Where can I get a quality WiFi Mesh system? Apparently not from Netgear...

[groovology]

I thought I was making a good decision going with the Netgear Orbi RBR50.  It wasn't cheap, but I figured if price is any indication, I'll be getting a fast, high performance solution for my house that will really help me working from home.  I installed it about a week ago,  following the instructions precisely but no matter what I do, no matter what I try,  including resetting and rebooting my modem a dozen times, this product just doesn't work. 

Maybe $400 isn't a lot of money to some people, but it is to me, and when I spend that amount of money, I actually, silly me, expect the product to work. And if it doesn't I would expect to be promptly supported, and if the hardware proves to be the problem, I would hope that there would at least be an apology.  None of this has happened. 

I have now wasted 5 hours of my life trying to get this piece of crap to work, including over 2 hours on the phone with tech support, only to be told that the hardware must be defective.  

What's funny is that there are strong indicators that this is not a high quality product:  there are TONS of these sold as "refurb" on Amazon, which really means one thing:  you get a LOT of these back, which can only mean you don't get them right the first time around. 

It is incredibly frustrating to waste hours on broken technology, and when the tech support casually just said to "please swap out the router with another unit" like I had a closet full of these things just waiting for the current one to fail really sealed the deal for me.  Netgear,  for whatever reason, no longer makes the simple, reliable, bullet proof products it once did.  I used to heartily recommend Netgear to everyone.  Never again.  

I Know this is a company forum so perhaps it is rude to ask, but its no different than how I have been treated as a customer.  So do any of you know a good brand of WiFi mesh products that will work right out of the box and perform as advertised?  Anyone? 

[CrimpOn · Accepted solution]

I bought two Orbi systems and they worked, "out of the box", and continue to work today (one for two years, another for nine months).

Return it and move on.

Good Luck.

[CrimpOn · Accepted solution]

I bought two Orbi systems and they worked, "out of the box", and continue to work today (one for two years, another for nine months).

Return it and move on.

Good Luck.

[FURRYe38]

What Firmware version is currently loaded?
What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?

What is the size of your home? Sq Ft?
What is the distance between the router and satellite(s)? 30 feet is recommended in between RBR and RBS to begin with depending upon building materials when wirelessly connected. https://kb.netgear.com/000036466/How-far-should-I-place-my-Orbi-satellite-from-my-Orbi-router

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.
Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?

Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or maynot be needed) and WMM. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

Try disabling the following and see:
Armor, Circle, Daisy Chain, Fast Roaming, IPv6 and Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only. Set Short preamble instead of Long preamble modes. Save settings and reboot the router and satellite(s).

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@groovology wrote:

I thought I was making a good decision going with the Netgear Orbi RBR50.  It wasn't cheap, but I figured if price is any indication, I'll be getting a fast, high performance solution for my house that will really help me working from home.  I installed it about a week ago,  following the instructions precisely but no matter what I do, no matter what I try,  including resetting and rebooting my modem a dozen times, this product just doesn't work. 

Maybe $400 isn't a lot of money to some people, but it is to me, and when I spend that amount of money, I actually, silly me, expect the product to work. And if it doesn't I would expect to be promptly supported, and if the hardware proves to be the problem, I would hope that there would at least be an apology.  None of this has happened. 

I have now wasted 5 hours of my life trying to get this piece of crap to work, including over 2 hours on the phone with tech support, only to be told that the hardware must be defective.  

What's funny is that there are strong indicators that this is not a high quality product:  there are TONS of these sold as "refurb" on Amazon, which really means one thing:  you get a LOT of these back, which can only mean you don't get them right the first time around. 

It is incredibly frustrating to waste hours on broken technology, and when the tech support casually just said to "please swap out the router with another unit" like I had a closet full of these things just waiting for the current one to fail really sealed the deal for me.  Netgear,  for whatever reason, no longer makes the simple, reliable, bullet proof products it once did.  I used to heartily recommend Netgear to everyone.  Never again.  

I Know this is a company forum so perhaps it is rude to ask, but its no different than how I have been treated as a customer.  So do any of you know a good brand of WiFi mesh products that will work right out of the box and perform as advertised?  Anyone? 

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[groovology]

I would love nothing more to actually get to the point of experimenting with options to get it to work, but the conclusion that the tech came to on the phone is the hardware doesn't work.  Given I had to go to a couple of Costcos to get the unit in the first place (it was on sale) I won't be able to swap it out, so I will have to go with another solution. 

Pity that Netgear doesn't actually support their customers with replacements the way other tech companies do.  Probably could be kept as a customer if they Fed Ex'd out a replacement, but that wasn't offered, and I was told to take it back and swap it out, which like I explained is unlikely as an option. 

Someone else had responded that I should return the unit and move on.  I think that is what I shall do.  There MUST be a Mesh system out there that works first time and sets up without causing aggravation.... the search goes on. 

No need to reply to this, I'm cancelling my account after this post.  Stay well, everyone. 

[FURRYe38]

With out more investigation and troubleshooting, there maybe other problems causing your system not work well or at all. With out feedback to questions presented, we can't help you. 

Orbi systems do work for the most part. Mine does as well as others. Some problems need vetting out and troubleshot is all. Not all Orbi systems are bad. 

Good Luck.