Last Updated: January 3, 2019 (Refresh Now)
NETGEAR Orbi Ultra Performance Whole Home Mesh WiFi System fastest WiFi router and single satellite extender with speeds up to 3 Gbps over 5 000 sq feet AC3000 RBK50
Last Updated: January 3, 2019 (Refresh Now)
8.3
SCORE
/10
Total Reviews
1000
Old Reviews
0
Unverified
409
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WIFI
Review Analysis - 591 recent, verified reviews
Detailed Mode
Network
373coverage, wifi, satellite, throughout, sq ft
+91%
-9%
" ... One unit in the rear of the first floor and one in the front of the same floor offered either complete WiFi bandwidth or nearly so to the degree the third unit was not necessary and could be returned. ... "
" ... I was hesitant to buy a $350 router, but I now have a super fast connection in every inch of my house. ... Including the loft, the back yard, and the front yard. ... "
" ... consistent and strong signal. ... "
" ... Best WiFi home system glad I was able to get it no more dead zones in my house ... "
" ... We went from 8-35 mbps download speeds in various parts of our house to 75-180 mbps! ... "
" ... WiFi is blazing fast in my entire home ... "
" ... Perfect WiFi for my whole house. ... "
" ... Covers roughly 4000 feet seamlessly. ... "
Capacity
212wifi, throughout, sq ft, square, satellite
+98%
-2%
" ... It provides strong signal to all parts of my 2-story house at full-rated speed from my provider. ... "
" ... Excellent coverage for 4000 square foot house . ... "
" ... recommending Orbi to all my other friends . ... "
" ... So far I’m beyond happy with my home network from one end of my home to the other. ... "
" ... I have a large piece of property and my office is in a building 150 ft. from the house. ... "
" ... We have 2 home offices and a ton of devices so we tax our internet heavily. ... Took probably 10 minutes and then began testing throughout the house. ... "
" ... It blankets the house with the speeds I actually pay for through my internet provider, even in the distant corners of my house. ... "
" ... Everything is working great with 15+ items using WiFi in my home of 2,300 square feet. ... "
Wifi
197orbi, wi fi, mesh, coverage, satellite
+86%
-14%
" ... Great fix for our wi-fi issues. ... "
" ... Totally worth the price from dealing with cheap wi-fi extenders or other equipment that simply doesn't work or drops signals in weak areas. ... "
" ... Works great for extending wireless coverage in your house. ... "
" ... Wi-Fi now reaches every corner of the house and all the way to the neighborhood pool a hundred yards away. ... "
" ... Completely fixed wifi range issues in our home ... "
" ... Just a breeze to set up and the best coverage of any wifi router that I have ever had. ... "
" ... I've been using the Orbi wifi system for several weeks now, and it's been absolutely flawless. ... I'd definitely recommend this product to anyone considering a wifi mesh system. ... "
" ... Also, in testing those areas, I went from 5mbps over wifi without the Orbi set up to nearly 100mbps with it. ... "
Setup
172easy, orbi, minutes, easy to set, easy to install
+95%
-5%
" ... Easy to install. ... "
" ... Installs quickly and easily. ... "
" ... Very sleek design and fairly easy to setup. ... "
" ... Setup is intuitive and went smoothly (it's nice to have the same SSID throughout the house), and security appears good. ... User interface to review connected devices and tweak router settings is easy. ... "
" ... Installation process is really simple. ... "
" ... I have to say that Netgear made the setup for these units even simpler than Apple (which is pretty tough to do). ... "
" ... Surprisingly easy setup. ... "
" ... I found enough info on the netgear support sites to get it installed. ... "
Ease of Use
105easy to set, setup, set, easy to install, easy to setup
+96%
-4%
" ... Easy to install. ... "
" ... It's not as easy to set up as they claim: you will definitely need to call ... "
" ... This product was billed as simple to setup and easy to use. ... "
" ... Easy to set up. ... "
" ... I can install as many as I want. ... "
" ... Easy to setup. ... "
" ... Setup was easy. ... "
" ... Easy to install and set-up. ... "
ISP
97modem, internet, satellite, mbps, netgear
+80%
-20%
" ... Went from 25.06 to 89.95 Mbps. ... Still using xfinity modem but enabled bridge mode. ... "
" ... I am getting 108 to 110 MB per second down the Ethernet line, ... "
" ... I also have faster speeds with the Netgear Orbi By a good bit and I don’t want to leave out that the connection process was easy - all in all I’m impressed ... "
" ... I pay for 100mbps with my cable company and with this modem I get all of that speed plus some. ... "
" ... This is a great router. ... It works well with my 200 Mbps download speeds. ... "
