Customer Ratings & Reviews

The Orbi 370 are a set of mesh wifi units. You get one router unit, which has a WAN port for internet input and LAN port for your local network and two mesh units each with a single LAN port. The LAN port also supports wired backhaul, though wireless backhaul is enabled by default. Aside from that, the only other thing you need to do is plug in power. The units are white, not quite cylindrical in shape. They look nice on one’s desk, unassuming, almost like a speaker or diffuser. They’re surprisingly light and take up very little space. I set these up in a 3000 sqft three story home. The main router went on the main floor on one side of the house in between the living and dining room. One mesh unit is upstairs, above the main unit in the master bedroom. with the third also upstairs on the opposite side of the house. I placed the mesh units in areas that were weak spots with my previous single-router setup. The basement only partially extends under the house and most things there connect via ethernet. I previously had a 5 port unmanaged switch which I replaced with the old wifi router. With the Orbi’s placement, the basement still is the most poorly served portion of the house, though the connection to the router unit is still stronger than it had been to the old wifi router, despite it’s many directional antennas that you could position. But now, instead of having a weak wireless connection to the main house SSID, there’s now a very strong connection to the basement SSID. It’s a tradeoff I’m happy to make, especially considering that the rest of the house now has great wireless coverage. Now, instead of having spots on the main and second floor where connectivity was poor to ok, I now have good to great coverage everywhere. My main ISP provides gigabit fiber. Speeds connected to the main Orbi router are pretty much the same as when connected directly to the ISP modem. Speeds at the satellites are a bit slower, but not my much. Download drops from around 980Mbps to 800Mbps and uploads take a bigger hit, from around 900Mbps to 500Mbps. In the basement, 100 feet away by ethernet cable, the speeds are the same as previously and what I’m seeing with the Orbi satellites. Another improvement is wifi coverage to my yard and garage. I have a wireless garage door controller that would sometimes lose connection to the house wifi. Now that never happens (or at least has not happened in almost two weeks of use). My phone still has good connection near my mailbox which is about half a block from the house itself where before that’s where it would give up and switch to cell service. I can’t say that I’ve noticed lower latency to any of my smart home devices - it still takes about the same 4-8 seconds to connect to my video doorbell and video quality to it and other cameras are the same, but devices that sometimes would drop off the network no longer do so. Setting things up was easy though annoying as I had to go through the process a few times. The app walks you through everything but if it gets interrupted for some reason, you pretty much need to fill out most of the same information again. After pairing the main unit to the app, you’d connect the satellites, then answer some questions to configure your home network. Then it will write all that info to the router. As part of that process, you connect to the routers wifi network and set an admin password or keep the default. The first time around, I’d set a new admin password and updated the SSID. But I decided I wanted to move where I had one of the satellites so I interrupted the setup. When I came back, the router still had the new SSID and admin password which the app remembered, but I had to enter again all the info regarding the house. For some reason, the second attempt to write the final configuration failed. Same deal - re-enter everything. I started the third attempt, but had to rush out the house for an appointment before it completed so again repeated this on the fourth which ran to completion. Another annoyance with this is that when it’s writing the final settings, it has a 2 minute timeout to wait for the router to connect to the internet before it actually completes the writing. Given that I never unplugged or restarted the main router at any point, it always had the internet connection, but it was clear from the status messages that the app just was waiting for time to elapse before it every tries to see if the router has connected. This might be nice on first set up so people don’t get worried by seeing messages saying it’s attempting to connect to the internet and failing to do so, but it really sucks when the router is already connected because it’s just wasting time. That’s an area where Netgear’s setup process could be smarter. Otherwise, I like the UI. The network topology diagram is nice and you can quickly see what devices are connected to which unit. You can even move things around though I figured I’d let the router handle that itself. It would be nice to have another LAN port on the main router but I wasn’t already using an extra port when I had the wifi router with 4 lan ports. If the use case comes up, I’ve got some USB powered 3 port switches that I can drop in. From what I can tell, the basement won’t really be affected as it’s bandwidth limitation is more due to being on the other side of a 100 foot cable than sharing a single gigabit port on the router. I wasn’t sure the Orbi 370 system could cover a large, three-story home with challenging layout, especially reaching the garage. But it has exceeded my expectations. I now have stable, fast coverage across the house, yard, and even near the mailbox. Setup had its hiccups, and speeds do dip slightly at the satellites, but the gains in coverage and reliability make it a worthwhile upgrade. Looking back, I wish I’d tried mesh Wi-Fi sooner. Then again, if I’d started with a weaker system, I might have written off the whole idea. Instead, the Orbi 370 proved that mesh can be clean, reliable, and easy to live with.

