Customer Ratings & Reviews

After owning 4 of these in 2 years, we give up and have to rate this 1 star. If you buy this with the hopes of more than 50 devices connected with more than 6 months of life, be prepared to learn the phrase "backhaul" and hope you bought the Geek Squad protection. This system and its technology will fail you, be warned!! When we bought this, we needed a top of the line WiFi mesh system for about 150 devices in a smart home with gaming and teenager needs. Netgear promised this with the Orbi mesh and we had owned Netgear products for years. For the first 6 months, it worked flawless. Then, unexplained, one day it just froze up…no more than 40 devices could connect and everything bogged. After numerous reboots and factory resets, some overwhelmed overseas Netgear tech support spent hours on the phone with us, having no clue what had happened or how to fix it other than exchange it. On the second one, same thing after 6 months. This time, we thought a power surge fried it. Even changing the settings and WiFi name didn’t work as promised. Third one, failed at 6 months again. This time, Google finally revealed what Netgear will not: MANY other Orbi users with the same unresolved problem dating back years….this system has "backhaul" technology that fails after so many gigs pass through it. The backhaul is supposed to help ensure seamless WiFi for multi devices, but over time causes the satellites to overrun the system and lock out IP addresses. The only supposed fix? Try Ethernet cords to physically tether the satellites….which defeats the purpose of wireless satellites! Fourth one? Same verse and zero help from Netgear. Backhaul overload: a known issue that Netgear will not acknowledge nor provide a true fix for in their mesh technology, and their tech support cannot help with. We are done and could not be more disappointed in the lack of customer service and actual remedies from Netgear. Thank goodness we had the Geek Squad protection and Best Buy managers confirming for us….ditch Orbi, go Eero. Save yourself the trouble. For the money, invest in the Eero Max 7 and avoid Netgear’s Orbi mesh systems. You’ll save yourself a mountain of frustration if you do.

"After extensively testing various mesh systems, the Orbi 960 by Netgear stood out significantly. Its range and speed are exemplary, and it has exceeded my expectations. I am thoroughly satisfied with its performance and would highly recommend it to those seeking an efficient mesh network solution."

Quality products, great transmission very easy to use and to set up

I've got 72 devices and my Pixel 6 is puliing 800+mbps on wifi.

