NETGEAR Orbi Tri-Band WiFi 6 Mesh System (RBK863S) &ndash
NETGEAR Orbi Tri-Band WiFi 6 Mesh System (RBK863S) – Router with 2 Satellite Extenders, Coverage up to 8,000 sq. ft, 100 Devices, 10 Gig Internet Port, Armor Subscription, AX6000 (Up to 6Gbps)
| Weight: | 4.98 kg |
| Dimensions: | 27.6 x 32.2 x 21.15 cm; 4.98 Kilograms |
| Brand: | NETGEAR |
| Model: | RBK863S-100EUS |
| Manufacture: | Netgear |
| Dimensions: | 27.6 x 32.2 x 21.15 cm; 4.98 Kilograms |
I was struggling with BT home hub, not getting anywhere near the rated speed even with their mesh disc system. I was getting 170mbs wirelessly but it was unstable. The Orbi changed everything, my 1gb in. Now getting 560mbs wireless and the satellite gives 670mbs to my gaming computer. If you’re struggling with home Wi-Fi, this is the solution. It’s worthwhile. Well done Netgear.
It worked first time! If I can set it up then so can you! Whole house Wi-Fi coverage. The wife likes these as they are aesthetically pleasing. No complaints from the boys (x3) on their multiple streaming devices! The ears have been saved! No more weak signal or dropouts. Great coverage in a 5 bed house, garden room reach as well. Thanks NETGEAR!
I bought this (the 3-bundle) as an upgrade to an early-generation Google wifi. I initially looked at the latest model, RBKE963, but it’s insanely expensive, so settled for one down, which admittedly is still expensive.
Packaging was good. The units are quite larger than I imagined but not unsightly.
It’s very easy to set up with the orbi app, but it can take 3-5 minutes for a couple of the steps. I kept the SSID and password the same, so everything automatically connected once the router was set up. The satellites don’t need you to add serial numbers or scan barcodes, all automatic.
Speeds are excellent in the router room (got 700Mbps), and good (250-300 Mbps) when connected to satellites. Vast improvement on the old one.
The app is intuitive and has all the basic functions and settings. It also has the browser version, which has advanced settings, such as port forwarding.
Definitely an investment. I live in an 200 year old old property, with thick stone walls so wanted something that would solve drop out areas. Research pointed me to these as a recommend mesh system.
The app is very useful, as it shows you speeds (upload, download and PING) , channels, and how best to place the pods. The online support is decent. I was getting conflicting results for a while from my fibre. I had my provider turn off the wifi from the router, which removed conflicting wifi signals which improved speeds from Orbi. The online support walked me through accessing the Orbi hub, to set channels for both the 2.4 & 5Ghz channels which again improved speeds. I have sky glass, alongside 17 devices connected. No problems or moaning that theres no internet.
Would recommend a mesh system for older properties.
Would give 5 stars if they were a bit smaller in size.
Oversized even for my big house, but gets excellent coverage. Absolutely love it!
Even with the thick walls in the house, I’m getting 650 down and 120 up in the computer room. I think it’s insane that WiFi has developed to this degree over the years. Also, Latency is 4ms at the router and 7ms in the computer room so basically zero noticable difference.
10/10 would recommend to anyone who’s unable to run cables in their house.
Easy to use and set up. I wish you could open up the 5ghz band with wireless back haul. App works well and has a simple interface
So this system literally blew holes through walls and I’m now getting 4x the wireless speed I was before. So impressed. Problem sorted and highly recommended.
Fast piece of kit,relatively easy set up on phone app “unless your on Kcom” apart from that, on the orbi app you can see what’s connected with description, and with armour security extra peace of mind, would highly recommend Orbi (RBK852) may be on the expensive side but with WiFi 6 making it future proof “for the time being” should see nany years of fast service!
Been looking at buying these for ages to update my BT mesh system. Whole new level of system. Full Wifi 6 and 6e, easy to setup such strong signal all over the place only using 1 satellite so far. Expensive but certainly future proofed. Bargain set from the Amazon Warehouse for me..
Our Deco system kept dropping out. Our cottage is only small but has very thick walls and WiFi was weak and patchy in the rooms furthest from the router. This Orbi system is probably much more powerful than we really need but it has been rock solid and we have good connections now in every room.
