The price for additional satellites seems expensive (about £400) so we recommend that you buy the number you need as part of your initial package when the incremental cost per satellite can be less than £100. You can also buy additional satellites as and when you need them. At one extreme, NETGEAR’s RBK752 product packages a router with one satellite (priced at about £390) while, at the other extreme, the RBK757 incorporates a router with seven satellites (for about £1450). NETGEAR provides many different options, according to how many satellites are required. This can currently be purchased for about £479. This comes with one router and two satellites (as shown in the photo above). Thanks to NETGEAR for providing us with a 3-pack NETGEAR AX4200 mesh Wi-Fi 6 Orbi system (RBK753) to evaluate. With Orbi, you can choose how many satellites you need, and always add further satellites if needed In our case, three additional Wi-Fi points were sufficient to deliver outstanding speeds in all locations used. However, this could be very effectively remedied by deploying multiple Wi-Fi points. Our own testing in a typical home revealed that the use of a single Wi-Fi router resulted in many areas of poor signal (or ‘not spots’) in various rooms, leading to poor speeds and unreliable performance. While many broadband users may incorrectly blame their broadband service for unreliable performance, inconsistent Wi-Fi coverage is usually the culprit, and that is where products like Orbi come in. If you are in a different room, with the Wi-Fi signal obstructed by walls, the Signal-to-Noise Ratio can often be very low, reducing speeds and reliability substantially.įigure 1: How Wi-Fi speed is affected by Signal-to-Noise Ratio for Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6Īs described in our article What is a Good Signal-to-Noise Ratio for Wi-Fi?, a single Wi-Fi router simply cannot provide the necessary Wi-Fi coverage to deliver the fastest speeds throughout a typical home. Signal-to-noise ratios of 40 dB and above are only achievable when a device is very close to the Wi-Fi point. The highest speeds with Wi-Fi are only achievable with excellent radio conditions (when the so-called ‘Signal-to-Noise Ratio’ is very high), as shown in Figure 1, below. Wi-Fi 6 is potentially able to deliver significantly higher speeds than Wi-Fi 5 provided that your devices incorporate Wi-Fi 6 functionality, as described in our guide What Realistic Speeds Will I Get With Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6? Modern devices can achieve maximum throughputs roughly 40% greater with Wi-Fi 6 than Wi-Fi 5. enhanced Wi-Fi coverage through additional satellites/Wi-Fi points.the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology, which delivers higher speeds than Wi-Fi 5, particularly when located close to a Wi-Fi point.
ORBI WIFI MESH UPGRADE
NETGEAR’s Orbi is aimed at delivering a substantial performance upgrade to broadband users by delivering two major enhancements over the Wi-Fi routers provided by broadband providers:
Most modern Wi-Fi routers supplied by broadband providers use older Wi-Fi 5 technology and generally fail to provide excellent wireless coverage throughout a typical home. As broadband speeds continue to increase, with the roll-out of Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) networks, the Wi-Fi router supplied by broadband providers is increasingly the weakest link for most home networks.
Orbi provides Wi-Fi 6 and multiple Wi-Fi points to dramatically improve performance of Wi-Fi 5 routers supplied by broadband providers While expert users and those looking to maximise performance will be pleased that the satellite units can be connected to the router via Ethernet cables, tweaking options (to change Wi-Fi radio channels, for example) are limited so we would still point expert users towards products that provide more control. Users looking for a completely wireless (mesh) solution and not looking to tweak settings (such as Wi-Fi channels) will love Orbi and its simplicity. By default, the Orbi system uses a mesh wireless system where the satellite units connect to the router using a Wi-Fi connection, so no Ethernet cables are required to connect the satellites, making it an extremely easy system to install.
The NETGEAR Orbi system is clearly targeted at users who want an easy-to-set-up solution using the Orbi mobile app – and delivers the latest Wi-Fi 6 functionality and boosted Wi-Fi coverage with additional satellite units. Here is our review of the modestly priced 3-pack NETGEAR Orbi Wi-Fi 6 system, which does just that for less than £500. Boosting Wi-Fi coverage and upgrading to the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology represent the best way that many broadband users can improve their home broadband network and significantly upgrade the Wi-Fi 5 router provided by their broadband provider.
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