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The Orbi 870 series, first announced on January 7, 2025, at CES 2025, is Netgear’s third Wi-Fi 7 Orbi set.
In a way, this 3-pack system (model RBE873) is a testament to how the “third time is the charm”, at least within the ecosystem. It combines the sensible, non-dedicated backhaul approach first available in the 770 series with the top-tier Wi-Fi specs on the 970 series. Still, like all previous Orbis, it doesn’t have everything.
Here’s the bottom line: At the suggested retail price of $1300 for a 3-pack ($300 less than the cost of the 2-pack 970 series), the Orbi 870 series is an excellent buy for fans of Netgear’s flagship mesh brand with 2.5Gbps bandwidth needs. Alternatively, they can consider the slightly lesser-specced 3-pack Asus ZenWiFi BT8, which has similar performance, more features, and an almost 40% lighter price tag.
Dong’s note: I first published this piece as a preview on January 7, 2025, and updated it to an in-depth review on January 26 after thorough hands-on testing.
Netgear Orbi 870 Series (vs. Orbi 970 vs. Orbi 770): Tri-band MLO backhaul for the win
To understand the Orbi 870 series, it’s important to remember how we’ve arrived in the world of Orbi, especially since the availability of Wi-Fi 7. Let me take you on a short walk!
The first Orbi that supported Wi-Fi 7 was the 970 series quad-band hardware, where the 5GHz frequency split into two. Like all Orbis up to that time, one of these sub-bands is used permanently for the backhaul, making it the most bandwidth-awkward Orbi despite the crazy high cost—it has limited 5GHz bandwidth for clients. And it’s in no way worth its price.
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—it’s simply slow.
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. However, the lack of a second 10Gbps port in the router unit and only 2.5Gbps ports on the satellites mean the 870 is still 2.5Gbps hardware at heart, making it comparable to the Asus ZenWiFi BT8, which, per the ZenWiFi’s nature, has much more to offer in features and Wi-Fi settings.
The table below shows the full hardware specs of all the units mentioned above.
Hardware specifications: Netgear Orbi 870 vs. Orbi 770 vs. Orbi 970
 |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asus ZenWiFi BT8 | Netgear Orbi 770 Series | Netgear Orbi 870 Series | Netgear Orbi 970 Series | |
| Mesh Composition | Identical Routers | Router + Satellite(s) | ||
| Model | ZenWiFi BT8 | 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) | 7.32 x 6.26 x 2.83 in (187 x 159 x 72 mm) | 9.88 x 5.28 x 3.95 in (25.12 x 13.42 x 10.04 cm) | 10.64 x 5.78 x 4.43 in (27.03 x 14.68 x 11.24 cm) | 11.58 x 5.68 x 5.15 in (29.40 x 14.42 x 13.8 cm) |
| Weight (each unit) | 1.8 lbs (.82 kg) | 2.02 lbs (0.92 kg) | Router: 2.69 lb (1.22 kg) Satellites: 2.65 lb (1.2 kg) | 3.96 lbs (1.79 kg) |
| Wi-Fi Designation | Tri-band BE14000 | Tri-band BE11000 | Tri-band BE21000 | Quad-band BE27000 |
| 1st Band (2.4GHz) | 2×2 BE: Up to 688Mbps (20/40MHz) | 4×4 AX: Up to 1147 Mbps (20/40MHz) | ||
| 2nd Band (5GHz) | 3×3 BE: Up to 4323Mbps (20/40/80/160MHz) | 2×2 BE: Up to 4324 Mbps (20/40/160/240MHz) | 4×4 BE: Up to 8647 Mbps (20/40MHz/160/240MHz) | 5GHz-1 4×4 BE: Up to 8647 Mbps (20/40MHz/160/240MHz) (upper channels) |
| 3rd Band (6GHz) | 3×3 BE: Up to 8643Mbps (20/40/80/160/320MHz) | 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 4×4 BE: Up to 5765 Mbps (20/40MHz/160MHz) (lower channels) | ||
| Estimate Wi-Fi Coverage (3-pack per vendor’s claim) | 8850 ft2 | 8000 ft2 | 9,000 ft2 | 10,000 ft2 |
| Mobile App | Asus Router | Netgear Orbi, Netgear Armor | ||
| Security Feature (included with hardware) | AiProtection (free for life) | Netgear Armor (30-day subscription) | Netgear Armor (1-year subscription) | |
| Login Account Required | No | Yes (to use the mobile apps) | ||
| Web User Interface | Yes | Yes | ||
| AP Mode | Yes (as a router or a mesh) | |||
| USB Port | 1x USB 3.0 | None | ||
| Network Ports (Router) | 2x 2.5GBASE-T WAN/LAN, 2x Gigabit | 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) | n/a | 2x 2.5GBASE-T LAN | 4x 2.5GBASE-T LAN | 1x 10GBASE-T LAN, 2x 2.5GBASE-T LAN |
| Link Aggregation | Yes | No | ||
| Dual-WAN | Yes | No | ||
| Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) | TBD (unavailable at review) | No (Netgear has no plan to enable this feature for the Orbi family) | ||
| Multi-Link Operation (MLO) | Yes | |||
| Processing Power | Undisclosed CPU, RAM 1GB, Flash 128MB | Quad-core 1.5GHz CPU, 4GB flash, 2GB RAM | Quad-core 2.2GHz CPU, 4GB flash, 2GB RAM | |
