Netgear Orbi Whole Home Wi-Fi System
Custom PC|April 2017

Most high-end routers take a brute-force approach to improving Wi-Fi speed and range, adding more antennae, more frequency bands and the latest Wi-Fi standards. That approach works up to a point, but eventually even powerful routers run out or range. Of course, you can buy Wi-Fi extenders, extra Ethernet cable and access points, or use powerline networking, but Netgear has taken a novel approach with the Orbi that pretty much solves the problem.

Edward Chester
Netgear Orbi Whole Home Wi-Fi System

Instead of one powerful router, the Netgear Orbi system has one router and one hub, which work together to stretch your Wi-Fi signal. The hub acts as a glorified Wi-Fi extender, but rather than offering a measly single-band, single-antennae unit, it’s a fully fledged quad-stream, tri-band (1 x 2.4GHz, 2 x 5GHz) monster that dedicates one of its 5GHz bands to communicating with the main router.

This story is from the April 2017 edition of Custom PC.

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