The Netgear Orbi AXE 11000 Mesh system supports the latest Wifi standard, 6E, and offers a great many features, very fast connections, and enormous amounts of coverage. I have a previous Orbi system, based of the wireless AC standard, that this replaces and for which this serves as a useful comparison to see how much these have advanced with the new standards. The Orbi mesh system here is a 3 pack, with a base router and two satellites. The satellites are identical to each other, and the base unit only differs in its rear panel, which has the input jack for connecting to a modem. Compared to my previous Orbi system, these are both larger and heavier, still sporting the same largely white exterior but updated with some metallic trim. If you are previous owner like I am, you probably already have the Orbi app. If not, download it on a phone/tablet beforehand. Set up is extremely simple, but I made sure to delete out my old Orbi system first. If you know where you are going to place your satellites--and this is something that warrants some consideration--you can have the system up and running very quickly by following the simple setup wizard in the Orbi app. Setup was also smoother with these than my last model in that the satellites were detected very quickly--my previous model took a bit of time to get the connection with one of them. In short, do not be intimidated by these if you're not familiar with setting these up, as Netgear has done a good job in making a foolproof setup routine. The Orbi app has a lot of features, but the full web interface offers much more than the app. One innovative feature is a new IoT network feature which fixes a major frustration that I had with my previous Orbi. With a mesh network, the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands are seen as one unique SSID, and the router intelligently and seamlessly moves devices between them, so there aren't two SSID's, one for each band, like many other routers. Most of the time this is great, because it moves you between the satellite units and bands without you knowing. But some IoT devices are only 2.4Ghz, and they want to share a connection with your phone for setup. This can lead to some enormously frustrating setup experiences, like I had with robotic vacuum cleaner. It would not "see" my phone because my phone was persistently connected to 5Ghz. It took forever to work around and I had to make an ad hoc network with a hotspot in order to fool it into working. This new IoT network feature sidesteps that by allowing a new network, on whatever band you want, for setting up these devices. (From my research, however, it does not appear that these devices are sequestered from the rest of your network. As welcome as this advance is, it'd be better if they were, since many IoT devices have very poor security.) Other features are a trial for Netgear Armor security, and premium parental controls. I liked Armor previously, but I ultimately let it expire, but it's a good feature if you aren't tech-savvy and want more assurances on network security. Performance: I tested my Orbi system connected to a symmetrical 1Gbps fiber connection. Using the router's built in speed test, it pulled roughly 925Mbps down and up. Unfortunately, I don't have many devices directly connected to my base because of where the fiber line enters my house--most of my devices are either wireless or connected to the satellites. It's a pity because one new feature is the addition of a 2.5Gbps ethernet port in addition to three 1Gbps ones. There is definitely more bandwidth between the base and the satellites. My max network speed on my desktop, which is wired into one of the satellites, used to get about 400Mbps max, but is now over 500. My Samsung S20+, which does feature WiFi 6, has gone as high as 700Mbps on fast.com speed tests, though 550-650 is more typical. That's about a 200Mbps jump over what I got usually on the previous Orbi. What's even better is that even with my old Orbi, which was excellent, I did have one "dead" spot in my house located in my basement. There, I previously only got about 40-60Mbps on a speed test. With this Orbi, it was 350Mbps. There is not one spot in my house that I do not have a great connection, and it spills over to outside for quite some distance as well. This unit is rated for houses up to 9000sq.ft, and I have about half of that over two floors and a basement. So it's easy to setup, very fast, has fantastic coverage--who's it for? First, it is expensive--a 3-unit mesh network system with the latest wireless standard is the bleeding edge, at least until WiFi 7 finally comes out, and so you pay to be on that edge. The second question is whether you need this much coverage--9000sq ft is a lot of area to cover. Personally, I will never use a single router again--I moved to my first Orbi because my beloved R7000 Netgear Nighthawk simply couldn't cover my new house. But those with a smaller house/apartment, or not many devices, would be better served by a single router, like the aforementioned Nighthawk, vs. a mesh system. A third question is if you have WiFi 6 devices to take advantage of the higher bandwidth, or are you going to wire into a satellite? We have several phones that are, plus a Dell laptop. But if you don't, going with an older Orbi, using a previous standard, might work and be cheaper. So given the price, there are some questions to ask, but the bottom line is this: if you want the best, and need a lot of coverage, this is probably hard to beat. This is my 2nd Orbi, and it'll likely be my go-to brand for years to come. I was beyond satisfied with my previous one, and so far this one has kept up with my expectations.

set was easy but had issue with my modem which made it somewhat difficult. but so far so good.

This Orbi 6E wifi seems very fast. I like it a lot!

Future proof for awhile….. price is definitely high but it is amazing at home…

This is my go to router. Solid bandwidth, and speeds.

works very well . would buy again .easy to install.

I’ve went through a few network systems for my house and this one is by far the fastest and consistent. Our house is 5sqft and multiple floors so I’ve had issues with wifi reaching the corners of the house but the Orbis had no problem.

Just got 5 gig fiber so upgraded to the orbi and very pleased.

Pricier than many but with every penny! Go for it!

