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NETGEAR Orbi WiFi 6 (AX6000)
Our second entry from NETGEAR this month is the AX6000, again. While we have reviewed this before, we only looked at the two-unit setup, so this time we wanted to see how it fared with three units. This is a very expensive kit, though, costing for two units than the AX4200 version does for three, and coming in at nearly £940 for the three-unit bundle we have here. However, if it can beat everything else, it will be hard to deny its abilities despite the price.
The packaging doesn't look a whole lot different from the AX4200, although the devices themselves look different. Rather than being “robust” this is an “ultimate” mesh WiFi 6 system, despite the fact that the coverge for three units is the same 6,000 square feet as with the three-unit AX4200. With two units, the AX6000 claims to cover 5,000 square feet rather than 4,000 square feet, however.
The box contents is very similar to the AX4200, with three power adapters, UK and EU plug attachments, and a ribbon Ethernet cable. The power adapters are larger than the AX4200's though. The router is slightly different to the satellites, although you can't tell from the front.
The NETGEAR Orbi AX6000 is one of the most powerful WiFi 6 Mesh systems on the market. Its AX6000 rating means it has two 5GHz 802.11ax radios offering up to 2,400Mbits/sec bandwidth, plus one 2.4GHz radio offering up to 1,200Mbits/sec. This means WiFi 6 clients get the same bandwidth as the backhaul, and there's lots available for legacy clients too.
Aside from a beefier wireless spec, the AX6000 has a beefier wired spec than the AX4200 as well. The router has five Ethernet ports, with the fifth yellow one exclusively for the broadband WAN connection. This operates at up 2.5Gbits/sec, which is handy if you're connecting the Orbi to another network or have really, really fast broadband. The other four are just Gigabit-speed, as are the four ports on each of the satellites. Like the AX4200 units, there are no USB ports for connecting a printer or storage for network sharing.
There's no power switch, either, just a sync button. So if you need to cycle power manually you will need to pull the power cord out. There's a pinhole for resetting to defaults. Like the AX4200 units, they come pre-paired, so your next step is to plug things in and fire up the smartphone app to make sure everything is talking to each other properly.
Price: £939.42 for three units (RBK753); £688.05 for two units (RBK752)
Specification:
Wireless protocols: MU-MIMO with 802.11b/g/n/ax 2.4GHz and 802.11a/n/ac/ax 5GHz
Performance: AX4200 (2,400 + 2,400 + 1,200 Mbits/sec)
Antenna Configuration: 8×8 Internal Antennas for 2.4GHz and 5GHz (8 total)
Ports: Router: 4 x Gigabit Ethernet, 1 x 2.5Gigabit Ethernet WAN; Satellite: 4 x Gigabit Ethernet
Modem Support: VDSL/ADSL 2+ or cable