Orbi RBK852 / RBR850 is great, but it’s basically a plug-and-play system. You plug in, and that’s it. There is little to no configuration you can tweak manually. You can’t even separate 2.4Ghz from 5Ghz SSIDs, literally zero configuration.
However, even straight out the box I am able to achieve reliable speeds of up to 800Mbps over Wifi on my Macbook Pro, which is quite impressive.
If you want a simple mesh system to just plug in and not have to worry with anything, this is for you.
If you want to be able to configure anything, this is not for you.
I have been struggling with a poor wifi coverage in my home for ages then I purchased the Orbi. Installation is super easy. The system basically configures itself seamlessly. The coverage is amazing. Always full power no matter where I am in my house. Armor is fantastic. Every time a new device pops on the network it notifies me about it and scans it for vulnerability. This allowed me to find out my neighbour was stealing my wifi. It’s clearly not happening anymore . Overall, fantastic device. Totally worth the money. I would definitely advice it.
Don’t seem hugely configurable though – can’t separate 2.4 and 5ghz for example which has meant I can’t link my air con. It also once completely freaked out seemingly banning some devices. Saw others have had that issue.
But…putting up with the niggles is worth powering through concrete.
Absolutely love it. Yes it costs a pretty penny but it does what I got it to do which is boost my coverage around the house as well as get me those speeds I needed. When I upgraded to 1gig speed I needed something that can deliver and this does the job perfectly.
I had a Nest wifi prior to this and had a few disconnection issues when moving from one node to another. So far not disappointed with netgear. The only down side would be the little extras you may wish to pay for. Armour, which generally acts as a built in firewall, should really come free for such a premium device but its up to you in the end if you want to get it.
If you have speeds of about 1gig or above and need very good coverage then this may be for you.. anything else would be an overkill.
This RBK852 is by far the best router and satellite combo we’ve ever had. The set up was incredibly easy and the app is well designed. I have my router in the living room connected to a modem with a 1gb ISP service – this is using a Cat7 cable, the speed I get is approx. 960mb/s download at the router. The router is on the ground floor and the satellite on the first floor is connected to the router via WiFi. My workstation is connected to the satellite on the first floor via cat7 Ethernet and it’s getting 940mb/s – some minor loss, but considering there is no Ethernet cable between the router and the satellite, it’s very impressive. In terms of the rest of the WiFi only devices (laptop, iPhones etc.) we use around the house, we’re getting between 400-700mb/s depending on whether the devices are 802.21AC and 802.11AX standard WiFi and whether they are at the furthest distance away from one of the Orbi units. The house is approx. 3000sqft or 280sqm and set over 4 floors. The only weak spot is at the far end of a kitchen extension at the back of the house, but that has three brick walls between the router and this position. We highly recommend this system!
We looked at all the mesh based systems and went for the Orbi x850 range with x1 router and a x2 satellites. We went for Orbi as our house is around 3800sq ft with thick walls and 60ft or so distances from the router internally. I was worried about the wireless systems e:g PS5/PS4, Sky Q as well as a daughter that watches Netflix a lot faltering with the Orbi but thankfully no issues at all and the biggest change is the signal strength at a distance is much more even and useable. I need x1 more orbi satellite for our kitchen which is further still from the router with lots of walls in-between and this should make the perfect system. Don’t bother with cheaper setups that claim the same performance – we’ve tried – you won’t regret it – And no this is not a sponsored ad – just a happy custome
I have tried a number of mesh systems for my large house and have had to send them back because they have not been able to supply wifi to the whole of my house. This system has been able to provide 200-300Mbit wifi in the far corners of my house and an average of 500Mbit wifi closer to the Orbi’s. It has a nice app on the phone that provides alerts for spam and malicious attacks. It is expensive but it is worth every penny, with 7 people in the house streaming 4K TV in the evenings or playing online games I have had not a single complaint since this was purchased.
It does have one problem with not really working with my BT Sport and sky sports through my BT TV box when it is plugged directly into the Orbi so you may have to think about your TV being plugged directly into the BT hub as it is currently.
