NETGEAR - Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi System (RBK50, RBK53, etc.)
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Last updated: Dec 15, 2025 Scoring
Liked most:
491
122
"Unifi provide the most stable wifi network for IoT of all the AP on the market, even with one VLAN, even in mesh configuration. ... I have +200 IoT devices in my home from Apple, Switchbot, Aqara, Logitech, Eufy, Hue, Govee, and numerous exotic brands. I have been through hell with solutions from Apple, Orbi, Peplink, Meraki, Eero, Huawei and many many more. And only since I am rocking on Unifi I can open my Apple Home app with not a single device error !"
"Actually better than a range extender, as Mesh systems are designed from the ground up to work with each other in the system. ... But it's half ass "patched up" jerky jerky mesh was no match to a Deco. Deco was snappier, more reliable, and longer range."
"I have a 2 story 2350sf house. I have an Orbi with the master AP upstairs in the hall covering all the bedrooms rooms. Downstairs I have 2 Orbi Client APs on either end of the house covering all the downstairs, garage, and outside. ... I’ve never had any issues with coverage or bandwidth."
29
6
"I have setup three Eero mesh systems for family members. They are super easy to setup and maintain. ... It has been set it and forget it for over three years now. These are installed in houses with users who are 65+."
"Very easy to install you go into the app and add a node."
"They work flawlessly for a set it and forget it internet experience."
339
55
"with a big house we always had issues with coverage before that's non-existent now"
"Actually better than a range extender, as Mesh systems are designed from the ground up to work with each other in the system. ... But it's half ass "patched up" jerky jerky mesh was no match to a Deco. Deco was snappier, more reliable, and longer range."
"The coverage is excellent. I have a 2 storey 175sqm house and it covers almost everything."
69
16
"2000sq ft split level, but I got it with 3 bases and particularly for the Ethernet back haul as I have one unit in a shed about 75 ft from my house that I ran Ethernet to. (Shed is a converted game space for tabletop gaming)."
"Became FANTASTIC once I strung some ethernet cables among four of them including the one serving as a router in strategic locations (our house is rather large and some walls contain metal lathe). ... We now always have excellent connectivity and fast roaming."
"i noticed a BIG improvement once i conected all my decos via ethernet. ... it was a game changer, i use smart products from different brands and now i don't have any issues with disconections!! ... Some meross plugs disconected all the time before wiring my decos, now they work flawless!"
18
5
"perfect for gaming, streaming, and working without annoying dropouts"
"I've been enjoying 300mbps in every room"
"Backhaul is rock solid and fast"
Disliked most:
5
56
"Support had me go through all the usual troubleshooting steps — no fix. ... I was told a replacement had been “processed” and would ship. ... It’s now been nearly two weeks and my order is still showing as “processing”. ... I’ve exchanged 24+ emails with Support. The replies are all scripted apologies and vague “please wait” responses. ... Their site promises 3–5 days for new orders, yet for a replacement I’ve paid almost $500 for, I’ve received nothing. ... I’ve asked for a refund policy and escalation, but I keep getting ignored."
"Ecovacs has the worst after sales of any company in any place of the world I have ever experienced. ... The company won’t take responsibility and goi around in circles. ... They wasted more than 6 months after talk to multiple people and site visits and it was escalated till the head of the after sales who I will name clearly: Tanmay Gangani, who is an absolute unprofessional and blatant liar with no sense of responsibility and ethics."
"I have never faced such a horrible service from any products in my life. ... Their service is ridiculous. ... The technician would come home and then inspect the device and raise a ticket for the spare part. So the spare part will be couriered to the customer directly after 2 or 3 weeks. Once this reaches your home, the technician will come again and replace that part. This is ridiculous. ... They don't provide service, they don't provide warranty. ... n one of my friends case, they had denied warranty saying there is fungus on board and its caused by water damage."
13
15
"that also drives up your cost not insignificantly (another $100 from what I recall)"
"it was not cheap ... basically the installation cost was equal to the cost of the hardware"
"they’re expensive"
41
82
"random disconnects that made me want to pull my hair out"
"However, even after a firmware upgrade it kept losing connection. Sometimes up to six times per day."
"No matter how I configure them, I constantly lose Wi-Fi connection. ... On my iPhone, the signal bars jump from 1 to 4 and back again and I’m sitting in the near of the GT190000BE."
1
12
"Netgear told me to factory reset after every firmware update. It took over one hour every time…They write it in every forum thread. They never fixed their firmware. This was an awful experience."
"if the router loses power all he'll breaks loose, I have to factory reset everything and set it all back up. This includes anytime a firmware upgrade happens."
"firmware updates breaking basic functionality"
0
13
"firmware updates breaking basic functionality"
"NG severely nerfed the software for power users (I'm a network admin by trade) ... you need a dedicated and better gateway with actual features"
"they stopped updating any firmware and my security software was screaming at me to patch holes."
