NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Solved
RBRe960 versus RBR860
My trusted RBR 850 failed. I am trying to decide whether to replace with an RBR860 versus RBRe960. I have 3 rbs850 satellites (probably overkill for my house 4500 square feet but needed Ethernet ports access in different spots). I bought both routers and 1 960 satellite. Both work fine and pair with my existing rbs850 satellites (if I go 960 will need only 2 satellites). But I can’t tell a noticeable difference in performance (xfinity fastest speed internet).
Is the 960 though more $$ better bet for future proofing then 860? Appreciated thoughts.
Is the 960 though more $$ better bet for future proofing then 860? Appreciated thoughts.
- Figured it out! Bad Ethernet cable.
I really appreciate your assistance.
One last question - why if the RBR960 and RBR860 both can take up to 10gb download from router and I have an internet speed of 1400 Mbps according to Orbi app (xfinity feed) do I not see more than 850 Mbps on my iPhone (with Wi-Fi 6) even when in same room as router?
11 Replies
Beantowm111 wrote:
Is the 960 though more $$ better bet for future proofing then 860? Appreciated thoughts.The 960 product differs from the 860 in two areas:
- It supports WiFi6E (the 6GHz frequency band). WiFi6E devices do not compete for WiFi capacity with existing WiFi5 and WiFi6 devices which use the 5GHz frequency band. WiFi6E has (a) higher theoretical bandwidth, but (b) is affected more by distance and building materials. When (or if) you have devices which support WiFi6E, those devices will perform better with the 960 than the 860.
- The 960 features a 2.5GB Ethernet LAN port, which can be used to provide higher speed to wired devices. For example, a 2.5GB Ethernet switch can be connected to that port and 960 satellites can be wired to the router at 2.5GB speed. You could buy a 2.5GB Ethernet card for a PC (or NAS?) and thus provide faster speed to such devices. Until you have a device (or devices) capable of 2.5GB Ethernet, this port provides no added benefit.
Unless I read Xfinity's web page incorrectly, the maximum speed offered by Xfinity is 1.2GB.
https://www.xfinity.com/gig The 860's 10GB WAN port already supports that speed. Thus, the only advantage of the 960 in terms of Xfinity is the ability to get 20% faster speed out the 2.5GB Ethernet port. Is it worth spending all that money (and upgrading device Ethernet cards) to get 20% more speed?
I certainly would not be in any hurry to buy a 960 router.
- Thank you - the one thing I notice is that the 960 satellite appears to provide better speed (non wired when going through floors and plaster walls over a distance. Interestingly it does worse when going through more solid structures (center of my house). In idea why that would be.
- I missed you point about 6e and building materials. That explains it. Thanks! You
