Netgear Orbi AC2200 Tri-Band Wi-Fi System - 3 Pack Open Box $99.99 In store only YMMV

I have these at three separate locations. 99$ is lava hot. Yes those are a few years old but from an iPhone I still get 400 to 500 Mbps down on a 750 down cable plan.

Can have kids and two adults doing school and meetings and router has No issues keeping up.

drpepper1 wrote: ↑ I have these at three separate locations. 99$ is lava hot. Yes those are a few years old but from an iPhone I still get 400 to 500 Mbps down on a 750 down cable plan.

Can have kids and two adults doing school and meetings and router has No issues keeping up.

AC standard is solid for 99% of folks. Of course it will work.

Updating firmware appears not being done automatically. I'll have to do it manually from firmware v2.0 to v2.7, took me some time to figure out but at least confirming the 'open box' was not used by anyone before.

very tempting

After years of buggy firmware updates on my r7000 that I constantly had to rollback I'll never buy netgear again. Ran great the first couple years but then it was just a string of poor firmware updates that caused isssue after issue. I know every manufacturer has issues and others might have an experience that is opposite to mine but they burnt their bridge with me.

ced2334 wrote: ↑ After years of buggy firmware updates on my r7000 that I constantly had to rollback I'll never buy netgear again. Ran great the first couple years but then it was just a string of poor firmware updates that caused isssue after issue. I know every manufacturer has issues and others might have an experience that is opposite to mine but they burnt their bridge with me.

same. r7000 was touted as a solid router for a long time, at least back when i was considering routers. never going to buy netgear again.

These seem comparable to Deco M9+ and better than the Deco M5 based on the following online reviews. Does anyone know what the return policy is for open box items at LD?

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireles ... up?start=4

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/tools/r ... l/rev1/424

https://www.consumerreports.org/product ... em-395752/

RBK23 Vs RBK50

The RBK23 is a newer and more economical model launched by Netgear to cover the needs of medium to large-sized houses and with some reductions in hardware to lower the price.

The main hardware differences of the RBK23 compared to RBK50 (which is the best selling kit) are the following:

Smaller size: (5.6 x 2.4 x 6.6 in)  compared to (6.4 x 3.1 x 8.0 in). Fewer Internal Antennas: The RBK23 has 4 internal antennas compared to 6 antennas of RBK50.Fewer Wired Ethernet Ports: The RBK23 has 2 Ethernet Ports while the RBK50 has 4. Wireless Backhaul speed: The RBK23 has 866Mbps backhaul speed compared to 1733Mbps of the RBK50

Other than the above hardware differences, the main features of the RBK50 are also supported by RBK23 as well (such as Tri-band WiFi, wireless backhaul on 5Ghz band, beamforming, excellent speed performance and coverage etc).

So if you want to save some money and you don’t care much about the reduced hardware specs, then the RBK23 is a value for money product.

Area Wireless Coverage

1. The RBK23 covers homes up to 6000 sq. ft
2. The RBK50 covers homes up to 5000 sq. ft

WiFi Speed

1. The RBK23 has a max combined WiFi speed of 2200 Mbps (AC2200) and the backhaul band is 866 Mbps (the link connecting satellites with the main router).
2. The RBK50 has a max combined WiFi speed of 3000 Mbps (AC3000) and the backhaul band is 1733 Mbps (the link connecting satellites with the main router).

Connectivity

1. The Router and Satellites of RBK23 include 2xLAN Ethernet ports (on Router there is 1WAN and 1LAN).
2. The Router and Satellites of RBK50 include 4xLAN Ethernet ports (on Router there is 1WAN and 3LAN).

ced2334 wrote: ↑ After years of buggy firmware updates on my r7000 that I constantly had to rollback I'll never buy netgear again. Ran great the first couple years but then it was just a string of poor firmware updates that caused isssue after issue. I know every manufacturer has issues and others might have an experience that is opposite to mine but they burnt their bridge with me.

I am running Merlin on R7000. Stable and pretty good.

ced2334 wrote: ↑After years of buggy firmware updates on my r7000 that I constantly had to rollback I'll never buy netgear again. Ran great the first couple years but then it was just a string of poor firmware updates that caused isssue after issue. I know every manufacturer has issues and others might have an experience that is opposite to mine but they burnt their bridge with me.

ayogtc wrote: ↑ same. r7000 was touted as a solid router for a long time, at least back when i was considering routers. never going to buy netgear again.

Agreed. My Orbi experience was pretty bad. Lots of babysitting required, power cycles to get them to sync. Crappy FW updates. Just yuck. Sold them all off to another unsuspecting schmuck and good riddance!

Insane deal wish it was near me

pooper wrote: ↑ Agreed. My Orbi experience was pretty bad. Lots of babysitting required, power cycles to get them to sync. Crappy FW updates. Just yuck. Sold them all off to another unsuspecting schmuck and good riddance!

Agreed.

Works ok for the tech illiterate who will just use the wireless backhaul by turning it on and placing them in their homes. Very buggy for folks looking for more control and wired backhaul is not well supported.

Nomoredebt wrote: ↑ Agreed.

Works ok for the tech illiterate who will just use the wireless backhaul by turning it on and placing them in their homes. Very buggy for folks looking for more control and wired backhaul is not well supported.

We swapped to Amazon warehouse deal Deco x60's and haven't looked back. Rock solid. We don't require a blazing fast backhaul. five in use working together really well. No reboots or power cycles required since we started using them.

pooper wrote: ↑ We swapped to Amazon warehouse deal Deco x60's and haven't looked back. Rock solid. We don't require a blazing fast backhaul. five in use working together really well. No reboots or power cycles required since we started using them.

What price did you buy at?

Out of curiosity, with all of these "mesh" hubs, can you add a switch to each hub add more ethernet ports?

crazy hot price !! upvote

toshis wrote: ↑ What price did you buy at?

Got a few sets in July last year. The sweet spot were the 2 packs. I think they were around $205 - $215 per pack +/-

toshis wrote: ↑ Out of curiosity, with all of these "mesh" hubs, can you add a switch to each hub add more ethernet ports?

Not all mesh satellites have ethernet ports but the ones that do you can add a switch. I have done so with Orbit RBK43.

I have zero issues with my Orbi have 4 of the RBK50 - 1 main and 3 sat's. Can be across the street and have 5 bars in my neighbours house.

ced2334 wrote: ↑ After years of buggy firmware updates on my r7000 that I constantly had to rollback I'll never buy netgear again. Ran great the first couple years but then it was just a string of poor firmware updates that caused isssue after issue. I know every manufacturer has issues and others might have an experience that is opposite to mine but they burnt their bridge with me.

I flashed my R7000 with Asuswrt-Merlin since Day1. Pretty solid for almost 6 years.