Worst tech support I have ever had. Will not work with wireless printing. Did 90 minutes of tech support and they closed the chat, new person wouldn't pick up. Total waste of time. Product is only marginal anyway. Would not recommend the product or any Netgear products based on their support

**OVERALL** The Netgear Orbi 370 is a high-end mesh Wi-Fi 7 router designed for large homes and high-demand environments, offering tri-band connectivity and support for the latest Wi-Fi 7 standards. The biggest, potential troubleshooting issue, by default once setup the router doesn't have any lights to tell you it's under normal operation. Only during setup do you have a light that begins flashing, some may believe there's been a setup issue when the lights turn off and begin fiddling with it as there isn't anything in the instructions to tell you otherwise. There's no setting to toggle a low light mode that can hint you toward network issues at a glance of the router. At the heart of it, I'm conflicted where to rate it. As a nerd for tech with a preferred interest in prosumer/enterprise devices, I want to nitpick more aspects than I probably should. But the consumer in me doesn't believe this is appropriate considering the customer base this is targeted for. But for this particular review, I'll base my POV from the consumer aspect as something in this price range wouldn't necessarily include every premium feature networking targeted for advanced users/small business would make standard. **FEATURES** - High-speed performance with support for 4,800 Mbps speeds - Compatibility with existing Orbi systems for easy expansion - Easy setup via the Orbi app **CONS** - More expensive than standard Wi-Fi 6 routers - May be overkill for smaller homes - No separation of bands, its all on the algorithm to decide if your device needs to connect to 2.4g or 5g. - Advanced features are tied to a subscription; a paywall. The router features several functions for easy management and security on your network. From a self activated "anywhere" access for network management; no more configuring pesky VPN networks to manage it remotely. To a self activated/managed firewall that actively scans networked devices and checks for vulnerabilities or security threats from connecting devices. You can manage devices within groups in a parental control window where you can pause internet connectivity for specific devices. Monitoring overall traffic usage is displayed in an easy to read visual graph. But it feels, hollow, for lack of a better word. Advanced functionality to some of these is locked behind a subscription. Without it, you can only manually pause the internet on a group of devices and security is limited to standard features. You can't specifically block specific websites or a broad range of adult or mature websites that wouldn't be appropriate for a minor, that's where the subscription comes in. That functionality can be added for $69.99/yr or $7.99/mo. For expanded security, that comes with a price tag of $99.99/yr. It's worth mentioning that this security add-on called Armor, adds on the go protection for devices not directly connected to your network and a VPN network, which seems to be pegged at 200/MB per device connected. It's unclear if this limit is the total allocated per day and reaching it presents you with an added traffic activity payment option. Either way, I'm not much of a fan of either of these features being an additional subscription. Additionally, I had an issue with a few devices. From phones to tablets that would randomly disconnect from the router, I never could figure out why. Newer devices manufactured after 2022 that can mostly rule out most band support issues. **DESIGN** - Sleek, modern design with a white finish - Compact form factor for easy placement **PERFORMANCE** - Excellent coverage and signal strength in large homes - Smooth performance for streaming, gaming, and video calls - Stable connection even with multiple devices **CONS** - May require additional nodes for very large spaces - Slightly higher power consumption **OTHER CONSIDERATIONS** - Best suited for users who need high-speed Wi-Fi 7 and have a large home - Works well with existing Orbi systems for seamless expansion - Features that may be standard with other routers add paywalls. - No advanced configuration options such as pre installed VPN configurations, separation of network bands, or separation of SSID's for different functions other than main network and guest. **CONCLUSION** The Netgear Orbi 370 is a top-tier mesh Wi-Fi 7 router with impressive performance and coverage, ideal for large homes and high-demand use cases. However, it comes at a premium price and may be overkill for smaller spaces. The lack of advanced features brings me to the conclusion that this device is made for someone that wants to connect it to the wall and never have to touch it again. The nerd in me wants to give this 2-stars. All things considered, this is worth 4-stars.

