NETGEAR SRK60-100NAS Orbi Pro - Tri-band WiFi System for Business, Up to 5,000 sqft, Replaces Access Points, No complicated wiring, Traffic & Network Separation (SRK60)

This wireless mesh network seems to work great, and greatly improved my overall coverage from my old AP/router and extender plug. Following the advise of other reviewers, I updated the firmware before I did much of anything. After that, I connected directly to the primary AP to do the setup. You CAN definitely connect to the AP wirelessly or via Ethernet for the initial configuration. After you sync the satellite to the primary, you can also then directly connect to the satellite device as well. Both work just fine. I completely stayed away from the app, based on the reviews here, as well as the extremely low rating on the App store.Keep in mind, this product is 'technically' a business network system, and not necessarily designed for home use. For example, it has three networks available: One for management, and two for general use. It can be confusing which network to use, as each has different restrictions. Of course, it works fine in either environment, but being a business focused product, I believe Netgear assumes a generally more technical person will be doing the install and configuration. For example, the Netgear Insight app is technically a business management tool, which can be used with many different Netgear business products. There is both a simple/quick configuration tool, as well as more advanced access.Overall, I purchased this Netgear mesh network because it was deeply discounted from the MSRP/usual price, and I am happy with it. It is in no way worth the roughly $300 original price, but at just over $100, it is a great system. I am disappointed that there is no QoS option, but I have read it is supposed to have some sort of automatic QoS management system. I would have preferred to setup my own QoS though.

With the COVID scare going on, and kids and wife all being home doing online school and endless online meetings/etc, we found we all needed to be spread out with high speed, reliable WiFi. You know, vocal distancing. The current router wasn’t cutting it. The dead zones became very apparent. When your kiddo’s Zoom drops and they can’t get back into the locked meeting because the teacher doesn’t notice - panic and frustration follow very quickly. Many online meetings require a strong reliable signal or you get dropped. It’s just the way it is. I began shopping for a home upgrade and due to sourcing issues, thank you COVID, I stumbled onto this unit, still in stock! Thank heavens! Just like hair over 40, I’m finding I have full strength WiFi in places I’ve never had it before. Amazing! If I had a WiFi remote lawnmower I could run it! Yes, even in the far reaches of my yard I have a full WiFi signal. My wife now does all her Zoom meetings outside, away from the kids. My kids can now be in any part of the house or yard and still be ‘in class’. It’s amazing! Setup was not difficult. (I do work in IT, but I didn’t have to call my network admin for backup.). Follow the instructions. Be patient during reboot cycles. I did it all on my iPhone. I would recommend using a wired PC/laptop instead. Bonus: I love the ability to share a QR code with family for WiFi connectivity instead of trying to type A complex password on a smartphone.I highly recommend this Orbi Pro!

I finally got myself to replace an older single WiFi router with extender in my 2-story house with the Orbi Pro AC3000 mesh WiFi router and one satellite. What a difference it made. I have near maximum bandwidth and speed for most locations provided by my ISP (300 Mbps download). It seems it could handle at least twice as much for peak performance. The two gripes I have are that the default WiFi network won't let me manually set 2.4 and 5 GHz SSIDs. So the algorithm determines that one of my devices has weak 5 GHz signal strength and gets kicked to the lower bandwidth 2.4 GHz channel with the stronger signal. Also the second WiFi network that can be set up for "employees" cannot access printers and file storage systems residing in the standard or "excecutive" network. All these concerns have been reported before by others. I just found out later. Still my primary reason to have a single WiFi network name with fast mesh technology in the entire house outweigh these shortcomings. It is noteworthy that the second or "employee" WiFi network does allow to configure with a toggle both 2.4 and 5 GHz SSIDs. The original setup of the Orbi was not quite as easy as I had wished. The basic instructions shipped didn't really say much about setting up the satellite. Though this became clear after reading the online manual. My satellite didn't find the router for the longest time. I guess, I was not patient enough. For the sales price I paid, I would buy again this older technology Since then the Orbi has been working like a charm for over one week now.