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NETGEAR Orbi 870 Series

NETGEAR Orbi 870 Series

Scored on 9 verified owner verdicts, from 250 comments read across 4 communities
TL;DR
Owners who got the Orbi 870 working praise its fast Wi-Fi 7 speeds and wide coverage, especially over a wired backhaul. But far more report satellites dropping, devices disconnecting mid-use, buggy interfaces, and firmware headaches that pushed them to RMA or return the system. Most say it only becomes reliable with a wired backhaul, and even then the high price and subscription nags make it a hard sell.

22% of 9 verified owners recommend the NETGEAR Orbi 870 Series, based on real owner verdicts aggregated from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube.

What 9 owners say
250 comments reviewed · scored on the 9 clearest verdicts
22%
Recommend
2 owners
11%
Neutral
1 owners
67%
Don't recommend
6 owners
Source
Score
N
Counted in the score
Reddit
25%
8
Other forums
0%
1
Reviewed, but not counted — and why
YouTubeiowner comments
29%
7
Affiliate blogsipaid commission
100%
1
No clear verdictiSetup, tips & quirks
2

Affiliate blogs here say 100% recommend, while the owner-based score is 22%. They earn a commission on every sale — so we show them for transparency but never let them move the score.

The headline score reflects owners (Reddit, enthusiast forums), independent lab tests, blogs with no affiliate links, and YouTube owner-comments when they line up with owners. YouTube and Affiliate blogs are shown for perspective but kept out here — hover the i for why.

What owners like
  • When stable, delivers fast Wi-Fi 7 speeds across the home · 3 · 33%
  • Strong range and wide coverage, often whole-house from one router and a satellite · 3 · 33%
  • Solid performance over a wired backhaul, with multi-gig speeds throughout · 2 · 22%
  • Some owners run it for months with no reboots or random disconnects · 2 · 22%
  • Firmware updates from support have resolved issues for a few users · 2 · 22%
What owners flag
  • Satellites dropping out and connected devices disconnecting mid-use, with frequent reboots needed · 5 · 56%
  • Firmware problems and overall instability led many owners to RMA or return the system · 4 · 44%
  • Buggy management interface and device pages that hang or spin · 2 · 22%
  • Wireless backhaul is unreliable, so it needs a wired backhaul to behave · 2 · 22%
  • Very expensive for what you get, with ongoing subscription nags · 2 · 22%
Who it's for
A great fit if
  • Large homes up to around 3,000 sq ft needing coverage
  • Users frustrated by unstable Eero systems wanting stability
  • Owners able to run wired Cat5 backhaul
Look elsewhere if
  • Buyers wanting trouble-free reliability out of the box
  • Gamers sensitive to bad buffer bloat and latency
  • Anyone relying on wireless backhaul between units

Synthesized from what NETGEAR Orbi 870 Series owners say — not a spec sheet.

How buyers rate it elsewhere

Retailers' own star averages, for comparison — separate from our vetted owner-verdict score above.

Top quotes, sourced

250 reviewed · 17 shown
Sentiment
Community
Sort
Reddit— neutral

I'm using Orbi 870, and one of my device includes iPhone 15 Pro Max. It works just fine for me.

YouTube▼ don’t recommend

I have to boot mine every 3-4 days

YouTube▲ recommend

its been great 👍 very reliable so far

YouTube▲ recommend

Great product but they have priced themselves out of the market.

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

Went with the 870 and it was constant aggravation with mine. Installed it and it was great for a few months. For the past 6 weeks, WiFi connected devices would just drop while using them.

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

Bought an Orbi 871 and it was a nightmare. I didn’t believe the reviews but it was a nightmare that I ended up returning to Amazon.

Reddit▲ recommend

I moved from Eero to the 870s and I've been very happy. I used to have stability and speed issues with the Eeros and the 870s have been extremely solid for me since I changed about 6 months ago

Homeowner (affiliate)▲ recommend

I haven't had to reboot anything, and there haven't been random disconnects or weird slowdowns.

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

The Orbi 770/870 have great range but the buffer bloat is terrible. I returned mine and purchased an eero 7 Pro 3-pack.

Reddit▲ recommend

I very rarely need to reboot and when I do its usually xfinity acting up and not the orbi.

Netgear▼ don’t recommend

I also noticed that when I clicked out of those pages and tried to go back in, it just spun.

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

I’ve also had a lot of problems and reboot the satellites frequently.

YouTube▼ don’t recommend

it consistently drops internet connection at least once a day

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

I had issues with my 870. Ask them to rma the system.

YouTube▼ don’t recommend

it drops the connection every couple of minutes

YouTube▼ don’t recommend

Bufferfloat is a serious thing with Orbi 870

YouTube▼ don’t recommend

Very disappointed in this system

Common problems & things to know

Practical notes owners raise — setup, quirks, and issues to watch for. They don't say whether the person likes the product, so they're not counted in the score, but they inform the pros, cons, and who it's for.

Netgearⓘ good to know

Cat5 seems to be lighting up 2.5Gb on my backhaul and for the rest of the house.

Redditⓘ good to know

Netgear sent me a new firmware and it fixed the issue!