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Feature Request: Orbi Satellite Ethernet Backhaul
As good as Orbi looks on paper I don't understand Y you would cut yourself so short and not support Eithernet backhaul for the satellites, I have 5 locations needing a system like this but without su...
Let me acknowledge that our customer base has been clamoring for this feature for a while, and we are trying to be responsive to their needs. To provide context on why it's taking a while to get it out, during the first quarter, the Orbi Engineering team was focused on bringing out the two new products (RBK30 & RBK40) to market. Now that it's accomplished, we're actively working on bringing this feature and a couple of other interesting, market-requested features to you.
Orbi Product Team
Any update from Netgear Engineering on this wired backhaul feature? Do any Mods have any additional info to share with us on this topic if Engineering are considering this as a future enhancement request? Netgear Idea exchange has it as the most popular feature requested.
https://community.netgear.com/t5/Idea-Exchange-For-Home/Netgear-Orbi-Wired-Sattelite/idi-p/1145210
Let me acknowledge that our customer base has been clamoring for this feature for a while, and we are trying to be responsive to their needs. To provide context on why it's taking a while to get it out, during the first quarter, the Orbi Engineering team was focused on bringing out the two new products (RBK30 & RBK40) to market. Now that it's accomplished, we're actively working on bringing this feature and a couple of other interesting, market-requested features to you.
Orbi Product Team
AmitR this is fantastic news that wired backhaul is in the works a feature most welcome and highly desired and being requested for a while by the community. thank you for the update and good news we eagerly await the firmware that will make this a really. thank you Engineering for listening.
- When is this becoming a reality ? Been almost 1yr now since the above update.
The ORBI app is kind of stupid with this. It will tell you your current Firmware is up to date but it isn't. You have to manually download the latest update from the website and do a manual install. Just follow the instructions. Make sure you install the satellite updates first!. Wait till it is finished and restarted before updating the router itself. Also do it over a wired port, don't do it over WIFI. Once that latest firmware is installed, it works, albeit still needed local support to mess with the settings for better stability.
Please make this backward compatible to RBK50 (and others). It was a huge miss to not have it from the start. Thanks!
I apologize if I missed this in the Solution provided from amitrele but was there confirmation the Ethernet Backhaul will be via a Firmware update and not require updated hardware?
dwalman wrote:I apologize if I missed this in the Solution provided from amitrele but was there confirmation the Ethernet Backhaul will be via a Firmware update and not require updated hardware?
they are working on getting it up with the current hardware ,
ORBI is using a Qualcomm IPQ4019 which is a 720Mhz Quad core CPU!! Paired with 512Mb of RAM and 4Gb of flash with this powerful hardware Ethernet backhaul should be feasible with existing Orbi, many competitors with much less powerful hw have it.
Will ethernet backhaul be added to all the orbi products (RBK30, RBK40, RBK50, RBK53, and RBK43)? I ask because I have yet to buy orbi as I was waiting on ethernet backhaul before making the purchase. Do you have an ETA or ballpark ETA?
Thank you in advance for your reply!
i believe if they can add it to the rbk50 its should be added to all as they are all interoperable
however no idea till they go from "working on it " to " here it is "
I know its only a few weeks since amitrele (Orbi Product Team) broke the news that they are actively working on bringing this feature.
Is anyone in a position to provide an update?
This and the abality to purchase a single satellite in the UK are major considerations as to wether or not I stick with Orbi or cut my losses and seriously look at the Google WiFi now its available in the UK.
I really want to stick with Orbi but it is now causing more problems than I can live with on a daily basis.
Thanks.
Just out of curiosity, other than corporate avarice, WHY would a company neglect a buggy, quirky existent product in order to introduce a NEW, potentially buggy, quirky NEW variant? I purchased an ORBI ste about 5 months ago and FINALLY (upon the recommendation of NETGEAR), returned it to the store. It REPEATEDLY disconnected and FINALLY just "locked up" to the point that I could not access the unit either by my existent router password OR by the "factory password" after "hard reset"....it just turned into a BRICK!
In reading ongoing comments on ORBI (I LIKE the product and it worked GREAT when it worked), I note that the SAME issues continue to plague them.
Your customers want:
(1) Stability and function.
(2) USB port
(3) ETHERNET backhaul
Why not give us (your customers) that which they need/desire, instead of "new" products that seem to have the singular advantage of being a bit cheaper, but that still retain the same negative issues of "no USB", "no backhaul", fewer ports, and similar, if not reduced (when working) performance? I would LOVE to revisit/repurchase ORBI...IF it were reliable and up to at least a modicum of "elegance".
I dont work for Netgear.
