Netgear Orbi RBK763 review: An excellent but overpriced Wi-Fi 6 mesh

Netgear’s Orbi RBK752 mesh has been one of our favourite Wi-Fi systems of the past few years, offering strong Wi-Fi 6 speeds at a fairly palatable price. Now Netgear has unveiled its successor: the Orbi RBK763 has many similarities to the older mesh, but it brings a cleaner, more compact design and an upgraded radio configuration.

In terms of performance, and general user experience, it’s a hit. Unfortunately, the launch price is very high: competing meshes offer more than adequate performance for a lot less money, and that even includes some Wi-Fi 6E-enabled systems. That means there aren’t many scenarios in which the Orbi RBK763 is the best candidate.

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Netgear Orbi RBK763 review: What you need to know

The Orbi RBK763 is a Wi-Fi 6 mesh system with three stations; Netgear claims these will provide enough coverage to reach seven rooms, over an area of around 560m². For less spacious abodes, there’s the cheaper RBK762 package, which includes only two units and is recommended for up to five rooms or 460m².

Each station has three Wi-Fi radios – one 2.4GHz transmitter for low-bandwidth connections plus a pair of 5GHz radios, dedicated respectively to client and backhaul connections. It’s the same basic configuration as the RBK752, but the hardware has been boosted: where the older mesh supported a maximum client connection speed of 1.2Gbits/sec, the RBK763 can go up to 2.4Gbits/sec on both the client and backhaul networks.

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Practically speaking, that’s all that’s changed. There’s still a glowing LED strip at the front of each unit to show its status; at the rear there are still four Gigabit Ethernet ports on the primary router unit, with the satellites offering two ports apiece.

Netgear Orbi RBK763 review: Price and competition

The Orbi RBK763 costs £600 for three stations, or £420 for the twin pack. That makes it one of the most expensive meshes we’ve ever reviewed, so if you’re considering buying this system then pretty much every alternative is also on the table.

That includes the Linksys Atlas Pro 6, which offers strong Wi-Fi 6 performance across three stations for a much lower £380. Or you might consider the TP-Link Deco X68, which is even cheaper at £321 for two units.

Frankly, though, if you’re working with a budget of £400 and upwards, there’s no reason to limit your shopping list to Wi-Fi 6 systems. The TP-Link Deco XE75 adds Wi-Fi 6E support for extra performance and bandwidth, and at the time of writing you can get two units for £380, or three for £550.

Another option is the Google Nest WiFi Pro, which gives you three stations for the relatively knock-down price of £380 – although we’d only recommend that system if you’re focused on integration with the Google Home app and ecosystem, as its performance isn’t especially impressive.

Indeed, if you’re not looking for extreme performance then there are plenty of far cheaper meshes that deserve a look. The TP-Link Deco X50 and Huawei Mesh 7 are decent options costing under £300, and even bargain systems such as the £165 D-Link M15 Eagle Pro or the £170 Huawei Mesh 3 are perfectly fast enough for typical domestic Wi-Fi duties.

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Netgear Orbi RBK763 review: Design and features

From the front, the three Orbi RBK763 stations all look identical, with an upright design in tasteful two-tone plastic. They’re not exactly compact, but their 211mm height is 20mm shorter than the old RBK752 units.

Unlike other meshes, however, the Orbi units aren’t interchangeable. The main router unit has four Gigabit Ethernet ports, one of which connects to your internet line, while the other two are designed as satellites and have two network sockets each. I can’t complain about the number of ports, but for the price it’s a little disappointing not to see any support for 2.5GbE or 5GbE connections; there are also no USB ports for connecting storage or mobile internet adaptors, although that’s entirely normal for meshes.

The easiest way to set up your network is to use the Orbi mobile app, which lets you connect for the first time by simply scanning the QR code from a sticker on the main Orbi unit. You can then conveniently log into the management interface with a fingerprint, and check connected devices, control the guest network and carry out various other everyday tasks from the convenience of your phone. It’s a slick and solid app, and it also includes a handy Wi-Fi analytics module, to help you find (and hopefully eliminate) any “notspots” in your home.

For more advanced configuration you’ll need to switch to the browser-based interface. This is the same one you’ll find on all Orbi systems, and it should satisfy most techie types: across its numerous pages you can configure your IP address settings, adjust Wi-Fi options, set up IP address reservation and so forth. As usual with Netgear routers and meshes, you can enable a VPN server for secure access to your home network, although there’s no option to set a third-party VPN gateway to protect your outbound internet connection.

The RBK763 also supports Netgear’s two signature smart services. The Armor security platform is free for the first year, including active detection and blocking of threats on your network – but after that you have to pay £85 a year to keep it going. And if you want parental control functions, to block unsavoury websites and set usage limits on kids’ devices, that’s another £50. It feels like a bit of a liberty, but if you’re willing to spend £600 on the hardware then perhaps a couple of additional subscriptions on top won’t faze you.

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Netgear Orbi RBK763 review: Performance

Since my three-bedroom home is somewhat on the cusp of Netgear’s coverage recommendations, I tested the Orbi RBK763 in both two-node and three-node configurations. In both cases, the primary node was installed in my study, connected directly to the internet line and also (via Gigabit Ethernet) to an Asustor Drivestor 4 Pro NAS appliance.

I situated the second node at the far end of the bedroom next to the study, and for the three-station test I put the third Orbi unit in the living room downstairs. I then took a test laptop, equipped with an Intel AX210 Wi-Fi card, to various locations in my home, and measured the average transfer speeds when copying files to and from the NAS appliance.