Installing the Orbi means my Client no longer wants to fire me – it’s literally saved my job. Working from home during Lockdown for 12 months now – alongside 2 teens homeschooling and a Mac user wife has been an utter nightmare. BT fibre 75Mb at the hub location , degrades to less than 20Mb on the top floor of a 4 storey townhouse. Dropped Teams calls and busy PM periods losing the connection entirely – meant I was about to be fired. Simply couldn’t do my job properly. I tried everything – new external line; new socket, new BT Hub, Wi-Fi extenders, upgraded powerlines, x2 5G home hubs (Vfone no connection/EE completely unstable.) Then I read about the Orbi. Yes it’s massively expensive and completely overpriced, but I’ve billed that to my Client and it’s saved my job. Installed in 5mins, worked first time. Devices roam cleverly from the main router to the satellite as you move around the house. And now on the top floor I get the exact same WiFi speed as when sat right on top of the main router. WiFi6 is completely amazing and rock solid. I am utterly impressed. Wired devices just as stable, but not really needed as the WiFi is as stable as any Ethernet connection I’ve experienced. No issues with dual-band roaming – 10yr old printer happy at 2.5, new iPhones living their best lives on 5Ghz. My single best purchase of Lockdown (and I’ve been buying so much that Amazon wrote to me asking if I was actually a business!) Do NOT hesitate to buy this kit – it will change your life, as it has mine.
I for example have a 1gb service from Virgin Media and their hub 4 router is just not up to the job , especially when we have 51 devices , including smart plugs , viop phones and smart bulbs.
You see the problem is, many routers cannot connect all these devices at once and you’ll find your service provided router will melt down and needs lots of re starts, or you’ll get WiFi drop outs randomly, very annoying !
Now comes the Netgear orbi, which is a mesh system, designed to take high bandwidth broadband and connect loads of devices all at once while also making sure every room has full WiFi via the Satellites. You will also notice that when you’re in a WhatsApp video call and moving around the house, the call will not drop ( unless you leave the house of course )
It’s a big investment but if you are a techy like me and you have a smart home, this is the product of choice.
I’d restart them and they would work for a while and then stop again.
I recently had the super fast broadband fitted with sky (although its Openreach who run the fibre cable to the house) since then I just couldn’t get the Orbi system to work. I spent a few hours messing around with it, but no joy. I then started reading reviews on line and a few people had the same issue. One comment really helped my. They mentioned pressing the reset button in for around a minute on the main router and this will reset the whole system and update the most recent firmware. It was also important to keep the phone app up to date, as this will prompt for any recent firmware updates required. If I’m honest I hadn’t kept up the app settings, so that was adding to the issues. So I reset the system and went through all the phone app information again and this worked. I actually reset the other 2 satellites as well, then the phone app prompted me to update the firmware. Once all the was completed, it now works a dream. I’m getting between 130 – 150 mbps over 3 floors.
As I’d already run a solid Ethernet cable from the ground to the second floor office, I actually put the router on the second floor and had the other 2 satellites on the ground and first floor. I’m not sure if that also helped, as having 2 routers together, didn’t seem to work as well.
I just wanted to put this information on an Amazon review, nearly a year after purchasing, as I thought it may help. I’m a tradesman, not a tech expert, however I still managed to set this system up, after resetting. Net gear tech people aren’t that useful if I’m honest, so research online and getting information from other users, seems to be the best option.
This system is very expensive, but extremely good, if you keep an eye on the phone app, update firmware and possible give the system a reset if needed. Don’t be frightened to reset the system, you may have to go back to the factory settings, but they can all be changed back again in the phone app.
Hope the information helps.