" ... Well, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to install this considering I have a comcast/xfinity moden/router with the phone bundle. ... "
" ... bought the Orbi because I had a problem with my internet constantly dropping in and out. ... "
" ... I'll post update after I receive a new one. ... "
Device Compatibility
90connected, wifi, network, orbi, satellite
+69%
-31%
" ... Then connected the RBS50 satellite. ... "
" ... All existing devices connected to Orbi without a problem. ... "
" ... Good application for the iPhone. ... "
" ... Overall, this is a great Wifi system, working well in a house of 35+ devices, mix of Apple and IoT. ... "
" ... I have owned multiple WiFi routers and this the first one that does not throttle my speed and allows for my 12+ devices to connect simultaneously without and drop in performance. ... "
" ... Connecting all of our wireless-enabled devices (roughly a dozen) went smoothly as well. ... The Orbi automatically and correctly connected to either the 2.4 GHz or 5.0 GHz band depending on the device. ... "
" ... Deploying the Orbi in my home has sped all devices up. ... I didn't think my old router was the problem until I realized just how many devices were pulling on that old thing that resided in my basement. ... "
" ... - The Linksys was a powerful router but since NTFS based, i had issues logging onto the time capsule and backing up my mac. ... I'm accessing photos and videos from my time capsule (connected via wifi to the house) and the speed is incredible. ... "
Product Reliability
78weeks, orbi, netgear, ago, years
+53%
-47%
" ... Reliable so far. ... "
" ... PRO: Very fast when working. ... "
" ... Set up was easy, and I literally haven't had to do anything else for nine months. ... "
" ... Easy to get up & working. ... "
" ... I wish I would have upgraded to the Orbi system months ago. ... "
" ... Easy to install and has worked flawlessly for the past 7 months. ... "
" ... It's worked pretty well so far. ... "
" ... Zero problems since I switched. ... "
Firmware
49update, latest, satellite, netgear, orbi
+29%
-71%
" ... No such file or directory problem and no real fix from Netgear!!!! ... Terrible interface to update Orbi software also. ... "
" ... The satellite shipped with an out of date firmware that did not match the router that had the current firmware. ... One would think that this firmware mismatch would be a predictable event that the setup software would be able to detect and remedy. ... "
" ... When I updated the firmware on the router the satellite failed to reconnect. ... "
" ... I had even turned off the 2.4 ghtz band so that there could be no switching, but now it looks like the firmware has been upgraded and that is no longer an option. ... "
" ... Netgear has a known issue with the latest firmware that constantly kicks these types of devices off the network. ... "
" ... Beginning with the 1.11.x release of firmware, this system has become completely unusable. ... "
" ... Out of the box our set had 1.8.5.0 firmware. ... I saw on the Netgear site that they now have 2.0.5.0 firmware available. ... I went to the orbilogin.com page to access the settings of the router, but it was telling me that there was no new firmware available. ... Scared after reading all these reviews that I should have the latest firmware I did a manual update. ... No change in performance with new firmware outside of some new features (internal speedtest and ability to daisy-chain the satellites if you have more than 2). ... "
" ... Their latest firmware 1.12.0.18 broke it for pretty much all users. ... It's been almost two months since the firmware that pretty much broke the system with no update of when new firmware will be released. ... "
Software Platform
47orbi, google, web, firmware, download
+66%
-34%
" ... You load an app on your phone, there's a QR code on the Netgear equipment that you scan. ... The app will ask you to name your network, set your wifi password and you are done. ... "
" ... Setup was flawless with the help of the free Orbi app download available for both IOS and Android. ... "
" ... Orbi app test: 340 download - 32 upload ... "
" ... Only have basic settings in mobile apps Also has many advanced settings in web admin. ... "
" ... I have to admit, I liked the Google Wifi's application tools better than Orbi, but Orbi is getting better. ... "
" ... I preferred this solution over Samsung and Google options due to it having a dedicated backhaul channel. ... "
" ... The Orbi app was really simple to use. ... "
" ... Had to go to the website and manually do it download the files, and manually do the update. ... So if you close the screen at the firmware update, it will restart the setup if you open it back up. ... "
Apps
47orbi, download, google, web, net
+79%
-21%
" ... I haven't had the time or motivation to delve into the advanced settings, but they're available through a Web interface. ... "
