NetGear Orbi RBK50 or Other Routers for Large Home?

avgbowlofpho on 14/09/2021 - 17:40
Last edited 14/09/2021 - 19:34 by 1 other user

Hi all,

I've been looking into the NetGear Orbi RBK50 as an alternative to my current WiFi setup at home.

For my personal setup, I use a standard Huawei router provided by TPG, with a Mercusys Halo S12 connected to two other Mesh APs. This spreads across the house about 300sqm, with majority of the house being double brick walls.

The speeds are atrocious as soon as two people watch YouTube or play games at the same time. Currently I'm on a 50/20 plan but at best I can only get 45/1. I've contacted TPG and the speeds coming from the line are completely up to speed as expected, but the router is not keeping up.

One issue I have is playing games at the same time as someone is on video call or streaming videos on YouTube/Netflix. I have a PC connected to Powerline Ethernet to reduce any interference caused by the brick walls. I get around 20/1 on Powerline, however I get 45/1 connecting directly to the Mercusys AP. The only caveat of connecting to the AP instead of Powerline is horrendous packet loss and ping spikes.

During games I can get up to 100% packet loss. Ping going from 34ms to 320ms+

I've been looking into the Netgear as it's the highest performing router in its range, and I don't want to cheap out with another Mesh Router like the Mercusys. What intrigued me about the Netgear Orbi was the dedicated 5gHz backhaul.

I wanted to know if getting a Netgear Orbi might kill my packet loss for good and restore good upload speeds throughout my house? Also, is it worth daisy chaining the router to the AP?

TL;DR - WiFi Bad, Packet Loss, Low Upload Speeds possibly caused by low bandwidth allocation. What are some suggestions for a new router? (Other than NetGear Orbi)

Computing Mercusys Mesh Network NetGear Wireless Router

Comments

  • jasonbw on 14/09/2021 - 18:35

    What's your network connection type and speed. Ie iiNet FTTP 1000mb ? Wondering as some routers support vlan tagging which some ISPs need. Not sure on TPG

  • Morien on 14/09/2021 - 18:43
    +1

    First, determine whether you are actually getting close to 50/20 by hardwiring directly to the Huawei. Have you confirmed that?

    I'm guessing you are using the Huawei because you are FTTN? If not, ditch it.

    Make sure the wifi of the Huawei is completely turned off.

    If it indeed is just a dodgy wifi router, then look at a mesh setup. For a large home where hardwiring isn't an option, mesh would probably be best.

    • avgbowlofpho on 14/09/2021 - 20:08

      I have hardwired to the router and have confirmed 50mb download but about 3-4mb upload.

      No I am using HFC with the Huawei Router

      • Twix on 14/09/2021 - 20:11

        Get rid of the Huawei and plug in the Halo S12 to the nbn NTD.

        • avgbowlofpho on 14/09/2021 - 20:13

          That's funny because when I tried that the internet just didn't seem to work at all

          • Twix on 14/09/2021 - 20:15

            @avgbowlofpho: It does work. Did you configure TPG's VLAN ID in the Halo options menu?

            • avgbowlofpho on 14/09/2021 - 20:58

              @Twix: Perhaps I did not, I will have a second look over it

              • chickendog on 18/11/2021 - 14:03

                @avgbowlofpho: Here are the settings for it.

                https://imgur.com/a/4CsaFIQ

                Source, this thread: https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/32k2yjx9

                Speaking from years of experience with this stuff, and as per Morien's suggestion, confirm you're getting the correct speeds from the ISP first, then look at your Wi-Fi. No point trying to fix something that isn't the real issue.

                IIRC, the Huawei boxes from TPG can be iffy, so direct connection via the S12 might resolve it.

                The RBK50 is a good system, and will have no issue maintaining a stable connection while gaming with others streaming at the same time, if there is enough bandwidth to share around in the first place.

              • chickendog on 18/11/2021 - 14:16

                @avgbowlofpho: Just realised this thread is a couple months old already and you've probably already done some stuff, oh wells :/

  • entropysbane on 14/09/2021 - 18:49

    I have the RBK50 with a single satellite on a 250 Mbps connection. The router beams to the satellite about 17 m away (width of house) through gyprock walls, a cupboard. full of books and an air conditioner. So not as bad as your set up has to deal with.
    I can report I get full speed through the house (about 256mbps) at ping of 13 ms. ABB.but as morrien says, look at your router first.

    • avgbowlofpho on 14/09/2021 - 20:08

      That sounds pretty good to me! I will definitely have a look into the Orbi then

  • DannyC on 14/09/2021 - 19:36

    Double brick really kills the signal. I use a Google Nest ATM 350sqm house single level. My rumpus is double brick with acoustic insulation so the signal is weakest there as it is the furthest room away from the satellite. Overall, it has performed pretty well and happy with the range and speeds.

    • onionknight3 on 16/09/2021 - 16:18
      +1

      My house is around the same size as yours. ~400sqm single story double bricked house.

      I'm using an Orbi RBK50 with the satellite about 3 double brick walls away from the router. It runs great with most devices between the two connected to the 5hz connection.

      • avgbowlofpho on 20/09/2021 - 09:18

        That sounds crazy good, definitely will look into getting the Orbi asap then! I actually have a similar house layout to yours, except the signal from the modem to the back of the house has to go through the kitchen and there's alot of interference there. Thanks for letting me know!

  • branners on 16/09/2021 - 14:48

    This may be a far from typical situation but I thought I would throw it in the mix.
    I was having some blind spots with my trusty but ancient Netgear router (D6300) and I discussed that with my nephew, who is a bit of a networking wizz. He knows I have Apple computers and my wife has an iPad, so he suggested a late model Airport Extreme to connect to my NBN 100 (which is HFC).
    I tracked down a 6th gen version, connected it to the NBN modem (which is downstairs and in the middle of the house) and went through the install.
    I cannot believe how good it is. No deadspots in any of the rooms in which we are using devices (there are 3 of us, and we have upstairs bedrooms) and the typical download speed has gone from mid-60s to consistently over 95mbps.
    On both our TVs (one upstairs, one down) the steaming apps menus are much snappier, and zero dropouts so far.
    I know the tech is far from up to date but for $35 on Gumtree, I am just blown away

  • jace88 on 15/11/2021 - 11:54

    Depending on where you live, you might also benefit from one of the various new 5G home broadband providers. My parents apartment is near a 5G tower and for similar money to what they pay Telstra for NBN they can get significantly faster speeds over Telstra 5G… even the 4G speeds are >500Mbps.

    As for the router and your floorplan/etc, I'm in a similar boat to you. I've used 3 Google Wifis and tried to hardwire as many devices as I can, but there are still blackspots in my 130m^2 apartment due to it being very congested in the area, and lots of very thick walls. I'm looking at the Orbi as well since it could "punch through" the thick walls to the mesh satellite.

    • jv on 18/11/2021 - 14:18

      Thread is 2 months old.

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