Last Updated: April 6, 2020 (Refresh Now)
NETGEAR RBK53 Orbi Whole Home Mesh Wi Fi System Router and Satellite Tri Band AC3000 3 0 Gbps Circle Parental Controls and Alexa enabled
Last Updated: April 6, 2020 (Refresh Now)
7.6
SCORE
/10
Total Reviews
626
Old Reviews
242
Unverified
153
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WARN
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WIFI
Review Analysis - 231 recent, verified reviews
Detailed Mode
Network
131orbi, satellite, coverage, wi fi, garden
+80%
-20%
" ... I expect the router itself isn’t up to much but connected the Orbi last week and - bang - super fast broadband everywhere in the house. ... "
" ... I live in an apartment in a building that has concrete walls, so I had quiet a few extenders in my previous setting with some dead spots. ... Once you get a stable connection with the whole set up, you'll get a significant boost in speed that i never had before in and good wifi coverage in your worst dead spots. ... "
" ... But this system is great have had it installed for about 5 months now and have not had a problem with wifi, I placed one of the satellite units in my garden workshop and run a couple of security cameras and a laptop and Alexa through it with no problems or drop out. ... "
" ... Excellent coverage over all of house would highly recommend ... "
" ... Our house has thick concrete floors so we've struggled with dead wifi spots. ... "
" ... The backhaul somewhat connected on 2.4G but the wifi speed is just super in the entire home. ... "
" ... We live in a 3 bedroom terraced house with 2 further rooms in the attic. ... I feel for this money we have the convenience of being on one network but the signal strength should be a lot better and it really isn't. ... "
" ... Broadband is now high speed throughout the house and garden. ... "
Capacity
84walls, satellite, throughout the house, orbi, wifi
+89%
-11%
" ... Totally covers my large Victorian house and also the garden! ... "
" ... Firstly, I installed the Orbi router as a AP downstairs and the Satellite upstairs. ... "
" ... We live in a big house over 3 floors. ... "
" ... Excellent coverage over all of house would highly recommend ... "
" ... Our rear bedroom signal was woeful but as soon as the Orbi satellite was up and running it was very strong. ... "
" ... The range is surprisingly good, was sceptical about going from 3 units to 2 but these provide much better coverage. ... "
" ... I now have a very strong wifi signal throughout the house (almost full bandwidth in every corner) which is pretty amazing. ... "
" ... For the first time I can get good signals at both 5G & 2.4G in every room in the house. ... "
Wifi
82wi fi, orbi, mesh, extenders, satellite
+77%
-23%
" ... Now wifi speeds are consistently 37Mbps everywhere in the house & even 32Mbps at the back of my garden ! ... "
" ... This has just solved my wi fi problems instantly. ... I've also got a TP Link range extender plug in the kitchen and have full bars in my wifi signal at the end of the 100ft garden. ... Set up the wifi, sorted. ... Anyway, great product and the end to wi fi frustration. ... "
" ... Everything seemed fine for about an hour then WiFi disappeared for about 20 minutes. ... "
" ... Connecting the mesh network is App based and simple to do if powered on instructions followed to the letter. ... These niggles aside I would 100% recommend the Orbi mesh network. ... "
" ... If you call your Orbis the same name as your exsisting wireless lan then you will save yourself time on reconfiguring the wifi settings of the numerous wifi devices we have in the home nowadays ... "
" ... After enduring way less than satisfactory wi-fi coverage & speeds across the house, after much research we elected to go for the Orbi & I am so glad we did. ... The mesh technology means there’s just a single wi-fi service so no need to keep switching tech onto different extenders etc…the Orbi handles it all automatically. ... Within 10 mins of opening the box, all of our wi-fi & connection issues have been sorted & hopefully future-proofed. ... Additional options such as guest-wi-fi I’ve yet to explore but given it copes admirably with the size of our property & our daily needs then those are just added bonuses. ... "
" ... I currently have the BT Whole Home WiFi-Fi trio disk system connected to my trusty ASUS router. ... I set up a VPN server and that worked flawlessly, allowing me to connect to my home network when away from home via the OpenVPN protocol. ... I have reinstalled my ASUS router and the BT WholeHome WiFi and my ring has an excellent signal again and I am not receiving any hacking attacks. ... "
" ... Mesh WIFI is the way forward. ... "
Setup
78orbi, easy, easy to set, netgear, app
+88%
-12%
" ... Easy set up & pairs with existing shy router ... "