Generally speaking, it is more likely that there are important things that the team is prioritizing from their perspective and those things may not be visilble to end consumers. Product Management, especially for the consumer market, can be very challenging. Products are often rushed to market and in doing so the team must make compromises and incur tech debt. That tech debt may be easy or very difficult to pay off. Over time the capacity of the development team and release pipeline will shift towards customer demands, assuming they have the resources.
It would seem, however, that the (now almost 9 month) ongoing connectivity issue complaints (missing features notwithstanding), that NETGEAR would note a "pattern of deficiency" and would choose to address it. It's hard to market a "new" product when the existing predecessor seems to be mired in mediocrity.
NETGEAR has a DYNAMITE concept...they just need to make sure it doesn't "fizzle". Product quality and reliability drive sales...NOT abandonment and "flash".
Any news on this topic? I was talking with people from Netgear Netherlands last month and they told me that the firmware upgrade for Ethernet Backhaul would be available before august ( and yes.... in 2017).
Aanholt wrote:
Any news on this topic? I was talking with people from Netgear Netherlands last month and they told me that the firmware upgrade for Ethernet Backhaul would be available before august ( and yes.... in 2017).
there has been no time frame set at all for ethernet backhaul , the only comment made by the dev team is they are currently looking at working on a solution , beyond that anything else is a guess at this stage , but i can prob assure you it wont be by august
well it seems one of the requests has been activated with the usb 2 ports now working for both printer and usb dongle and hdd for sharing
we're actively working on bringing this feature..."
Hundreds (maybe thousands) of us are actively waiting for the product to catch up to competing products that have this feature already. Please let us know when to expect it.What the hell are you doing Netgear ? at least please give us insights ?!!
i believe they are trying to sort out connectivity and stability issues atm and tbh until they get that sorted it would be crazy to add another factor into the mix , they have to get the current platform working well before anything else , after that they may get onto other features like ethernet backhaul and maybe some form of mesh instead of star topology , this is all new ground that netgear find themselves in and its learning by mistakes
I've been following this thread for a bit. From a personal and a corporate policy, I can't give dates when features will be available.
What I *can* say is that, the initial product launch requirement was that the wireless backhaul is used to connect two or more Orbi. That's one of the reasons we invested in the 4x4 radios. I understand that many of you have Ethernet run in your houses, and would like to use it. I completely understand. It's a valid feature request and we're not philosophically opposed to connecting Orbi over Ethernet -- we are working on it. Is it ready today, no.
Orbi Product Team
- Ready to sell my Orbi, and get a Ubiquiti USG + 2 APs.
Cheaper, and way more features/flexibility/control.
- @amitrele - can we gain any validation that this will happen in 2018?
I understand that this is a much requested feature and there are some users who are very passionate about it and we hear you.
Generally speaking, I can't speak about dates for features, both as a matter of personal as well as NTGR policy. All I can say is that it's on our roadmap and we're working to deliver it and other features.
Orbi Product Management
Is there a notification list for wired backhaul that we can get on? That's the least you guys can do. Create a feedback system or page that we can get updates on. You may not be able to comment on upcoming releases, due to those dates slipping, or features getting pushed into new products. You've got a lot of people that want to wait for your product, even though everyone else supports this today. Wireless inherently fluctuates, and wired backhaul is the best possible solution.
There are many users like myself, that want to purchase an Orbi system due to the performance characteristics as tested by many third part sites, but I won't purchase until Wired Backhaul is available.
Just purchased and installed - I have 2 dead spots in the house where I have already pre wired Ethernet ports - incredibly frustrating I cannot hard wire a couple of satellites into these already - your response was back in April - do you have an anticipated launch date for this feature if not I will return this system and switch to a mesh that offers hard wired satellites?
i cant give you a release date , i can only tell you its on the cards as stated by a netgear employee
perhaps if you have researched the device and its capabilities b4 you purchased you wouldnt have been so frustrated and if you have ethernet installed tbh you dont need a mesh / dw system at all
Another user here who would like to see ethernet backhaul added. While I don't strictly need it now, the flexibility and future-proofing (should I decide to move) it adds makes ethernet backhaul a no brainer. Plus since it's become a standard feature in this segment of the market, its continued omission from Orbi is a growing flaw in an otherwise great product.
I just wanted to thank you. Before the ethernet backhaul the Orbi system was already perfect for me, i'm very happy with it and i recommed it to everybody that has a big house and wifi issues. It's been more than six month with it and never had an issue.
I'm about to move to a house with very thick walls and knowing that i have the possibility to connect the router and the satellite through an ethernet cable is great. You could have not added this feature and you did it anyway, that doesn't happen very often with tech companies so congratulations to you. The next time i need to buy a network device, it will be a Netgear for sure.
thank you!
