirPort Extremes are often cheap now on Kijiji/eBay. The pieces that are actually harder to find cheap are the last AirPort Expresses.
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Assuming this is similar to the RAXE500, the frustrating thing about the design is that it cannot be vertically wall mounted.
I replaced an R7800 which was wall mounted with a RAX500, but I had to build a shelf for it to sit on. There's nothing online that mentions this limitation. It now sticks out from the wall in a hallway and is much more of an eyesore than the old router.
I'm not sure if this limitation is because of ventilation (the RAX500 has a fan) or the way the antennas are fixed inside the wings and can't be repositioned.
I replaced an R7800 which was wall mounted with a RAX500, but I had to build a shelf for it to sit on. There's nothing online that mentions this limitation. It now sticks out from the wall in a hallway and is much more of an eyesore than the old router.
I'm not sure if this limitation is because of ventilation (the RAX500 has a fan) or the way the antennas are fixed inside the wings and can't be repositioned.
The issue with wall mount a router vertically is that Antenna's are omni directional or think of the antenna as a top of a mushroom, round and goes up to a dome and a little down. So unless you want a radio signal to go vertical more than horizontal it is better to have the antenna's to run the vertically, that is why they are designed this way. When you have a building you have multiple WIFI access points spread around the building with prevention of over laying signal. So unless you get a router/access point that can move the antenna's seperate from the base you are getting less horizontal signal coverage.
I get people all the time trying to extend a wifi signal out to a shed or an out building and try to use a WIFI extender which do not work. Have them run ethernet, or maybe try ethernet over power line if the out building is on the same electrical panel.
I keep buying them when I see them on CL. Just checked and found one for $30.Remember back when Apple still made wifi routers, and people would complain they were way too expensive at $179 or thereabouts?
We're still happily using a last-generation Airport Extreme in our house. Works beautifully.