NETGEAR’s Orbi Family of Routers Stretch the Internet Speed Paradigm
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It won’t be long before the old single-hardwired router goes the way of dial-up: obsolete and archaic. A connected house is now one with a mesh network blanketing your space and providing a clear, reliable, fast connection free of dead zones.
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NETGEAR has an entire line of mesh WiFi systems designed to make laggy connections and dead zones a thing of the past. It’s called Orbi, and they’ve got a few different models to choose from during your network overhaul upgrade. The Orbi 860, 960, and new, WiFi 7-compatible 970 systems are elite and configured to support reliable, low-latency connections in every inch of the home and yard.
Each Orbi network system is designed for fast setup in as few as 15 minutes in the Orbi app, and they’re all infinitely scalable, meaning you can add as many wireless satellite units as you need to ensure complete coverage for streaming, gaming, smart home systems, and video conferencing throughout your entire home. You can also manage your network from anywhere, and troubleshoot outages all within the app.
Which Orbi system should be your next upgrade? There are no wrong answers here, but subtle differences between them could help you decide which one is worth investing in.
SPY readers can also save $100 on any Orbi system by entering the exclusive code “SPY10” at checkout.
Check Out NETGEAR’s Entire Line of Orbi WiFi Systems
Orbi 860 Series Tri-Band WiFi 6 Mesh System
It’s hard to believe that a mesh system that cooks at up to 6 gigabytes per second (Gbps) and covers up to 8,000 square feet could possibly be considered entry-level. But NETGEAR’s most affordable Orbi 860 Series is the family’s little brother who can still mop the floor with the top-line systems from many other manufacturers.
The Orbi 860 uses the NETGEAR-invented Tri-band technology to maintain its outstanding speed no matter how much traffic and how many devices you throw at it. The Dedicated Backhaul feature is like an express lane for the WiFi signal — up to 100 devices can use the Orbi 860 without causing the slowdowns that lesser systems experience when overtaxed.
The Orbi 860 3-Pack — the main router and two satellite units — covers 8,000 square feet. Upgrade to the 4-Pack, with one additional satellite unit, and that coverage grows to 10,800 square feet. If you’re in an apartment or condo and don’t need all of that space, the 2-Pack’s coverage of 5,400 square feet should be plenty.
Get NETGEAR’s Orbi 860 WiFi 6 Mesh System
Orbi 960 Series Quad-Band WiFi 6E Mesh System
Until the WiFi 7 invasion reaches full steam (more on that later), WiFi 6E is the standard for speed and low lag. The Orbi 960 is the world’s most powerful WiFi 6E system, with speeds of up to 10.8 Gbps delivered throughout your home or yard without having to hardwire to the router.
Remember that Tri-band tech that allows the 860 Series to create a huge express lane for all of your devices? The 960 Series has Quad-band technology and an even larger express lane so twice the number of devices can move at tremendous speed at the same time.
The Orbi 960 allows you to create up to 4 separate WiFi 6E networks with one system, so you can build one for just smart home devices, one for your office, and another network for guests all under one roof.
With all of that power comes, yes, responsibility. Once kids get to ride the lightning and experience gaming and streaming at unparalleled speed, they may want to do it all day and night long. The Orbi 960 Series comes with a 30-day free trial of NETGEAR Smart Parental Controls, which lets you set time limits to promote healthy online habits, block objectionable sites and content, and see history and activity (both on WiFi and LTE) across all devices.
Get NETGEAR’s Orbi 960 WiFi 6E Mesh System
Orbi 970 Quad-Band WiFi 7 Mesh System
Would you believe that just 10 years ago the average internet speed was 15.6 megabytes per second (Mbps). At the time, that seemed fast. Now the Orbi 970, one of the very first WiFi 7 home systems to hit the market, is capable of hitting 27 gigabytes per second.
The number of WiFi 7-ready devices is currently small. But that makes the Orbi 970 virtually obsolescence-proof for years to come, and it’s also fully compatible with older devices, so you’ll see a huge improvement in speed and performance even before the WiFi 7 laptops, phones, big-screen TVs, and more hit the market. Speaking of being well ahead of the tech curve, if you have a big 8K TV hanging on your wall, you’re not fully enjoying the incredible resolution and color if you’re streaming on a laggy WiFi network.
The Orbi 970 router and each of its satellite units contain 12 high-performance antennas, all hidden inside its award-winning design, and amplifiers that broadcast its incredible power in a comprehensive 360-degree pattern. That gives you the freedom to place the satellite units anywhere you like, so long as they are near an AC outlet. And like all of the Orbi systems, the 970 is scalable. The 3 Pack gives you 10,000 square feet of coverage, but if that’s not enough, each additional satellite unit is good for another 3,300 square feet.
Simply put, the Orbi 970 is an elite WiFi system, unparalleled in speed and coverage, and the best way to be fully prepared for when WiFi 7-ready devices become the new standard.
Get NETGEAR’s Orbi 970 WiFi 7 Mesh System
All three also come with a free year of NETGEAR Armor security software, which is powered by Bitdefender. Armor is built directly into the routers, so one subscription covers all of your connected devices without the need for individual downloads. And all of the Orbi devices are sleek and modern-looking in either black or white, able to seamlessly blend into your home decor no matter where you place them for optimal WiFi performance.
Not sure which Orbi to pick? Use the Find My Orbi Tool to get an expert recommendation from the NETGEAR team. SPY readers can also save $100 on any Orbi system by entering exclusive code “SPY10” at checkout.
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