Computer Shopper - UK (2020-05)

30 MAY2020|COMPUTER SHOPPER|ISSUE387

WE’VELONGBEENadmirers of the Orbi

range of mesh Wi-Fi products, particularly

the RBK50 (Shopper358). With the system

running on the older 802.11ac technology,

however,it’s time forachange with the

Netgear Orbi WiFi 6RBK852.

As you can tell from the name,thismodel

is aWi-Fi 6product, built using the latest

802.11ax wireless specification, designed for

the largest homes and the greatest number of

wireless devices. As you might expect, this

kind of technology doesn’t come cheap,and

the system starts at £710, more than double

the current price of the RBK50.

CROSSTHE STREAMS

As with that older system, the RBK852 is a

two-pack: you get one router and asatellite.

This time around, the router has a2.5Gbit/s

WANport and four Gigabit Ethernet ports (up

from three on the original), and the satellite

has four Gigabit Ethernet ports. The USB port

from the original has been removed, although

given that we’ve never used one forsharing a

printer or storage device,wedon’t think that

this loss will be felt tookeenly.

Setup is performed via the same Orbi

app that the original system uses, and is

straightforward enough, using asimple

wizard. This helps you configure your

internet connection, enter your preferred

network name and password, and attach

your satellitetothe router via the

dedicated wireless connection.

At this point, there’s little to tell the old

Orbi system apart from the new,but the real

changes are in the wireless connection. The

RBK852 is built to be alot faster than its

predecessor,bothinraw speeds and the

number of streams available.

First, while the dedicated wireless backhaul

remains four streams, the RBK50 had a

maximum speed of 1,733Mbit/s, whereas the

new system has a2,400Mbit/s backhaul (you

can use an Ethernet cable if you need more

range). Both the router and the satellitehave

twice the number of streams, too, with the

RBK852 providing four 2.4GHz streams at

1.2Gbit/s and four 5GHz streamsat2.4Gbit/s.

That works out that each 2.4GHz stream is

NETGEAR OrbiWiFi6RBK852

★★★★★

£710•From http://www.amazon.co.uk

VERDICT

The fastest mesh system we’ve ever seen, but the high price and a

fewmissing features mean it’s not quitereadyfor most homes yet

MESHWI-FISYSTEM

300Mbit/sand

each 5GHz stream

is 600Mbit/s. So,

why the focus

on streams?

With Wi-Fi 6,

streams can be useddd

moreintelligently.Fooor

example,ifyouhadfff devi

begiventheirowninnndividua zstream;a

faster4x4deviceconnectingggcould use all

four streams at once forfaster throughputs.

This lets Wi-Fi 6work betterwith multiple

devices, as bandwidth is better shared than

with Wi-Fi 5systems. The effect is even

greater when used with the RBK852, as you

get 16 streams of data forconnecting devices;

add an extra satellite(the three-pack costs

£970) and you’ve got 24 streams to playwith.

That’s the good news; the bad news is that

to fully useall the features and stream

sharing of Wi-Fi 6you need to have Wi-Fi 6

devices. The Orbi RBK852 is really arouter

forthe future,getting you ready forwhen

your computers, laptops, phones and other

devices are all Wi-Fi 6enabled.

Technically,the RBK852 is not compatible

with the older Orbi system. We hadanold

satelliteplugged in viaEthernet and the new

system detected it, although we had some

problems with network stability.

OUT OF CONTROL

While the Orbi RBK852 is controlled via the

same app as the RBK50, there are some

noticeable omissions. There are no Disney

Circle parental controls, giving you web

filtering foryour family.There’s also no

Netgear Armour service forprotecting your

network against cyber threats. Netgear

promises that these features are in the

pipeline but, fornow,the RBK50 does more.

That’s areal shame,especially given how

expensive the RBK852 is.

There’s also no support forBTIGMP,

which means that if you have TV channels

(such as BT Sport) delivered by aYouView

box, theywon’t workwith this router.The

older RBK50 and other Netgear routers

support this option.

the pp y guest

network and change the name and password

foryourwireless network. If you want to

select the wireless channels, you have to

connect to the router using aweb browser.

QoS settings are also very basic: you run a

speed test on your internet connection and

the Orbi system automatically prioritises

traffic. Formostpeople,thiswillbeenough,

but if you’re intogames you might want a

system that gives you more control.

To test the system, we used alaptop with a

two-stream (2x2) Wi-Fi 6card inside it, and

saw some of the fastest results we’ve seen

from awireless network. Testing at close

range,wesaw upload speeds of 588Mbit/s

and download speeds of 485Mbit/s; moving

to the first floor, speeds were still quick,

with upload speeds of 342Mbit/s and

download speeds of 309Mbit/s; on the

second floor,results were just as impressive

with upload speeds of 368Mbit/s and

download speeds of 310Mbit/s.

Given the speed of the system, there’s a

lot to love about the RBK852; as we say, this is

amesh system that’s built forthe future.

Today, sadly,it’s harder to justify,given the

high price and current lack of Wi-Fi 6devices.

It’s also frustrating that some features that

exist on the old Orbi system haven’t been

migrated here.Ifyou want the best in terms

of performance,thisisit, but the older RBK50

still performs well and is alot cheaper.

DavidLudlow

Seepage88for performance details

MODEM2.5Gbit/sEthernet•WI-FISTANDARD802.11ax•

STATED SPEED2x 2,400Mbit/s(5GHz), 1,200Mbit/s

(2.4GHz)•USB PORTS (^0) • WALL MOUNTABLENo•
WARRANTYTwoyears RTB•DETAILSwww.netgear.com•
PART CODERBK852

SPECIFICATIONS

5GHz 2m

5GHz 1st floor

5GHz 2ndfloor

0200 400 600

537Mbit/s

326Mbit/s

339Mbit/s

TheOrbiRBK852isarouter for the future,getting you

ready for when all your devices areWi-Fi 6enabled