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Before you buy the orbi system - what you need to know performance and feature wise
hi guys i have started this post to clear up some misconceptions about the orbi system and where its aimed and what it can do first what it can do provide overall better wifi coverage by ...
oh and i forgot
no usb functionality at this stage ether
there is a long list of things that ether will be added or may be added but no real ETA on when or if they will be implemented , only time will tell
pete
I have a question that might relate to the mesh topic. When I put the Orbi router into AP mode then what is the role of the satellite? Do I get extended coverage with both the router and satellites acting as switch and access points? Or does changing the router to AP mode somehow disable the functionality of the satellite? Everything is working fine when the router is in AP mode I just don't know if it is now just using the router instead of the satellite or whether it is now using both as APs since I don't need the routing functionality on the Orbi, what I really purchased it for was wifi performance and coverage.
powrby4d wrote:I have a question that might relate to the mesh topic. When I put the Orbi router into AP mode then what is the role of the satellite? Do I get extended coverage with both the router and satellites acting as switch and access points? Or does changing the router to AP mode somehow disable the functionality of the satellite? Everything is working fine when the router is in AP mode I just don't know if it is now just using the router instead of the satellite or whether it is now using both as APs since I don't need the routing functionality on the Orbi, what I really purchased it for was wifi performance and coverage.
hi
the sat operates the same wether the orbi router is in router mode or ap mode as atm it is just connecting back to the router via its 5 gig backhaul , it would be just the same if you could have ethernet connected the sat would work the same
so yes they still both work and both work as switches , all that happens is the routing functionality in the orbi router is bypassed and what ever you have the orbi router connected to the controls everything router and dhcp wise
pete
Thanks Pete for the reply. So when in AP mode does the router act as a second AP in tandem with the satellite to increase total WiFi coverage or does AP mode basically mean that it is acting as a switch for wired clients as well as a wireless bridge in the 1.7MHz band and only the satellite is providing wifi to connected devices?
Basically what I want to know is whether there is a wifi coverage advantage to running the router in AP mode or is that just a way of turning it into a switch for wired connections plus the satellites. I'll be honest I put mine in AP mode and after a while had a lot of flaky behavior so I switched it back to router mode which seems more stable but when I turned off DHCP on the Orbi to get the addresses assigned by the uplinked router for a flat address space ( important for DIRECTV) I could not get any connections to the Orbi and had to do a factory reset to get things running again temporarily with segmented subnets.
Somjust trying to sort out if AP mode has a coverage advantage for connected devices or is basically "switch" mode since sooner or later I need a flat address space by either AP mode (not lucky so far) or disabling DHCP in router mode (also not lucky so far). Thanks for the advice.
hi powrby4d
yes when in ap mode all it does is bypass all router functionality , the router and sat wifi work exactly the same as do the ethernet ports
the wifi will work the same in ether router mode or ap mode for both the router and sat and ethernet ports
you cant just turn of the dhcp in the orbi as you still have a dual nat situation and is why your devices will be playing up
so its ether bridge the upstream modem or router and let the orbi do the routing and wifi etc
or
leave the upstream router working as it is and set the orbi system in AP mode
the performance of the wifi should not change in ether mode , just make sure the upstream router has its wifi disabled if you are using the orbi in the same space
hope that helps
pete
New user here, I just bought the two pack RBR50 and RBS50. I just had a question, why would you buy the Orbi and than not use it as a router? I thought the "magic" of this thing was all of the bands and how the router controls and disperses them. Also could you not just as easily leave the Orbi as the router and make your old router an access point?
Jryan619 wrote:New user here, I just bought the two pack RBR50 and RBS50. I just had a question, why would you buy the Orbi and than not use it as a router? I thought the "magic" of this thing was all of the bands and how the router controls and disperses them. Also could you not just as easily leave the Orbi as the router and make your old router an access point?
You are right that the magic of Orbi is in the wireless radios, and how Orbi uses them to cover a large area with WiFi. These are not router functions though.
Your concept of what a router does versus an access point is off. Google "access point versus router" and read up on it. There is some basic info at this link: https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/thread/107106
- I will read up. The reason I wanted to know is because I have a TM-AC1900, which is actually a ASUS-AC1900 router but has been branded by t-mobile and also has their own firmware modification that puts priority on a wifi call. The reason I bought the Orbi is because we have almost 25 items and now we are streaming 4k and UHD. I was just thinking it might not hurt if I add that in the chain. My real concern is that since t-mobile made a change to firmware they have not had updates to it in over a year, while ASUS has had a bunch of security and functionality updated. The ASUS firmware is no longer recognized now that t-mobile messed with it.