I have 360 mb fttp Internet. My old router gave me about 50 mb in the top bedroom on wifi (3 story town house) and regularly dropped out on Teams calls. After trying several different approaches I decided to just grit my teeth and spend money. I have the router on the ground floor at the back of the house. One satellite on 1st floor at front of the house and the other on the top floor in the middle. Just by way of background I am keen on films and like streaming 4k movies and my teenage boys are keen gamers and have some powerful hardware in their bedrooms. There are 7 Alexa nodes of various sizes controlling lights and sockets as well as integration with ring video units round the house. In other words we have a shed load of stuff that needs Internet. With these new units deployed I can now get 360 mb download throughout the house. The boys can be gaming, my partner Zooming and I can be on a Teams call with no loss of signal. WiFi 6 was a bonus that I didn’t expect. All the mobiles in the house now connect by WiFi6. I dropped a star because my partners lenovo laptop will not connect other than through a cable connection. Its a rather old and cheap laptop and it doesn’t even see the SSID and try as I might, it will not connect. But there are plenty of ports on the router and satellites to plug things in so it really wasn’t a big deal. Everything else has worked fine. I love the guest WiFi when I have guests as well. Finally I get bandwidth at the bottom of the garden in the summerhouse where had nothing before. These units are not cheap but given how demanding we are as a household they are wonderful.
I upgraded my home broadband to FTTP on a 500MB/sec package as both me and my wife work from home and we have a teenage son who is very in to his tech and streams movies and game content. The broadband company provided a router that was the same as they give for their standard broadband package – and couldn’t cope with the speed nor give enough coverages for my 5 bed house. They then sent wifi discs, also not designed for the speed so whilst I got the wifi coverage, I simply got guaranteed slow speeds.
I then invested in a mesh system with a different brand (not Netgear) and I had to spend over 10 hours with their tech support just to try and get it to work as a mesh, but again I only got max 50% of my max speed and their tech team never got the issues resolved. They even left me with it not working, without turning up to planned support call sessions, for nearly two months.
I then did what I should have done in the first place and bought the Orbi. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Worked straight out of the box, looks cool, and runs blisteringly fast across all my devices. I get 450MB/sec wirelessly in my study and no less than 250MB/sec across my whole house and that is with just using 2 out of the 3 nodes (both of which are based downstairs). Downstairs nothing runs slower than 300MB/Sec. They look good, they are unobtrusive and run like a dream. They even support guest Wi-Fi which is great, something the first mesh I bought did not offer.
So – yes expensive. You probably only need the two node set-up in most standard houses in the UK – but if you live in anything larger than 5000sq ft then just bite the bullet and get the 3 node system. It’s not about the price, it’s about the value and the fact I did not have to have a single call with any tech support teams and my time is way much more important to me than the few hundred pounds.
If you are sitting on the fence – just go with the Orbi!
If you want the fastest possible WIFI mesh system available as of Q1-21, Orbi AX6000 is your best bet and will help max out your connection – but it is let down by a poor app/UI, limited parental controls and the integration with Sky Q.
— Details —
I’ve been using a 3x node google WIFI mesh system in my home for the last few years and while this was OK for my needs a recent change last year to Gigabit Internet (Vodafone) really showed the limitations of that system. The google WIFI would only vary between 10-30Mbps in my lounge on a mesh node and when I was in the same room as the master node my iPhone 12 Pro would get around 350-400Mbps.
After lots of research into various devices (Velop, Deco, Eero, Etc.) I settled on Orbi AX6000 2 Node system which I think is an at the top of end of the market in terms of price (I just couldnt justify the 3 node system at nearly 1000).
— Setup —
Setup of the Orbi is extremely straight forward especially if you use the same SSID and PW – all my devices connected automatically no issue. Plugged the master Orbi directly into my ISP Router (that was set to modem only mode with WIFI disabled).
— Application —
The application on the iOS is extremely limited and not as advanced as the Google WIFI. If you want to have detailed tracking of bandwidth by device, QoS etc. this really isn’t the up to it. It also comes with a Security service that has many features but is a chargeable service (after a 3 month trial) – so renders that pointless.
–Speed–
This is without a doubt the main selling point of the Orbi which is the speed. I was dubious on how fast it would be (given that my office/Orbi is in my garage with an external wall) and my lounge is the other side of the house. However, I can say I’m blown away by the speed this can handle over my gigabit connection.
Office (Orbi Master) -> iPhone 12 Pro – 650Mbps – 700Mbps Down.
Lounge (Orbi Slave) -> iPhone 12 Pro – 550Mbps – 650Mbps Down
Master Bedroom (Orbi Slave) -> iPhone 12 Pro – 350Mbps – 450Mbps Down
— Orbi & Sky Q —
This is one my complaint of the Orbi and that is the way that this solution co-exists with Sky Q (they both share the same WIFI Channel and Mhz band) and both operate as their own mesh systems. Orbi has a limited number of channels available to use on the 5Ghz band.
