Netgear Orbi Mesh WiFi

[bruce_miranda]

Even the BT Hub tried that but the results were not great at all. Maybe I'll wait until the Netgear Orbi is confirmed to use the ethernet backhaul before finally ditching my Apple airport extremes. Oh and the fact that I cannot see the wired clients DCHP table on the Airport is just plain dumb!

[chrisgare]

I use enterprise quality Ubiquiti Networks Unifi throughout my property and get good strength several hundred yards up the road. It also sorts out the horrendous Sky Q network in my neighbour's house at the top of my garden. It's a lot cheaper than Orbi I think. I connect them by Ethernet rather the wireless backhaul. I chose to use different channels on each unit and has been working well for a long time.

[G4RHL]

Some of the technicalities conversed about here are beyond me but I can say I have had the Netgear Orbi now for 6 months. Never an issue of any sort with anything. Solid signal, even down the garden. Compare that to my BT Home Hub 6 where connection dropping using an iPad or iPhone was a regular thing several times a week. Not happened now for 6 months. I had issues with every BT Home Hub I have been supplied with over the years.

[bruce_miranda]

I already have an gigabit network running in the house and I have 3 APs, same SSID but on different channels. My only reason to even consider other platforms is because Android does such a bad job at switching between APs. It just holds on to the weakest APs until it is completely lost, and that almost never happens, because I don't stay in a mansion.

[paulockenden]

Just buy an Orbi setup from Amazon and if it doesn't work for you send it back! They are pretty good with returns. If it's "Didn't work as advertised" rather than "Didn't like it" you don't even pay for the return postage!

[bruce_miranda]

Waiting for Orbi to have a confirmed Ethernet backhaul before I do it.

[paulockenden]

I sat and had coffee with the European product manager a couple of months ago (just before the launch of the smaller/cheaper Orbi units) and he told me about it. And I have a copy of his PPT file, which has the Ethernet backhaul as an important bullet point.

Having said that - I find the normal 5GHz (multi-channel) wireless backhaul is remarkably good. I was surprised how many solid walls it got through here.

P.

[bruce_miranda]

Finally pulled the plug on a Linksys Velop because I got the 3 unit set for cheaper than the 2 Orbi set. I already have a ethernet network so for me the ethernet backhaul was also important. The way my house is wired the first unit sits in the Loft next to the ISP modem, so the Orbi installation would be difficult with it's lack of the ethernet backhaul. I had extreme bad luck, in that I happened to be the first person to have reported a buggy firmware to Linksys that apparently arrived on the day I was setting my units up. Linksys force a new firmware on you when you install the units for the first time. After that you can control it. That caused enough of a storm to make Linksys rollback that version of the firmware globally! Anyway, now on the older firmware and the system is Absolutely brilliant. I have always had multiple wired Access Points in my house but my Samsung phones have never been able to roam between the different APs. They used to stick to an AP unless they completely lost WiFi, which was almost never. The Velop must have some clever software that hands off clients between the nodes because the Samsungs now happily roam at the 5GHz freq with band steering working very well, without missing a heartbeat. That had never been possible for me before. All in all, a very successful Black Friday purchase.

[G4RHL]

Yes the Orbi is not cheap but I have no regrets. Installed January last. Not a single drop out anywhere around the house or garden. Compare that to the rubbish BT send out in the form of their Home Hub when drop out were a daily occurrence. My shop around time for broadband comes up soon when I will consider if BT is still worth it. Although I only pay them £12 pm for my mobile phone and £5 for my wife's.

[bruce_miranda]

I did try the Orbi as well. If you do not / cannot run a ethernet cable between units then the Orbi is my preferred choice.

[paulockenden]

I've tested both. Orbi wins (if you pick the '50' units rather than the cheaper 40 or 30), but Velop is good too.

Orbi is proper mesh with the V2 firmware (although Netgear calls it Daisy Chain). And the signal strength from each router and satellite is significantly stronger than Velop - probably because the '50' Orbi is essentially a Nighthawk on its side, and in a prettier casing, complete with those gutsy power amps.

There’s still no sign of the promised Ethernet backhaul facility, although I understand that it is still on the roadmap. The wireless backhaul is surprisingly good. For most people, unless you’re in the "I’ve got wires and so I’m bloody well going to use them" camp, I suspect you’ll find that a fully wireless system works perfectly well.

[bruce_miranda]

For me, the Orbi struggled in the 2 unit configuration but was perfect with 3 units. But then the 3 x Orbi 50s were more than twice the price of the Velops. The Orbis do win with the extra LAN ports and USB, in case you need to extend your network. I didnt need to, so the Velop serves me well. And Yes, I like the reassurance of a physical wire. I am old fashioned and don't like my Chromecast and Echo Dots without a RJ45 port

[paulockenden]

You do know Google sells a thingamy that allows you to connect the Chromecast to wired ethernet?

[mtmcgavock]

For a Mesh system i'm using the Unifi, and that works great. You have to have ethernet to the APs though, but other than that works great.

You do know Google sells a thingamy that allows you to connect the Chromecast to wired ethernet?

Didn't know that, I may have to invest in one. Try to keep the majority of 'static' devices on ethernet and the bare minimum to wireless.

[bruce_miranda]

You do know Google sells a thingamy that allows you to connect the Chromecast to wired ethernet?

No space for that block behind my TV. My TV sits almost flush against the wall. I even had to install a power socket deeper into the wall, otherwise the face plate plus TV plug was pushing the TV out. Infact I was lucky that the Chromecast sat nicely in the void behind the TV where the old aerial plugs etc would normally go. No chance the new Amazon Fire box would fit behind my TV.

However on a side note. Wouldn't something like that provide power and Ethernet for our HR92, it even has a micro usb in the plastic die.