SRK60 / SRK60100NAS, RBK85*, RBK753S-100NAS, or RBK50 for my needs?

[ant]

My requirements if possible:

1. A guest WAP for visitors to use my Internet and not touch my LAN stuff.

2. Latest technology and security, but it still needs to work with old wifi devices like WPA2-SPK, WEP (very rare though so this can be skipped), etc.

3. Open source firmware support if alternative and future when official support is dropped.

4. Reach far away places (up to 30 meters away) in an mostly one floor home. Family rooms, kitchen, etc. that are weak and unstable.

5. Must be wireless only. No indoor wiring like network cables and power outlets.

6. Price doesn't matter. Any good ones from Best Buy, Costco, Amazon, Fry's Electronics, etc.?

7. Must not require an online account and apps to use and access the router/extender. Optional is OK. No phoning home too for privacy reasons.

8. Still need network ports for my devices like my decade old PCs with their network cables.

Any suggestions? Thank you for reading and hopefully answering soon. 🙂

[FURRYe38]

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@ant wrote:

My requirements if possible:

1. A guest WAP for visitors to use my Internet and not touch my LAN stuff.

Orbi only has Guest Network. 

2. Latest technology and security, but it still needs to work with old wifi devices like WPA2-SPK, WEP (very rare though so this can be skipped), etc.

Orbi has WPA3 however is not mixed mode compatible at this time. There are WPA devekoper level problems with mixed mode WPA2. WPA3 has also been compromosed.

3. Open source firmware support if alternative and future when official support is dropped.

Orbi 50 seres are the only models supporting 3rd party FW. 

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Voxels-FW-available-for-50-series-Orbi-only-available/m-p/1883...

4. Reach far away places (up to 30 meters away) in an mostly one floor home. Family rooms, kitchen, etc. that are weak and unstable.

20m would be best. 30 would be too far. 

5. Must be wireless only. No indoor wiring like network cables and power outlets.

Most MESH systems are wireless though the router portion needs a ethernet cable connection to the main host modem or ONT and required a power outlet for the router and satellite units. 

6. Price doesn't matter. Any good ones from Best Buy, Costco, Amazon, Fry's Electronics, etc.?

Check each place to see whats available.. 

7. Must not require an online account and apps to use and access the router/extender. Optional is OK. No phoning home too for privacy reasons.

You don't need an account to setup a Orbi system using it's web page. 

8. Still need network ports for my devices like my decade old PCs with their network cables.

Orbi system supports LAN ports on the RBR and RBS. Review the product specs sheets for details. 

https://www.netgear.com/support/

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[CrimpOn]

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@ant wrote:

My requirements if possible:

1. A guest WAP for visitors to use my Internet and not touch my LAN stuff. Every decent WiFi system has a Guest WiFi.  Many offer a total of 3 WiFi SSID's.

2. Latest technology and security, but it still needs to work with old wifi devices like WPA2-SPK, WEP (very rare though so this can be skipped), etc. This appears inconsistent. "Latest technology" would imply WiFi6 (which lets out the 2016-era RBK50). Security is "across the board".  If WEP is allowed, then it is allowed - period.

3. Open source firmware support if alternative and future when official support is dropped. Of the Orbi/Nighthawk models, only the RBK50 has (one) third party firmware, and none have "open source".

4. Reach far away places (up to 30 meters away) in an mostly one floor home. Family rooms, kitchen, etc. that are weak and unstable.This is the whole point of a mesh system. With enough satellites, the WiFi envelop can be larger than most homes.

5. Must be wireless only. No indoor wiring like network cables and power outlets.Every mesh system meets this requirement.

6. Price doesn't matter. Any good ones from Best Buy, Costco, Amazon, Fry's Electronics, etc.?This appears inconsistent. "Price doesn't matter" and a list of discount stores.

7. Must not require an online account and apps to use and access the router/extender. Optional is OK. No phoning home too for privacy reasons.Netgear WiFi routers all feature a web management interface, with Optional smartphone app.  Keeping routers from "phoning home" is nearly impossible. They all check for firmware updates. The only method that seems to work is to use an external DNS server that can block Netgear domains. And this would be the case for most brands.

8. Still need network ports for my devices like my decade old PCs with their network cables.As long as there is one ethernet port, a $25 gigabit switch will provide more.

Any suggestions? Thank you for reading and hopefully answering soon. 🙂

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You did not mention the old "Different SSID's for 2.4G and 5G WiFi" issue. Netgear Orbi makes that very difficult, in contrast with other brands which allow different SSID's by default.

[schumaku]

If the #5 price does not matter - review your requirement #6. A structured network cabling is the best investment for the next decade(s) to come - much better value than any consumer Mesh system.

[ant]

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@schumaku wrote:

If the #5 price does not matter - review your requirement #6. A structured network cabling is the best investment for the next decade(s) to come - much better value than any consumer Mesh system.

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The house owners doesn't want any wiring. I don't own the house too.

[ant]

My answers are in green color below.