I have those as well and see almost no reason to upgrade. Sure i can get slightly faster speeds maybe but in 4 years ive never had to even reboot them. Flawless performance
r/orbi • This brand is garbage. Please forward this to all Apple users. ->I have those as well and see almost no reason to upgrade. Sure i can get slightly faster speeds maybe but in 4 years ive never had to even reboot them. Flawless performance
r/orbi • This brand is garbage. Please forward this to all Apple users. ->iPhone 16 pro max here. I have no problems other then sometimes I may have to disable wifi and then turn it back on, on my phone. I noticed the 15 pro max was getting 1600Mbps and my iPhone 16 pro max gets 1300Mbps. Both phones are 2x2 mimo Maybe your mesh is not good… I don’t know you didn’t really do anything other then complain…
r/orbi • This brand is garbage. Please forward this to all Apple users. ->2 networks plus guest network. Network 1- 2.4/5/6ghz Or 6ghz Network 2- 2.4ghz Or 5ghz Or 2.4/5ghz Guest network… 2.4/5ghz Or 6ghz network Or 2.4/5/6ghz
r/orbi • This brand is garbage. Please forward this to all Apple users. ->Oops my bad, 2 networks plus guest network. Network 1- 2.4/5/6ghz Or 6ghz Network 2- 2.4ghz Or 5ghz Or 2.4/5ghz Guest network… 2.4/5ghz Or 6ghz network Or 2.4/5/6ghz
r/orbi • This brand is garbage. Please forward this to all Apple users. ->Wild. I’ll tell you. My Orbi system has a dedicated wireless backhaul.
r/orbi • This brand is garbage. Please forward this to all Apple users. ->Not crazy. They bought back my Orbis when I gave up on NetGesr and switched.
r/amazoneero • Am I crazy or can I get an "Upgrade" discount without sending back my old Eeros to Amazon? ->I have the same setup as you except one satellite and have no issues at all. I probably will avoid the new models but I have been using mine for 4 yrs and it has been very good
r/orbi • This brand is garbage. Please forward this to all Apple users. ->I have the same setup as you except one satellite and have no issues at all. I probably will avoid the new models but I have been using mine for 4 yrs and it has been very good
r/orbi • This brand is garbage. Please forward this to all Apple users. ->Luckily I returned that heap of shit and got every cent of my money back. I then left a horrific review on Netgear's website. Does this system truly have all the capabilities the 970 claims to have, the increased speed between devices on your LAN, WIFI7 perks like the 6 gHz radio, a dedicated 5 gHz backhaul, etc? My use case is I wanna do wireless PCVR and I want that intranet speed poppin' 😭. I have an orbi system now that is flawless that I got from Costco a while back. It just doesn't have the WiFi 7 stuff and increased inter device bandwidth. I'm glad you posted this though cuz I didn't even know what to buy to have a good mesh network. Their website is not the greatest for recommending the things you would need.
r/orbi • Moved from Orbi 970 to Ubiquiti and OMG ->I did have similar issues with my first Orbi which was an RBK50 it was fine for 1-2 days when dropped down to 1/4 of my speed. Rebooted it was fine again. Always happened. Tried a different router and that was fine for a wee but again the Orbi dropped to 1/4 speeds after 2 days when I changed back. (On all devices including wired) I read that someone was having the same issues on another brand mesh system and he replaced the LAN cable from the Fibre ONT to router and he was fine. That’s what I did and I never had a trouble with that set again. Went fine for another couple years until I upgraded to the 860 series haven’t had issues with this one yet
r/orbi • My experience with Orbi 870 has been a nightmare ->I went from the RBR50’s to the Orbi 97* series as well with three satellites and have had no issues either. It works as well as the older RBR50’s with the added bonus that wireless is basically faster than gigabit even with a wireless backhaul ( which is why I got this ). The two major changes with the new network was ( as you ) creating a separate 2.4 ghz IoT network and the other thing was Orbi doesn’t like spaces in the wireless network name anymore so we ended up having to rename our network. Once we did that everything seems fine.
r/orbi • This brand is garbage. Please forward this to all Apple users. ->I can only speak for myself, but I've had minimal issues with with the RBR50 + two RBS50 since 2017. I've turned down the WiFi radios and the response has been better on my iPhone 15.
r/orbi • This brand is garbage. Please forward this to all Apple users. ->I can only speak for myself, but I've had minimal issues with with the RBR50 + two RBS50 since 2017. I've turned down the WiFi radios and the response has been better on my iPhone 15.
r/orbi • This brand is garbage. Please forward this to all Apple users. ->I have also had fantastic luck with Orbi systems over the years.
r/BuyItForLife • Best mesh wifi system recommendations ->I've used Orbi (Netgear product) for the last 7-8 yrs, very reliable, good quality. I upgraded after 3-4 yrs, my parents use the earlier version, they all run fine.
r/VirginMedia • Best Mesh WiFi system to pair with Virgin Media? ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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