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This Netgear Orbi AX4200 (model RBK752) vs. Linksys MX4200 matchup boils down to one crucial factor, which is whether or not you have gotten your home wired. Sure, both will work in a fully wireless setup, but at a different performance level. Feeling so indecisive? Read on!
(Note: Technically, the 2-pack Linksys has the model MX8400 number. But to avoid confusion, I’ll call it that of a single unit instead, which is MX4200.)
Netgear Orbi AX4200 vs Linksys MX4200: Similarities
These two share the same hardware grade, which is tri-band with two different 5GHz bands—2400Mbps (5GHz) + 1200Mbps (5GHz) + 576Mbps (2.4GHz). So neither supports the venerable 160MHz channel width. In other words, they are of relatively modest Wi-Fi 6 specs.
Other than that, in a mesh setup, both come in identical-looking, upstanding hardware units. Neither has a multi-gig port. And that’s about it. Their similarities end there.
Netgear Orbi AX4200 vs Linksys MX4200: Hardware specifications
As a mesh system, the Orbi comes in two distinctive hardware units: a router and a satellite. The Linksys, however, uses identical routers. In a mesh, one works as the primary router, and the rest function as satellite units.
| Full Name | Orbi AX4200 Whole Home Tri-band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System (model RBK752) | Linksys Velop Tri-Band AX4200 Whole-Home Mesh Router |
| Hardware | Router / Satellite RBR750 / RBS750 | MX4200 |
| Mesh Availability | Router + Satellite(s) | Multiple identical routers |
| Dimensions (each unit) | 9.1 x 7.2 x 2.8 in (23.11 x 18.28 x 7.11 cm) | 4.5 x 4.5 x 9.6 inches (11.43 x 11.43 x 24.38 cm) |
| Weight (each unit) | 1.9 lbs (862 g) | 2.5 lbs (1.33 kg) |
| Wi-Fi Specs | AX4200 | AX4200 |
| 5GHz-1 Band | 2×2: Up to 1200Mbp | 2×2: Up to 1200Mbp |
| 5GHz-2 Band | 4×4: Up to 2400Mbps | 4×4: Up to 2400Mbps |
| 2.4GHz Band | 2×2: Up to 574Mbps | 2×2: Up to 574Mbps |
| Dedicated Backhaul Band | 5GHz-2 (Permanent) | Dynamic |
| Wired Backhaul Support | Yes (5GHz-2 still not available to clients) | Yes |
| Processors | Quad-core 1.4 GHz CPU | Quad-core 1.4 GHz CPU |
| Memory | 512 MB NAND flash, 1 GB RAM | 512MB of flash, 512MB of RAM |
| AP (bridge mode) Support | Yes (Single router or a system) | Yes (Single router or a system) |
| Channel Width Support | 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz | 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz |
| Backward Compatibility | 802.11b/g/n/ac | 802.11b/g/n/ac |
| Mobile App | Netgear Orbi (optional) | Linksys (forced) |
| Web Interface | Yes | Yes |
| Gigabit Port | RBR750: 1x WAN, 3x LAN RBS750: 2x LAN | 1x WAN, 3x LAN |
| Link Aggregation | WAN only (WAN+LAN1) | WAN only (WAN+LAN1) |
| Price (at launch) | $450 (2-pack), $515 (3-pack) | $250 (1-pack), $499.99 (3-pack) |
Netgear Orbi AX4200 vs Linksys MX4200: Differences
There are a lot of differences between these two.
Hardware availability and ports
The first thing is its availability. You can buy the Linksys as a single router (model MX4200), a 2-pack (MX8400), or a 3-pack (MX12600). And, of course, you can also add more individual units to form a mesh of your choice.
In any case, the hardware units are the same—it’s a tri-band Gigabit router that comes with one WAN port and three LAN ports, plus a USB 3.0 port. As a result, each Linksys unit can host an external hard drive for its NAS feature.
The Linksys setup process can take a long time, however, partly because each hardware piece is an individual router out of the box. To form a mesh, you must link them together one by one.
The Orbi, on the other hand, is available in two types of hardware units. There’s the RBR750, which is a tri-band Gigabit router that also has one WAN port and three LAN ports. And then there’s the RBS750 satellite unit.
In a mesh setup, you need one router and another (or more) satellite unit. For now, you must start with a 2-pack (or a 3-pack) and add additional individual satellites to scale up your mesh. The two hardware units are pre-synced in a 2- or 3-pack, making the initial setup job a walk in the park.
By the way, the Orbi router can never work as a satellite. Also, the satellite unit has just two Gigabit LAN ports, and neither the router nor the satellite has a USB port. So, there’s no built-in network-attached storage at all.
In return, the RBR750 can combine its WAN and LAN1 port into a 2Gbps WAN connection, which Linksys doesn’t have.