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@CrimpOn wrote:

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@ant wrote:

My requirements if possible:

1. A guest WAP for visitors to use my Internet and not touch my LAN stuff. Every decent WiFi system has a Guest WiFi.  Many offer a total of 3 WiFi SSID's.

OK.

2. Latest technology and security, but it still needs to work with old wifi devices like WPA2-SPK, WEP (very rare though so this can be skipped), etc. This appears inconsistent. "Latest technology" would imply WiFi6 (which lets out the 2016-era RBK50). Security is "across the board".  If WEP is allowed, then it is allowed - period.

It should be all. WEP will probably not be used since it is super rare.

3. Open source firmware support if alternative and future when official support is dropped. Of the Orbi/Nighthawk models, only the RBK50 has (one) third party firmware, and none have "open source".

OK.

4. Reach far away places (up to 30 meters away) in an mostly one floor home. Family rooms, kitchen, etc. that are weak and unstable.This is the whole point of a mesh system. With enough satellites, the WiFi envelop can be larger than most homes.

Good.

5. Must be wireless only. No indoor wiring like network cables and power outlets.Every mesh system meets this requirement.

Excellent!

6. Price doesn't matter. Any good ones from Best Buy, Costco, Amazon, Fry's Electronics, etc.?This appears inconsistent. "Price doesn't matter" and a list of discount stores.

Still expensive for 3 packs with RBK853. 😛

7. Must not require an online account and apps to use and access the router/extender. Optional is OK. No phoning home too for privacy reasons.Netgear WiFi routers all feature a web management interface, with Optional smartphone app.  Keeping routers from "phoning home" is nearly impossible. They all check for firmware updates. The only method that seems to work is to use an external DNS server that can block Netgear domains. And this would be the case for most brands.

Good for web access. Does Orbi not let users disable autocheck and autoupdate?

8. Still need network ports for my devices like my decade old PCs with their network cables.As long as there is one ethernet port, a $25 gigabit switch will provide more.

OK. I was hoping not to add more hardwares.

Any suggestions? Thank you for reading and hopefully answering soon. 🙂

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You did not mention the old "Different SSID's for 2.4G and 5G WiFi" issue. Netgear Orbi makes that very difficult, in contrast with other brands which allow different SSID's by default.

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Oh. 😞

[ant]

My answers are in green color below:

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

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@ant wrote:

My requirements if possible:

1. A guest WAP for visitors to use my Internet and not touch my LAN stuff.

Orbi only has Guest Network. 

OK. Good enough.

2. Latest technology and security, but it still needs to work with old wifi devices like WPA2-SPK, WEP (very rare though so this can be skipped), etc.

Orbi has WPA3 however is not mixed mode compatible at this time. There are WPA devekoper level problems with mixed mode WPA2. WPA3 has also been compromosed.

Are you saying Orbi won't let me use my old wifi devices that can't do WPA2? 😞

3. Open source firmware support if alternative and future when official support is dropped.

Orbi 50 seres are the only models supporting 3rd party FW. 

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Voxels-FW-available-for-50-series-Orbi-only-available/m-p/1883...

OK.

4. Reach far away places (up to 30 meters away) in an mostly one floor home. Family rooms, kitchen, etc. that are weak and unstable.

20m would be best. 30 would be too far. 

Even with the satellites?

5. Must be wireless only. No indoor wiring like network cables and power outlets.

Most MESH systems are wireless though the router portion needs a ethernet cable connection to the main host modem or ONT and required a power outlet for the router and satellite units. 

That's fine. I was referring to the networking part via power outlets and more network cables to reach farther.

6. Price doesn't matter. Any good ones from Best Buy, Costco, Amazon, Fry's Electronics, etc.?

Check each place to see whats available.. 

7. Must not require an online account and apps to use and access the router/extender. Optional is OK. No phoning home too for privacy reasons.

You don't need an account to setup a Orbi system using it's web page. 

Good.

8. Still need network ports for my devices like my decade old PCs with their network cables.

Orbi system supports LAN ports on the RBR and RBS. Review the product specs sheets for details. 

https://www.netgear.com/support/

I wished the routers had more network ports.

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[FURRYe38]

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@ant wrote:

My answers are in green color below:

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

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@ant wrote:

My requirements if possible:

1. A guest WAP for visitors to use my Internet and not touch my LAN stuff.

Orbi only has Guest Network. 

OK. Good enough.

2. Latest technology and security, but it still needs to work with old wifi devices like WPA2-SPK, WEP (very rare though so this can be skipped), etc.

Orbi has WPA3 however is not mixed mode compatible at this time. There are WPA devekoper level problems with mixed mode WPA2. WPA3 has also been compromosed.

Are you saying Orbi won't let me use my old wifi devices that can't do WPA2? 😞

SInce Orbi AX doesn't offer mixed security modes, i.e. WPA2 and WPA3 working together, it only provides WPA2 or WPA3 separately.

