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Forum Discussion
RBK50 vs RBR850 Worth it to upgrade?
I will try to keep this simple. I currently have an RBK50 with 2 satellites for my home that is 2,600sqft and 3 stories tall (equally divided squarefootage). I have a unit on each floor and it seems to be needed. My house is only 18 feet wide but very long (tall skinny).
I was gifted an RBR850 unit by a friend but it only has 1 satellite. I am not sure if it is worth the hassle of setup, with the potential of it not providing enough coverage.
Is this reasonable or is the 850 so much better that I should at least TRY IT?
Appreciate any insight and advice on this thank you.
2 Replies
The only significant differences between the original 802.11ac Orbi product and the 802.11ax Orbi line are:
- Support for WiFi6 (the "AX" part). Do you have any devices that support WiFi6? (I have zero)
- Because of AX, the maximum potential WiFi speeds are higher, both on 2.4G and 5G, provided that there are WiFi6 devices capable of utilizing AX.
- WiFi backhaul link between router and satellite has potentially higher speed, although the speeds claimed (in all products) are never realized in practice.
- Capability for higher speed internet links (either 2.5G Ethernet or using two bonded links). Do you currently have an internet feed higher than 1GB?
- Higher speed processor, which may provide greater capacity. Is the current performance meeting your needs?
- Use of Amazon Alexa or Google, which I cannot find any reference to in the user manual. Do you want to talk to the Orbi?
I see absolutely no problem with trying it out, as long as you enjoy this sort of exercise. (I would be all over it as soon as the family left the house.)
- I would try it. If you find that the coverage is not that good for the 3rd story, you can buy an additional satellite (RBS850, RBS750 or RBS350), that will not be much of an additional cost. 🙂 I think that the RBS750 and RBS350 are reasonably priced.
