NETGEAR Orbi Pro WiFi Mesh System

Introduction: - As an IT Professional, I have been using Netgear routers for years in my home, and I’ve never had issues with them. My most recent is the 5-year-old Nighthawk R-7500 router and the Apple Air Extreme access point which are now retired as spares. Due to my house being 2400 Sq. ft two story structure, I had to use the access point for upstairs, and the R-7500 downstairs to maintain performance and minimize dead spots. The problem was I had to have two SSID’s for the router and access point, and two SSID’s for guests. Sometimes, my devices wouldn’t automatically switch from AP to router thereby causing a poor transitional connection. I also wanted to utilize the latest Wi-Fi 6 protocol available in my iPhone12. I chose the Orbi pro6 mesh system due to following options: - 1. Great reviews from nearly every vendor on the net. 2. Professional web-based GUI that rivals enterprise class GUI’s. This product was meant for small businesses, and for those who aren’t IT savvy, you can download a Netgear Insight app to set up and operate this router. 3. Single SSID for the entire house. Unlike Wi-Fi range extenders and access points where you get disconnected from one SSID and then reconnected to another as you go around the house, the Orbi pro6 system let's you connect to whatever SSID you assigned the device on the network. No more disconnections/reconnections! 4. A mesh network that will use one SSID for Admin for personal and home products use, and a choice of three more SSID’s for guests and IOT’s. 5. Won’t go obsolete soon – Supports maximum bandwidth of 2.5 Ghz. from ISP’s, latest Wi-Fi protocol Wi-Fi 6 (802.1 ax) and older protocol such as A, B, G, and N. Wi-Fi 6 is supported by newer devices such as the Apple iPhone12. 6. Can use a backhaul cable between the router and satellite – I have a CAT-7 cable that is already installed to support faster data transfer between both systems. 7. Mounting Brackets – As you can see in the picture, both router and satellite came with wall mounting brackets, and this made hardware installation very easy. Install and configuration: - Install was easy. Turn power off cable modem and old router. Disconnect old router, and once modem is fully re-booted, connect new router. When the Orbi router booted, it automatically connected to my XFinity service without any issues. Also, since the router came paired with the Satellite from the factory, it automatically synchronized with the router and they recommend a separation distance of 10 ft. during pairing. Once you logged into the router, it forced you change the admin password to a more sophisticated password. You do not have to program the satellite, the router passes on the configuration information to the satellite. Performance: - After a month of usage, I here are my experiences: - I routinely get around 900 Mbps from my ISP and that’s what I’m getting when I measure the speed using the router’s GUI. Without the Cat7 cable, and a direct distance of over 50 Ft. between several walls, a heater, and second story floor, I was getting a bandwidth of 500 Mbps on the satellite and over 700 Mbps connected to the router’s Wi-Fi. With the satellite connected to the router using the CAT7 cable, I get over 700 Mbps on my iPhone12 that utilizes WiFi6 and this is true for all locations in the house. I haven’t experienced any dead spots, and I settled on permanently using the CAT7 cable for the backhaul. Roaming around the house, the router and satellite automatically switch you to whatever device you are closest to, and gone are the days of having to sometimes manually switch SSID’s. Surprisingly, I get a strong signal in both my backyard and front lawn. You can continue streaming whatever you like while enjoying your summer barbeque. All devices that support both 2.4 and 5Ghz. radio stay connected to the 5Ghz, radio. All devices that utilize the 2.4 Ghz. radio such as printers and security camera’s stay on the 2.4 Ghz. radio. The router and Satellite lights stay off unless they have problems, and blink at you to confirm configuration changes. Power saver - Gone are the days of flashing Christmas lights (LED’s) all the time. Streaming video from the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook pro to my new 65” Vizio TV is a breeze since all systems are on the same SSID. Gone are the days of needing special adapters for this. Improved security software - I used to see a lot of DOS attacks attempts in the old router logs. For this Orbi6 Pro, I barely see any in its logs, and good luck to neighborhood hackers trying to get free Wi-Fi. Conclusion: - This is a rock-solid performer and with over 20 devices connected to this system, I haven’t experienced any issues. It may be pricier and bigger/heavier than the competition but if you want great performance and security, this is it. You pretty much set it up and forget it – Minimal maintenance is required, and you can set it up to automatically get router firmware updates from Netgear. The saying goes that you get what you pay for – For now, this system is one of the best performers of mesh routers. Supporting a maximum ISP bandwidth of 2.5 Ghz, and latest WiFi6 protocol, I’m looking forward to many years of great service from it.