Performance Testing

This section will continue to evolve and change depending on how it is received, and depending on whether I manage to get our hands on some useful tools that will help better measure the performance of routers and other Wi-Fi systems in general. As it stands today, a combination of the excellent, freely available iPerf3 on my Win 10 desktop PC, my laptop, and even an iPerf3 Android app helped measure throughput for the Orbi LBR20, with a ruler/tape measuring the distance from it and a Wi-Fi analyzer using my Essential PH-1 phone's Wi-Fi antenna and connection to measure signal attenuation as I moved from right on top of the router to further and further away inside my residence. Please note that signal attenuation depends heavily on a number of factors apart from just distance, including any physical barriers and other devices operating in the bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, etc). With a common test location, the variable being tested is the router/Wi-Fi system itself, and it would as such be valid to compare results to other products tested thus.


The chart above shows how the antennas in the Orbi LBR20 router cope with clients connected at various distances. The client was positioned at varying distances in a 3D space, with a shortest distance measurement taken between the two. Given the nature of the supported bands, this test was conducted for Wireless N at 2.4 GHz and Wireless AC at 5 GHz to best replicate end-user applications, as in my own case, and we can see that signal loss is heavier for the 5 GHz network relative to the 2.4 GHz network, which is as expected. There is a minor decrease in signal strength in both cases as you move even only slightly away from the router, and it drops more drastically the further away. Note that I also added a data point with a drywall (typical in many modern residences today, including mine) between both devices as well. If your residence has walls out of brick or wood, for example, signal loss will likely be higher, so you may want to position the router where you have your primary hub of activity—a home office or living room, for instance, or get a satellite unit.


By removing the actual internet speed variable from the equation, a TCP throughput test done at these same spots from the router paints a more useful story, while also helping with a comparison of those numbers across test residences by having the X-axis as the signal's attenuation instead of distance from the router. The Orbi LBR20 is a tri-band Wi-Fi system rated for a maximum of 866/866 Mbps on Wireless AC and 400 Mbps on Wireless N, but those are ideal numbers that are unlikely in practice. Indeed, the two 5 GHz bands here do not add up cumulatively no matter how the AC2200 numbers come up, which just means that a larger number of wireless AC clients can be supported without having to prioritize one over another. The slowest server (the router in this case) and client will dictate overall traffic speed as well, and here, the maximum throughput (downlink) was 266 and 795 Mbps respectively for wireless N at 2.4 GHz and wireless AC at 5 GHz. They remained close to the maximum, especially on the 2.4 GHz wireless N network, following which a large drop down to, respectively, 53/161 Mbps started. Uplink speeds are merely offset by 5–8 dB more attenuation, so they are not reported separately here.


Given the different continent compared to my other router reviews, I only have two other points of comparison here. One, a common point from before, was tested here too for an easier comparison to the earlier data set, albeit the single pack only, and the other, another NETGEAR 4G LTE device, will have its own review soon. In order to best compare them across possible variables, the decision was made to chart throughput at a set distance, 5 meters in this case. We can see clearly how the Orbi LBR20 easily outperforms the other NETGEAR mobile router, but is bested by the Gryphon that shares some DNA with the Orbi AC3000 routers.


The power-draw comparison chart helps identify whether specific routers are vastly different from others, which turns out to be the case here. A Brand Electronics 4-1850 power meter was put between the power adapter for the router unit and then, subsequently, the satellite unit and wall socket. Simple Kill-A-Watt units are good for basic checks, but not reliable enough for tests in my opinion. Each router was set up for a minimum of 24 hours of use across multiple days, and power consumption was averaged across a period of idle (inactivity at night) and normal operation during the day. Note also that the NETGEAR mobile router has different battery modes, including a battery-only operation, which does throw things off somewhat. Regardless, while the two mains operated systems fare similarly at idle, it is during their normal operation where we see the Orbi LBR20 place between the other two, which is in line performance-wise. This is a result of a similar processor capable of powering more, but fewer antennas compared to the Gryphon and Orbi RBK50.


Now we come to my own personal motivator for doing this review in the first place. The results thus far have all honed in on how the router performs when isolated from the source of internet, which is the best way to test such a unit. However, there is little reason to go with the Orbi LBR20 unless you absolutely want the mobile internet connectivity option, so here we are. In the UK at least, there are still a good number of households without a fully fiber-wired connection, and many more yet that are making do with download speeds that barely hit 2 Mbps, let alone the 24 Mbps the UK defines super-fast broadband at. There is the goal of full fiber to every household by 2025, but there is no way that is happening. I have been lucky to live in large cities all my adult life, so knowing that as much as 14% of Western Europe and more in the US have it worse was an eye opener.

The LTE connectivity option allows for customers of the LBR20 to have either a backup network if your wired connection is down or an actual mobile internet option if wired speeds are too low. In my case, the best option I had was ~60 Mbps down with an average of 40 Mbps only. 4G LTE already hits this mark when conditions are good, but underperforms tremendously if the weather is not conducive, as seen in the two speedtest images taken on different days. So for my specific scenario, having wired internet was still the way to go. At least here in the UK, 5G networks are rolling out quite fast. CES 2021, as well as what seem to have been the last 4 to 5 CES happenings, emphasized the 5G rollout in the US and other regions, so it will be very interesting to see what comes out of the mobile broadband world in a year even. There remains a market for these 4G LTE routers or satellite internet, however, so I am happy that these products exist. Forget gaming on these, though; latency is really bad on most days.