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Dbestskills's avatar
Dbestskills
Follower
Sep 28, 2025

WHY remove good features from great products???

I currently own and am using the Orbi 960 AXE11000 and a nighthawk BE19000.  I've also used the Nighthawk AXE7800 and AX5400.  Now the network I setup with the BE19000 has a Tb hard drive and ready share hooked up to it.  This simple hardware and software is amazing and allows me to use my network in different ways.  Whether I want to transfer files or watch home videos on my computer or downloaded programs, it is such an easy and incredible option.  I was looking forward to using this option with my AXE11000 but it does not have the software nor the hardware.

 

I was also looking to upgrade to the Orbi 970 BE27000 but it does not have this feature either.  I actually copied the files from that hard drive and bought a 2 Tb SSD to use on the Orbi Network.  Now I'm looking into other routers because I just found out by searching on the site that this feature was discontinued.  I'm really disappointed because buying expensive routers like this, you may get a free year of Netgear Armor which is $99 per year and Netgear Armor Plus is $149 per year but you want me to start and continue a subscription when my warrenties: hardware, accessory and power supplies plus phone support, chat support and email support expire with the year.  So I'm being bled in every way for trying to get the best product with a company I've respected and patronized. 

 

Also the newer Orbis particularly the BE27000 can only allow 2 satellites and there is one 10g wired backhall instead of 2 or even more if you could connect more satellites like most newer mesh routers that are this expensive. Also why aren't all the ethernet connections 5 gbs, I mean I get that all of this means more processing power and such but it's an $1800 product.  A product you can't connect a WiFi drive to without doing the ridiculous like keeping a computer directly connected to the network with NAS protocol.  I'm sure there are other ways, but that doesn't take away from charging for the best and not quite delivering.

 

So in summary parental controls are locked unless you pay, slightly better security is locked unless you pay, great features like readyshare and WiFi drives were removed, the backhall is only for one satellite and although the phone app has gotten better, it's still not great. Mesh routers were a great idea and have really helped in houses that would otherwise not have full connectivity for the whole house because they can connect wirelessly but that is not as stable, efficient or as fast as a wired connection.  Some of us who don't mind running wires and getting the best from our technology are frustrated.  Having multiple 10gbs slots especially on the main router should be a given,  If you need an ethernet for an office, you'd probably use the 10gbs and every additional connection slows down the resulting signal even if only by a small amount.  I've encouraged others to consider this router but I have to tall them to reconsider for something with all the options.

1 Reply

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  • CrimpOn's avatar
    CrimpOn
    Guru - Experienced User

    One brief correction.  When the original Orbi router was designed, the engineers included several capabilities, such as

    • Bluetooth capability in the Qualcomm radio chip
    • USB connector, with the obvious intention of supporting Readyshare.

    However..... The Readyshare feature was never enabled.  Orbi has never supported Readyshare.  When the RBR50v2 was introduced, the USB port was no longer included.  The AX and subsequent models do not include a USB port.  Readyshare has not been removed.  It was never there.

     

    (p.s. The Bluetooth capability also has never been enabled on Orbi systems.)

     

    Most discussions of using wired backhaul on the Orbi 970 product center on connecting a 10GB Ethernet switch to the 10GB LAN port and then connecting satellites and other devices to that 10GB switch.  With Ethernet being inherently full duplex vs. the shared nature of WiFi based backhaul, such a wired arrangement will far outperform any WiFi satellite connections.

     

    The main point is entirely valid.  Research products before spending $1,800.