Closer Look

What better way to start this page than with a family photo? The three-pack of the NETGEAR Orbi RBK863S set contains the RBR860 router and two RBS860 satellite units, all of which look identical from the front and sides. Note the sticker over the router that has a QR code handy for setup, as well as the SSID login credentials for first-time use. This is one of the quickest ways to determine which of the three units is the router given the design language of NETGEAR's WiFi 6 Orbi lineup has not changed much from the previous gen 850 series as well as the even older WiFi 5 (wireless ac) Orbi products. Of course I do have the black edition here which does look quite sharp compared to the white ones before if I say so myself. Otherwise the chassis is still the same smooth plastic construction with gentle curves all around. The black edition also comes with gunmetal gray accents whereas the white one seemingly has champagne gold accents to where I'd say this black edition is the more minimalist of the two. The gaps between the black and gray plastic sections are also patterned in black, and these allow for airflow in and out of the product in addition to hosting the eight beam-forming antennas inside each unit. Branding comes in the form of subtle Orbi writing on the front, with a look from the sides revealing the relatively flat aspect ratio and multiple plastic pieces which come together to make for a product that is very hard to take apart easily. Externally, each of the three units measures and weighs the same at ~25.5 x 19 x 7 cm and ~1.3 kg. Not the largest in the world, but where to put them still requires some thought given the intention is to have these be part of your living room as much as hidden away in the corner of an office perhaps.


The certification information for each is on the bottom, and this is the first time we see the RBR860 and RBS860 naming schemes for the router and satellites respectively. Perhaps now is the best time to also talk about the S at the end of the RBK863S here with NETGEAR now adding in a complementary year of NETGEAR Armor security (S for security, get it?) with each of the Orbi 860 series. The serial number and log-in credentials are seen on the labels at the bottom too, so you can go ahead and remove the sticker on the router body for a cleaner look. More ventilation holes and a sneak peek of what is inside greet us, along with rubber padding for when you want to position these upright on a surface. NETGEAR tells us there is a quad-core processor running at 2.2 GHz in each unit and this is paired with 512 MB NAND flash and 1 GB RAM. These are not groundbreaking specifications by any means—looks to be the exact same hardware as on the previous generation, if not further beyond—but clearly enough for this more consumer-oriented product line to where it won't hold back the marketed feature set. There are threaded metal inserts for when you want to use them with wall mounts, including the first-party options we saw before with the Orbi Pro SXK80. There is also a handy synchronization button at the back, closer to the bottom, which will synchronize the three units if you did purchase them separately. By default, they already come synced to each other. This is also the WPS button that is simply pressed to connect other compatible devices to the WiFi network put forth by this WiFi system.


More cooling holes are cut into a recess on the back of each unit, which also hosts the I/O. The router clearly differs from the satellites in having five RJ45 Ethernet ports to the four on the satellites. The four in common are 1 GbE ports, with the fifth on the router a yellow-colored 10 Gbps WAN port. It's a shame that we still only get a single multi-gigabit Ethernet port across all three units, especially considering more and more motherboards have 2.5/5/10 Gbps Ethernet ports these days. NETGEAR has also added in Link Aggregation Group (LAG) formation option here we previously saw on the Orbi Pro line, but I don't understand why, given it seems to max out at 2.5 Gbps which is slower than the 10 Gbps available via the single WAN port anyway! A pinhole reset and the DC port for power round things off. Missing is an actual power on/off switch, and we do not get a USB port for local network storage applications or even something like a network-connected printer, which is a shame considering there is clearly enough room here.


With all eight antennas internally placed in each unit, there is not much else to do in terms of hardware setup. The basic minimum for the router is the power cable and provided Ethernet cable going from an available LAN port on your modem or gateway to the WAN port as seen above. The satellite itself is already paired to the router, so much so that actually setting it up separately isn't necessary. All you need is the power cable, and also make sure the three units aren't too far removed from each other for the initial setup. The indicator LEDs on the front are multi-color—the color code guide in the manual covers the various stages of operation for either unit. I also liked that the router and satellite units use a different color for their normal operation, which further distinguishes them; the LEDs can be turned off or only left on during start-up if you prefer absolutely no lighting.