| Internal Fan | No | |||
| Firmware Version (at review) | 3.0.0.6.102_56236 | V10.5.8.1 | V10.5.13.6 | V9.10.4.1 |
| Power Input | Input: 110v-240v, 50/60Hz Output: 12v, 3A | Input: 110v-240v, 50/60Hz Output: 12v, 2.5A | Input: 110v – 120v, 50/60Hz Output: 12v, 3.5A | Input: 110v-120v, 50/60Hz Output: 19v, 3.6A |
| Power Consumption (per 24 hours) | ≈ 270 Wh (router unit), ≈ 225 Wh (satellite unit) | ≈ 260 Wh (router unit) | ≈ 385 Wh (router unit), ≈ 270 Wh (satellite unit) | ≈ 550 Wh (router unit) |
| Color | White | White and Black | ||
| Release Date | Q3 2024 | June 11, 2024 | January 7, 2025 | September 2023 |
| US Launch Price (compare street price) | $849.99 (3-pack) | $999.99 (3-pack) $699.99 (2-pack) $399.99 (satellite unit) | $1299.99 (3-pack) $999.99 (2-pack) $549.99 (satellite unit) | $2,299.99 (3-pack) $1699.99 (2-pack) $899 (satellite unit) |
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 means that you’ll be able to enjoy a 2.5Gbps or slower broadband plan in full. 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 low Gig+ in my testing.
Tip
Gig+, or Gig Plus, denotes a speed grade that is 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 describe its Wi-Fi 6E client chips, the AX210 and AX211, in terms of their real-world speeds.
Gig+ primarily applies to the sustained speeds of Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 7, via a 2×2 at 160MHz connection, or broadband internet speeds.
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 clearly exaggerated, considering the short range of the 6GHz band, which doesn’t feature AFC, and there’s no way to measure that meaningfully, considering there’s only one 10Gbps in the entire system. (More on how this backhaul link pans out in the real world is in the performance section below.)
Still, if you have faster-than-2.5Gbps broadband and live in an airy home that allows you to place the hardware units close to one another without obstacles between them, using the system in a wireless setup will likely deliver better results than its 2.5Gbps wired backhauling.
According to 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. If you have faster-than-2.5Gbps broadband, it’s best to get one of the following instead.
Top 5 best 10Gbps Multi-Gig mesh systems
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| Name | Ubiquiti UniFi-Based Wi-Fi System’s Rating | Asus ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro’s Rating | Asus ZenWiFi BT10’s Ratings | TP-Link Deco BE85’s Rating | Netgear Orbi 970 Series (RBE973S)’s Rating |
| Price | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rating | |||||
| Description | |||||
| Statistics | |||||
| Buy this product |
A familiar Orbi with a bit of surprise in the default IP address
Other than the speeds, the Orbi 870 series is 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.
Unlike previous Orbi hardware that carries the long-standing default IP address of 192.168.1.1 for the router unit, the Orbi 870 series has an all-new one, which is 10.168.168.1. This is the address via which users can access the router’s local web user interface for the initial setup and ongoing management. (Alternatively, you can use the friendly routerlogin.net URL, which only works when the router is connected to the Internet.)
While this change is not a huge deal, it can be an unnecessary surprise to those who are familiar with Netgear’s hardware. It seems to be Netgear’s latest move in its years-long effort to coerce users into using its ill-thought-out Orbi mobile app.
The irony is that this app has remained unchanged for years. It is known to be stagnant and often incorrect (or delayed) when showing the system’s real-time status. Additionally, the app lacks many functions, such as the ability to manage port forwarding and other simple network customization.
Other than that, in terms of settings and features, you can expect the Orbi 870 series to deliver the same experience as the rest of the Orbi family. Specially:
- The hardware is pre-synced. After setting up the router unit, the satellites within the pack will become part of the system when plugged in.
- As mentioned above, other than the use of the Orbi mobile app, 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, mentioned above. After that, you can handle it the same way as any standard router with a web user interface.
- 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, including Dynamic DNS, port forwarding, and OpenVPN. (Since mid-2021, all Netgear routers have no longer featured web-based remote access.)
