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Netgear Launches New Orbi Dual Band Mesh Wi-Fi System for $230
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This is insane to me. What kind of company puts out a "brand new" wi-fi system that isn't even up to date?
I left NetGear for Ubiquiti. They do have some issues of their own but I'm very happy with the switch. I do wish they had better management tool integration for Edge Router/Switch and UniFi products (if you go 100% UniFi their tools are nicely integrated but there are use cases I prefer Edge Router and Edge Switch for) but even without it's a great prosumer solution. Lots of capabilities you'd normally have to go to Cisco for but more accessible for the higher end of home users and for small businesses.
i still have a second gen time capsule.. i know it's out of date, but i love it. don't know what i will do when it dies...
This is what I'm in the process of doing right now: hardwiring all access points. Current wifi routers can't seem to cover the needs of the property.
I just switched (FINALLY!) from Comcast 250MB down (super rare to see anything CLOSE to those numbers - much closer to 25MB and not uncommon for it to drop as low as unusable) to CenturyLink gigabit fiber. It is stupid fast. It lands at the house in the living room modem/router (where TV and Apple TV are hardwired). Form there, I'll run one CAT-6 to the center of the house (where a loft/office resides). There, I'll connect to an old AEBS (I too fall in the camp that wished Apple were still in the router game). Form there, it's another CAT6 to another Base Station in the back of the house/master bedroom. This will afford TV and Apple TV Hardwire access as well as strong wifi (theoretically) to the studio that is a free-standing structure off the master bedroom.
Before deciding on all this cabling, I was headed down the mesh path. But the more I read, the less confident I was in performance. Then it hit me: why not just have dedicated, hardwired routers in the key usage zones? In theory's this should address my specific connection needs. But like with any adventure, you never know until you know.
That said: any good CAT-6 cable recommendations?
Cheers!
Dual-band… I stopped reading and being interested in this router right there! The price, combined with what you get - a router and two satellites - tells you that this is cheap technology in here.
I mean, if you want dual-band, then get some 5-year old AirPort Extreme with a couple of 10-year old Airport Express and you’ll be fine. Apple had been doing “mesh” for many years and it always worked for me.
Any decent router today should be tri-band.
I mean, if you want dual-band, then get some 5-year old AirPort Extreme with a couple of 10-year old Airport Express and you’ll be fine. Apple had been doing “mesh” for many years and it always worked for me.
Any decent router today should be tri-band.
There are entire product segments that Apple simply won't devote any time or attention to that they did in the past and defined the category or would be entirely new sources or revenue for them. I have accepted this is the new normal for Apple, but I am reminded every so often that they don't and yes, it irks me.
There are growing product needs in areas like this. I still run a two-generation old extreme. It's been going strong for 10 years! Now that wifi 6 is on the way & my network is getting congested - this is not an area I want to dedicate hours upon hours researching. It would be a great time for a new airport-like easy router to return to the mass market, supporting next generation solutions.
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Nothing insane about it.. Curent gen AX chipsets don’t even enable all AX featutures anyway as most as still draft products. There’s still room for AC products with proven mature technology/chipsets/hardware. Have you seen the prices of the current half baked AX products.
Honestly current WiFi6 routers are not even supporting all WiFi 6 features, ie upload OFDMA and Upload MU-MIMO, some are missing BSS coloring the thing which actually makes WiFi great in dense environments and also Target Wake Time is missing in some. Some chipsets ie QCA 8074/8078 like in the RAX120 theoretically support everything but aren’t enabled or may not see the features active in a properly functional manner till 2nd gen AX products.
Better to get a good AC router like the Netgear R7800 at a lower price, which still is the best 5Ghz performing unit or the older R7000 / Asus AC68U which both use the same Broadcom hardware as the Apple AirPort Extreme but with better range.
If you jump to the latest gen router so early on you will end up being a paying beta tester while issues are ironed out. Best to get something 6 months to a year old for stable / reliable operation regardless of vendor when it comes to consumer oriented network gear.
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The final spec has been released (please correct me if I'm wrong) and features can be added through firmware updates. I imagine the big names will do significant firmware updates as we move forward. The point is right now, it simply does not make sense to invest hundreds of dollars into last generation's technology when the the new is already available. People don't refresh their routers more than every few years or so and thus it's not a very prudent decision (IMO) to buy last-gen products at this price point.
And I did just the opposite. My Ubiquitis failed after 7 months and I replaced with the Orbi RBK50 2 years ago and have had flawless wifi ever since.
I don’t think any of the new/cheaper mesh routers are. I know the new Eero isn’t. I think it’s worth the extra money to future-proof with tri-band. Ethernet wiring for backhaul isn’t an option for me.
Avoid AmpliFi. No wired backhaul, no dedicated wireless vackhaul. Its a shared client/backhaul.
Orbi and Velop have dedicated mesh backhauls. If you cant do a wired backhaul do Orbi or Velop. (i think they also both support wired backhaul)
I run UniFi at some places. It works for some installations, not others. Most people I recommend Orbi to.
If you are able to go all in POE wiring. With UniFi can centralize UPS. Run POE to AP’s, small switches, cameras, and more.
Firewall, vlan’ing, and site-site vpn is very nice and easy for multiple locations.
Apple should bring Airport back. One of their most annoying decisions ever.
Why are they still releasing these expensive fancy mesh router without 802.11ax AKA WiFi 6.
Edit: Well turns out Macrumors decided to report the expensive $230 3 Satellite, without mentioning the much better deal of the 2 pack ( Router + Satellite ) at only $129.
The $129 is very attractively priced.
Edit: Well turns out Macrumors decided to report the expensive $230 3 Satellite, without mentioning the much better deal of the 2 pack ( Router + Satellite ) at only $129.
The $129 is very attractively priced.
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I have the amplifi system, which is great for home use. The LCD screen is awesome. You can see some speed and data use information right on the screen. I would not buy it again though. There is a usb port on the back which makes you think that you can connect network storage. It's useless, you can't. For this reason, I would look elsewhere. Also, there is absolutely no web interface. You need to use an ios app. The app works well though.
I will wait for WiFi 6 and HomeKit support.
[edit: to clarify I am not waiting for Netgear to release those features]
[edit: to clarify I am not waiting for Netgear to release those features]
Bought the Orbi mesh system with 2 satellites early in 2019. After four months of constant hassles, I dumped them for a couple Asus routers, which have been flawless. NetGear is crap, in my opinion.
YMMV
YMMV
I purchased the Google mesh wifi about six months ago, with three satellites for our 5000 sf home. It was a big improvement over the Airport Extreme with Airport Expresses throughout the house.
The Airport Expresses have been re-tasked with streaming music to the built-in speakers throughout the house.
The Airport Expresses have been re-tasked with streaming music to the built-in speakers throughout the house.