NETGEAR Insight Web Portal

I specifically bought an Intel AX210 (WiFi 6E) NIC to use with my desktop to test WiFi 6/6E networking solutions since my current phone does not support it. For performance testing, I had a newer laptop too, which helps move the client to known distances from the source/router. Either way, setup is no different from the mobile app, but not as user-friendly. I can see why NETGEAR recommends using the app to begin with and tweak things later. Once connected, the WiFi adapter recognizes the SSID as an 802.11ax (WiFi 6) on the 5 GHz band.


The web portal version of NETGEAR Insight scales much better than most, so much so that the similarity to the mobile version we just saw at the bottom of the previous page quickly becomes apparent. There are global settings here, albeit split up in a more sensible manner given the larger real estate on hand. The device icon shows up on the home page, which in turn opens up several tabs specific to the Orbi Pro SXK80. I jumped ahead a couple of tabs to go directly to the firmware page, which you might remember was an issue with the mobile app. Unfortunately, exactly the same thing happened, which means a general bug is at play here, one NETGEAR officially acknowledged and issued a fix for shortly thereafter. This is really where the Orbi Pro and its prosumer-level support was going to make or break it, and I have to say that it was a mixed bag. It clearly was resolved just fine, and NETGEAR even had an interim solution laid out, but even a few days of a buggy firmware fix can be an issue if there is a hotfix to put out. The probability of such happening is admittedly quite low, but something to be aware of nonetheless.


This is not the prettiest GIF in the world mostly because some of the source images are way taller than the others. However, I could not be bothered enough to spend the time on improving it much since this is basically the web version of the options we get on the mobile app. If anything, the app provides a better user experience, albeit with some redundant options. For remote monitoring, especially for the targeted customer—a prosumer or business owner without an IT team—the mobile app is plenty enough. The web portal allows for a more efficient method to customize and monitor things for sure, but there is some guesswork involved in what options are located where, and some of the menu tabs could have been combined given the sparse options seen above.


The global settings and notifications are more in line with the mobile app, and I do prefer the web portal here. So it could be a case of the NETGEAR Insight web portal requiring more optimization for the Orbi Pro, and the company's new emphasis on the web portal will perhaps result in just that!