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Today, at CES 2025, Netgear announced the availability of its third Wi-Fi 7 Orbi set, the Orbi 870 series. The new hardware seems to be the most sensible mesh set in the ecosystem, though, like any previous Orbi, it still doesn’t have everything.
This preview will give you an idea of what you can expect and why the latest hardware might just be the most just-right Orbi yet.
Netgear Orbi 870 Series (vs. Orbi 970 vs. Orbi 770): Tri-band MLO backhaul for the win
To understand the Orbi 870, it’s important to remember how things have progressed in the Orbi world as it adopts Wi-Fi 7.
The first Wi-Fi 7 Orbi was the 970 series quad-band hardware, where the 5GHz frequency split into two. Like all legacy Orbis, one of these sub-bands is used permanently for the backhaul, making it the most bandwidth-awkward Orbi despite the crazy high cost.
Then, Orbi 770 arrived as the first tri-band Orbi without a dedicated backhaul band. It makes sense since, with Wi-Fi 7 and the new MLO feature, a dedicated backhaul band is unnecessary. Unfortunately, the Orbi 770 is entry-level hardware on all counts.
That brings us to this Orbi 870, which, per the model name, places itself right between the other two. In a way, it’s the first high-end Wi-Fi 7 tri-band Orbi. The table below shows the full hardware specs provided by Netgear.
Hardware specifications: Netgear Orbi 870 vs. Orbi 770 vs. Orbi 970
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netgear Orbi 770 Series | Netgear Orbi 870 Series | Netgear Orbi 970 Series | |
| Mesh Composition | Router + Satellite(s) | ||
| Model | Router: RBE771 Satellite: RBE770 2-pack: RBE772 3-pack: RBE773 | Router: RBE871 Satellite: RBE870 2-pack: RBE872 3-pack: RBE873 | Router: RBE971 Satellite: RBE970 2-pack: RBE972S 3-pack: RBE973S |
| Pre-Synced Hardware | Yes | ||
| Dedicated Backhaul Band (default) | None | 5GHz-1 | |
| Wired Backhaul | Yes (all bands are available to clients) | Yes (5GHz-1 backhaul band unavailable to clients) | |
| Multi-Gig Wired Backhaul (before a switch is required) | 2.5Gbps throughout via daisy-chaining | 10Gbps (first satellite) 2.5Gbps (2nd satellite) | |
| Dimensions (each unit) | 9.88 x 5.28 x 3.95 in (25.12 x 13.42 x 10.04 cm) | TBD | 11.58 x 5.68 x 5.15 in (29.40 x 14.42 x 13.8 cm) |
| Weight (each unit) | 2.02 lbs (0.92 kg) | TBD | 3.96 lbs (1.79 kg) |
| Wi-Fi Designation | Tri-band BE11000 | Tri-band BE21000 | Quad-band BE27000 |
| 1st Band (2.4GHz) | 2×2 BE: Up to 688 Mbps (20/40MHz) | 4×4 AX: Up to 1147 Mbps (20/40MHz) | |
| 2nd Band (5GHz) | 2×2 BE: Up to 4324 Mbps (20/40/160/240MHz) | 4×4 BE: Up to 8647 Mbps (20/40MHz/160/240MHz) | 5GHz-1 (upper channels) 4×4 BE: Up to 8647 Mbps (20/40MHz/160/240MHz) |
| 3rd Band (6GHz) | 2×2 BE: Up to 5765 Mbps (20/40MHz/160/320MHz) | 4×4 BE: Up to 11,530 Mbps (20/40MHz/160/320MHz) | |
| 4th Band (5GHz) | None | 5GHz-2 (lower channels) 4×4 BE: Up to 5765 Mbps (20/40MHz/160MHz) | |
| Estimate Wi-Fi Coverage (3-pack per vendor’s claim) | 8000 ft2 | 9,000 ft2 | 10,000 ft2 |
| Mobile App | Netgear Orbi, Netgear Armor | ||
| Netgear Armor (included with hardware) | 30-day trial | 1-year | |
| Login Account Required | Yes | ||
| Web User Interface | Yes | ||
| AP Mode | Yes (as a router or a mesh) | ||
| USB Port | None | ||
| Network Ports (Router) | 1x 2.5GBASE-T WAN, 3x 2.5GBASE-T LAN | 1x 10GBASE-T WAN, 4x 2.5GBASE-T LAN, | 1x 10GBASE-T WAN, x 10GBASE-T LAN, 4x 2.5GBASE-T LAN |
| Network Ports (Satellite) | 2x 2.5GBASE-T LAN | 4x 2.5GBASE-T LAN | 1x 10GBASE-T LAN, 2x 2.5GBASE-T LAN |
| Link Aggregation | No | ||
| Dual-WAN | No | ||
| Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) | No (Netgear has no plan to enable this feature for the Orbi family) | ||
| Multi-Link Operation (MLO) | Yes | ||