I’ve read many reviews (Amazon) stating that people have managed to get these two systems to co-exist in peace. This couldn’t be further from the truth for me – I can only assume that for everyone depending on the interference and the eco system of devices they have, everyone experiences different results.
After searching countless forum posts on Netgear and Sky, I’ve yet to come up with a STABLE system that allows my Sky Q box, Sky Q mini boxes and Orbi to all place nicely without needing to be reset on a weekly basis.
The Orbi kit was really quick and easy to setup. It took me less than 45 min from unpacking to having the household up and running on Orbi. Most of that time was spent removing the old equipment, reconnecting wired devices, untangling myself from the cables and hiding all the tech mess from the view of my missus.
Reconnecting my NAS and the outdoors access point was super easy, I plugged it all in to the satellites ethernet ports and it just worked. The only issue I had was our printer: it’s an old yet perfectly functional USB-only machine. The old Apple AirPort had a dedicated USB port for it, while the new Orbis have only ethernet ports. But then I’ve realised I can use my Qnap NAS as a print server. So I connected the printer to its USB port, enabled printer sharing in the NAS settings and it worked very well.
Overall we’ve got a 3X increase in speed, and now getting our full broadband speed (350-380 Mbps) over the air. The network is blazing-fast and the coverage is great around the house. Feels like a real upgrade from the AirPorts. I can certainly recommend Orbi to everyone who’s doing business from home or can justify its high price tag.
After a lot of investigation it became clear the Netgear Orbi 6 system was consistently rated as the best solution currently available to address my issue. The only things that made me pause before buying were some reports of difficulties with setup and others of issues with interrupted content on streaming services.
The setup was very easy. After downloading the app and following the simple instructions the router and two satellites were up and running in no time. There is now an excellent signal throughout the whole house and download speeds are brilliant.
The streaming issues mentioned in some other reviews have also not materialised. Both Amazon Prime and Netflix steam 4k content simultaneously on multiple devices without so much as a hiccup.
To be fair the price wasn’t cheap, but you get what you pay for. The product is everything I hoped it would be and I’m totally satisfied with the decision to go with Orbi 6.
I’ve been looking to upgrade my Apple Airport Apple Extreme network for a number of years but I hadn’t found a good enough replacement router until now. I’ve tried various but they’ve all suffered from weak signals, unstable networks or sudden drops in speed. I also needed a router that would work with nearly 100 home WiFi devices; Alexa, Hue lighting (60 bulbs), Sonos, Tado smart heating, Symphony outdoor lighting, smart TV’s, Xboxes etc. I’d read the setup for the Orbi was complex but it proved to be very simple using the App; unplug the old router, connect the Ethernet cable (with internet), power on, use same network name and password and everything worked and found the network. I also have one Orbi satellite which together provides enough coverage for a large 5 bed home. Since upgrading my router everything is running faster, when I tell Alexa to turn off my outdoor lights it’s almost instantaneous rather than taking 30 seconds. I can stream 4K to all the TVs (and FireSticks) over WiFi and hold Zoom, WhatsApp and FaceTime calls without any difficulty. The App provides a reliable speed-checker and plenty of configurable security options. Both routers also have plenty of spare Ethernet sockets on the back to connect devices directly if needed. The only thing that took me time to realise was that when it’s all working there are no lights on the router which is different to most I’ve used which glow green or blue. I thought at first I had turned it off! All in all a very satisfied customer.
I ordered the Orbi to provide wider coverage of my home and annex. Main house has a virgin media router set to modem mode which is connected directly to the main Orbi router. I have one satellite upstairs and another in an annex which is connected via a Netgear switch. The satellites are hard wired (cat6) back to the main router. My ISP is Virgin Media and TV through Sky (we have 4 sky Q boxes) I connected two of the sky Q minis with a patch Cat6 cable to the Satellites. Using the Netgear Orbi App is super simple and easy to do. I had to turn off the Wi-Fi mode on the main Sky Q box and reset the network to Wi-Fi from another ISP, everything works perfectly, no dead spots in the house or annex which is 25m away from the main property all the walls in the house are block not stud walls. Only draw back is the cost however internet speeds over Wi-Fi are 500+ Mbs which we subscribe to from virgin without lag.