" ... The Orbi app was really simple to use. ... "
" ... Good install app. ... "
" ... I preferred this solution over Samsung and Google options due to it having a dedicated backhaul channel. ... "
" ... Love the management app. ... "
" ... Easiest set up in the world via the mobile App. ... "
" ... I used WiFi Analyzer on my Android Device to get a Visual Map 1st. ... "
" ... I was able to restart and upgrade the firmware on the satellite thru the Orbi app. ... "
Overall performance
47speed, fast, speeds, reliable, download speeds
+96%
-4%
" ... It’s FAST! ... "
" ... Much much better performance. ... "
" ... Performance has been incredible! ... "
" ... this did the trick ... "
" ... Every thing when really smooth. ... "
" ... It has all the normal features, all the capacity, and all of the speed. ... "
" ... I decided to use netgear and so far it works and downloads and streaming are still fast. ... "
" ... Works quite well. ... "
Price
42worth the money, worth every penny, well worth, waste of money, expensive
+64%
-36%
" ... The cost was a little high, but in the end it was worth every penny. ... "
" ... Best $400 I've ever spent well worth the money ... "
" ... Worth the price ... "
" ... Worth every pennny ... "
" ... Well worth the investment! ... "
" ... A few limited features but totally worth the cost. ... "
" ... I am very pleased - well worth the money :) ... "
" ... But the difference between this model and the RBK40, RBK30 is less than 50 bucks so this is worth all the money. ... "
Ports
41router, satellite, orbi, cable modem, ethernet ports
+85%
-15%
" ... I pay for 100mbps with my cable company and with this modem I get all of that speed plus some. ... "
" ... If your have a modem/router combo disable the router function, if you can, so the Orbi can assign IP addresses and you if can’t disable that function switch the Orbi to AP Mode in Advance Setup. ... Office computer LAN connected to satellite unit ... "
" ... i was one of the early adapters for Mesh Wifi systems . ... "
" ... We tried extenders and daisy chaining routers. ... "
" ... More devices now are hooking up to 5GHz than ever before (device hook up speeds found at Netgear Orbi GUI under Advanced / Connected Devices). ... "
" ... The ethernet ports are great - I have 2 laptops connected for online gaming - no more lag issues and getting booted from games. ... "
" ... With the above setup, I got the desired WiFi coverage I want throughout the house and also gained additional LAN ports on the Orbi router (on top of the LAN ports that I have with my C6300). ... "
" ... I recommend this system it’s satellites and wall plug-in extenders to anyone having the same type of issues . ... "
Marketplace
26amazon, works, warehouse, thanks, thank you netgear
+73%
-27%
" ... Works as advertised. ... "
" ... Works as advertised. ... "
" ... Performs as advertised ... "
" ... Thank you NETGEAR! ... "
" ... However, I got the Netgear Orbi during a Black Friday deal on Amazon. ... "
" ... Works as advertised ... "
" ... Works just as Expected. ... "
" ... it works as advertised. ... "
Returns
25returned, window, try, could, returning
+8%
-92%
" ... I suspect a firmware update but I am going to try and return. ... "
" ... Very unhappy and outside my return window. ... "
" ... I will return these junk if I can. ... It's over the return period now ... "
" ... They refuse to refund me even though the product is defective. ... "
" ... Returned it and waiting for replacement. ... "
" ... Now that I am out of the return and support window. ... "
" ... This garbage is being returned. ... "
" ... Contacted support, they said to return the device to the seller. ... "
Video Playback
13streaming, netflix, buffering, videos, stream
+85%
-15%
" ... No more movie interruptions due to weak signal and finally can watch HD! ... "
" ... I am now streaming video anywhere I like and when I'm streaming music it no longer drops out. ... "
" ... No more buffering if we're streaming videos anywhere in the house, and very snappy responsiveness for other WiFi-dependent tasks. ... "
" ... I have over 3 TV's with either Netflix, Youtube or Amazon movies working plus 3-5 cell phones and 2-4 computers at the same time. ... "
" ... My son is happy that he can stream his movies from anywhere in the house without buffering. ... "
" ... Fast enough to stream Netflix on a laptop or tablet. ... "
" ... With all the devices running in my house at one time I haven't had any problems with latency when someone's watching a movie on Netflix, playing video games, and running 3 security cameras at the same time. ... "
" ... We are able to stream video very well. ... "
Lagging
13devices, buffering, spots, reset, reboot
+38%
-62%
" ... Should have worked, but it was slow & unreliable. ... "
" ... Slow and dropping all the time. ... "
