I was listening to Mac Geek Gab #1160 and the host, Dave, was speaking about issues his outlaws (in-laws) were having with their home networking. They were paying for 1 Gbps down, but Speedtest.net was showing their speed as being 200 to 400 Mbps over wifi. Dave quite rightly pointed out that if they connected via Ethernet, the speed would likely show 1 Gbps as myriad factors slow down wifi. Listening to the discussion, a few things spring to mind, in addition to Dave’s comment.
First, I use Netgear Orbi and it allows me to have three networks. I have my main network that can run on 2.4 or 5 GHz, I have another guest network that is sandboxed, and I can have a network on 2.4 GHz only for IOT (internet-of-things) devices. It has its own SSID but links into my main network. Only my Apple, Sonos, and TVs from various manufacturers are allowed on my main network. Everything else gets put on the IOT network.
Second, my Netgear Orbi iOS/iPadOS app is quite cool. I can run a speed test via Speedtest.net within the Orbi app from my iPhone or iPad. Importantly, It runs it from the router (as in it sends it a command) and is hardwired into the fibre-to-the-premises connection. This connection generally runs at 1 Gbps, whereas my wifi with all of the walls, glass, and RF interference generally runs at 500 to 700 Mbps. So, I can see what my router is getting from the fibre connection. What’s even cooler is that (1) I can run this speed test from anywhere, in that I don’t have to be at home on the network, and (2) I can reboot the router and satellites remotely if they’re having a bad day. So if you have ‘outlaws’ with an Orbi network, you could have the app on your phone and see their connection from anywhere in the world. That’s cool.
And my Orbi network (RBR-753) is six years old, as fast as anything, and regularly updated by Netgear. It’s been a good investment.
22 September 2026