Backhaul: Dedicated vs. dynamic vs. wired
While both solutions are tri-band—they can use one band as the dedicated backhaul to link the hardware units—they handle this quite differently.
The Orbi dedicates one of its 5GHz bands, the 2.4Gbps 5GHz-2, as the backhaul band at all times. This band is never available to clients. That is partly why the RBR75 is not available as a standalone router. Instead, you can only find it in a multi-unit pack.
If you use it as a single router, though, it’ll work like a dual-band broadcaster. And in a mesh with wired backhauls, the 5GHz-2 band is still unavailable for clients to connect.
For this reason, the Orbi is generally more suitable for a fully wireless setup, where you don’t have the option of wired backhaul.
The Linksys, on the other hand, uses dynamic backhaul—it uses any of its three bands as backhaul at any given time. As a result, all of these bands are also generally available to clients. That’s a good thing.
The catch is that the backhaul link can get pretty slow, especially when you place the hardware units far enough to pick the 2.4GHz band as backhaul. So, in a fully wireless setup, the Linksys can be pretty slow.
However, if you choose to use network cables to link the hardware, Linksys will have much higher bandwidth than Orbi, thanks to the fact all of its bands are now available for clients to connect.
Mobile app and management
Both of these Wi-Fi solutions come with an optional mobile app and a full web interface. I prefer those of the Netgear, however, because there are more things to do. The Netgear also supports Armor protection if you’re willing to opt for a $70/year subscription.
Netgear Orbi AX4200 vs Linksys MX4200: Performance and ratings
I tested both of these solutions (as well as all others) in a wireless setup, and you’ll note the Orbi Satellite unit edged out the Linksys’s quite significantly thanks to its strong, dedicated backhaul.
As a single router, the Linksys generally did better, likely because its fast 2.4Gbps 5GHz band was available to clients. This band of the Orbi worked permanently as the dedicated backhaul.
If you choose to use either in a wired setup, expect the satellite units’ performance to be the same as their respective routers’. In this case, the Linksys would be a clear winner.
By the way, the Velop did well in my testing when hosting external storage devices—each of its hardware units can handle one, as you can find here. Again, you won’t find this feature in the Orbi since it has no USB port.
Netgear Orbi RBK750 Series' Rating
Pros
Reliable Wi-Fi with extensive coverage
Relatively affordable
Practical, well-designed mobile app
Support WAN 2Gbps Link Aggregation
Full web interface with all standard settings and features
Cons
No 160MHz channel support, limited Wi-Fi customization
Incompatible with Wi-Fi 5 Orbi hardware
Few LAN ports; No Multi-Gig, Dual-WAN, LAN Link Aggregation, or USB port
The fast 5GHz band only works as backhaul, even in a wired setup
Linksys Velop MX12600's Rating
Pros
Reliable Wi-Fi with excellent coverage
Helpful mobile app, full web interface
Fast NAS speeds when hosting external drives
Comparatively affordable
Cons
No support for 160MHz channel bandwidth
Mobile app (and login account) required for initial mesh setup
Spartan Wi-Fi settings, modest feature set
No multi-gig network ports, Dual-WAN, or Link Aggregation
No setting backup/restore
Which is a better choice?
From the performance point of view, both the Linksys MX4200 and Orbi RBK752 will make excellent mesh systems for a large home.
If you only need to share a sub-Gigabit broadband connection, either will do, and you probably experience no difference between the two.
However, if you want a fast, complete wireless mesh system, the Orbi is definitely a better choice. Its dedicated backhaul will make it worth every penny.
On the other hand, if you have wired your home with network cables, Linksys will make a much better choice since you’ll be able to use all of its three bands for clients.
Hi, Dong! With a wired backhaul, would the Linksys MX2000 be better than the MX4200? The main differences are that the MX2000 is dualband and supports 160 MHz channels whereas the MX4200 is triband and doesn’t support 160 MHz channels. Your guide on Wi-Fi bands implies that the difference between dualband and triband is insignificant with a wired backhaul and your review of the MX4200 laments its lack of support for 160 MHz channels. Thanks in advance!
Yes, it would. You should only count on 80MHz in most cases anyway.
Hi Dong!
Read almost all of your posts. Could you confirm if my conclusion is correct?
Here is the status of my home, 1700sqft with a basement, current max speed 65mbps (satellite internet (live in mountains), beams to a dish to another dish then the servers).
With that said about my max speed, going with any Asus Aimesh combos, the XD6 or the linksys mx4200 makes no difference if I go wired right? I’ll never go beyond 65mbps. Though I did preorder starlink for 2023. Might as well go with the cheapest option? (I should probably care more about privacy, but I really don’t, I read your post about using the mobile app and privacy.)
The cheapest option would be the linksys, I can use my CC points to get it for “free”. But I would rather spend money to have the most reliable set up.
