NETGEAR Orbi Mobile Setup and Monitoring

Want to know a very good reason to skip the app entirely? There is no option to use it without a NETGEAR account. I had to log into my rarely used account, which in turn automatically registers the product to my account. The average customer should not have an issue with it since it also helps keep track of firmware updates and contains a few other remote-monitoring options as needed, but it makes for another online account, and more targeted advertisement headed your way, which is ironic from a networking company that wants to sell an online security suite. Once logged in and with the phone connected to the Orbi's WiFi network, the mobile app automatically detects the product collectively—router and two satellites—and sets up the internet connection right away. This certainly is an easier approach than the browser panel from earlier, and saves time, too. In my case, I had already set up the RBK853, so the app recognized it, although the process of doing so is analogous to before. The home screen is a collection of widgets, if you will, one scrolls down to access more such options.


Some of the options are self-explanatory, so I only went through the new features, including the ability to add new profiles and set up parental or even remote monitoring. Devices can be set to connect to specific profiles, which can in turn be associated with specific time windows or days for internet access. This is also where a lot of these features are found to be behind a paywall, with a free 30-day trial to convince you to pay more if of use. That said, I did like some of the other options, including the quick signal strength visualizer that can be used to map out the signal strength in various rooms of your house or wherever else the Orbi system is placed. As a teaser to the performance metrics on the next page, we see that the Orbi RBK853 fared quite well, providing good signal strength and high throughput to my old phone that does not have a WiFi 6 network adapter and is thus limited to wireless ac, which means it will be ceremoniously replaced by a newer phone soon. The traffic meter is also more pleasing visually, and the ease of use is why NETGEAR has spent a lot of resources developing and marketing the Orbi mobile app.


I decided to split the side menu and associated options into two separate GIFs given how many there are, and this is where some of the previous widget shortcuts lead to. In short, you will get most of the functionality of the desktop and browser-based admin panel here, including internet and WiFi settings, setting up a guest network, monitoring connected devices and establishing your own QoS rules, as well as going through setup and/or adding a new satellite unit. The firmware version associated with the units can be checked and updated here as well, and a support page brings up relevant documentation in addition to NETGEAR support links based on whether you have paid for premium support or are using the standard one. NETGEAR Armor gets one more push here, and that's about it for this section, so let's now move on to how the Orbi RBK853 performs.