disappointed, I bought these to replace Net gear Nighthawk that was still working after 7 years, but I needed mesh and thought same brand was the way to go, but Orbi 3-unit mesh failed after only 10 days, so i did not seek replacement of same model

Firstly this came in a weird box that said one of two incomplete but I had my router and two towers. Inside the box I had my three towers and charging cables with a QR code sticker on the router I figured setting up was going to be simple but I ran into some major headaches. For starters, downloading the app and starting off was super easy. You plug your router into your current modem and then reset everything. Simple right?! Nope!! The unit like most tech items wants you to connect to the devices Wi-Fi and then I had major problems getting the two to merge. For starters, my Sonos sound system went offline and no speakers could be found but unplug this mesh system and boom there they are. Secondly my cable TV stopped working. I got panicked because my wife works from home and gets up at 3:30am and I didn’t want to cause her problems so I had to wait another day before really making time to get this to work. Eventually everything connected but I don’t like the size of the towers they are a bit of an eye sore and connecting this system was a bit of a process. Overall it’s a fast system that works good and I recommend

I've run Mesh Networks for my home and at relatives' homes for several years now and I cannot see myself turning back to a single node router. Mesh network nodes help ensure coverage throughout my house and allow my devices to seamlessly transition from one node to another. My previous mesh network system was a Linksys Velop, but lately it was dropping some connections. So I was in the market for my next stable system. I've installed Netgear Orbi mesh networks at a couple relatives' houses and they've performed pretty well. So I had no problem making the decision to switch over to Orbi to replace my Linksys system. The Orbi 370 series Mesh Network nodes are slightly different. The main node has a sticker on top and has two network ports. One for Internet, one for Network. The satellite nodes just have a single network port. For me, I like to have a built in network switch with about 4 ports. This is usually enough for a small temporary setup when I need to add some desktop computers without relying on WiFi. Unfortunately this latest Orbi 370 Series does not include a 4 port switch on each node. For a normal person, the Orbi 370 Series is pretty easy to setup. It does take several minutes to setup for the first time. I thought I did something wrong when I first tried to set it up. It just really needed to take something like 10 minutes to boot up completely the first time. The instructions point out that to set up the satellite nodes, they need to be about 10 feet apart from the other nodes. Ideally, you should have them in the targeted rooms the first time. However, I noticed the 'Sync' button on the back and thought I would set them all up initially in my office, in case I needed to push the 'Sync' button so I'm not running all over my house and possibly miss out due to an inherent timer. Fortunately, I did not have to do more than just plug the satellite nodes to power, wait about 5 minutes and then click a few buttons in the Orbi app to set up the satellite nodes. I was really pleasantly surprised that the Orbi 370 series can provide 3 wireless SSIDs. One main SSID, one for Guests but it also includes one for IoT devices. Within the Orbi app on my mobile device, I was able to set up the Orbi system pretty easily. However, more advanced work really needs to be done on a PC. So things like Port forwarding to open up services from your network to the Internet cannot be done on the Orbi App on my phone. The Orbi app also surprised me by including some network quality utilities so that I can see WiFi signal strength but it also told me that the current network channel was too congested. Unfortunately, I could not find the are in the App to change the network Channel. My Linksys would allow me to push a button in the app to optimize the network to the least congested channel. For the Orbi, I had to navigate to the local Orbi Logon page and get into the Advanced settings to change my network channel. My next complaint is with the Netgear Armor. I don't particularly need to have this setup. But every time I open the app, I get another reminder that I don't have this feature running. I'm not likely to buy into this Netgear Armor since I have a discrete Firewall (separate from any router) and I generally try to avoid subscription services like this. So I would love a way to disable this completely so I'm not marketed a product I won't ever buy into. Last, while I used to be able to cover my entire house with two Linksys nodes (one in my home office in the middle of the main floor and one in the basement). I noticed I was getting dropped network coverage in the distant bedroom upstairs. So I installed the 3rd node of the Netgear Orbi set in another bedroom on the second floor and I've had solid connections since. Overall, I think this Netgear Orbi 370 series system is a solid performer. It delivers next gen WiFi 7, so as my devices get updated in the next few years, this Orbi system will be able to keep up. It's currently delivering great WiFi coverage with the included 3 nodes. I would have no problems recommending this system for average home users. However, for someone that needs to open up single port forwarding and other advanced features, I want the ability to do that from the Orbi app and not just from a computer on my network. Finally, I also want a way to disable Netgear Armor since I won't be subscribing to that service.