" ... Setting up was very easy. ... "
" ... Great range and easy to setup. ... "
" ... It was also so easy to set up and connected to our original router with the supplied ethernet cable with no problems and no settings needed to be changed other than turning off the Wifi on the old router. ... "
" ... Works as expected, easy to set up, got it up and running in about 5 mins. ... "
" ... Easy to install and now have full wifi everywhere. ... "
" ... Simple to setup, simple to use, and ‘just works’. ... "
" ... It was easy enough to install and set up. ... "
Ease of Use
47easy to set, set, simple, setup, app
+98%
-2%
" ... Simple to set up and with all the options needed! ... "
" ... Super easy to setup! ... "
" ... It was easy enough to install and set up. ... "
" ... I now have WiFi in the whole house, easy setup. ... "
" ... Easy to set up. ... "
" ... Easy to set up, worked great for the first week. ... "
" ... Easy to set up. ... "
" ... It's easy to set up, basically plug and play. ... "
Software Platform
46orbi, web, google, ios, devices
+54%
-46%
" ... If the system did an initial MAC address lookup for at least the manufacturer of your devices it may help determine the devices to be managed. ... "
" ... Good PC interface and also good apps for iPhone and iPad. ... "
" ... Setup was easy - download the app first and let it guide you. ... "
" ... The app and web interface makes managing the devices and network very easy. ... "
" ... Sent it back and purchased google WiFi and that has been rock solid. ... Easier to install better application software and solid performance. ... "
" ... (once set up the app works fine, and you can control everything from the app). ... In summary, I'm glad I got these rather than the google hubs, as these seem far more powerful and just as easy to get up (not to mention faster as well). ... "
" ... The app is brilliant, you can see the network map and it tells you which devices are connected to which satellites. ... "
" ... Install with the Orbi app was a breeze. ... Used app to set up telephone support session. ... "
Device Compatibility
34orbi, connected, bt, app, satellite
+62%
-38%
" ... How can my phone connect to the router that much quicker than the satellite does! ... "
" ... They increased my WiFi speeds on iPhone, iPad, Apple MAC and PC dramatically! ... "
" ... Bought this to replace my Apple Airport system as I could net get the range I wanted. ... "
" ... I’ve used a combination of BT home hubs and extenders for years and have never been satisfied. ... "
" ... I run close to 30 devices currently through this system and all work fine. ... "
" ... I get a consistent 37-38Mbps from my 39Mbps connection to my phone, regardless of where I am, a significant increase from the 17Mbps previously. ... Ultimately, the only thing I can say is that the internet now just works . ... It'd also be nice if it had a WPS option/button on the app to allow for easy connecting additional devices instead of having to type the password every time. ... "
" ... Great investment for you connected home. ... "
" ... Going back to my bt smart hub and an extender. ... "
Apps
29orbi, satellite, ios, satellites, mobile
+66%
-34%
" ... (once set up the app works fine, and you can control everything from the app). ... "
" ... App works well giving clear live information regarding which of the satellites is in use. ... "
" ... Setup was easy - download the app first and let it guide you. ... "
" ... Working well with good audio for us both as well as other applications, surfing, google Home, Sonis and movies. ... "
" ... After logging in with the app and adding the satallite it was all set up! ... "
" ... The app is brilliant, you can see the network map and it tells you which devices are connected to which satellites. ... You can even turn off access to devices from the app (handy way of getting kids to do their chores, by denying them access to Wifi! ... "
" ... It's reasonably ok to setup but with no visual indicator on app to where to place your satellite like BT and others. ... "
" ... Satellite connection still struggling a bit at times, but generally works well and iOS control app offers nice features and ease of use. ... "
Product Reliability
26months, orbi, month, satellite, work
+38%
-62%
" ... I've been using this product for 8 months now and whenever we have a power failure or have to turn the power off for whatever reason, trying to get a stable internet connection thereafter can take hours of fiddling, resetting, reinstalling firmware. ... "
" ... I think I lost 2 days to booting. ... I never managed to register (kept getting errors) and get help for the Orbi. ... "
" ... Product doesn’t work. ... "
" ... Over and over again it drops out. ... "