Thanks in advance.
Your assessment is correct, Allan, but there’s more to a router than just the speed. I’d go with the XD6 but the Linkys will work too.
Which of the two will work (speed not most important for me) with the greatest distance between the router and sattelite over a wireless connection?
And do you have a estimate of the max distance from corner in brick home to corner in brick shed with no further obstacles in between?
There’s no way to answer your question for sure since speed IS always important. But generally, the Orbi has better range for the 5GHz backhaul, but the Velop will automatically use the 2.4GHz for backhaul, which is longer than 5GHz. More in this post.
Hi dong,
I am still not clear on how these will perform when they is an ISP router already provided and these get plugged into the switch off that router. Will that be like AP nodes configs? How will they perform?
Thanks
RJ
That depends on how you configure your mesh and your existing gateway, RJ. I address that in detail in this post.
S I am using the gateway router with dhcp server. Don’t want to use its wifi networkk. I want to create a whole home mesh wifi network. So for example I would plug the 2 new Linksys MX4200 on the switch as my house is wired and use them as wifi mesh network. So will they perform same as what you explained in your article above?
Thanks
RJ
Please read the post I linked in the previous reply, RJ. And if you want to know what a switch is, this post will explain it. And if you want to know how a mesh works, this post will. Networking is complicated. There’s no one-size-fits-all, or 1, 2, 3, step. You need to understand how things work to figure out what’s best for your specific situation. If you don’t want to spend time to understand, hire a professional.
Dong, I love your site and have poured over it. I have a 10,000sf, 4 story, long floor plan, stone home. Currently using 4 wired and 1 wireless Apple Extremes. Your site has lead me to consider the following options: a) 5 or 6 Linksys Atlas Max 6E Tri-bands or b) 5 or 6 Linksys Atlas Pro 6 Dual-Band or c) would a combination work w/Dual Band wired units and 1 or 2 tri-band wireless? Your advice is greatly valued/ appreciated. Thanks, Jim
I’d skip the Wi-Fi 6E hardware, Jim. If you have to use a mix of wired and wireless, I’d recommend the Linksys Velop MX4200 — make sure you read the review and this post on the web interface. If you go all wired, check out a dual-band AiMesh set.
Thank you!! Other than price, does the MX4200 offer any advantages over the faster Linksys Atlas Pro 6 Dual-Band?
Great Review! I’ve recently installed MoCa as a way to provide wired networking in my house (since my home isn’t wired for internet). Would you recommend MoCa as a way to provide a wired backhaul?
Only if you use the latest standard that can deliver 1Gbps Full-Duplex, A.
Dong, a quick note to say thank you for this (imho) excellent comparison!
Sure, David. 🙂
What would you recommend for a home where only two out of three devices will have a wired backhaul?
Out of these two, I’d recommend Linksys, Arthur.
Dong –
you contradict yourself between posts often. Why do you not advocate for wired backhaul using tri-band mesh? be specific please, and detail which units you’ve encountered issues with and which you have not.
I don’t, Ron. I think you might have mistaken what I said in general for specific or vice versa. Pay a bit attention and you’d know the answer. 🙂
Thank you, Dong! Do you expect the Netgear RBK853 to be even faster?
Here’s the review of the RBK852(3), Arthur.
Thanks, Dong. What would you recommend for the following setup: main house has wired network and the small guesthouse in the garden has no wired network available. Thought of two (mesh?) devices for the main and one satellite for the guesthouse.
Impossible for me to tell, Arthur. I’ve never been to your place. For example, how many miles are there between the two? J/K 🙂 The point is there are many things you need to account for. Check out this post and maybe you can find out by yourself.
I have a similar situation, but my “dead zone” is just another room in my house.
I’m looking at a 3-pack system. Do you know if it’s possible to have two wired and one wireless, or must they all be configured the same way? I’m confident that my third unit could have a strong wifi backhaul connection, but I really want the others to use wired.
You can mix wired and wireless together, Jon. Go with the Linksys in this case, though.
Thanks Dong for the review. Does both routers offer free parental control?
You can use Circle with the Orbi, Kar.
There is no parental control on the latest Orbi models. That is a big problem for some. Older models have parental control, the new ones don’t!
They all support Circle by Disney, Vasi.
Netgear told me that they do support Circle. I didn’t check. But Parental Control isn’t really that effective since they are all based on the MAC address.https://dongknows.com/mac-address-explained/
It was great comparison. Currently I am using Linksys MX8400 with wireless backhaul for couple of weeks. For me 2×2 wifi6 client connected to satellite gives 600mbps (I have 600mbps connection so I can’t test beyond that) at 10ft distance. I don’t know why you didn’t get similar speed?
That varies, RK, and depends on which band is being used as the backhaul and which is for the client at a particular time. The number you see is possible in the best-case scenario, but you can’t really count on it.