7/22/2023 0 Comments Orbi wifi meshThis makes for greater convenience, but I don’t know that it’s made clear that this network isn’t necessarily a more secure option, which should be top of mind for most people using a lot of smart home devices. You can configure this network to use WPA3 and 5GHz Wi-Fi as well, if you want to. Instead, it exists as a means to simplify setup of smart devices like light bulbs, motion sensors, and more, by giving them an SSID that is always on the 2.4GHz band (which many smart home devices exclusively use) and uses only WPA2 authentication, rather than WPA3, which can cause compatibility issues with some smart home devices. The IoT network is not a fully separate network-devices on it can see others on your primary network and vice versa-and has no specific security features. There is nothing new about a separate guest network, but what about an Internet of Things (IoT) network? Netgear offers this with the Orbi 6E, but it’s not necessarily what you’d expect. There are some standard configuration options, but generally, the experience ends up feeling more about pushing you toward Netgear’s subscriptions than providing a quality user experience. There’s also a network traffic meter, but it’s no more detailed than that found in the smartphone app, showing overall data consumption on your entire network, with no insight into which devices are responsible for the bulk of consumption.įeature-wise, in both the smartphone app and the web UI, the Netgear Orbi is a little sparse when you don’t account for the subscription-only offerings. Here, you’re presented with a pair of tabs labeled “Basic” and “Advanced.” For the former, your options are generally the same as those you’ll find in the app (minus Netgear Armor and parental controls), while the latter is where you’ll handle things like setting up static identifiers for your devices-say you want a particular one to keep the same IP address all the time-configuring VLAN tagging, pointing your network to a custom Domain Name Server, or DNS, and more. The smartphone app is pleasant and easy to use, if a little feature-light without subscriptions.įor more technical administration of the network, many users will want to turn to the web interface, which can be accessed by typing its local IP address in the browser. For most people, the app will be the only way you interact with the mesh system. Router configuration through the app can be achieved both locally and, if you have the “Anywhere Access” feature turned on, remotely. That’s more than you can do with a lot of mesh systems, though it’s annoying that you have to deploy some lateral thinking to get it done. Only in the web interface can you set up a separate 6GHz band, and if you set the IoT network to 2.4GHz, you’ve essentially accomplished separating that band. Unsurprisingly, you can’t configure separate SSIDs for the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands-at least, not in a way that’s self-evident, and not specifically in the app. It’s also where you’ll want to mess with all the security and parental controls, if you’re paying for Netgear’s subscription services. If you want to view all the devices connected to your account, create profiles to assign them to (more on this later), update your SSID, toggle guest and IoT networks, or view simple network traffic metrics, the app is the place you’ll want to turn, for the most part. As is typical, the phone app is the more user-friendly experience, with a simple grid layout for accessing various settings or viewing information. Once set up, management of the system is accomplished through either the Orbi app or the web interface. Netgear Netgear Orbi 6E Mesh: Managing your network Setup is fairly straightforward and pleasant, so long as you don’t mind ads. The power supply is, like with most routers, external, and it’s a chunky brick, but most will probably be able to fit it onto a power strip without kicking anything else off. The two satellite units each have a single 2.5Gbps LAN and three gigabit ethernet ports, and similarly have no USB ports. There are no USB ports, which feels like an odd omission. As I mentioned above, the primary router has a 10Gbps WAN port, a 2.5Gbps LAN port, and three additional gigabit ports. Beyond the aforementioned ethernet ports, there are no other ports or really any buttons to speak of. And while it definitely sticks out like a sore thumb, the air freshener–chic motif makes it pretty inoffensive to look at. For better or for worse, though, most of that bulk is vertical, so its footprint is mercifully small, even if its 11-inch height limits the shelves you can put it on. If you’ve only ever seen pictures of an Orbi router (as I had, prior to this review), you will be astounded when you first open the product box-the thing is massive. Wes Davis / IDG Netgear Orbi 6E Mesh: The hardware Orbi features cooling vents, so you’ll want to give them plenty of headroom when placing them.
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