Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
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Netgear and thread support

VerneArase
Apprentice

Netgear and thread support

Anyone know what Netgear's planning to do about thread/matter support?

 

I'd hate to think I'm going to have to go eero to get this stuff working - they just don't have Orbi's speed.

 

Not that I'm planning to buy a Netgear $1500 mesh system after buying an RBK853 ... at that point there needs to be a reevaluation as to future direction - I mean an eero pro three node wifi 6 system is like $600 and supports up to a gigabit.

 

I know I'd need a couple of more ethernet hubs, but really it looks like Netgear's pricing themselves out of the market.

 

Something like a Zigbee/matter edge attachment would do the trick, but so far it looks like Netgear is ignoring the whole situation.

Model: RBK53|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi System
Message 1 of 12
CrimpOn
Guru

Re: Netgear and thread support


@VerneArase wrote:

Anyone know what Netgear's planning to do about thread/matter support?


I would appreciate a little more detail about thread/matter.  (Obviously, this does not refer to sewing atoms.)

Message 2 of 12
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Netgear and thread support

Also FW version being used on your Orbi AX system? 

 

Message 3 of 12
VerneArase
Apprentice

Re: Netgear and thread support

If that was to me, I'm running V4.6.3.16_2.0.51.

 

Does anyone have any idea when Netgear will update their model list? I haven't had an RBK53 for two or three years, but it's still the closest thing to my RBK853 mesh.

 

As far as I've read, to function as a thread edge router your access points need to have Zigbee radios and software compatible with thread. Matter is a pretty big deal as it promises to unify most of your home control IOT islands and make them compatible without protocol exchange hubs (most of which have limited untility anyway).

 

Really, at Orbi prices they ought to have a trade-in program or an advance exchange program where they exchange the innards with updated hardware to support new features - after all, one of the selling points of wifi 6 and 6e mesh was to support all those IOT devices by handling more clients.

 

I get pretty jealous of folks with more recent hardware which things like thread edge router support, or LAN ports with greater than gigabit support. After all, my internet from Xfinity is now up to 1.2 gbps, and actually tests out to 1409.76 mbps on the RBR850.

 

I guess what I'm saying is that an RBK853 system is still around $1000 on Amazon whereas an eero pro is half that - a much easier to bear replacement cost if we have to replace our entire mesh systems for new technology. At Orbi prices, we should have an updatable platform - otherwise the acquisition cost just doesn't make sense.

 

Of course if you living in a sprawling ginormous home things may be different - but I have to cut down transmit power to get things working properly anyway.

Model: RBK53|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi System
Message 4 of 12
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Netgear and thread support

The model list is going away so please stop using it. It's not needed to post anything here in the forums. Just make sure your posting in the right section is all. 

 

I recommend you give v5 a try:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-WiFi-6-AX-and-WiFi-6E-AXE/New-RBR850-RBS850-Firmware-Version-v...

Message 5 of 12
VerneArase
Apprentice

Re: Netgear and thread support

Yeah, I just read the full thread on the new firmware and I think I'm going to have to hold off on that.

 

I'm retired, but my wife is still working from home and she gets really peeved if I mess with anything and it affects her laptop (I have the scars to prove it).

 

Just went through a kerfluffle with the kitchen Hunter Signal fan where the light was disabled for days on end - just got everything working again this morning.

 

Perhaps I should go back to the 4.6.7.5 thread and see if anyone's got a Dell Latitude 7480 working on it - sure don't want to take a chance of this (relatively) ancient beast having problems with it like that Chromebook.

Model: RBK53|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi System
Message 6 of 12
ekhalil
Master

Re: Netgear and thread support

Orbi and other routers are transparent to networking protocols like Thread and Matter. Your mesh devices should support Thread/Matter to be able to be part of the mesh but the router should be transparent.
I have today Orbi 50 and 850 series and they work fine with a small mesh of “HomeKit over Thread” devices (Apple TV + Eve Aqua).
Message 7 of 12
VerneArase
Apprentice

Re: Netgear and thread support


@ekhalil wrote:
Orbi and other routers are transparent to networking protocols like Thread and Matter. Your mesh devices should support Thread/Matter to be able to be part of the mesh but the router should be transparent.
I have today Orbi 50 and 850 series and they work fine with a small mesh of “HomeKit over Thread” devices (Apple TV + Eve Aqua).

The eero 6 pro (and I think eero 6) actually have a built-in radios so the mesh nodes actually function as thread edge routers.

Model: RBK53|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi System
Message 8 of 12
ekhalil
Master

Re: Netgear and thread support

Not sure if Orbi has Thread Border Gateway functionality in the roadmap like the eero. eero has also a Zigbee gateway 🙂
Agree that this is a nice functionality to have in a wifi mesh but not sure if it’s needed now as not many Thread devices are in the market yet. Soon “Matter” will come and probably the next Orbi’s will have Matter Gateways instead? 🙂
But you know that the Apple TV and HomePods (which you anyways have to have for Thread to work) can as well act as Border Gateways. One such device is good enough in the network. Two devices will provide you with redundancy, which is all what you need.
Message 9 of 12
VerneArase
Apprentice

Re: Netgear and thread support

Well, since the Orbi warranties can't be extended past the pro warranty extension, looks like if something goes wrong I'll be swapping to an eero 6 pro. At $600 for a three mesh nodes it makes more sense than going for an Orbi wifi 6 mesh at $999 (on sale! We increased the price by $219 so we could show you getting a $219 discount!) or 6e at $1499. At a lower per unit cost they'll probably be more willing to hardware swap anyway (Orbi support has always been highly resistant to replacing hardware).

 

I have a satellite which I always have to power cycle after a reboot, and never could get it replaced. In addition, the eero is a Homekit compatible secure router.

 

Orbi 6e doesn't really make any sense - I don't have any 6e devices, and the mesh LAN nodes only have gigabit anyway. I'll get integrated thread support, and may experience a throughput drop and will need a couple of more ethernet switches but nowadays speeds are high enough for most purposes anyway. If I need to backup/restore my arrays I'll just have to move both arrays to the same switch (which is what I had to do on my Orbi anyway).

Message 10 of 12
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Netgear and thread support

The RBSE's have both 1000 and 2.5Gb LAN ports. 

Message 11 of 12
ekhalil
Master

Re: Netgear and thread support


@VerneArase wrote:

..... At a lower per unit cost they'll probably be more willing to hardware swap anyway (Orbi support has always been highly resistant to replacing hardware).

 

.....


It's not only the price. Please have a look at this: https://www.leadsrating.com/wifi-systems/netgear-orbi-vs-eero/#:~:text=The%20Netgear%20Orbi%20system....

 

Message 12 of 12
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