Setup and Monitoring: Orbi Mobile App

NETGEAR used to (and still does to some extent) have a desktop-based program called Genie, but they are moving away from it. The Orbi family of products in particular is moving towards the mobile-friendly world, so I am not going to test NETGEAR Genie anymore. This mobile solution had to be more in line with what the Orbi products were about, which is to be user friendly, clean, and with a minimalist design, and thus, we got the Orbi mobile app. Available for both Android and iOS devices, the Orbi mobile app streamlines things a lot while also only having a select few options. Think of it as the equivalent of the basic settings tab over their web portal, with more advanced options still available in browser mode.


Setup involves a similar process as before, including firmware updates if applicable and assigning WiFi network credentials in addition to admin controls for the app; touch ID if your device supports it and security questions if not.


Somehow, NETGEAR's internal advertising is even more prevalent here, with what seems like no choice but to install a free trial of their Armour cybersecurity program that then turns into a paid program if you want to continue, and another reminder to install their Circle app separately for more parental controls. It does become a bit much, especially given people may not want to use either at all, and is a business decision that still gets in the way with ads and toggles in the app later on. I definitely want to see the option to never remind the user of these or install any trials at all.


The app, at least on Android, is more user-friendly with larger menu sections and a scrolling action to access more settings on the homepage rather than windows to slide through. Indeed, there are a total of six white menus, separated by distinct lines, a quick status indicator with a visual representation of the system at the top, a notification icon in the top-right corner, and a triple bar (also called Hamburger) menu in the top-left corner with more options, similar to a modern x86 program and mobile app designs.

The settings button in the triple bar menu leads you to a set of three settings, one each for the router, Wi-Fi, and guest Wi-Fi options. The former allows you to change the router name and admin password, which will apply across the other dashboards as well and gives you a look at the current router settings, including the firmware version, MAC address, and IP address. Here is also where you can reboot the router, check for updates, and register the product if you have not done so already. The Wi-Fi settings page allows you to change the SSID credentials, as well as select the encryption protocol, with WPA2-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 - Pre-Shared Key) being the default option. The guest Wi-Fi settings page just has the same toggle to start one, which then prompts you to set up its own SSID and gives you an option to share it. Finally, you can change the internet connectivity option if you have LTE as a backup only, and the associated mobile network settings.

As with the other dashboards we saw, a lot of information and pages are cross-posted. Indeed, clicking on the visual representation of the kit at the top on the homepage again takes you to "My Orbi System," and some of the six dedicated menus are also accessible elsewhere—WiFi Settings, Guest WiFi, and Support, to be specific. The other three menus are fairly simple too, with a list of connected devices, a speed test, and a traffic meter.