Netgear Orbi 370 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Router Review

Simply over a yr in the past, I reviewed the wonderful Netgear Orbi 770, which had wonderful WiFi 7 efficiency with spectacular speeds on the mesh-connected satellites. The RRP made it virtually 60% cheaper than the flagship mannequin whereas nonetheless having the ability to obtain multi-gig WiFi connectivity.

Nevertheless, at £900, now £600, it was nonetheless very costly.

Netgear has now launched a way more inexpensive possibility for normal consumers who need good WiFi speeds however don’t want the very best efficiency.

Priced at £300, it is without doubt one of the most cost-effective choices available on the market. You lose out on the 6GHz band, which gives ultra-fast connectivity at shut vary, largely in the identical room, however the system nonetheless contains 2.5 Gbps Ethernet ports, which ought to permit units to realize WiFi speeds in extra of 1 Gbps.

Associated Evaluations

Specification

The primary factor to spotlight with this method is that it’s dual-band. Which means no ultrafast 6GHz, and a shared backhaul. Which is to be anticipated at this value level.

Options

As much as 3.6 Gbps Velocity

Obtain speeds of as much as 3.6 Gbps with a mesh system designed to ship quick and secure WiFi efficiency throughout a number of linked units.

Distinctive Entire-House Mesh WiFi

A high-performance mesh system with optimised antennas gives constant WiFi protection all through your property, guaranteeing a powerful connection in each room.

Twin-Band Know-how

Twin-band operation with enhanced backhaul improves information distribution throughout the community, sustaining secure and responsive efficiency all through the house.

4K Streaming, Gaming, and Extra

The Orbi system helps simultaneous 4K streaming, gaming, and video calling, permitting all customers to take pleasure in a easy and uninterrupted connection throughout units.

Unleash Multi-Gig Connectivity

Geared up with a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port, this method helps high-speed fibre and cable web providers. It allows dependable efficiency for wired connections or can be utilized as a 2.5 Gigabit backhaul hyperlink between nodes.

Safeguard Information and Units with NETGEAR Armor

Offers network-wide safety to your units at house and on the transfer. Contains an prolonged guarantee and precedence help with a 30-day trial interval.

Highly effective Safety Options

NETGEAR routers embrace superior safety mechanisms akin to automated firmware updates, vulnerability monitoring, and built-in security options designed to maintain your community safe.

Straightforward Setup and Administration

Appropriate with any web service supplier, the Orbi app allows fast setup, community configuration, and ongoing WiFi administration out of your smartphone.

Unboxing / Design

The Orbi 370 arrives in typical Netgear packaging – a sturdy field with clear product imagery and key specs prominently displayed. Inside, every unit is individually wrapped in protecting plastic with the equipment neatly compartmentalised.

The design follows Netgear’s established Orbi aesthetic – tall, cylindrical items with a matte white end that blends moderately nicely with most house decor. At 203.7mm tall and 120mm large, they’re noticeably extra compact than the flagship Orbi fashions, which I admire. The smaller footprint makes them simpler to place across the house with out dominating shelf house.

Construct high quality feels stable, although not fairly as premium because the higher-end fashions. The plastic casing has a slight flex when pressed firmly, and the items are significantly lighter at round 350g every in comparison with the hefty 770 collection. That mentioned, they don’t really feel low-cost – simply appropriately constructed for the value level.

The LED standing mild on prime gives clear visible suggestions throughout setup and operation. It’s shiny sufficient to see from throughout a room however not so intense that it turns into distracting at night time. A easy press on prime briefly dims it if wanted.

Air flow seems enough with vents alongside the underside and inner airflow channels. Throughout my testing, the items remained merely heat to the contact even underneath heavy load – a marked enchancment over some older Orbi fashions that would get fairly toasty.

One design compromise is the fastened inner antennas. Whereas this retains the clear aesthetic, it does imply you possibly can’t optimise antenna positioning to your particular atmosphere. In apply, I didn’t discover this to be a major limitation for many house layouts.

Set Up

I began with the cellular app setup, which Netgear clearly prefers. After downloading the Orbi app and creating an account (annoyingly necessary), the app instantly detected the router after I powered it on. The step-by-step wizard is well-designed with clear directions and useful animations.

The preliminary firmware replace took about 8 minutes – longer than I’d like however needed for safety patches and efficiency optimisations. The app maintained connection all through, exhibiting progress clearly.

Including the 2 satellites was largely automated. The app prompted me to energy them on one by one, they usually paired inside about 90 seconds every. The app recommended optimum placement places primarily based on my house’s structure, which was a pleasant contact, although I ended up adjusting primarily based alone testing.

One frustration emerged when attempting to import settings from my earlier router. The backup file from my older Netgear router wasn’t appropriate, that means I needed to manually recreate my port forwarding guidelines, DHCP reservations, and gadget names. This took an extra quarter-hour of tedious work that would have been prevented with higher backwards compatibility.

