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jzchen's avatar
jzchen
Tutor
Jan 26, 2025
Solved

Orbi 970 Router (Router ONLY) - 5 GHz (240 MHz) Channel Available for Clients?

Hi,

 

I am considering my next purchase and I see there is an Orbi 971S aka router only model being sold.  Does the dedicated backhaul channel on these units become accessible to client devices, (since one is basically buying a router, not a mesh system,) or is Netgear at least willing to consider opening it to clients)?

 

Thank you.

 

#Orbi RBE971S

  • jzchen wrote:

    It's been on sale as a single for a while, but you have to be careful because I think vendors/merchants might confuse it with a satellite:


    Thanks for taking the time to locate those links.  I can think of some possible reasons to sell "just the router"

    • Completeness.  Sets of 1, 2, 3.  "Buy what you want. We sell every combination!"
    • Perhaps a customer wants to "try out" the product and see if they like it before omitting to an entire system.
      (which is ridiculous, because mesh is such an essential part of the design.  If someone is going to return the product, it is no harder to return a set than to return just the router.)
    • A customer has lost or damaged their router and needs a replacement to get their system working again.
    • The router has failed and is more than a year old, and thus not eligible for warranty replacement.

    The point remains.  Netgear sells both "ordinary WiFi7 routers" and "Mesh" WiFi7 systems.  "Mesh" is the entire point of purchasing a mesh router.

     

    Years ago, people asked why Netgear did not make the backhaul WiFi channels available for front-haul on the RBR50 system. (I was one of them.)  The answer was, "The system has to be ready.  If a person plugs in a satellite, it has to work.  If a person was using Ethernet backhaul and disconnects the cable, the system has to continue working."

7 Replies

  • Where does this stand-alone 971S router appear for sale?

    (a URL would be helpful)

     

    My guess is, "never in a million years".

      • CrimpOn's avatar
        CrimpOn
        Guru
        jzchen wrote:

        It's been on sale as a single for a while, but you have to be careful because I think vendors/merchants might confuse it with a satellite:


        Thanks for taking the time to locate those links.  I can think of some possible reasons to sell "just the router"

        • Completeness.  Sets of 1, 2, 3.  "Buy what you want. We sell every combination!"
        • Perhaps a customer wants to "try out" the product and see if they like it before omitting to an entire system.
          (which is ridiculous, because mesh is such an essential part of the design.  If someone is going to return the product, it is no harder to return a set than to return just the router.)
        • A customer has lost or damaged their router and needs a replacement to get their system working again.
        • The router has failed and is more than a year old, and thus not eligible for warranty replacement.

        The point remains.  Netgear sells both "ordinary WiFi7 routers" and "Mesh" WiFi7 systems.  "Mesh" is the entire point of purchasing a mesh router.

         

        Years ago, people asked why Netgear did not make the backhaul WiFi channels available for front-haul on the RBR50 system. (I was one of them.)  The answer was, "The system has to be ready.  If a person plugs in a satellite, it has to work.  If a person was using Ethernet backhaul and disconnects the cable, the system has to continue working."