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My Orbi RBR 850 and 3 satellites work great... however, perhaps someone can shed some light on a question:
This week I upgraded my internet service from 1Gig to 2.5 gigs. I also added a 2.5G switch after the Orbi to service all wired devices.
The input to my Orbi is in the WAN port which is labled as 2.5Ghz.
My speed test (From the router configuration web page) reports speeds off 977M up and 113M down.
Questions:
1. When running the speed test from the router page (Advanced | Setup | Speed Test: Is that testing the true speed at the router or is it on the client that is running the web browser?
2. I understand that the input (WAN port) can be 2.5G, but are the other four LAN ports (output) restricted to 1.0G?
3. Based on the above answers, I may be forced to upgrade to something such as the 770 or 970... I understand that the 850 satellites are compatible with the 770/970 (at previous wifi speeds), which would be fine as I am more interested in the connection speeds of machines that are hard wired. Are the LAN ports of the 770 and/or 970 2.5G or higher?
Please let me know if you have any knowledge on the above!
Running a Speed Test on the Orbi web interface (or the Orbi 'app') gives the results of a program running on the router itself. If the results are 977 up and 113 down, something is seriously wrong. The recommended step is to connect a computer directly to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) device with an Ethernet adapter which supports at least 2.5G and run Ookla Speed Test on it.
Yes, the Orbi 850 LAN ports are all gigabit Ethernet. Connecting a 2.5G Ethernet switch to one of these ports accomplishes nothing.
Netgear has not yet updated their web site to show which satellites are compatible with the 770 product. It appears that the 850 satellites are not compatible with the 970 product:
Running a Speed Test on the Orbi web interface (or the Orbi 'app') gives the results of a program running on the router itself. If the results are 977 up and 113 down, something is seriously wrong. The recommended step is to connect a computer directly to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) device with an Ethernet adapter which supports at least 2.5G and run Ookla Speed Test on it.
Yes, the Orbi 850 LAN ports are all gigabit Ethernet. Connecting a 2.5G Ethernet switch to one of these ports accomplishes nothing.
Netgear has not yet updated their web site to show which satellites are compatible with the 770 product. It appears that the 850 satellites are not compatible with the 970 product:
Thanks for this rundown; I have been (slowly) working through which "dominoes" have to fall/be replaced to get full 2.5G across my network (and whatever speeds may be available in the future).
I will definitely try the direct-wire test you are suggesting.
I think I have convinced myself the 970 is the way to go... especially since my current 3 satellites are wired backhaul and it would just be a matter of unplugging the old and plugging in the new -- and then setup with the previous SSID, settings, etc. -- an in-place upgrade.
I have owned quite a few of the ORBI series, and am considering biting the bullet to future-proof my architecture.
Interestingly enough, Best Buy will give you 15% off the 970 if you take your old router in when purchasing.
Thanks for your response.
Any comments you may have on the 970 are appreciated.
There are some odd reports regarding the new systems.
It also might be a good idea to purchase from a vendor with a very liberal return policy. (If you hang onto the 850 system, "going back" is a simple matter of swapping units.)
Thanks for this rundown; I have been (slowly) working through which "dominoes" have to fall/be replaced to get full 2.5G across my network (and whatever speeds may be available in the future).
I will definitely try the direct-wire test you are suggesting.
I think I have convinced myself the 970 is the way to go... especially since my current 3 satellites are wired backhaul and it would just be a matter of unplugging the old and plugging in the new -- and then setup with the previous SSID, settings, etc. -- an in-place upgrade.
I have owned quite a few of the ORBI series, and am considering biting the bullet to future-proof my architecture.
Interestingly enough, Best Buy will give you 15% off the 970 if you take your old router in when purchasing.
Thanks for your response.
Any comments you may have on the 970 are appreciated.
So I bit the bullet and purchased the Orbi 970 (RBE972) to replace my Orbi 850.
First off, if you decide to do something similar, do yourself a favor and purchase from Best Buy. If you bring ANY junk networking device (router, switch, anything!) the customer service department gives you a 15% off voucher. That means at least $250 off! I took the junkiest "IQ router" that my alarm company had left me years ago (I didnt even pay for it!) and 5 minutes later they handed me a 15% off voucher!
Swapping over from the 850 to the 970 was a piece of cake since the setup screens are nearly identical. I did it all on the app (vice PC), the only issue I saw was the app did not allow for spaces in the SSID, which I later edited from the PC screen once setup was complete. I did delete the 850 system from the app before install. The app install process was really easy and the app did a nice job.
On my 850, I had three RBS 850 satellites. The 970's two satellites provides the same coverage (and more) that the three RBS850s performed in the past. This WIFI really reaches out. I have one satellite currently hard wired and one wireless backhaul. Will probably hard wire that one soon as well.
I am using PiHole for both DNS and DHCP -- no issues at all.
So far smooth as silk and download speeds are right at 2.5 Gig -- measured at both the Orbi as well as one of my PCs.
One last interesting thing... I left an RBS850 satellite connected (wired backhaul) initially... the 970 recognized it as a satellite and was doing the "config synch" thing before I disconnected it. I will probably test a satellite tomorrow to see if there is compatibility just for fun.
Thanks for the discussion above... I made this move to "future proof" my network for the next several years. So far so good!
