NETGEAR Orbi Compact Wall-Plug Whole Home Mesh WiFi System - WiFi router and wall-plug satellite extender with speeds up to 2.2 Gbps over 3,500 sq. feet, AC2200 (RBK20W)

Very reliable

I replaced a traditional Netgear Nighthawk 802.11ac router that didn't supply good speed at the edge of the house. This solution allowed the wifi connection at the edge to go from 10-90Mbps (inconsistent) to 300Mbps consistently. Other areas of the house are now up to 400Mbps, which is the limit of my Spectrum cable. This solution is basically plug-and-go, so its perfect for unsophisticated users.For more advanced users, there's only one open ethernet port, so I had to add an unmanaged switch. The $15 cost was much less than upgrading to the Orbi with more ports. There is only one SSID used for both 2.4 and 5ghz networks, and it can be difficult to get your devices to use the right one. For example, I had a PC that kept connecting at 2.4 with 35Mbps. After playing with the client's wifi hardware settings, I got it to prefer the 5ghz network and move up to 80Mbps. There is a backdoor (using telnet) to allow for separate SSIDs, but I didn't try it.I also saw occasions when devices would connect to the satellite instead of the router or vice-versa. I would temporarily shield one to force the connection to the other. Which brings me to management. Both the app and the webpage have pretty good information. You can see each device on the network, whether it's connected to router or satellite, and which band it's using. But its tricky getting the clients to do exactly what you want (which is really more of a client-side problem then an issue with Orbi).It also looks like there are fewer 5ghz channels to chose from since the back-channel is using the upper range. Probably not a big deal unless you've got lots of other nearby networks. Overall, a very good product.

I installed this in conjunction with ISP change, and to free myself from the "Just OK" ISP provided Routers. The RBK20W has vastly improved the wireless experience in my house. I have Base set up on top of Kitchen Cabinet. I have one satellite set up in Bedroom on the outside wall nearest by Outdoor Deck/Pergola. I now have seamless WiFi everywhere in the house and on the deck with a single SSID. I get 500 Mbps at the router , 300 Mbps WiFi indoors, 200 Mbps on the Deck. The iPad App is pretty handy for checking status and SpeedTests. I did find that some of the secondary setup stuff was a little easier with a wired connect and Web Browser. The App connects over wireless, which resets a lot during setup. I only used the direct connect one time and use the App frequently. Router was not inexpensive, but still a good value. I would buy it again. A nice feature is ability to print a QR code for the Guest Network that folks can use on their own to get connected. I keep the QR code on my Fridge and point guests to it. I had to reset some of my smart plugs. Last time it did it, it took 30 minutes per device. This time it took <5 minutes per device. I am sure this is a result of a Stronger WiFi signal. I saw some mediocre reviews. I have not encountered anything negative with this router. It has been the easiest setup I have ever done. And it appears to work flawlessly.

UPDATE: discovered the problem on another website. Apparently new Samsung phones have a Wi-Fi security app installed that was blocking the installation of the Orbi. I had to turn off my Wi-Fi protection in order to get it to connect, which is fine at home but then I have to remember every day to turn it back on before I leave the house. What a pain. The Orbi appears to be working now, however Orbi tech should have known this and not wasted my three or four hours of trying to resolve the problem. Also it should work with any security setting that Samsung, or any other manufacturer, has on their new phones. Netgear, please fix this issue!Another product that is a nightmare to set up. I first went on to Google play on my Samsung s9 plus new phone, and uploaded the app. Using my Samsung phone I connected the device through the app following the instructions to the t. So far so good. i checked my Alexa devices and they all seem to connect fine, I checked my Samsung tab and it connected fine. I went out and connected my rachio sprinklers and that seemed to connect fine. Then I looked at my phone and it had disconnected the Wi-Fi on my phone and everything was being done by data. Unplugged, plug-in, reset everything. Reset my phone. Still can't connect to the internet on my phone. Spent 30 minutes trying to find a phone number for orbi, finally found one. 2 hours on the phone with tech support and they were still unable to fix it, I had to hang up because I had to get to work. this is not a simple device to set up, I have plugged in my five year old Netgear low-end router and it's working just great now. I will be sending this back. why would they not have a device that works with the newest phones?

Nice mid-range WiFi setup. Range extends to about a 40-50 foot radius from each unit (this is thru walls, unobstructed would be much further). I have it installed in a 2700 sq ft split level ranch house, and get full coverage through the entire house, and decent signal outside in a city lot size yard (a little weak about 30 ft from the house, but still useable and not overly slow).My isp service speed is 250 mb/sec wired, and I'll get between 120-180 mb/sec over WiFi using this router. I'm not sure if you'll get higher speeds with a faster isp connection or not, but it claims to handle gigabit speeds, so I'd assume it scales accordingly.I had trouble with the app setup (the app froze at different points across multiple attempts), but had no issues using the desktop computer setup.It's been installed for about a week, and I've had no speed or connection issues. Probably the best thing you can say about a WiFi router is that once installed, you just kinda forget it's there, and that's the case with this one.This hits a good price to performance point. There's definitely faster and more range-y products out there, and because it's using the WiFi 5 protocol it'll probably be obsolete by 2026, but for the money right now, this hits the sweet spot for me.