WPA2-PSK [AES]
WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES]<This is mxed mode WPA1 and WPA2 for backwards compatibiliy with older devices that don't support WPA2. 
WPA3-Personal [SAE]

So if you set WPA3, any devices that do not support WPA3 will not be able to connect. This is something the WPA developers are working on we hope. 

3. Open source firmware support if alternative and future when official support is dropped.

Orbi 50 seres are the only models supporting 3rd party FW. 

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/Voxels-FW-available-for-50-series-Orbi-only-available/m-p/1883...

OK.

4. Reach far away places (up to 30 meters away) in an mostly one floor home. Family rooms, kitchen, etc. that are weak and unstable.

20m would be best. 30 would be too far. 

Even with the satellites?

Correct. 

5. Must be wireless only. No indoor wiring like network cables and power outlets.

Most MESH systems are wireless though the router portion needs a ethernet cable connection to the main host modem or ONT and required a power outlet for the router and satellite units. 

That's fine. I was referring to the networking part via power outlets and more network cables to reach farther.

Like power line adapters? Yes use of Power Line adapters can bve used. 

6. Price doesn't matter. Any good ones from Best Buy, Costco, Amazon, Fry's Electronics, etc.?

Check each place to see whats available.. 

7. Must not require an online account and apps to use and access the router/extender. Optional is OK. No phoning home too for privacy reasons.

You don't need an account to setup a Orbi system using it's web page. 

Good.

8. Still need network ports for my devices like my decade old PCs with their network cables.

Orbi system supports LAN ports on the RBR and RBS. Review the product specs sheets for details. 

https://www.netgear.com/support/

I wished the routers had more network ports.

Due to case and style size limitations, most routers only come and need 4 ports. Easy way to resolve this is to add a external non managed non green ethernet switch to the back of the RBR. There inexpesive and easy to install. They come in 5 port versions all the way up to 48. I have a 24 port behind mine as the main home network. I also have an 8 port that I have on a different segment that services different devices. They can be daisy chained as well. I have two behind the 8 port switch.

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[ant]

My answers are in red below.

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

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@ant wrote:

My answers are in green color below:

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@FURRYe38 wrote:

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@ant wrote:

My requirements if possible:

...

2. Latest technology and security, but it still needs to work with old wifi devices like WPA2-SPK, WEP (very rare though so this can be skipped), etc.

Orbi has WPA3 however is not mixed mode compatible at this time. There are WPA devekoper level problems with mixed mode WPA2. WPA3 has also been compromosed.

Are you saying Orbi won't let me use my old wifi devices that can't do WPA2? 😞

SInce Orbi AX doesn't offer mixed security modes, i.e. WPA2 and WPA3 working together, it only provides WPA2 or WPA3 separately.

WPA2-PSK [AES]
WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES]<This is mxed mode WPA1 and WPA2 for backwards compatibiliy with older devices that don't support WPA2. 
WPA3-Personal [SAE]

So if you set WPA3, any devices that do not support WPA3 will not be able to connect. This is something the WPA developers are working on we hope. 

Ah, I don't have any newer devices that use WPA3 yet. My old Netgear R6300 v1 router uses WPA2-PSK [AES] since that's the highest it can go for wireless encryption. I was worried that the new Orbit router won't have issues with older wifi devices that can only go up to WPA2.

4. Reach far away places (up to 30 meters away) in an mostly one floor home. Family rooms, kitchen, etc. that are weak and unstable.

20m would be best. 30 would be too far. 

Even with the satellites?

Correct. 

Dang it. I thought the more satellites would help covering the hard to reach areas especially if I get two of them to go 7,500 sq. ft. 😞

8. Still need network ports for my devices like my decade old PCs with their network cables.

Orbi system supports LAN ports on the RBR and RBS. Review the product specs sheets for details. 

https://www.netgear.com/support/

I wished the routers had more network ports.

Due to case and style size limitations, most routers only come and need 4 ports. Easy way to resolve this is to add a external non managed non green ethernet switch to the back of the RBR. There inexpesive and easy to install. They come in 5 port versions all the way up to 48. I have a 24 port behind mine as the main home network. I also have an 8 port that I have on a different segment that services different devices. They can be daisy chained as well. I have two behind the 8 port switch.

OK and thanks. I was hoping to have less hardwares that didn't make more heat and use more power outlets. 😞

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I am thinking of buying Whole Home Mesh WiFi 6 System with Advanced Cyber Security, 3-pack (RBK753S-100NAS) from http://www.costco.com/netgear-orbi-whole-home-mesh-wifi-6-system-with-advanced-cyber-security%2c-3-p.... It says 7,500 sq. ft.) for $429 (save $70; offer ends on the 30th). What do you think?

I was going to buy AX6000 Mesh WiFi 6 System (newer; up 60+ devices; 802.11ax), but that is expensive (over $1K for its 3-pack!) even though I read its AX6000 wifi connections are more stable and faster than the older versions. I just want stable fast wifi connections that my R6300 router + extenders can't provide for far away places. 😕

[FURRYe38]

Something to try out. Costco has a return policy if it doesn't work out for you.