I would highly recommend really impressed!
How good could a new WiFi router be? Better than 5 stars, that’s how good. From the unboxing to the setup and the use everything about this system has blown me away. I have Sky fibre broadband with various boosters and links to try and gain constant WiFi around the house (you do still need to use the sky router as the modem, but turn its WiFi off). Since the whole family has been working from home or gaming all day, the need has grown for a reliable connection. I bit the bullet and purchased the RBR853 system, yes it was expensive but I feel that if this continues to work for the next three years as it has so far it well worth it, 1 a day for connection this good I can deal with. My system has the main router downstairs, a satellite in my son’s den at the end of the garden (20m away) and the second satellite in the study upstairs. I have 30 plus devices connected to the system and was able to update the names for each of these as I introduced them to the system, this also gives the opportunity to turn the connection off to individual devices at any time through the Orbi app. The Orbi app has so many inbuilt functions that are easy and simple to navigate and check functionality. There is no area in the house that cannot connect to the internet now. Possibly overkill for the house but the reliable connection is well worth it.
The price is frankly comical, but thankfully I can get the VAT back. Undeniably there is a shortfall of included features that one would expect at this price point too. The bottom line is that this Orbi 6 does the job of extending wifi across a four floor house (I have the two station version), noting no other of the many solutions I have tried over the years has even come close. It is also reasonably future proof (for now!).
Setup was not seamless, but neither was it too painful. I have a supplier (TIM in italy) provided router that I needed to hobble back to a modem only first to avoid a double NAT situation. This was simple (thank you youtube). I did have to configure PPPoE with a username and password (I literally used ‘any’ for both!) as the ‘not required’ setting did not work. I used a long ethernet patch cable from my modem to position the base station centrally in my house (stairwell). This worked well and meant I was not confined to where the adsl line comes into the house.
Setup of the base station can be done by browsing in via the new wifi – the app unhelpfully forgot where it was in the process (I had renamed the SSID but it kept on looking for the default setting – eventually I deleted the app and reinstalled it and was able to get it functioning). Sadly, the app just provides an overview and bare basics and I don’t think Netgear have yet found there ‘anyone can do this’ solution yet!
For proper functionality, access is required through a browser for ‘advanced’ features such as port opening – for my use there is more than enough functionality here. Just a point of reassurance, I was concerned that some of my legacy smart home devices would not handle a single SSID name for both 2.4 and 5 bands. I did have a task resetting some smart devices to the new wifi setting, but the orbi was even able to cope with my nanoleaf panel setup which wanted me to have my ipad on 2.4 not 5. After a bit of perseverance and a nanoleaf hard reset, my ipad found it and all is well. Also note that it took a couple of goes for the satellite to apply the latest firmware, but as this was from the web so it was not too painful.
After the first afternoon of setup, there have been some issues with devices being forgotten and needing to be reconnected. I have put this down to the setting changes I was making behind the scenes (including installing Armour). Since I have stopped fiddling connects have been stable so fingers crossed.
Annoyances include the short power supply leads – 1.5 m is simply not long enough for wall mounting (extensions on their way from Amazon). Also netgear has shamefully cheaped out with the 5e patch cable – for a device that can take in a 2.5 Gig feed, providing a cable that can only do 1 is poor attention to detail.
Original Review dated 23rd May 2020:
To use your own hardware with Sky, the hardware must use “DHCP (Option 61) Client Identifier” in order to authenticate with the Sky network. Unbelievably the latest firmware as at 23rd May 2020 does NOT offer this functionality despite offering it in their basic modem routers. Consequently I was unable to access the internet. After wasting 4 hours on the phone with Netgear’s awful technical support, they finally confirmed that the Orbi does not currently support Option 61.
It would be extremely easy for Netgear to offer Option 61 functionality just by a firmware update. It is so frustrating considering how expensive this product (RBK853) is and was only released in December 2019, so is very recent. I have therefore returned my product for a full refund. I will consider repurchasing the Orbi when Netgear finally release a firmware update that supports Option 61.