The online-based setup possibility stays obtainable for many who choose it. Accessing it requires typing orbilogin.com or the router’s IP handle (192.168.1.1 by default). The interface is practical however feels dated in comparison with the cellular app. Nevertheless, it does present entry to extra superior settings throughout preliminary configuration, which energy customers may admire.

Community identify and password customisation was easy, and the system routinely configured each bands with the identical SSID by default – best for seamless roaming. You’ll be able to separate them if most popular, although I’d advocate holding them mixed for many customers.

Internet UI

The online administration interface appears like a blended bag – practical however exhibiting its age in comparison with trendy router interfaces from opponents. Accessing it requires navigating to orbilogin.com or on to the router’s IP handle.

The dashboard gives an honest overview of your community standing, exhibiting linked units, web connection standing, and present firmware model. Nevertheless, the data density could possibly be higher. I discovered myself clicking by way of a number of menus to seek out particulars that opponents floor extra readily.

Navigation follows a conventional menu construction that shall be acquainted to long-time Netgear customers. Settings are logically organised into Fundamental and Superior sections, although some placement selections appear arbitrary. Why are entry management settings underneath Fundamental whereas visitor community configuration requires diving into Superior?

Gadget administration reveals all linked shoppers with their connection kind, sign power, and present bandwidth utilization. You’ll be able to assign pleasant names and set entry controls per gadget. The true-time bandwidth monitoring is especially helpful, clearly exhibiting which units are consuming probably the most bandwidth at any given second.

Superior settings present good granularity for energy customers. You’ll discover choices for port forwarding, VLAN configuration, site visitors prioritisation, and detailed WiFi parameters. The QoS implementation is competent, permitting each device-based and application-based prioritisation, although it lacks the sophistication of devoted gaming routers.

One vital omission is the shortage of built-in velocity testing. Many trendy routers embrace this function to shortly confirm your web connection velocity with out counting on exterior providers. It’s a curious oversight for a product at this value level.

The interface responsiveness varies significantly. Easy adjustments apply shortly, however extra advanced operations like making use of new QoS guidelines or updating port forwarding can take 30-60 seconds with the whole community briefly dropping connection. This disruptive behaviour feels outdated in comparison with seamless software of settings on newer platforms.

Orbi Cellular App

Obtainable for each iOS and Android, the app gives most performance common customers want with a way more trendy presentation.

The house display dashboard instantly reveals community standing, present web speeds, and the variety of linked units. Tapping any component brings up related particulars and controls. This info hierarchy works nicely, surfacing necessary information whereas holding superior choices accessible however not overwhelming.

Gadget administration by way of the app is especially nicely applied. Every linked gadget seems with a recognisable icon, customized identify, and real-time information utilization. You’ll be able to pause web entry for particular units with a single faucet – good for managing kids’s display time or troubleshooting connectivity points.

The app features a community map view exhibiting how units hook up with particular Orbi items. This visualisation helps optimise gadget placement and determine potential protection gaps. Throughout my testing, it precisely confirmed connection paths and sign strengths, updating in close to real-time as units moved between nodes.

Visitor community administration is streamlined in comparison with the net interface. Making a visitor community takes seconds, and sharing credentials by way of QR code or message is built-in. You’ll be able to set cut-off dates for visitor entry and see precisely who’s linked to visitor networks at any time.

Efficiency testing instruments inside the app are fundamental however practical. The web velocity check measures your WAN connection, whereas a separate WiFi analytics instrument helps determine channel congestion and interference. These aren’t as complete as devoted community evaluation instruments however suffice for fundamental troubleshooting.

The app often struggles with reliability. Throughout my testing interval, it failed to hook up with the router thrice, requiring an app restart. Push notifications for firmware updates and safety alerts labored persistently, although the safety alerts tended towards the overly cautious, flagging reputable IoT units as potential threats.

Integration with voice assistants (Alexa and Google Assistant) works by way of the app, permitting fundamental instructions like pausing web entry or checking community standing. The implementation is restricted however practical for widespread duties.

Netgear Armor

Netgear Armor, powered by Bitdefender, comes with a 30-day trial that showcases its complete safety features. After the trial, it’s £85 per yr – a major ongoing value to contemplate.

I’ve lined Netgear Armor in additional element right here.

WiFi 7 Efficiency

Efficiency testing revealed the Orbi 370’s capabilities and limitations as a dual-band WiFi 7 system. I performed checks throughout house which is a typical British brick constructed 4-bed semi indifferent home.

I not too long ago upgraded my Web to Aquiss 2500/2500 Mbps service by way of CityFibre so I’m able to do actual world multi-gig Web velocity checks somewhat than WLAN throughput.