" ... I now have to reboot the devices multiple times a week. ... "
" ... 1) Random reboots, averaging maybe 1-2 times per day. ... "
" ... Have to do resets hourly. ... "
" ... I'm getting more buffering. ... "
" ... When it works it is fast however it goes into spats where it disconnects every 30 seconds or so making it unusable. ... "
" ... I don't want to have to go through a factory reset and the setup process over and over again every time this happens. ... "
Product As Described
13works, system, product, performs, described
+100%
" ... This is an amazing system that works as advertised! ... "
" ... Works as advertised. ... "
" ... This product works as advertised. ... "
" ... Performs as advertised ... "
" ... it works as advertised. ... "
" ... Overall, the product performs just as advertised. ... "
" ... Worked as described. ... "
" ... Works just as Expected. ... "
Build Quality
13strong, single, seems, solid, performance
+54%
-46%
" ... These are really strong. ... "
" ... After a bit of blinking a blue ring appears. ... It seems rock solid. ... "
" ... Rock solid performance! ... "
" ... Mesh system is the way to go. ... "
" ... Once that happened, it was rock-solid with the others. ... "
" ... Strong single units just do. ... "
" ... It improved coverage for sure but, I still feel I should not of had to purchase it if the main base should cover 200 soft. ... "
Cables
10cable modem, router, gigabit, ethernet, cat
+100%
" ... and the new Netgear cable modem I bought to go with this. ... "
" ... 100 mbps cable connection. ... Cat 6 (Gigabit) cables are so cheap now. ... Although you may not get true Gigabit speed for a cabled device, why make the cable the rate limiting factor? ... "
" ... One thing I can't emphasize enough is make sure you have good cables and they are at lease Cat-6e. ... "
" ... I pay for 100mbps with my cable company and with this modem I get all of that speed plus some. ... "
" ... Plug in the ethernet cable, plug in the router, and wait for the light to turn solid. ... "
" ... My cable modem is in the basement and all of my computers are on the 1st and 2nd floor and attic of an old clonal style house. ... "
" ... The system works great in conjunction with a good cable modem. ... "
" ... We never had much luck with just wi-fi in our much smaller home, so we received an estimate to run CAT6 cable so that we could connect an access point on each level of the home. ... "
Features
9function, orbi, mesh, limited, feature
+78%
-22%
" ... I did a lot of research on the different mesh systems available, and I chose the Orbi because of its dedicated backhaul channel, advanced configuration interface, and the mostly good reviews. ... "
" ... it will light blue or amber. ... "
" ... I've been very happy with the signal strength and ease of setup (including the advanced features). ... "
" ... The reason I’m rating this a 4 Star is the devices are lacking some features that would make it a lot easier to use. ... That would be an awesome feature. ... A few limited features but totally worth the cost. ... "
" ... The Ethernet in the satellite is a great feature. ... "
" ... Of the 3 or 4 competitors in the mesh home market right now, I think the features that this setup has are just a little better than the others. ... "
" ... The performance in both modes were superb. ... "
Internet
9download speeds, speed, high speed internet, 100, upload
+78%
-22%
" ... We have 2 home offices and a ton of devices so we tax our internet heavily. ... "
" ... It works well with my 200 Mbps download speeds. ... "
" ... more advanced options when you use the internet access. ... "
" ... Download speeds hitting as high as 115Mbps! ... "
" ... Works great, all my streaming and internet connections became 100% better witht this system. ... "
" ... Improved our internet speed drastically. ... "
Speed
715, took, set, installed, 5
+86%
-14%
" ... I had it set up, with my testing, in about 30-minutes. ... "
" ... 15 minutes to set up. ... "
" ... about 15 to 20 minutes . ... "
" ... Took 5 minutes to get going on it. ... "
" ... While not convenient, it was very simple and took 5 mins. ... "
" ... Was able to set up the system in less than 15 minutes. ... "
Band
6orbi, tri band, ac3000, firmware, eero
+83%
-17%
" ... Easy to setup and covers without having to transfer between bands. ... "
" ... I am very glad that I finally ordered the Orbi AC3000 Tri-Band Wifi system. ... "
" ... The majority of my devices are now able to connect to the 5ghz band. ... "
" ... You can't go wrong with a NetGear Orbi AC3000 Tri-Band system. ... "
Bluetooth
6reconnect, firmware, devices, constant, connection
-100%
" ... Constant drop-outs, Ooma not working, satellites intermittently connecting. ... "
" ... 3) Syncing works, but doesn't Just Work, which is what I was hoping for in a $300+ pair of devices. ... "
