During set-up, the app takes you through the process of installing a SIM into the router, setting up the satellite(s) and configuring a secure wireless network. This Wi-Fi 6 system is compatible with the RBS850 satellites from the more powerful system, as well as the RBS750 satellites; you can’t use the satellites from the Orbi RBKE963 Wi-Fi 6E system.

The Orbi RBK852 uses Qualcomm’s newest Networking Pro 1200 Wi-Fi chip with 1GB of RAM and 512MB of capacity for storing firmware and settings. It’s all powered by a quad-core processor that runs at a maximum of 2GHz. It has an AX6000 rating. In my tests, that proved to be true, with the RBK752 managing decent throughputs of 442.92Mbps at close range, 319.54Mbps on the first floor, and 284.78Mbps on the first floor. That’s just a little way behind the RBK852, although the bigger system still has plenty of streams left for other clients, whereas I was maxing out the bandwidth of the RBK752. Rather than the RBK852’s array of eight antennas, the RBK752 units have six, reflecting the use of Qualcomm’s Networking Pro 800 Wi-Fi chip instead of the RBK852’s Networking Pro 1200, which offers more data streams. With MU-MIMO and beamforming, the router customizes the signal to match the needs of the connected devices, but it can’t run ultra-wide 160MHz data channels. In reality, though, that made a little difference, as you will see in the performance section below.)

It does take awhile for it to optimize itself. For a few weeks the fourth satellite would stop daisychaining and try to link with the main router. Its been working well for 4 months now. The “nest thermostat” issue is also real, and weird. That could be a dealbreaker for some people. Reply Netgear Orbi AX4200's hardware looks quite sleek from the top. Pre-sync hardware, the familiar setup process The RBK752 comes with a short Netgear Armor online protection trial, available to many other Netgear routers. To use it, though, you'll need to resort to the mobile app. Similarly, you can also opt for Netgear Circle by Disney Parental Control feature, another entire app. You don’t get any USB ports for connecting external storage, although given how little this feature is used, I don’t think that it’s a huge loss. First time poster, here. I’ve been waiting a while for your review of this unit. Here’s my journey:

If you do have a problem with Wi-Fi punching through walls or interference, then a mesh system makes sense. The Asus ZenWifi AX is the closest rival. This system has parental controls built-in, making it more flexible for now. However, the Orbi will (eventually) get its own parental controls, and Netgear’s range of satellites and app are better. For the cost of this device, it is not worth your time or money as Netgear will neither support nor fix their device. You lose some features from the top-end system, but the lower price and decent performance makes this a more reasonable system for many. Design and build quality – Gives you most of what you need but there are fewer Ethernet ports Open up the Netgear Orbi 5G Tri-Band WiFi 6 Mesh System (NBK752) and you’ll see that it’s pretty much business as usual – this kit look similar to previous Wi-Fi 6 Orbi systems.For many years I have had a very fast wireless home network, at the expense of convenience. With a lightning-fast router set up as an access point on each floor, I have gotten stable speeds, but with the disadvantage that I had to manually switch from one network to the other when moving from one floor to the next. Also, consider the fact that a well-functioning smart home is out of the question, with several smart products spread across different wireless networks. Netgear Orbi AX4200 has a large router and ditto node, but they have nice curves that are not annoying. Photo: Netgear You need mesh It’s a shame that there’s no faster 2.5Gbps Ethernet port, as included on the higher-end Orbi RBK852 system. However, the router didn't do well with Wi-Fi 5 clients due to the lower Wi-Fi specs. I used a 4x4 one at the close range (10 feet) test, and it had a sustained speed of some 660Mbps. At 40 feet away, my 3x3 client averaged some 600Mbps. Still, these are impressive numbers. Here are the results I saw, along with the speeds achieved by some other mesh systems in the same tests:

Testing with a 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 card in a Windows computer, the Orbi RBK752 should technically give similar performance to the RBK852, maximising the full bandwidth available on the 5GHz channel. Today I had about 4 dropouts within the space of an hour (none before and none since) but it's simply not acceptable. The satellite is the same as on the regular RBK752 system. This has two Gigabit Ethernet ports for wired devices. Features My original plan was to return them after i got something better. I have 9000 sq ft home. These worked so good out of the box, i just got another set to complete the coverage! I set up the second router as a wired access point in one corner of the house with the main router connected to four satellites. The fourth satellite is quite a distance away from the main router, but it is doing a great job of daisychaining from a satellite in between. Regardless of whether you pay for support, Netgear has a wide array of do-it-yourself options online. They range from how-to videos and FAQs to optimization and troubleshooting tips. Netgear Orbi RBK752 review: Verdict

The best Wi-Fi 6 mesh kit around

As you'll note on the table below, the RBK752 is slightly smaller, lighter, and doesn't come with a 2.5Gbps WAN port. It also has one LAN port fewer in both the router and satellite unit.