NETGEAR Orbi 970 Series Quad-Band WiFi 7 Mesh Network System (RBE973S), Router + 2 Satellite Extenders, Security Features, Up to 27Gbps, Covers Up to 10,000 sq. ft., 200 Devices, 10 Gig Internet Port

The installation of the hardware and the phone app was seamless, and I was able to have everything up and running in no time at all. From the moment everything was set up and running, my internet speed and router/WiFi coverage improved drastically. I can finally leverage the fiber speeds that I'm paying my ISP for, all over my house. Great purchase!

I had my doubts about how well this would work for my use case. This has allowed me to extend my local network to the edges of my property. The setup just worked the first time (a real rarity in my experience) and the system is way fast. Expensive, but so far worth it.

I have used Orbi mesh system for several years now and needed to upgrade to network my home interfaces and computers. I had upgraded to gigabyte fiber and the old system was bogging down. I unpacked this two unit system (much heavier a bit larger than my older model) and followed the instructions to install and connect to the fiber. There were no problems with the connection and I was up and running. The coverage is wonderful. This two unit system does the work of my older three unit system. The speeds are much better for wifi: the old system 486mb versus new at 898mb. Each unit has four gibabyte ethernet ports so you can easily do a wired backhaul if needed. All in all, I am impressed with this combo. I think you will be also.

Pros:- Speed, speed, speed. Best WiFi speeds I've ever experienced, I routinely hit peaks at 800MBps+ (see pic) => +5 starsCons:- Web interface is excruciatingly slow, counter-intuitive and cumbersome. The previous Orbi generation web interface was already pretty bad, but this is worse, the new Orbi supposedly comes with a much snappier CPU and should run the webserver a lot faster, but it doesn't. To add insult to injury, Netgear removed a ton of options readily available in the Orbi first generation => -1 star- Security is not implemented well, the thing leaks like a sieve (see picture, you absolutely don't want the blue squares). I would caution against connecting the router directly to your provider's WAN, you might want to leave a gateway or a cheap yet capable router in the way. That's using the latest firmware available (V3.2.9.2_1.2.4), and with the firewall settings on ("Disable Port Scan and DoS Protection" is off, it makes no difference on or off anyway, I tried both) => -2 starsI own the previous generation of Orbi router/satellites, they are far from perfect, but they are rock solid and reliable when it comes to security. This new product was obviously rushed to market, and consumers are essentially being used as beta testers. Given the amount of similar reviews all over the interwebs, I'm surprised Netgear is not stepping up, the firmware in its current state is either going to lead to extremely negative headlines when someone manages to exploit the security holes on the WAN side, or to a class action lawsuit for selling an unfinished product and not implementing what their website says they did. Netgear keeps saying here in the comments they provide high security and point to their website security "good practices", but they haven't even implemented the first "security measure" listed on their site.I'll come back and update my review as they make progress, in the meantime, I'm putting my RBR850 behind an el-cheapo router with a standard firewall stack (it doesn't take much effort to implement, but I guess it's too much to ask from Netgear for now). This is disappointing to say the least, especially when you have to drop a grand to get a router and 2 satellites.*** 2/24/2020 update ***I did submit a case on the Netgear support website (per their request in the comments), and also pointed out the security issues on their forum. No peep from Netgear, so that's another star that's gone. Some forum users acknowledged they saw similar issues with the built-in firewall, but Netgear reps never took the time to look/respond at the forum either. I gave up and bought an Edgerouter 4 from Ubiquiti and switched the Orbi to AP mode (access point only). The Edgerouter proved to be rock solid and secure, though if you plan to make a similar move, make sure to triple-check your firewall rules on he router before you make the switch. It's unfortunate I had to spend another $200 to get basic security that was available in the previous Orbi generation. One positive note: the guest network in AP mode still works, it has its own subnet and dhcp, I was actually surprised moving to AP mode didn't screw that up (one can argue since guest devices are on a different subnet with its own dhcp, they're effectively being route, so it's not true AP mode for them, but that's the way it should be designed to keep the guest network isolated).*** 3/1/2020 update ***I keep finding new bugs on a regular basis. Latest one: if you plan to use the router in AP mode and plan to use a fixed IP address for the router instead of DHCP, the router will not connect to NTP servers to get the correct time, even if you try to use a third party server and not Netgear’s. Why does it matter? Many devices will not properly connect to WiFi guest due to the fact that the guest network has its own DHCP server (it’s on its own VLAN), I suspect the leases are out of whack due to the time discrepancy between the router and the devices.*** 3/18/2020 update ***Netgear pushed a broken firmware last week and essentially bricked many Orbi's in the process. See Netgear forums, lots of unhappy users over there. We're well into negative stars territory at this point.*** 4/1/2020 update ***Well, I really gave it the old college try, but I eventually gave up and put the thing for sale on fleabay. The hardware is great, but the software is simply not mature enough, and I have better things to do than debug the damn thing on behalf of Netgear. I switched to the Amplifi Alien and things have been rock solid since then. YMMV.

I've never written a review for anything in the past but hopefully this helps add a bit of clarity around what can be expected with this router/satellite, especially given the price.After many hours of researching the RBK852 Wifi 6 router/satellite combo (the $650 version), I decided to give it a try. I was hesitant at first given the negative reviews on Amazon, but in light of the overwhelmingly positive reviews from nearly every tech site I read (with the only real 'con' listed across most sites being the price), I was banking on negative experiences being a result of either QA issues that slipped through the cracks or simple human error.That said, I'm reasonably tech savvy, so I figured/hoped I could get a good result.In the interest of full disclosure, I've only been using it for 2 days - so time will tell if what I write here remains true in the long run. I'll update this review if things turn out differently.Setup:Took about 30 min from unboxing to completion. Really straight forward using the Netgear app on my phone. In the app, your able to setup the network, change the default SSID and password. Unlike most other routers I've worked with, there is no need to configure the 2.4 ghz and 5 ghz networks separately; the router handles the broadcast of each using an identical SSID and assigns each connected device to the frequency best suited.I followed another reviewer's recommendation to setup the router with the satellite a few feet away, then moved the satellite to it's proper place. This seemed to work just fine, I don't know if I would have had an issue otherwise.I have the router in a small downstairs office and the satellite in the upstairs game room.Speeds:The farthest point in my house away from either the router or satellite is about 60 ft (in a straight line with walls/doors obstructing line of sight).At that farthest point, I average 400Mbps.In a room with the maximum number of walls between me and either the router or satellite I get around 350 Mbps.Most places in the house average 650 Mbps.If I'm in the same room as EITHER the router OR satellite, I'll get a minimum of 960 Mbps, frequently hitting over 1 Gbps.I've experienced no loss of connection moving through the house and have had no issues to speak of, whatsoever.Conclusion:If you're looking for a whole-home, high-speed wifi setup and have the money to spend, I'd definitely recommend giving this a try. I've had a few high end, "high-speed" wireless routers in the past, but nothing that comes close to the speed and coverage of the Orbi. Your experience may differ, but at the moment, I regret nothing.