Units I used for testing:

Router

5GHz

• Shut Vary / Identical Room: 1641Mbps
• Room one ground down: 906Mbps
• Room one ground down and two rooms throughout: 223Mbps

The 5GHz efficiency impressed me, significantly at shut vary the place WiFi 7 options like 4K-QAM and improved OFDMA actually shine. The 1392 Mbps throughput is great for a dual-band system, simply saturating gigabit web connections with overhead to spare.

Mid-range efficiency remained sturdy at 906 Mbps one ground down, sustaining sufficient bandwidth for a number of 4K streams and enormous file transfers. The connection felt secure with minimal jitter throughout prolonged testing classes.

Lengthy-range efficiency dropped considerably to 223 Mbps by way of a number of partitions and flooring. Whereas disappointing in comparison with close-range speeds, this nonetheless exceeds what most UK broadband connections ship, and it’s ample for HD streaming and basic use.

2.4GHz

• Shut Vary / Identical Room: 181Mbps
• Room one ground down: 152Mbps
• Room one ground down and two rooms throughout: 91Mbps

The two.4GHz band performs its conventional position of offering prolonged vary at decrease speeds. The 181 Mbps close-range velocity is respectable for two.4GHz, benefiting from WiFi 7’s effectivity enhancements. Extra importantly, the sign maintained usable speeds even on the furthest check factors the place 5GHz struggled to attach.

Satellite tv for pc in Hallway

5GHz

• Room one ground down (from router): 827Mbps
• Room one ground down and two rooms throughout (from router): 521Mbps

Ideally, the primary outcome would have earlier than increased, however what possible occurred right here was that my gadget linked to the satellite tv for pc. The satellite tv for pc had sign loss because of the shared band so the top outcome was decrease than connecting to the router immediately. Nevertheless, the improved protection makes it value it, with considerably higher ends in my different ropoms downstairs.

With all mesh techniques, it’s value experimenting with the place you place the satellite tv for pc, however within the case of those inexpensive mesh techniques the place you’ve gotten a shared backhaul, I’d say it’s much more necessary if you wish to maximise the throughput.

2.4GHz

• Room one ground down (from router): 163Mbps
• Room one ground down and two rooms throughout (from router): 136Mbps

Value and Various Choices

The Netgear Orbi 370 is obtainable for £300 for a 3 pack or £210 for a two pack, you possibly can then purchase an add-on satellite tv for pc for £110.

The subsequent mannequin up is the Orbi 770 collection, which is obtainable for £600 for a 3 pack or £394 for a two pack.

Competing three-pack techniques would come with:

• TP-Hyperlink Deco BE25, which has an RRP of £300 however obtainable for £230
• ASUS ZenWiFi BD4, which has an RRP of £260 and is obtainable for £250.
• Mercusys Halo H25BE, which has an RRP of £258 and is obtainable for £230 – that is restricted by the gigabit Ethernet and WAN ports.

General

The Netgear Orbi 370 mesh system is an effective alternative for anybody wanting the improved efficiency of WiFi 7 with out the excessive costs related to tri-band techniques.

On 5GHz, at shut vary, you possibly can comfortably exceed 1 Gbps, which positions it nicely for the UK market with Openreach, CityFibre and Virgin all providing 1 Gbps merchandise. Openreach and CityFibre do have sooner merchandise, with CF having 2.5Gbps and Sky presently having unique entry to 5Gbps, however these are area of interest product that can attraction to energy customers who usually tend to spend a premium on networking merchandise.

As all the time with Netgear, the Orbi 370 isn’t the most affordable product on supply with this spec, however the pricing isn’t far off, and I’ve all the time discovered Netgear to be fairly dependable.

Whether or not the US claims of TP-Hyperlink routers being compromised are true or not, Netgear will possible profit from this dangerous press. The cheaper ASUS ZenWiFi BD4 has fairly poor critiques on Amazon, whereas the Mercusys Halo H25BE is capped at gigabit speeds.

So, whereas I would really like the Netgear Orbi 370 to be 10% to twenty% cheaper, I can nonetheless give it a powerful suggestion.

I’m James, a UK-based tech fanatic and the Editor and Proprietor of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Enthusiastic about all issues know-how, my experience spans from computer systems and networking to cellular, wearables, and good house units.

As a health fanatic who loves operating and biking, I even have a eager curiosity in fitness-related know-how, and I take each alternative to cowl this area of interest on my weblog. My various pursuits permit me to carry a singular perspective to tech running a blog, merging way of life, health, and the most recent tech tendencies.

In my tutorial pursuits, I earned a BSc in Info Programs Design from UCLAN, earlier than advancing my studying with a Grasp’s Diploma in Computing. This superior examine additionally included Cisco CCNA accreditation, additional demonstrating my dedication to understanding and staying forward of the know-how curve.

I’m proud to share that Vuelio has persistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of many prime know-how blogs within the UK. With my dedication to know-how and drive to share my insights, I purpose to proceed offering my readers with partaking and informative content material.

Final replace on 2025-11-01 / Affiliate hyperlinks / Pictures from Amazon Product Promoting API