Netgear is a name in networking that’s been around in computing since 1996 and back then home networking looked a lot different. A lot has changed since then and gone are the days of big clunky routers with giant antenna and range extenders. Now under a different moniker “Orbi”, Netgear still makes routers but more commonplace in todays home are Mesh Wifi Systems, which look like small pods or speakers that sit throughout the home to provide internet to every room! Today we will be reviewing the Orbi 370 Dual Band Mesh System! Initial setup out the box was an absolute breeze. The 370 comes with one router and 2 satellites. I hooked the router up to my modem and followed the on-screen instructions. Step by step worked to a T and within 5-10 minutes had everything completely set up. Sometimes I’ve had issues with setting up additional satellites with Linksys or Eero that caused me to have to try more than once to get them to pair. With the Orbi the app automatically found the satellites that were upstairs in the loft and master bedroom with zero issues. If I were someone who wasn’t familiar with setting up a router or mesh system I would probably lean towards the 370 alone for ease of setup. My mom is 72 and awful at anything tech related and I’m certain she could have handled setting these up no problem! Once my Wifi network was setup I hooked everything in the house up to the new network and ran some speed tests. I currently have 1000 Fiber with AT&T and generally in the past got around 400-700 Mbps when testing with my phone or other devices. With the Orbi 370 my testing peaks at 930kb for Download and 925kb for Upload. I can notice a big difference in app loading time on our family room tv along with less pixelation when streaming during heavy congestion times. I tested streaming on 3 tv’s at the same time while downloading files on my computer and it handled the stress test beautifully! Not sure why my other router wasn’t getting the top end speed my internet could provide, but the Orbi 370 definitely pulls every bit of juice out of my internet speed capabilities! The Orbi app is easy to use and adds a lot of functionality with Guest Networks, Parental Controls and Device Managers. Guest Networks allow you to create networks for people when they come to visit. Device Managers allows you to monitor the devices currently logged into your network. Parental Controls will allow you to set time limit and block apps and websites, but does require Premium Access which is an additional fee. There’s also a Armor feature that comes free for 30 days with the Orbi370 and it acts as sort of a firewall/monitoring system for your network. It has scanned multiple devices on my network to make sure they aren’t compromised. It is a paid feature after 30 days and if you’re a person who might be worried about added security and extra measures this would be something to consider! You can also check for updates for the router and access it outside of the home by using Anywhere Access! Overall, the app is super user friendly, straightforward and easy to use! I have been very impressed with the Orbi 370 Mesh System. It’s very simple to install and navigate and provides a useful amount of features with additional security features if you feel they’re necessary. The Mesh system utilizes every bit of my internet speed and provides fast WiFi throughout our home. If you’re looking for a new Mesh system and need one that’s user friendly with easy to use features the Orbi 370 would be at the top of my list!

First off, I'm not using the router functions on this mesh system and kinda not using the mesh since I'm fully wired. I've been using mesh-like set ups since the early 2k's so I already have ethernet cables throughout the house, though I do need to upgrade them for 2.5gb or higher. My server and wired computer have already been upgraded along with the switches. Router duties are handled by OpnSense and FreshTomato. Opn for my fiber and tomato for my cell. I have OpnSense route specific MACs to the cell - I use them mainly for IOT device and the security system. So, as expected, there's no improvement of my internet speed since even old AC can max out 700mbps. What I care about it coverage and the Orbi gets it done. My house is 3200sqft and we have a 1 acre yard, so we need a multiple AP's to cover everything. Some walls have too much interference which is why I had to go with ethernet back end for my AP's. With the Orbi I squeeze out just a few more feet of useable signal over my old router set up. It's not much, but any small gain is worth it. Inside we have every inch covered with my old or with the Orbi. It's outside where the Orbi give me a few more feet. I was able to stay on Wifi the whole time I was cutting grass instead of having to turn off wifi and use cell to steam music during yardwork. I probably should have given the wireless mesh a shot to see how it fares compared to ethernet, but it's habit for me to opt for wired vs wireless if I have the option. I might disconnect them one day and see how they do and it speed or coverage degrades. I won't give them router duties because most commercial routers lack in routing features, plus you never know when they'll stop supporting their hardware like my old previous mesh AP's. If you're in need of more coverage and can take advantage of 2.5gb the Orbi's will take good care of you.

