NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Orbi download speeds
I have an Orbi RBR50v2 system. Using the Orbi app I see it is getting downloads from Spectrum at 600mbs which is what I expect. However measuring the speed at my devices its just reaching 300mbs. I am using a brand new lastest model ipad air as well as desktop computer and other Ipad devices. Everything is running at 300. Why am I only getting half the speed?
4 Replies
The Orbi RBR50 is a WiFi5 (802.11ac) device released in 2016. No matter how "new" a WiFi device is and what wonderful WiFi capabilities it has, it will be forced to connect to this Orbi at 802.11ac. When very close to the router, it is common to measure about 400Mbps speed. (Speed diminishes with distance from the WiFi access point.)
Thank you. What system do you recommend if I wanted to run 500+ ?
This is what we used to call a "Fork Lift Upgrade", meaning that the entire Orbi system has to be replaced, including the router and all satellites. The good news is that every networking company sells WiFi6 (or WiFi6E or WiFi7) systems.
Recommendations vary from month to month, but generally these systems are frequently recommended:
Amazon eero, Asus, Google Mesh, Linksys Velop, TP-Link Deco, and (of course) Netgear. There are deals at Best Buy, Walmart, Costco, Sams Club.
The very latest smartphones, tablets, and laptops often support the new "6G" frequency band (WiFi6E) and in the next year more devices will support WiFi7. The vast bulk of WiFi devices in the home, of course, probably support only the old 2.4G WiFi and (if lucky) WiFi5. Getting a new WiFi system does nothing for those devices. "They are what they are."
Just personally, I am not confident that I would be able to detect that my WiFi connection was running at 600Mbps rather than 300 Mbps. How fast can a movie stream? Will I notice if web pages load in 2 seconds instead of 3?
After Black Friday, my house will have two smartphones, one tablet, and one laptop that support technology faster than WiFi5 and about 40 devices that cannot. I do not look forward to deciding what to replace my old RBR50 system with.
