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Orbi system - Faulty LAN / switching design - Will NG ever fix it?
Issue - Orbi system with 2 satellites (R1, S1, S2) will randomly drop LAN communication between segments. e.g. devices connected to S1 (both wired/wireless) won't be able to ping devices on S2 (or ...
superczar I wanted to address your concerns.
I have been installing and servicing Wireless mesh systems since they came out. Comparing the Netgear Orbi to the competitors, I have found the Orbi systems are more powerful, stable and seem to give the best WIFI speeds over the competitors. And not to insult anyone, as it is not my intention, but 90% of wireless mesh problems are not the fault of the system, but rather, not in any order, connections, install and configuration, wiring, ISP device, switches, placement, interference, purchased used without testing, and more. To add to it, their are users that should just hire someone to install their system. I'm a big "Do It Yourselfer", but I would pay rather someone, for many things I don't understand.
Regarding the Orbi brand, I installed a competitor's AC2200 5000+ sq ft 3 device system in my home. It was great and covered quite well. I was very happy, but it never gave me excellent WIFI speeds. They were good but I knew they could be better. Then I installed an Orbi system, in a huge warehouse, and could not believe the coverage. So I replaced my 3 device system with an Orbi RBK50 3 device system. The speed and coverage difference was enormous. I could not be happier. The only complaint, that I don't use, is their support is as terible as the competitors. And to be honest, you get better support from the forums than you ever get from the manufacturer. Speaking for the Orbi forum, there are so many knowedgeable people participating, that you can see most issues get resolved.
Thanks, that's a helpful perspective. I'm sure that 99% of users have no problems, they just aren't coming here to tell us about it. I don't mind "do it yourself" that much, but I get resentful when I spend hundreds of dollars on gear, set it up "as intended", then it still breaks through no fault of my own and I'm stuck spending my limited free time troubleshooting. I get plenty of that in my day job, so I want something that "just works" at home. In this case, I think "just works" is not so much a matter of having somebody set it up right, it's down to what the vendor is shipping.
I tell my Do It Yourself customers to follow the instructions Verbatum. The issue they have that comes up quite often is the connection from the ISP to the Orbi router. This is the most important starting point. The other frequent problem is when they buy used, and the seller never reset the system. They just unplugged and sold it.