You know how Batman is always ready with a plan to protect Gotham City and with enough prep time he can defeat almost any foe? Well, these guys are like little vigilantes for your Wi-Fi network. Coverage up to 6,000 feet seems like it might be possible with these. The Wi-Fi 7 is pretty slick. Don't have a lot of things that can take advantage of it, but my phone and laptop were pretty pleased with the upgrade. Only having two ports was kind of a letdown but the computers that are hard wired to my network are just happy the laptops and phones are no longer begging for speed and slowing down the rest of the network😂 The ability to have my security cams on a different network than everything else was something I have been looking forward to being able to do. Dual band and lets me enjoy watching movies on the deck in the backyard at night which had always been a issue with buffering. Having to not rely on the cellphone data plan made this a huge plus. Whole thing was easy to setup and the app falls along the same lines. Patience and stress are things you won't have to worry about when setting this up. Dead zones are gone thank to this kit. I would definitely suggest anyone who has dead spots and are running an old router and you've been sitting on the fence to upgrade. Go to the store and pick this up.

The NETGEAR - Orbi 370 Series BE5000 Dual-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 7 System (3-pack) is a great solution for today’s all-things-connected households: Future compatibility; strong and broad coverage; ability to assign a separate channel to your IoT appliances (as well as the normal primary and guest channels); high-speed connectivity available on each device; solid parental controls and usage monitoring (via the helpful Orbi app); and a subscription-based security services option. This isn’t the first Orbi system I’ve used. I installed one when they first came out a few years back. At the time, it was a definite step forward as far as expanded coverage, ease of setup, and app features. The following generation did not seem, to me, to offer much in the way of advances. However, the Orbi 370 Series BE5000 Dual-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 7 System is a welcome improvement to the, already strong, Orbi offerings. The greater speeds, and especially the expanded strong signal coverage, makes this another welcome step forward. It should probably be acknowledged that coverage and signal strength are issues that can vary greatly depending on the materials in a home and the placement of the satellites. For me, this was a good choice. I’m happy with the results.

We recently moved to a new home and decided it was time to upgrade my internet service. At our new address, I now had the option of connecting to a much faster Gigabit fiber optic network directly into the house. Deciding not to stop there, the next obvious upgrade option was to swap out our older Wi-Fi 6 mesh system with the latest Orbi 370 Series BE5000 Dual-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 7 System from Netgear. Using Netgear products for years, I have complete trust in their networking products, knowing everything is made right here in the USA. Installation was a refreshing breeze, which mostly involved unplugging and removing piece-by-piece the old Wi-Fi 6 mesh system and replacing it with the new Netgear hub and two satellites. I pretty much just followed the smartphone app instructions for the setup, and I was up and running easily within 10 minutes. Since I was able to configure the system using the same user id and passwords from the old system, it eliminated the tedious task of reconnecting each device to the network. The Orbi 370 provides an option of setting up a separate IoT network in the app for your various devices like wi-fi thermostats, security cameras, smart plugs, health monitors, etc., keeping them separated from smartphones, streaming television services, desktop internet, etc. You can also take advantage of activating a guest network for easy Wi-Fi access to family and friends. Should you want the best performance possible, the Orbi 370 includes a wired backhaul connection via ethernet cable from the hub to each satellite to eliminate loss of Wi-Fi signal through their wireless communications. Netgear advertises a Wi-Fi coverage area of 2,000 sq. feet and I did not run across any weak areas, and that included our backyard Wi-Fi irrigation sprinkler and drip controller and solar panel controller in our garage. The Orbi smartphone app handles all features in one simple interface, complete with system configuration, security, and parental controls. Their “Armor” security offers full protection on all devices connecting to your network and it comes with a free 31-day trial and discount on the first year of protection. It is important to note that the Orbi 370 is a dual-band Wi-Fi, lacking the 6 GHz band of more powerful tri-band mesh systems. With the dual-band, you still get the benefits of the Wi-Fi 7’s speed and latency improvements at significantly lower cost. I figure dual-band at a minimum is a good way to take advantage of what Wi-Fi 7 has to offer at least for now and maybe upgrade again in the future. Without going “deeper in the weeds” on specifics, I will conclude with my full recommendation of the new Orbi 370 Series BE5000 Dual-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 7 System from Netgear and sold from Best Buy.

