Orbi as replacement for R8000 - any chance?

[d_rick]

Hi,

As a longtime Netgear user, I want to consider them as a replacement for my current setup before switching brands. I've been trying to find a decent setup for my SOHO environment, but cannot seem to get anything to work as i want. The Orbi would be used to replace:

4 Powerline adapters serving up 2 different isolated network segments where wireless currently cannot reach (1 set of Netgear FastE for security system, 1 set of Netgear GigE for R7000)

2 AP's serving up 2 different subnets (1 R8000 for internal, 1 R7000 guest)

My current problems are as follows:

-wireless coverage / lack thereof

-crappy performance when using the PL adapters

-lack of proper VLAN support on my core GS716T switch to support Meraki config

As wireless mesh seems to be all the rage, i wanted to see if the Orbi might be up to the task of replacing the PL's and both AP's.

The alternative i'm considering is the Ubiquiti Networks UniFi AC Mesh Pro which comes highly recommended by several people who use them with excellent results.

Thoughts?

[Mikey94025]

I replaced my R8000 with the Orbi (base + 1 satellite) a couple months ago for my 3-level house and I have better wireless coverage and max 5Ghz speeds (200 Mbps vs. 160 Mbps).  I recently added an extra satellite just because a recently-added Nest outdoor camera would intermittently lose coverage (wireless signal outside is less due to outside wall interference, I already know of the beamforming-off workaround for my Nest cameras).  I put the new satellite inside near the front of my house and in the past week haven't seen the camera lose signal again.  Overall, I'm quite happy with my Orbi upgrade from the R8000.

But note that the Orbi is more of a set-and-forget than advanced router so the number of advanced settings is a bit less than the R8000.  I don't know about your VLAN support.  It's still worth a try -- Just buy it, try extra satellites if you need them, and then return everything it doesn't work for you.  Places like Amazon or Best Buy make this very easy to trial.  Google also has a new mesh system coming out that looks promising, but I plan to stick with Orbi for now.

[d_rick]

Thanks for the prompt response Mikey.

That is my primary concern with the Orbi base on what i've read so far is that it's more like the PL adapters and they either work, or they don't - and can't be tuned.

One of the primary areas of interest to me about the unifi's is that they are "enterprise" products vs. consumer like the Orbi. The R7000/8000 are likely closer to prosumer class, but still lack the customization or tuning i need.

I may try them, but this confirms some of my thoughts.

Thanks!

[cyberprashant]

i had a R8000+R7000 = weak range overall still.  Powerline (better) and Wi-Fi Extenders (worst reliability) didn't help

Orbi range and ability to roam is incredible.  I use the R8000/7000 for my IoT devices only now.