| Processing Power | Quad-core 1.5GHz CPU, 4GB flash, 2GB RAM | TBD | Quad-core 2.2GHz CPU, 4GB flash, 2GB RAM |
| Internal Fan | No | ||
| Firmware Version (at review) | V10.5.8.1 | not yet tested | V9.10.4.1_1.1.17 |
| Power Consumption (per 24 hours, measured at the router unit) | ≈ 260 Wh | TBD | ≈ 550 Wh |
| Color | White | White and Black | |
| Release Date | June 11, 2024 | January 7, 2025 | September 2023 |
| US Launch Price (compare street price) | $999.99 (3-pack) $699.99 (2-pack) $399.99 (satellite unit) Buy now! | $1299.99 (3-pack) $999.99 (2-pack) $549.99 (satellite unit) | $2,299.99 (3-pack) $1699.99 (2-pack) $899 (satellite unit) Buy now! |
Top-tier Wi-Fi 7 without true 10Gbps support
As noted in the table above, the Orbi 870 comes with four 2.5Gbps LAN ports on each hardware unit but has only one 10Gbps port on the router unit that works as the WAN port. Consequently, there’s no chance of having 10Gbps wired backhauling between the hardware units. Instead, as far as wired networking is concerned, the new Orbi is limited to 2.5Gbps.
As a result, despite the top-tier Wi-Fi support on the 5GHz and 6Ghz band, Netgear classifies the new hardware as entry-level multi-Gigabit, meaning you can get up to 2.5Gbps (slightly lower in most cases) in sustained real-world speed at most.
Additionally, the 10Gbps WAN port doesn’t the router only mean that you’ll get full 2.5Gbps broadband. If you have faster Internet, such as 5Gbps or faster, there’s simply no way to experience that. (Currently, there are only 2×2 Wi-Fi 7 clients, and even the best one will sustain lower than 4Gbps.)
So, the lack of a 10Gbps LAN port is the Orbi 870’s biggest shortcoming compared to the Orbi 970. However, it’s an improvement over the Orbi 770, which was stuck at Gig+ in my testing.
What is Gig+
Gig+, or Gig Plus, conveys a speed grade faster than 1Gbps but slower than 2Gbps. So, it’s 1.5Gbps, give or take a couple hundred megabits per second, and it’s not speedy enough to qualify as Multi-Gig Ethernet or multi-Gigabit. Intel coined the term to call its Wi-Fi 6E client chips—the AX210 and AX211—to describe their real-world speeds.
Gig+ applies to the sustained speeds of Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 7—via a 2×2 at 160MHz connection—or Internet speed. It’s generally not used to describe wired network connections.
In a fully wireless setup, within an appropriate distance, Netgear says the Orbi 870 can have up to 20Gbps of backhaul bandwidth by combining the 5Ghz and 6GHz bands via MLO. That’s likely exaggerated, considering the short range of the 6GHz band, which doesn’t feature AFC.
Still, if you have faster-than-2.5Gbps broadband and live in an airy home that allows for placing the hardware units close to one another without obstacles in between, using the system in a wireless setup will deliver better results than its 2.5Gbps wired backhauling.
Per conventional wisdom, though, you are better off using the hardware via wired backhauling, in which case 2.5Gbps is the ceiling speed at any satellite unit. Also, if you have faster-than-2.5Gbps broadband, it’s best to get one of these instead.
Top 5 best 10Gbps Multi-Gig mesh systems
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| Name | Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro’s Rating | Asus ZenWiFi BT10’s Ratings | TP-Link Deco BE85’s Rating | Netgear Orbi 970 Series (RBE973S)’s Rating | Amazon eero Max 7’s Rating |
| Price | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rating | |||||
| Description | |||||
| Statistics | |||||
| Buy this product |
A familiar Orbi
Other than the speeds, the Orbi 870 series will be a familiar Orbi. Physically, it shares the same cylindrical design as the other two Wi-Fi 7 Orbis but is different in size—it’s slightly larger than the 770 and a tad smaller than the 970.
