Netgear Orbi WiFi System AC2200 (RBK30) - Review 2022

The Orbi WiFi System AC2200 (RBK30) is the latest addition to Netgear's line of Wi-Fi systems. Information technology joins the original Netgear Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band Wi-Fi System (RBK50) and the AC2200 Orbi RBK40 (stay tuned for the full review). Priced at $299.99, the RBK30 is a two-slice organisation featuring a plug-in satellite, Multi-User Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) data streaming, and a defended 5GHz band for backhaul. It'due south a proficient performer, merely the Linksys Velop delivers meliorate overall throughput and offers a more polished mobile app.

Design and Features

The two-slice Orbi RBK30 consists of a router and a satellite, but y'all can buy additional satellites for $149.99 each. The router looks just like the router used for the Netgear Orbi RBK50, simply at viii.03 by half-dozen.57 by 3.27 inches (HWD), it's a tad smaller. However, it has the same squashed, cylindrical shape and soft-white finish, as well as the aforementioned LED low-cal ring on top, which glows crimson when there is an error, magenta when the WAN port is downwards, and amber when the router is rebooting. The back of the router holds 3 Gigabit LAN ports, a WAN port, a reset button, a power button, and a sync push. However, it lacks USB connectivity.

The plug-in satellite is also white and at 6.3 by iii.three by 3 inches, it is fairly bulky and will jut out effectually 2 inches from the wall. All the same, information technology won't block the second socket in a two-socket outlet. Information technology has a three-prong plug on the dorsum, reset and sync buttons on the left side, and an LED light ring on the tiptop that glows blueish when the connection between the router and the satellite is practiced, amber when the connection is off-white, and magenta when the satellite cannot connect to the router.

A tri-band AC2200 system, the Orbi RBK30 has two 5GHz bands that are capable of speeds of up to 867Mbps, and one ii.4GHz band that tin can reach 400Mbps. As with the Netgear Orbi RBK50, one of the 5GHz bands is defended to backhaul (communications between the router and the satellite), and the other two are controlled using automatic band-steering technology, which ways you have 1 SSID for both bands and cannot dedicate a specific band for a specific purpose. Both the router and the satellite take four internal antennas and support MU-MIMO data streaming and beamforming. The system also supports Alexa voice commands that let you to accept Alexa do things like enable and disable guest networking and reboot the router.

The Orbi RBK30 has a mobile app (iOS and Android) that lets you share Wi-Fi settings, modify the security password, view connected clients, and suspension access to those clients, but that's about all it does. To configure wireless settings, prepare guest networks, tweak net settings, and access advanced settings, you accept to utilize the same web-based panel that is used for the Netgear Orbi RBK50. It opens to the Bones Domicile screen, which contains bill of fare choice on the left and status tiles on the right for Cyberspace, Wireless, Attached Devices, Parental Controls, and Guest Network. Clicking any tile takes you to a screen where you lot tin can configure basic settings, or y'all can utilise the menu on the left.

In the Advanced Settings screen, at that place'southward also a menu on the left, while on the correct are condition windows that display avant-garde Router, Internet, Wireless, and Guest Network settings. In addition to a Wizard Setup, there'southward a Setup menu with tabs for avant-garde Internet, Wireless, WAN, and LAN settings, and there's a Quality of Service (QoS) tab that contains the Ookla Speedtest and Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) settings; however, information technology lacks the device-prioritization capabilities that you get with the Linksys Velop.

Other advanced settings include access control scheduling, site blocking, port forwarding, VPN services, and the ability to configure the Orbi RBK30 as a router or an access point (AP).

Installation and Performance

You lot can install and configure the Orbi RBK30 using the mobile app or the web console. I used the mobile app and selected New System Setup upon launch. I was instructed to point my phone's camera at the QR lawmaking on the router, and one time it was recognized, I followed the instructions to connect the router to the cyberspace and power it up. I so plugged the satellite into a wall outlet in my living room, around 30 feet from the router. Using my telephone'due south Wi-Fi settings, I connected my phone to the Orbi SSID, entered the supplied keyword, and returned to the app. Within seconds, the router was recognized, and I hit Adjacent to pair the satellite with the router. Some other few seconds, and the satellite was configured, and I moved on to proper name the system, give information technology a password, and set upwards a couple of security questions. The system needed a minute and a half to apply the settings, and I was finished.

Related Story Come across How We Test Wireless Routers

Since the Orbi RBK30 uses automatic band steering, our test results are based on its ability to choose the all-time band, which in this case is the open 5GHz ring. Although it turned in solid scores in our Single-User Multiple Input, Multiple Output (SU-MIMO) operation tests, its score of 411Mbps in our shut-proximity (aforementioned-room) test couldn't keep pace with its stablemate, the Netgear Orbi RBK50, or several other competing routers, as shown in the chart below.

Netgear Orbi WiFi System AC2200 (RBK30) ROUTER SU-MIMO

The Orbi RBK30's satellite garnered 232Mbps in this test, nearly matching the Portal satellite and at least one of the TP-Link Deco M5 satellites.

Netgear Orbi WiFi System AC2200 (RBK30) NODES SU-MIMO

At a distance of 30 feet, the Orbi RBK30 router managed 142Mbps in our SU-MIMO tests, and its satellite scored 84.2Mbps. The Netgear Orbi RBK50 provided much faster throughput, as did the Portal organization and the Linksys Velop.

To test MU-MIMO throughput, we use three identical Acer Aspire E15 laptops equipped with Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 wireless 802.11ac network adapters. In our close-proximity exam, the Orbi RBK30 router averaged 141.8Mbps. That's faster than the routers for the Netgear Orbi RBK50, the Portal, and the TP-Link Deco M5, but significantly slower than the Linksys Velop router.

Netgear Orbi WiFi System AC2200 (RBK30) ROUTER MU-MIMO

Equally nosotros saw with the Netgear Orbi RBK50, the RBK30'due south satellite provided superior throughput; it scored 129.6Mbps, almost in line with the Netgear RBK50 and ahead of much of its competition.

Netgear Orbi WiFi System AC2200 (RBK30) NODES MU-MIMO

At a distance of 30 feet, the Orbi RBK30 router scored 78.3Mbps, and the satellite had a throughput of 73.3Mbps, backside the Orbi RBK50.

The Orbi RBK30 responded immediately to my vox commands using Alexa to enable and disable guest networking and reboot the router, but a few more voice commands would be welcome. For example, it would be dainty to be able to pause the internet or enable and disable network access for a specific customer.

Conclusion

The Netgear Orbi WiFi Organisation AC2200 (RBK30) is a solid selection if you're looking to blanket a small dwelling house with seamless Wi-Fi. Information technology's easy to install and configure, and offers a good assortment of management settings, merely you'll have to utilise the web panel to access them, as the mobile app has a long way to go before it can be considered useful. If the two-piece system doesn't quite cover your unabridged house, you can e'er add another satellite, only they are rather bulky and aren't equipped with any LAN ports.

Although the Orbi RBK30 delivered solid throughput in our performance tests, the Linksys Velop provided better overall performance, especially in our SU-MIMO tests. Granted, the 2-slice Velop system is $50 more expensive than the Orbi RBK30, but it covers 4,000 square anxiety compared with the Orbi organization's iii,500 square anxiety, and it offers a well-designed mobile app and more than connectivity options. It remains our Editors' Option for domicile Wi-Fi systems.