The installation of this Netgear super ‘mesh router’ system went smoothly although there are some pros and some minor cons. You start by installing the ORBI app and then follow the prompts to setup the base router; next you proceed to setup the two nodes. Unlike other systems, you don’t need to put the nodes near the base router during setup. You can put them at their expected locations right away when you first configure them – that’s nice. The nodes are installed last, and they picked up communication from about 30 feet away from the base (and through walls and doors) very easily - excellent. Firmware updates also went smoothly. I had no trouble using the app to create an additional access point and told it to run at 5.0 GHz only. The app does include many features to check speeds, configure extra access points, parental controls, a signal strength meter and will show you a nice network map – great. Every time you do something in the cell phone app to reconfigure, it takes several minutes for the ORBI system to execute the change. You always get these messages to wait while ORBI makes sure your phone is on the ORBI access point (which it already is). Another negative is you are forced into a subscription to Armor Active Security. I’m left with a ‘to-do’ to cancel the Armor Active Subscription which you can’t do from the app; you must go to a web site. You can disable it using the app. In fairness, you can just let the trial for Armor Active expire. A minor problem is that the LED ‘off’ state is left for you to guess. When this LED, which is on the front of each of the three units is flashing-white, it is syncing; then it becomes solid-white when ready for setup – this information is clearly indicated as you do your install. But in the app, it is shown as green in the instructions, leading you to believe this means all is well. However, you can google it and see that when all is well this LED is off. The process should tell you that the LED ‘off’ state means good. The instructions should be amended to be clearer in this area. I think this router needs some work to improve the speed of configuration and setup. I was impressed with the distance the nodes can be away from the base unit and connect very easily. I see these nodes do stay connected without any need to reset or resync. Other than some minor issues as mentioned, I really like the solid physical build and the top rate specifications – well done. I finally have my garage covered with a router that really works. I can certainly recommend this unit to help you provide complete internet WiFi coverage for larger houses.

This dual band mesh router set comes with 1 router, 2 satellites, 3 power cords and an Ethernet cable. The router and satellites come in white and have a nice style to them. The system has WiFi 7, so any newer devices will work great with this. If you still have older devices that work with WiFi 5 or 6 this will still work with those also. So many new devices will come with WiFi 7 it is a no brainer to have a system like this. With this three pack system, you can cover up to 6000 square feet and can be about 100 feet away from the nearest unit. I set this up so that I have internet throughout the whole house, garage and patio (where I spend most of my time). I even get reception out into most of my yard. I can use my devices just about anywhere inside my home and outside. To set up this system you will need to download the Orbi app to your phone or tablet and follow the instructions. With the app you can do more than just set up the system. You are able to run a speed test, see what devices are connected, check WiFi settings and even pause your internet so no one can look at their devices during family dinner. If you have a lot of different devices that need to be hooked straight to a router, you will be a bit disappointed. These only have one Ethernet port for outgoing internet per unit. I solved this by buying an Ethernet hub. All my devices hooked into one hub, so I no longer have to worry about having one device attached to each unit. They can all be in one place on the one main hub in my home. I am a bit of an electronic gadget person and have quite a few smart lights, smart devices, televisions, computers, laptops, and phones all vying for internet. This system can work with up to 70 devices all at once. I have had no problems with telling my smart devices to turn on lights, etc. while working on my computer in another room. If you are looking for the next generation Wi-Fi 7, for a reasonable price, this is a good system to get. It seems reliable, easy to set up and very affordable for all it has. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to upgrade their old router and needs to extend their WiFi area a lot further for more convenience.