Maybe one of the most frustrating things about trying to stay “current” on technology is that it gets so old, so quick. I was recently at my in-laws’ house fixing a network issue, something that their cable internet company accredited to an old modem. This was either laziness or a rouse to get them to rent additional equipment; the actual issue was an ancient (by today’s standards) wireless router. I tend to collect these systems as time goes on, so I had one to lend, and in about 30 minutes everything was addressed. This appears to be “super-hero” caliber stuff to some, but it’s become somewhat routine to swap out a router for me. Still, there’s a bit of confidence that I entered into the engagement of installing Netgear’s new Orbi WiFi 6E Mesh system. And as expected, I ran into some issues. I thought to myself, “Self, you can do this in 30 minutes. Yeah, so you just finished a meeting and you have another one in a half-hour—no problem, you got this.” I didn’t “got this.” The system is comprised of 3 similar looking wireless interfaces, something nice enough to put on a table but arguably way too large…unless you’re looking for a new centerpiece for your dining room furniture. It amazes me every time a new system comes out and somehow gets larger; first it was space-ship style routers with a bunch of antennae, and now the spaceships have less physical appendages but somehow take up more space. One of the 3 units is a base router, the other two satellites to be placed around the home. As part of the setup, there’s no guide that demonstrates if the unit is too close, or too far away. There may be a lighting pattern in there somewhere, but it’s really something that should exist in the setup. The other issue I ran into was actually a hiccup with the app, which is where my biggest complaint on this (and likely most other “modern” home mesh systems) lies: there is no default IP login to set it up. Netgear does provide an IP for management—but only after initial configuration is done in the app. And, if there’s an issue with the app during setup, you’re just out of luck. Still, after factory resetting the equipment and removing/reinstalling the app, (and rescheduling the meeting 30 minutes later due to “home internet issues”), I was able to get everything up and running without much effort. App management of the system is what you’d expect from home network management apps: profile creation (parental controls), internet speed tests, wifi settings, etc. There’s also an addon available called Netgear Armor which provides some additional security, but comes as an annual subscription that you would pay extra for. In terms of performance, this system is ridiculously fast. But it’s also WiFi 6E, something that is not yet “mainstream” on devices the majority of people have in their homes. And super fast WiFi is cool, especially at max speeds of what 6E offers…but practically speaking isn’t a big game changer (yet). It’s not the “magic” of this system, either (at least at this point in 2022). The magic is in the quad band design…a 2.4GHz channel, a 5GHz channel, a 6GHz channel (that’s the 6E part) with a dedicated 5GHz backhaul between the units. Soon, the days of needing wired connections to access points to ensure the maxiumum network throughput will be a thing of the past…and that is very exciting. As you might imagine, there isn’t a device in my house, or yours, or your friend’s or your neighbor’s or your cousin’s that will have issues connecting to this system, even if it doesn’t have the latest WiFi standards. And because of the crazy-fast backhaul between the units, a fast connection to a wireless satellite isn’t negatively impacted by on-net traffic slow downs. For me, this is an upgrade from a tri band system with a dedicated 2.4GHz backhaul…my speeds were fast before, but now they’re blazing. So this is a great system if you depend on your wireless, do a lot of streaming, and in theory should be competitive from a PC gaming perspective (your mileage may vary, of course). But as you might imagine, it comes at a price. $1500 is a LOT to pay for a home WiFi system. Yes, you have a lot of tools at your disposal with this system. Yes, it’s easy to setup, even with device resets in between. You get unreasonably fast wireless and extremely good coverage. But at $1500, it’s a bit of a hard sell. I love it—don’t get me wrong, but because the tech is still so new, it’s not practical. In a year, as the 6E wireless market grows, and there’s some additional competition, and the prices come down, it might make sense. Right now, unless you have to have the best, latest and greatest, this is something to pass on…despite how awesome it really is.

excelent now i have coverage in my whole house i recommend

Works great - even with FIOS! I used this product to replace another extender.

This has got to be the best mesh network system too date. Awesome, excellent, #1.

Solid - easy to setup and reliable. It truly works!

I can’t speak to the setup because my husband configured the devices so I’m giving it 5stars. It didn’t seem to take him too long. However, I had done a speed test on our home network a couple weeks before we upgraded. I found it significantly improved after the upgrade. The main router is upstairs and the connectivity is so much bettter now.

Great system and it work's well, it also covers all the area that I need covered.