NETGEAR RBKE963 Orbi quad-band WiFi 6E mesh system delivers wireless connectivity through the home with one router and two satellites with a maximum wireless link of 10.8 Gbps. one 10GbE WAN port for Internet connectivity, and several 2.5GbE and Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports.
Powered by a quad-core 2.2GHz processor, the mesh system supports 2.4 GHz, 5.2 GHz, 5.8 GHz, and the new 6 GHz band offered by WiFI 6E, covers an area of up to around 840 square meters, and supports up to 200+ clients.
NETGEAR RBKE963’s router and satellites share most of the same specifications:
- SoC – Unnamed quad-core processor @ 2.2 GHz (likely Qualcomm Networking Pro 1610 Platform)
- Memory & Storage
- RBRE960 router – 1 GB RAM, 512MB NAND flash
- RBSE960 satellites – TBD
- WiFi connectivity
- Radio 1: IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ax 2.4GHz with 1024-QAM support up to 1200 Mbps
- Radio 2: IEEE ® 802.11a/n/ac/ax 5GHz with 1024-QAM support up to 2400 Mbps
- Radio 3: IEEE ® 802.11a/n/ac/ax 5GHz with 1024-QAM support up to 2400 Mbps
- Radio 4: IEEE ® 802.11a/n/ac/ax 6GHz with 1024-QAM support up to 4800 Mbps
- MU-MIMO capable for simultaneous data streaming
- Implicit & Explicit Beamforming for 2.4GHz, 5GHz & 6GHz bands
- 12x high-performance internal antennas with high-power amplifiers
- Ethernet
- 1x 2.5Gbps Multi-Gigabit Ethernet LAN port
- 3x 10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports
- RBRE960 router only – 1x 10Gbps Multi-Gigabit Ethernet WAN port
- Security
- NETGEAR Armor – Bitdefender based cyber threat protection for home network and connected devices, with anti-virus & data theft protection for PCs, Macs, and mobile devices (Yearly subscription required after trial period)
- WiFi Security – WPA3, 802.11i, 128-bit AES encryption with PSK
- Guest WiFi Network for separate & secure Internet access for guests
- Power Supply – 19V/3.16A
- Dimensions – Approx. 28 x 19 x 8.4 cm
The router and satellites look like compact little devices in the first photo, but once we read the dimensions and see the photos with the Ethernet ports, I realized those are quite bigger than they look at first sight. I’m also surprised those need a 60W power adapter each, but it must be required when moving a large amount of data at high speed.
NETGEAR also says the system can be controlled using Orbi WiFi mobile app for Android and iOS, voice commands through Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, and highlights support for the company’s Smart Parental Controls, as well as consumer devices and accessories with WiFi 6E that include Samsung Galaxy S21 and Fold 3 mobile phones, Dell Latitude 5520 and Lenovo Thinkpad T14 laptops, Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV and Intel WiFi 6E PCIe cards.
Based on the specifications and features, you’d think it’s a system for offices and businesses, but NETGEAR mentions “supports multi-Gigabit Internet throughout the home”, and clearly targets home settings. I’m just not sure who needs this, unless in really large homes with an extended family and/or frequent partying with a decent amount of guests…
The NETGEAR RBKE963 Orbi Quad-band WiFi 6E mesh system (white color) is sold in a 3 pack bundle with one router and two satellites for $1,499.99 MSRP, with RBKE963B being a limited edition in Black with the same features, while add-on satellites are available for $599 MSRP each.
Via Liliputing
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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