" ... However, for the last year, the satellite connection is very sporadic and in the last 6 months it is impossible. ... "
" ... I have had this for 6 weeks now and I could not recommend it to anyone. ... "
" ... Essentially you are stuck with their poorly thought out and poorly tested updates until they get around to fixing it. ... "
" ... The router has stopped working after just two months and I am unable to find any support via Amazon. ... "
Price
22expensive, worth the money, worth every penny, worth, costs
+64%
-36%
" ... Great buy, worth every penny ... "
" ... Recommended if you have the money. ... "
" ... The cost difference is justified given improved performance. ... "
" ... Pay the money you won’t be disappointed I assure you. ... "
" ... If you are on the fence about buying this product, I would encourage you to do so if you can warrant the price tag. ... "
" ... Yes, they are expensive, but absolutely worth it. ... "
" ... I really wasn't expecting Orbi to be that good but have to say its a great product and worth the investment. ... "
" ... How it compares to other mesh products I don’t know, but this does the business and I have no regrets about the cost. ... "
Ports
22powerline, ethernet, satellite, modem, virgin
+73%
-27%
" ... I bought these over other similar products as I wanted the hard wired outputs and I will reconfigure the boxes to be connected by a Cat 6 Cable rather than rely on the WiFi connection. ... "
" ... It was also so easy to set up and connected to our original router with the supplied ethernet cable with no problems and no settings needed to be changed other than turning off the Wifi on the old router. ... "
" ... I connected the main Orbi router to one of the four ethernet ports at the back of the existing router, and turned on. ... "
" ... The supplied Ethernet cable goes into the sky router and connects to the Orbi router. ... "
" ... Not only that, but the Ethernet (RJ45) ports on the back of the satellite mean it can be placed diagonally upstairs from my downstairs living room router and the NAS device plugged back in there, out of the way, instead of having to be next to the VirginMedia router. ... "
" ... Getting rid of power line adapters. ... "
" ... The usb connection on the back is an added advantage. ... "
" ... And you get the plugs, and a network cable to connect to your modem. ... "
Overall performance
20speed, speeds, solid, praise, orbi
+100%
" ... Expensive but does the Job. ... "
" ... Very impressed with speed too. ... "
" ... However, once up and running the performance is magical. ... "
" ... Absolutely delighted with the performance. ... "
" ... Great speed for a few minutes when it does. ... "
" ... beside that, the orbi is doing the job!! ... "
" ... I knew that this was overkill when I opted for it (the RBK30, or certainly the RBK40, would probably have done the job) but, at the time, the prices between the three kits on amazon made the RBK50 the logical choice. ... "
" ... And gives me superb speed. ... "
ISP
19modem, netgear, broadband, virgin, orbi
+68%
-32%
" ... Well done and congratulations, Netgear! ... "
" ... This solution worked well, however, it was expensive having two internet providers. ... "
" ... Have it setup as an AP to my fibre broadband and have had excellent speeds throughout the house so far. ... "
" ... Used to have BT ADSL, with D-link modem and Linksys router (which I seem to remember was a pain to set up abut 4 years ago). ... "
" ... I had a Powerline extender before and all I wanted was the same speed as when I was next to my router. ... "
" ... Highly recommended router. ... "
" ... I mainly blamed them even though their speed tests and mine showed decent broadband speeds. ... "
" ... Broadband is now high speed throughout the house and garden. ... "
Firmware
16firmware update, firmware updates, netgear, update, bt
+38%
-63%
" ... bad tech support / constant loosing WiFi from room to room, read forums, they said update firmware it’s still the same. ... "
" ... They did another firmware update a couple of days later which miraculously fixed the issue which they claimed to know nothing about. ... According to Amazon support this is a known issue with the latest Netgear firmware update and the fix could take another 6 months. ... Note that there is no option to disable auto update on their firmware without hacking it. ... "
" ... And I have latest firmware and done a factory reset after install firmware. ... "
" ... It then prompted me to do a firmware update, which I did, the satellites didn't come back, after 3 hours on the phone to tech support they suggested an RMA. ... "
