Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi System

I installed voxel yesterday. For peace of mind.

Voxel is a latest updated custom firmware which has all latest security fixes Original post is here [https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-orbi-rbk50-v-2-5-0-42sf-hw.60308/](https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-orbi-rbk50-v-2-5-0-42sf-hw.60308/) Note the latest post is this [https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-orbi-rbk50-rbk53-rbr50-rbs50-v-9-2-5-2-44sf-hw.97104/](https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-orbi-rbk50-rbk53-rbr50-rbs50-v-9-2-5-2-44sf-hw.97104/) [https://www.reddit.com/r/orbi/comments/1td17ap/voxel\_custom\_firmware\_installation\_of\_orbi/](https://www.reddit.com/r/orbi/comments/1td17ap/voxel_custom_firmware_installation_of_orbi/) I wrote the steps for you in above Post

If you will have RBR/S50 as access points then you may keep them as stock. If RBR50 will be used as routing etc then probably Voxel is best bet, I would prefer it over OpenWRT.

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

I’ve had experience with Orbi, Eero, and Deco. Eero is nice in that it usually “just works”. When it’s functioning, it’s stable and reliable. The thing is that it’s not very adjustable and once you step outside how Eero wants the network set up, things get weird and there is no way to fix it because there are not many exposed settings. Also, the units I used (Pro 6E) would get extremely hot in operation. This was normal for that model, and they’ve changed their equipment design on newer units, so this might not be an issue anymore. I liked the Deco (Tp-Link) units I tried. They were fast, cool, and had some really nice options for more advanced setups. I would have kept them, but some of my WiFi cameras kept refusing to connect, no matter what I tried. Orbi is expensive, and their units can be very big. They have, however, been the most stable brand I have used. I was using the venerable RBK50 units, but upgraded to the RBK840. Both models have been reliable, and the settings offer an okay bit of configuration. One of the satellites is using wired backhaul via a MoCA adapter, and that has helped with speeds quite a bit.

I just retired my ~10 yr old Orbi RB50 setup and got the eero 7 Pro 2 node system and am very happy. Getting 950 MBps down wired and 1100 down wireless on my iPhone 17 Pro Max wirelessly using my 1 GB Spectrum cable service. Set up NextDNS filtering at the router level and am pleased so far. Skip the Eero + subscription service if you go this direction.

I have and RBR850 with two satellites. Upgraded from the RBR50. Had issues on the first one with drop outs and random reboots and I work from home so it was pretty annoying. I put them in AP mode behind a TPLink router I had. All was fine. New home and Gigbit fibre thought I should upgrade the wifi speeds. Now I have the Satellites back haul wired but still getting drip outs a few times a week at best sometimes multiple times a day. I read on another thread about the Ubiquity Cloud Gateway Fiber and using that as the router and putting the Orbi’s into AP mode. The best combination of a solid router that doesn’t have issues plus exceptional management capabilities and still great Wi-Fi speeds. So I ordered one and it comes next week.