Instead it offered total home coverage with no dead spots at full speed over a single wireless network, with devices linked together over a dedicated, high-speed backhaul.The secret to the Orbi RBK50’s success is Netgear’s dedicated 4×4, 1,733Mbps radio used for data backhaul between the router and its satellites (the RBK50 comes with one satellite, which Netgear says is sufficient to blanket 5,000 square feet). It also didn't need to process and repeat the Wi-Fi signal, effectively cutting your total bandwidth in half. Unlike these products, the AC3000 didn't need to create a secondary SSID as is the case with some range extenders. It did this without traditional range extenders, boosters, or repeaters, many of which create more problems than they solve. Back in 2016 we were able to review the Netgear Orbi AC3000, a powerful mesh WiFi system that consisted of a single router and satellites that offered 3Gbps of Tri-Band Wi-Fi coverage of up to 4000 sq ft. The Orbi (CBR40) we will be showing you here today is not Netgear's first mesh Wi-Fi router, nor is it the first to enter our lab.

This has kept the technology out of the hands of the average consumer, but over the last couple of years, Netgear, along with a few other companies, have started a home mesh Wi-Fi revolution. The cost of setting up and maintaining a large, mesh network is worthwhile for the enterprise and major institutions, but for the rest of us - until recently - mesh networks have simply been out of reach.

Hotels, universities, and malls have been using the tech for years to keep their students and customers seamlessly connected to the internet over large areas. In fact, you have most likely been connected to a mesh network at some point in time without even realizing it. Mesh networking is starting to take a foothold in the home market, but the technology has actually been around for quite sometime.

Wifi router mesh reviews 2018