" ... The phones will work for a while, then they go into this cycle of disconnecting and reconnecting randomly, with the error message on the phone saying "this connection has no internet" or something like that. ... "
" ... How do you continue to sell this system when you have literally hundreds of reports scattered throughout the internet talking about constant disconnects, issues pairing, slow speeds, automatic firmware updates to non-stable versions, the list goes on . ... "
" ... It would get set up when I reset the firmware, but then it would lose connection to its satellite, and never be able to reconnect. ... "
" ... Then the satellite lost connectivity, and despite multiple reboots and attempts to sync (by the way, when you sync the devices, you have to press a button on the router, then on the satellite, so I got lots of exercise running up and down 3 flights of stairs), it still wouldn't work. ... "
Design
6look, really, looks, design, size
+100%
" ... They look great too, so I wouldn't mind displaying it anywhere in the house. ... "
" ... The router and its satellites also look really nice. ... "
" ... It's small and nice looking. ... "
" ... Design, color and size fit well into décor. ... "
" ... I think it looks just as nice as a decorative vase. ... "
" ... The unit itself looks decent enough, but the power brick on the plug is HUGE. ... "
Delivery
5right, delivery, time, return, products
+100%
" ... Fast forward to this past cyber Monday. ... "
" ... It was easy to set up right out of the box. ... "
" ... Last but not least, I have no idea how Amazon managed same day delivery but I ordered in the morning and received the products less than 8 hours later. ... "
" ... This system is the very best in Home routing and wireless delivery. ... "
" ... Received the package on time and started installing right away. ... "
User Manual
4time, setup, quick, manual, install
+75%
-25%
" ... I simply just plugged everything in, and followed very simple instructions ... "
" ... All you need is to follow the quick set up instructions. ... "
" ... The instructions are on online for configuring using the advanced setup. ... "
Gaming
4speed, ps4, lag, game, devices
+50%
-50%
" ... This is ok for basic internet but really unbearable for gaming, VPN or videoconferencing. ... "
Resolution
4tv, streams, streaming, movie
+100%
" ... I was able to connect my AVR , UHD 4k / Blu-Ray player and my Fire TV box to the repeater with Ethernet wire for the fastest internet connection in that part of the house. ... "
" ... All of this pretty much means netflix streams well in high def, ... "
" ... No more movie interruptions due to weak signal and finally can watch HD! ... "
" ... Satellite is connected to a TV and Netflix streaming is perfect. ... "
Storage
4+50%
-50%
" ... My only complaint is the lack of mountable options as the unit is quite large. ... "
" ... It would be a major issue if you are trying to put it in a confined space or if you have a limited number of receptacles available. ... "
Comfort
4hands, feel, ear
+100%
" ... And boy was I surprised because Netgear won hands down! ... "
" ... I had an ear to ear smile. ... "
" ... I clicked next day delivery and crossed my fingers. ... "
Controls
3satellites, satellite, main, sync, push
+67%
-33%
" ... Adding satellites is just as easy - the satellites have a sync button on them, you power them up, press the sync button and wait a few minutes and they are synced with the master unit. ... "
" ... Two button pushes total and I had a main and 2 satellites up and running. ... "
Pedometer
3troubleshooting
+33%
-67%
" ... The application was not able to activate the main router after going through all the troubleshooting steps. ... "
" ... Did some of troubleshooting steps I read on the forums: ... "
Accuracy
3+100%
" ... One has to be patient, follow the steps and be able to provide detailed information as they have to imagine what you are looking at. ... "
" ... My Initial Speedtest measurements seemed good too. ... "
Remote
3unit, 5, devices
+67%
-33%
" ... I bought a second remote satellite to bring the far end of the house up to max output from the modem. ... "
" ... Easy to set up other than I had to reconnect some remote devices like TVs. ... "
Cleaning
3dead
+100%
" ... Removes dead spots around the house ... "
" ... Finally, a product that removes the dreaded dead spots. ... "
" ... It covers both floors seamlessly ... "
Call quality
3talk, never, could, asked, speak
+33%
-67%
" ... Call center overseas that keeps you waiting forever. ... "
" ... I asked if he could just talk me through it. ... When I asked to speak with a supervisor or to talk with someone in the US, he hung up on me. ... "
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Specifications
Connectivity
WiFi: Yes