To access more features, including the online protection feature Netgear Armor, users need to pay for add-on subscriptions and use the Orbi mobile app mentioned above or the Netgear Armor app. Both require a Netgear login account. It’s worth noting that Netgear Armor users recently received some extra perks and a new Armor Plus option with a higher service tier.
| Netgear Armor | Netgear Armor Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription Cost | $99.99/year | $149.99/year |
| Local Protection (at router level) | Yes | |
| On-the-go Security (via app or software) | Yes | |
| Extended Warranty (*) | Yes | |
| 24/7 Tech Support (*) | Yes | |
| Unlimited VPN | No | Yes |
| Unlimited Adblocking | No | Yes |
| Unlimited Anti-Tracker | No | Yes |
(*) Newly added features for existing subscribers.
These add-on services are the main reason Netgear has been trying to steer users away from the web user interface and into the Orbi and Netgear Amor mobile apps. It’s hard to say if the newly added perks make Netgear Armor worth the cost and the Armor Plus seems a little vague. Many other hardware brands offer these security and privacy features, at various levels, for free.
Netgear and your privacy
Associating 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.
The limited SSID options and no user-accessible 6GHz settings
Like all Wi-Fi 7 broadcasters, the Orbi RBE870 generally has higher security requirements from the clients. That means many legacy devices are not supported. That’s generally the case with most Wi-Fi 7 broadcasters with the MLO turned on.
What’s unique to the case of Wi-Fi 7 Orbis, however, are the fact that there’s no option to turn MLO off and the poor way the hardware handles the SSIDs. Specifically:
- There’s one primary MLO-enabled SSID for all three bands, of which only the 2.4Ghz and 5GHz are customizations, but only in terms of channel width. There’s no user-accessible configuration for the 6GHz band at all. In fact, from the Wi-Fi page alone, you might think that this band is not in use, but it is.
- There is one IoT SSID for the 2.5GHz and 5GHz bands. You can use both bands or just one of them.
- There’s one Guest Network SSID that uses the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands at all times—there’s no way to make this SSID work only on either.
As you can imagine, there’s no sure way to experience the 6GHz band with the Orbi 870. The only way to use this band is to connect a device supporting it to the primary SSID and keep your fingers crossed. In my testing, Wi-Fi 7 devices generally connected using MLO (5GHz+6GHz), while Wi-Fi 6E devices almost always used the 5GHz band.
To put things in perspective, all other Wi-Fi 7 broadcasters from other vendors allow the use of the 6GHz band as a separate SSID. They even offer many other virtual SSID options to support all legacy devices.
Netgear Orbi RBE873: Good Wi-Fi performance limited by the 2.5Gbps ports
As mentioned, without a 10Gbps LAN port, there’s no way for the Orbi 870 series to get past the 2.5Gbp barrier in most cases in my testing method. However, the 10Gbps WAN port and the higher Wi-Fi tiers helped make it noticeably faster than the 870 series.
Another thing to note is that, due to the lack of user-accessible customization for the 6Ghz band, I couldn’t test this band alone, as I always do with other systems. However, I can confirm that it did work as part of the MLO connection (a 5GHz+6GHz bonded link) on a supported device.
In terms of range, I found that the 870 series had the same range as the previous two, the 770 and 970—the number Netgear claims for them was totally arbitrary and entirely incorrect. Specifically, you can expect the RBE871 to cover about 2000 ft2 (186 m2) of a residential area with decent wireless real-world rates. After that, add another 1700 ft2 (158 m2) or so for each RBE870 satellite.
Of course, the Wi-Fi range is tricky, and your mileage will vary depending on your environment and how you arrange the hardware units. However, if you expect a 3-pack to cover 9000 ft2 (836 m2) like Netgear’s claim, you’ll be sorely disappointed.
In wired performance, the Orbi RBE871 also did well, almost topping the chart for the 2.5Gbps grade. At over 2300Mbps, the RBE870 satellite’s wireless backhauling almost saturated the bandwidth of the 2.5Gbps ports. Overall, 2.5Gbps is generally the ceiling with which the owners of this mesh set have to be content.
The 3-pack Orbi 870 series passed my 3-day stress test without any disconnection, proving reliable. The hardware also produced very little heat and barely felt warm to the touch. None of the hardware units seem to have an internal fan—I didn’t open them up to verify—and they all remained silent during operation.
Netgear Orbi 870 Series's Rating
Pros
Straightforward tri-band without permanently dedicated backhaul with good performance
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 or USB ports; no AFC; no user-accessible customization for the 6GHz band; limited SSID options
No or web-based remote management, thin on free networking features; new default IP address for the web user interface
Online protection requires subscriptions; stagnant and poor Orbi app
Conclusion
With a couple of extra 10Gbps ports, the Orbi 870 series would make an ideal Wi-Fi 7 mesh system hardware-wise. However, in its current state, it remains somewhat of a mis-opportunity despite being better than the previous two Wi-Fi 7 Orbis, the 970 and 770.
On the firmware and app front, this mesh system had nothing new other than the default IP address, which is more of an unpleasant surprise. But if you’re looking for something plug-and-play that works right out of the box with minimum tinkering required, the Orbi 870 series is a safe buy. Get one today!
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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