Replaced my existing Orbi router and system with this newer version. Conversion was simple, with all existing devices easily connecting to the new system. System has been running great thus far.

Pro: -Easy setup -Transfer speed Con: -Only one port on each satellite -Advance features requires a subscription -Wireless range The Orbi 370 is a budget friendly router that cuts down some of the features from the higher end models, and for the most part should be enough for the average household. It was easy to set up with the app and has good speed, but the range may be less consistent. It also only has one ethernet port on each satellite. The router is very light, feeling almost as if it’s mostly hollow. I wonder if they could have made it even smaller and more compact. They don’t take up a lot of space and can be placed discreetly anyway. All three units only have one usable ethernet port, which is less than most other routers. If you only use wireless, then it’s probably not going to be an issue. However for those that need wired connections or want to link the satellites directly for a stronger signal, you will need to use a network switch. Setting the mesh system through the app was very simple. It walks you through each step to the point I felt the handholding was too much. There was a step that just made you wait three minutes for the light to stop flashing. The app pretty much replaces the web interface. It’s quick and easy to navigate. Aside from changing your settings, you can manage and pause connected devices, see your internet speed and traffic usage, and set parental control. The more advanced parental control and security features need a subscription. The performance is overall good. The three units should provide enough coverage for a single story house. Each node covers about 50 ft, and I only actually needed two for my house. While each node does cover a wide area, the wireless speed started to drop after about 10 ft, down by about 200 Mbps. Not terrible by any means, but also not as good as some of the higher end routers I’ve used.

The NETGEAR Orbi 370 Series BE5000 Dual-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 7 system came boxed well with everything needed to set it up for installation for wireless backhaul. The wireless backhaul works pretty good but not as well as it would if this system was a tri-band mesh system. I was able to connect the nodes to wired ethernet backhaul which works much better with great ethernet speeds and good Wi-Fi speeds. It seems that NETGEAR intended for this system to only be used for wireless backhaul for Wi-Fi only or wired backhaul without any other wired ethernet devices since the base nor the satellites have an extra ethernet port. There are two on the base, one to connect the modem and one to connect to your ethernet port that connects to other rooms in your house. Also there is only one ethernet port on each of the two satellites. If you are connecting this system to ethernet for wired backhaul is only possible by adding a switch if you have other wired needs like PCs, security hubs, etc. If you don't have any other wired devices that need to connect then wireless backhaul seems to work okay. This is more of a beginner system hence the price point. I have found a few bugs with the naming of the nodes where it wants to lose the names and go back to default when you reboot. The indicator lights only stay on for a little while then go off which would be nice if they stayed so you can visually see the mode the nodes are using. I have found that my security cameras have better response showing the video using this system than my last mesh system. That may be due to the Wi-Fi 7 technology. Overall, this is a really good starter Wi-Fi 7 mesh system.

Without sounding off with too much hyperbole, this wifi system extender has been a godsend for my daily life. We live in a somewhat rural area with several outbuildings around our main house where I am often out working in. To now, my home wireless network would not reach these buildings and would extend only maybe 20 or 30 feet from the exterior of the house. This Netgear system has changed all of that. Setting it up was straightforward, and now I have a strong wifi signal out to all of the buildings, so I’m never out of range with my phone nor my laptop if I have it with me. Similarly, we have had plans to finish a portion of our basement for my wife to use as a home office. Until now, the situation in the corner of the basement where we want to locate the office suffered the same signal strength problem as did the outbuildings, and we were not sure what to do. But not anymore. With this wifi system, the signal in all parts of the basement is as strong as anywhere in the house and will work well for the office. If you have a large property or have a need for your wifi signal outside of your main house of if you have signal strength problems within your house in some locations because of distance from the wifi router, don’t waste another minute. Get one of these systems, install it, and you will wonder why you waited so long.

