Netgear Orbi vs Google Wifi vs Ubiquiti AmpliFi HD?

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Netgear Orbi vs Google Wifi vs Ubiquiti AmpliFi HD?

mgbridges

118 posts

Master Geek

#242856 17-Nov-2018 09:22

Further to my recent thread about improving wifi in my house, I took the advice of the crowd and decided to go for Mesh wifi as opposed to extending by powerline adaptors and extenders. However, the $500-$600 for Ubiquiti and Google Wifi are out of my price range for now.

I noticed that the Netgear Orbi 3-pack is in the PBTech Cyber Monday sale - what are peoples' thoughts about this option compared tyo the Google & Ubiquiti options? The Netgear units look a bit big, but the specs sound good.

Cheers,

Martin

Elmoz

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#2128334 17-Nov-2018 09:40

I can't comment on the others but I purchased Google Wi-Fi (3-pack) from Dick Smith (way cheaper than locally) and it works very well. We used to have pockets with low or no Wi-Fi but now is all good.

michaelmurfy

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#2128341 17-Nov-2018 10:02

The Orbi isn’t bad and is a good price in this sale. Just go for that.

I never recommend Google WiFi. It doesn’t have VLAN support and has some privacy concerns also.

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WolfChop

152 posts

Master Geek

#2128396 17-Nov-2018 11:05

I planned to buy a WiFi Mesh system during yesterday's PBTech Black Friday sale. Went back and forth on these three exact systems. In the end, I walked out with the Ubiquiti AmpliFi HD and I have to say with my limited time with it, I believe it is 100% worth the price.

The whole process from unboxing to use was dead easy. High quality packaging without any excess paperwork inside - just the manual. The devices themselves feel incredibly premium and has a really nice rubber texture (if you've used those Microsoft Surface Typecovers, you'll know exactly what I mean). The fact that I'm even describing the feel of a networking device is shocking. Downloaded the AmpliFi app on my phone and went through the steps. Very clean and minimal interface but with everything you'll need for the most functions (think iOS). In about 30-45 mins, everything was up and running perfectly.

Performance is excellent. Runs at full 100Mbps and is consistent. No drop outs and no slow downs so far. Fantastic coverage throughout my whole home and outside in the garden. I never knew you could connect to a WiFi network so fast.

My home is two levels and I've been running a Powerline Adaptor from the main router to downstairs. While it worked, speeds were dramatically decreased and would disconnect a few times a week. I will never go back to that solution ever again.

I know it's only been less than 24 hours, and I sound like I'm kissing massive ass but I'm very satisfied with this product. It's not cheap, but it's seriously worth it.

blakamin

4431 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#2128404 17-Nov-2018 11:39

Another option in the mesh world is TP-Link Deco gear. It's one of the few that work in my house (35cm thick stone walls) you can hardwire backhaul if you want too.. Good gear for the price.

mgbridges

118 posts

Master Geek

#2135254 27-Nov-2018 14:08

A quick update on this: I went with the Netgear Orbi in the PBTech sale and got it set up at the weekend. So far I'm very impressed. I have full-strength wifi in every corner of my house, and the throughput is double what I was getting through my Powerline adapters. I wish I'd done this months ago.

In related news, does anyone want to buy a router, wireless extender or some Powerline adapters??

Thanks for all the feedback and advice.

Martin

MikeB4

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#2135258 27-Nov-2018 14:14

I am using the Orbi RB50 in my home which has some tricky Wifi issues. The Orbi has been the only product that has fixed this for me. I have no hesitation recommending it.

Paul1977

5044 posts

Uber Geek

#2146978 18-Dec-2018 11:01

I have a friend who is looking at various wifi mesh options for his home and he has asked my advice. But if I'm honest I don't have a great deal of experience to be able to recommend one over another.

I had a bad experience with Google Wifi, and with the lack of VLAN tagging am reluctant to recommend that.

I've heard good things about Orbi, and would like to recommend the RBK50 starer pack. But I can't seem to find anywhere to purchase additional RBS50 access points if required. Does anyone know where to get these?

