Orbi Mesh or Asus solution?

[MarcusVR]

Hi guys! I own an Asus RT-AC88U, but I'll move to mesh. My options are buy another Asus, revert to official firmware and create a mesh, or buy an Orbi rbk50 or 53 system. Could you give some ideas?
Thanks in advance!

 

[e38BimmerFN]

Kind of depends on your price point and what all you want and need.
Home Sq footage is a factor.
Placement is key.

The Orbi is a very good MESH system, has great coverage.
Mixed reviews on operation and troubleshooting. FW updates have caused issues, however factory reset and setup from scratch seem to solve this. I have buddy with a RBK53 system I setup for him a couple of years ago. No issues seen or heard from him. Still running. I've been testing a RBK50 for someone on the NG forum. Had problems making it work. No issues so far that I can see. Ran well while I was gone for two weeks recently. I believe some of the Orbi problems are either environment or user configuration issues mostly. This would be a key to consider for any kind of wifi system.

I have another buddy with a ASUS AX11000 gaming router and the AC3100 router thats now all MESH configured. Says works well and has zero issues. Probably a bit more spendy than Orbi.
Also D-Link has some MESH systems as well for review.
Heard about Linksys and Google. Users seem to post that Orbi has the best wifi range though.

 

[bbunge]

I have a RBK50 that I keep updated and test from time to time. It does not have features that Asus Merlin has but the firmware keeps getting better. And the coverage is good.

Sent from my SM-T380 using Tapatalk

 

[Klueless]

IMO mesh becomes attractive when you need > 2 access points and/or you can't wire everything. If you really only need just one more why "mesh" around? Just buy an easy to setup access point? (Many "extenders" can be set up as a wired access point.)

(And why even buy another Asus unless you're thinking it can be re-purposed as an emergency/backup router should your main router crap out?)

 

[MarcusVR]

Hi guys! Firstly, thanks for the tips and suggestions! The access point would be my choice, but the difficult is to wire my house. It means break walls, once there aren't conduits other than those of the electric grid, so it would be more expensive. I will ask for an Orbi RBK 50, and see if it will cover my needs. If not, I always may buy another satellite.

But thanks a lot for share your knowledge!

 

[Klueless]

Now you've gotten me to wondering. You were talking about "just one more" unit (Asus) as an option. That "implies" coverage is pretty good save for just one little weak/dead spot?

If so (and because I'm cheap) you could look at something like the Netgear 6150 (AC1200 range extender) with "fast lane". You dedicate one band as the "back-haul" to the router and dedicate the other band to serving clients. No wires needed about $80. Speed? Depending on how "bad" things are but 75 Mbps would be a reasonable guess.

 

[MarcusVR]

Now you've gotten me to wondering. You were talking about "just one more" unit (Asus) as an option. That "implies" coverage is pretty good save for just one little weak/dead spot?

If so (and because I'm cheap) you could look at something like the Netgear 6150 (AC1200 range extender) with "fast lane". You dedicate one band as the "back-haul" to the router and dedicate the other band to serving clients. No wires needed about $80. Speed? Depending on how "bad" things are but 75 Mbps would be a reasonable guess.

Klueless, the coverage is good, and the router is now located in the center of my house. But I have an area in my backyard where I don't have signal, and also want to increase it at the entrance of my house to use IP cams. I already use a TP-Link RE650 repeater - excellent! - but my needs exceed their capabilities.

I would need another two repeaters to cover the desired area...