" ... The firmware mine shipped with didn’t appear to give any indication of the health of the backhaul. ... A firmware upgrade added this. ... And the final nail in the coffin: a firmware upgrade silently enabled the guest network with a default, well-known SSID, no password, and no isolation from my network. ... This is utterly unforgivable and suggests either a total disregard for customer security, or a totally lack of any testing of the firmware, or both. ... "
" ... This product started off well but as Netgear have released more and more firmware updates it's become more and more unstable. ... Netgear officially pulled all v2 firmware updates due to the huge volume of bugs reported and customers having major stability issues. ... Done by resetting, setup from scratch and eventually downgrading firmware to the last of v1. ... Reset to factory settings, setup from scratch, reload firmware blah blah blah and eventually I gave up. ... "
" ... I think Netgear need to work on the firmware a bit more. ... "
" ... Firmware update would not run without admin password which wasn’t the default one, went to password recovery and asked for the name my youngest sister “I’ve never had a sister” total waste of 2 hours trying in vain to setup a system costing £300 that promises superior coverage, it gave the same coverage and speed of my virgin router in all areas. ... "
Returns
8return, amazon, returning, refund, sadly
-100%
" ... This has now been returned. ... "
" ... Returned to Amazon sadly. ... "
" ... sadly I took it to east africa n can’t return it . ... "
" ... So If I could return this I would. ... "
" ... I wish I never bought the thing now and am considering returning the whole thing to amazon for a refund ... "
" ... Unfortunately, i had to return it. ... Returned for a different product by a different manufacturer. ... "
" ... Returned for a refund. ... "
" ... Returning it all today - something this expensive shouldn’t be so flaky. ... "
Video Playback
6videos, video, streaming, movies, 4k
+100%
" ... t work, so I watched a Youtube video and easily managed to get them set up. ... "
" ... Decent loads my 4k movies in my shed man cave instantly the wife will never know ... "
" ... Netflix streaming at full 4K hdr whilst other household members are watching You Tube videos and playing games. ... "
" ... I was raving about it so much my friend got one too as her son was always streaming movies and complaining about them pausing. ... "
" ... I did a lot of reading, watching review videos and learnt about mesh. ... "
" ... I can now happily avoid video buffering around the house which is brilliant. ... "
Marketplace
6returned, refund, back, waiting, sadly
+67%
-33%
" ... Good news is Amazon accepted it back. ... "
" ... And resolve them it did. ... "
" ... Who are these people writing all of these fantastic reviews on Amazon? ... "
" ... Great product, as described ... "
Bluetooth
5wifi, orbi, via, setup, satellite
+60%
-40%
" ... so I investigated mesh networks and looked at BT, linksys, Google and Orbi. ... "
" ... I never had that with my Asus and BT setup. ... "
" ... I purchased this together with the Vigor 130 modem to replace BT Homehub. ... I had 4 - 5 disconnections per day with BT HH6. ... "
Gaming
3game
+100%
" ... This system is a game changer. ... "
" ... Now that my kids are growing up, the demands on internet based services (gaming, streaming, Xbox, Netflix, YouTube etc) have grown with them . ... Previously I struggled to get beyond 10mbps, especially for online gaming where the ping times are important. ... "
" ... I never leave reviews, however this has been game changing for me. ... "
For Running
3within, performance, minutes
+100%
" ... Within minutes of unpacking the system was up and running. ... "
" ... Always up and running without any issues. ... "
" ... However, once up and running the performance is magical. ... "
Controls
3sync, parental, button
+33%
-67%
" ... And there are no Parent controls on the devices that you don't have to pay for! ... "
" ... Oh, and be warned - the parental controls require a subscription! ... "
Remote
3remote, signal, hardly, coverage
+67%
-33%
" ... Fantastic all house coverage although the remote unit to base signal is a bit fussy and can affect speed ... "
" ... Remote working via VPN etc has become a joy again, rather than having to regularly unplug and replug the mains TP-Link extenders, which can now be filed away somewhere, probably never to be used again! ... "
Cables
3via, q, plug, everything, cables
+33%
-67%
" ... 100mbs off our cable to all three Orbis. ... "
" ... Therefore, I could not simply unplug and plug cables. ... "
Size
3bulky, small, home, bit
+33%
-67%
" ... A BIT BULKY ... "
" ... It only works properly in very large XXXL houses ... "
Fit
3falling
-100%
" ... This kept falling over. ... "
" ... In my opinion the system was and is over priced and at times simply not fit for purpose. ... "
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Specifications
Connectivity
WiFi: Yes