In terms of settings and features, you can expect it to deliver the same experience as the rest of the Orbi family. Specially:
- The hardware is pre-synced. All you need to do is set up the router unit, and the satellites within the pack will become part of the system when plugged in.
- You can set up the router unit via the web user interface by pointing a browser on a connected computer to its default IP address (192.168.1.1) or routerlogin.net. After that, you can handle it the same way as any standard router with a web user interface. Besides the web user interface, there’s the Orbi mobile app, which has limited access to the router. The app also feels a bit stagnant.
- There’s a standard set of WAN and LAN settings for the Internet and local networks. However, there’s no Dual-WAN or link aggregation in the Orbi family.
- The hardware has a modest set of network features that include Dynamic DNS, port forwarding, and OpenVPN. Since mid-2021, all Netgear routers no longer feature web-based remote access.
To have more features, including the online protection feature called Netgear Armor and Parental Control, users need to pay for add-on subscriptions and use the Orbi mobile app mentioned above or the Netgear Armor app, both of which require a login account with Netgear.
Netgear and your privacy
Registering the hardware with a login account with the vendor generally translates into privacy risks.
Here’s Netgear’s Privacy Policy.
Managing your home network via a third party is generally not a good idea, but privacy is a matter of degree. Data collection and handling vary vendor by vendor.
Likely limited Wi-Fi SSIDs and few backward compatibility options
Like all Wi-Fi 7 broadcasters, the Orbi RBE870 generally likely has higher security requirements from the clients. That means many legacy devices are not supported.
Addtionally, like the case of all existing Orbi canned mesh systems, it has limited options in terms of SSIDs.
The way any Orbi works, all of its bands are lumped into a single Wi-Fi network for the primary network. After that, you’ll have a Guest Network SSID and an IoT one. In many cases, all that might not provide enough flexibility to support all existing legacy clients.
Netgear Orbi 870 Series PRELIMINARY Assessment
Pros
Straightforward tri-band without permanently dedicated backhaul
10Gbps WAN and all 2.5Gbps LAN ports to guarantee entry-level multi-Gigabit experience in wired or wireless backhauling
Aesthetically pleasant design; no internal fan
Cons
No 10Gbps LAN ports, no AFC, no USB port
No or web-based remote management, thin on free networking features
Online protection and Parental Controls require subscriptions
The takeaway
Netgear says the new Orbi 870 series is available today in a 3-pack or a 2-pack for $1300 and $1000, respectively. You can also find the add-on satellite unit for $550. The new hardware is not cheap, but still a much better deal than the Orbi 970 series.
If you’re a fan of Netgear’s Orbi, there’s no reason you can’t just grab an Orbi 870 set today. But check back in a while in case you want to see how its real-world performance is stacked up against existing hardware.
Great review. Can you elaborate on the comments related to “limited Wi-Fi SSIDs”, and “many legacy devices are not supported”?
Many older IoT devices only support WPA or WEP – can these devices successfully connect to the Orbi 870?
I elaborate that in the post on the Orbi, Ron, but that means you don’t have many virtual SSIDs and can’t customize each much. And no, you can use those legacy devices with this Orbi. More in the post on Wi-Fi 7.
This post is a preview.
I bought the 770 series and have been disappointed. I have 1.2 gbs internet service and receive that on the output of my modem. The wired download speeds out of the 770 router are around 100 mbs. I received a replacement with the same issue, after hours on the phone with netgear. It will be interesting to see I’d the 870 router is compatible with the 770 satellites
It seemed something might have been wrong with your cable or the device, Gary.
Thanks. I’ve tried everything.
I love the Orbi systems. Never really had a problem with them but once I upgraded my home broadband to 2Gbps, I couldn’t convince myself to spend so much money on the 970 series.
I went with the way cheaper TP-Link Deco BE11000 Wi-Fi 7 system instead and so far I like it, although it’s not as reliable as the Wi-Fi 6 Orbi system I used to have.
In the Deco you can configure different SSIDs and even a separate IOT network but in my experience, enabling different SSIDs creates a lot of interference and the IOT network was super unreliable. Once I reverted back to to having one SSID for everything and disable the IOT network, everything worked better and even my Wi-Fi would reach areas it didn’t reach before. However, even when is working well, I seem to have the need to optimize my network at least once a week to get better speeds.
The 870 seems to be promising but it’s still double the price of my Deco system and I don’t think that’s going to translate to double the performance.
Nonetheless, I’m really looking forward to the real-world performance tests you may have in the future.
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