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EchostormFury's avatar
EchostormFury
Apprentice
Sep 21, 2019

Orbi Wifi 6 (RBK852) Satellite Compatibility with RBK50, Built-In Circle Plus Support?

Do we know if the new Orbi Wifi 6 (RBK852) routers will be backward compatible with RBK50 AC3000 satellites?  As the default bundle only includes 1 satellite, can I still use my 2 RBK50's still (albeit knowing they will be slower).  Also anyone know if the Orbi Wifi 6 will have parental controls / content filtering?  Doesn't seem to mention it -- will it still use Circle, and if so Netgear, will this support the new Circle Home Plus hardware or will this still be "Circle 1st generation with Netgear premium" -- which I doubt since Circle Go support has been discontinued to new registrants?  Will I have to buy a standalone Circle Plus?

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  • CrimpOn's avatar
    CrimpOn
    Guru
    Sep 21, 2019

    We all have tons of questions that are not answered by the web site hype or the Data Sheet.  When the product actually ships (Oct 28?) and the User Manual becomes available, there will be a flood of information.  I, for example, am not enthusiastic about  the emphasis on using the "app", Alexa, and Google to manage the device.  If the trusty old web interface is gone, a lot of the things we do now will be gone with it.

     

    The whole point of WiFi6 is to support 802.11AX, which requires different radio chips.  Existing Orbi's cannot physically support AX, and never will.  Absolutely nothing in an of the available information talks about working with older Orbi's.  My guess is, "not happening."

     

    In my case, of course, I have zero devices which support 802.11AX, and my internet is a puny 100mb.  There is little, if anything, to be gained by investing in the first  shipment of this new box.

    • EchostormFury's avatar
      EchostormFury
      Apprentice
      Sep 21, 2019

      Yeah, despite the item being able to be preordered, this is really vague and no tech sheets, manuals parental control filtering is even listed as a feature on the official websites.  You are right nothing talks about backward compatibility - though technically this can be possible by having backward compatibility to the RBK50 backhaul over 802.11ac.  I'm just interested bcause I have too many devices and any little improvement in expanding my backhaul between my upstairs and downstairs will help prevent those occasional disconnects between the satellite and the router, so here's hoping 802.11ax improves that a bit, otherwise I'd have to consider running ethernet for a backhaul.

      • CrimpOn's avatar
        CrimpOn
        Guru
        Sep 21, 2019

        Too many devices?  Oh, my.  We have users with over 100 devices plugged into an Orbi and they seem satisfied with performance.

        Are a lot of your devices streaming video?