I have always been a fan of Orbi systems. About 9 years ago, I tested out a variety of Wi-Fi routers from different brands and ended up on the Orbi AC3000 (RBK50) tri-band. For these past 9 years, Orbi has never failed me. However, I am realizing it has become time to upgrade the router to keep up with the multitude of devices that most households have become accustomed too. I was worried about setting up a new 370 router, knowing that I have 50+ devices currently set up to old AC3000. I was pleased to find out that it was very simple to switch Orbi systems. During setup, it was as easy as just giving the new router the same name/password as the old router. Within minutes, all of my devices connected to the new router. Another reason I wanted to upgrade routers was for the expanded coverage that I would get with the 370 series. In my 3-story house, I place the router on the main floor and then one satellite was placed on the lower level while the other is on the second floor. This gave me full coverage for all my devices to get the best possible network speed. I also tested the range outside my house (backyard, driveway, etc) and had a slight speed decrease but not enough to impair my connection. Overall, I would recommend this to anyone looking to upgrade and have a bit of future proofing with Wi-Fi 7.

I got this set for our guest-house (also used as an airbnb). It's not that large, but because of the construction materials, it has a lot of dead-spots for a traditional router. By going mesh, it was my hope to strategically position the access points to give ample coverage no matter where you go in the guest house. Setup was simple, then again I've set up a lot of wifi routers as I work in the technology field and also do installations of similar routers on the side for a little extra cash. Pretty much every router on the market has an app that you can setup the entire set of devices on your phone or tablet - this is no different. After just a little tweaking, I was able to give full-bar signal to any location in the guest house and was able to open up a few ports for a couple of server-like devices I have housed in a locked up area of the house. No difficulty at all, but since I was replacing the router/modem combo that the cable company provides, I had to call their customer service and have them set the model up for "bridged" mode, otherwise I was dead in the water. A great setup by Netgear - they have yet to fail me!

The Netgear Orbi 370 WiFi7 Mesh Router provides very good WiFi performance on a budget. It replaced an older 802.11ac mesh router which also had two satellites. Although my router and satellite placement is the same as the older system, the Orbi 370 provides much better and consistent coverage and throughput. An additional note, I had to contact Netgear/Orbi support for help at one point and their support was really excellent. More on this later. The Orbi 370 mesh package consists of a router, two satellite units, power supplies, and an Ethernet cable. Each unit has a single 2.5gb port for peripherals and the router has an additional 2.5gb port for internet connection. The router and satellites are otherwise identical, standing about 8in and roughly cylindrical. They are very unobtrusive, lights only come on during power up, configuration and when errors are detected. Initial installation (cable modem system) should have been very easy. First step, download the Orbi phone app to do the initial configuration and scan the QR code on the router. Then: Unplug modem, connect router and modem via ethernet, plug in router, connect the app, plug in the modem, and follow the instructions in the app. Unfortunatly, I ran into an error that caused the app to loop continuously. Netgear tech support responded very quickly, set up a time convenient for me, and walked me through the workaround. Very patient, knowledgable, and helpful. Definitely a plus point for Netgear! Once the router was up, I could connect the satellites which was very simple. Streaming and gaming are both very smooth with no apparent lag or latency issues. I have about 40-50 devices, 30 or so may be active at any given time. Previous network I had the game systems connected via Ethernet, WiFi would occasionally lag. With the Orbi 370 installed, I've switched the game systems to WiFi with no perceptible issues. Very nice. There are two 'security' add-ons, at a monthly subscription fee. The first provides Bitdefender enabled application type security and vulnerability scans for $99 a year. There is an additional addon for parental controls for an additional fee. It's kind of unfortunate that so much of the security and access controls have moved into the add-ons. There are some controls available in the app that are not in the web admin interface and vice-versa, also unfortunate. Finally, I believe remote administration now requires the security add-on because it it done via the Netgear proprietary vpn. There is an option to enable a guest network and password, but no controls over access. The guest network shares the same subnet as the primary network without any firewall controls. There are also no rate limiting controls or other traffic shaping controls. Not totally unexpected at this price range, but it would have been nice to have some basic security options in the router. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the performance upgrade and the tech support has been superb. I am a little disappointed with the subscription model for what I consider basic router security. For anyone looking to upgrade to WiFi7, or just get a throughput boost on a budget, the Orbi 370 WiFi7 Mesh Router should be on the short list of candidates.