NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Best extender to get and how hard to install?
Hello - I'm not an IT specialist, so forgive me if I'm not using exact language here.... I have an ORBI router RBR50 and a satellite (if that's what it's called) RBS50. We have a Comcast modem which...
It appears to me that there are several conflicting issues and some misinformation. Orbi is designed to broadcast the same SSID on both 2.4G and 5G. A "guest" WiFi also broadcasts the same SSID on 2.4G and 5G. So, activating the guest WiFi changes nothing. There are some WiFi devices which are difficult to set up because the smartphone app was poorly written and users have developed a variety of methods to deal with them.
Any brand of "extender" (Netgear, TP-Link, D-Link, etc.) can connect to the Orbi WiFi and create new WiFi networks with different names for 2.4G and 5G. For about $30 you can purchase a WiFi "extender" that will connect to the Orbi and create a unique WiFi name that can be used to connect your landscape irrigation.
Sonos is a whole different "can of worms" that I am unqualified to address.
Thank you so much for your response. Super helpful. Now I understand that the Orbi only uses a dual band.
The irrigation controller (Rachio) can only work with a single band and drops connection if the connections change back and forth between 2.4 and 5. I think I'll try a plug in Netgear extender (Netgear, hopefully for easy setup) near the garage and hope it'll be able to create a new, single 2.4 band for the irrigation controller. If not, if it creates two bands, I might be able to plug it in somewhere far enough away that it only recognizes the 2.4...?
Another person responded that I might have trouble due to a double NAT setup https://kb.netgear.com/30186/What-is-Double-NAT. I'm not sure if I have a double NAT setup. I have a single Comcast modem for our phone and internet that must have a built-in router because it broadcasts a 2.4 and 5.0 dual band as well, but I don't think anything is connected to it. Then the Orbi for all our devices, and then I'd have the new extender connected to the Irrigation controller only. Who knows? I wouldn't be able to fix that if that messes it all up...
Question for you: If I create a new wifi network with an extender, and that extender has a speed of 1200 mbps but the Orbi's speed is 3Gbps, will the new extender slow everything down? I'm hoping not, since it will be it's own network, but would love any additional thoughts, comments. Thank you again!
This is the one I'm thinking of getting https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Wi-Fi-Range-Extender-EX6120/dp/B014YN7LVE/ref=asc_df_B014YN7LVE/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198138936631&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14122893231199437192&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033255&hvtargid=pla-352077305679&psc=1
That Netgear product should work fine. It just "costs more" because it creates both 2.4G and 5G WiFi extensions.
This issue of "Requires 2.4G" often causes more confusion than it should. If the device actually says, "Requires 2.4G WiFi", that usually means that the device has no 5G radio capability. That's sort of like saying, "Requires two AA batteries." You can have piles of C cells, D cells, AAA cells, and watch batteries, but the thing won't work unless you supply AA batteries.
Perhaps if you identify the exact model of irrigation controller, we can look at the User Manual and confirm what it requires.
I was wrong - the Rachio supports both 2.4 and 5.0 but does need a single band - can't go back and forth between them. i thought I'd use am extender with a new SSID and use 2.4 since it's far from the router.: https://www.amazon.com/Rachio-Controller-Generation-Compatible-Intelligence/dp/B07CZ5K355/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?ie=UTF8&aaxitk=X5cEVZCI7DCiS-aspwwKMg&hsa_cr_id=8515648020801&ref_=sbx_be_s_sparkle_mcd_asin_0
And I'm also wondering if an extender with a speed of 1200 MBPS might slow down the Orbi with a 3000 MBPS speed. If I create a new SSID/wifi name for the extender then perhaps it won't mess up the Orbi SSID/wifi network name?