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welliegeek

135 posts

Master Geek

#2175457 9-Feb-2019 14:24

I'd love to figure out where to buy the additional RBS50's as well.... :)

I've been looking at replacing my ASUS AC-3200 router after not being able to sort out some flaky wifi "pausing" (for want of a better word). I've pretty much decided on the Orbi AC3200 two-pack, mainly due to the dedicated 5GHz backhaul channel, but would love to know where to get an additional satellite if needed.

DjShadow

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#2175463 9-Feb-2019 15:28

WolfChop:

I planned to buy a WiFi Mesh system during yesterday's PBTech Black Friday sale. Went back and forth on these three exact systems. In the end, I walked out with the Ubiquiti AmpliFi HD and I have to say with my limited time with it, I believe it is 100% worth the price.

The whole process from unboxing to use was dead easy. High quality packaging without any excess paperwork inside - just the manual. The devices themselves feel incredibly premium and has a really nice rubber texture (if you've used those Microsoft Surface Typecovers, you'll know exactly what I mean). The fact that I'm even describing the feel of a networking device is shocking. Downloaded the AmpliFi app on my phone and went through the steps. Very clean and minimal interface but with everything you'll need for the most functions (think iOS). In about 30-45 mins, everything was up and running perfectly.

Performance is excellent. Runs at full 100Mbps and is consistent. No drop outs and no slow downs so far. Fantastic coverage throughout my whole home and outside in the garden. I never knew you could connect to a WiFi network so fast.

My home is two levels and I've been running a Powerline Adaptor from the main router to downstairs. While it worked, speeds were dramatically decreased and would disconnect a few times a week. I will never go back to that solution ever again.

I know it's only been less than 24 hours, and I sound like I'm kissing massive ass but I'm very satisfied with this product. It's not cheap, but it's seriously worth it.

I've seen mentioned in another thread that the Amplifi HD doesn't handle Gig Fibre very well, have you by chance had a chance to test with higher speeds?

gehenna

8506 posts

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#2175464 9-Feb-2019 15:41

DjShadow:

I've seen mentioned in another thread that the Amplifi HD doesn't handle Gig Fibre very well, have you by chance had a chance to test with higher speeds?

Handles mine just fine.

Talkiet

4793 posts

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#2175545 9-Feb-2019 17:03

gehenna:

DjShadow:

I've seen mentioned in another thread that the Amplifi HD doesn't handle Gig Fibre very well, have you by chance had a chance to test with higher speeds?

Handles mine just fine.

Are you _sure_?

My Amplifi HD gives good speedtest results and in actual download performance is about 3x slower than my Huawei659... It's also MUCH slower in very well controlled and repeatable tests to 10G connected test servers.

But for [reasons] it gives a decent speedtest result :-)

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

gehenna

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#2175617 9-Feb-2019 19:44

Yip mine's fine.

Vikturus

2 posts

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#2175665 9-Feb-2019 22:12

I am about to move houses ( sadly from Gigabit internet ) and the place im moving too is using the isp provided router/modem combo unit and I know they are upgrading shortly as well as their power. What would you guys recommend and also I am wanting to get excellent wifi in my room so was considering buying a power plug adaptor but after reading this may not. My budget is not bad I can afford to get a ubiqiti switch but I dont want to sacrafice speed and ping.. I cant run a cable sadly

gehenna

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#2175676 9-Feb-2019 22:39

Vikturus:
I am about to move houses ( sadly from Gigabit internet ) and the place im moving too is using the isp provided router/modem combo unit and I know they are upgrading shortly as well as their power. What would you guys recommend and also I am wanting to get excellent wifi in my room so was considering buying a power plug adaptor but after reading this may not. My budget is not bad I can afford to get a ubiqiti switch but I dont want to sacrafice speed and ping.. I cant run a cable sadly

You'll be better off starting your own thread for visibility, but in general your questions have been answered many times so feel free to take a look through existing topics for advice too.