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Forum Discussion
Pc12349
Aug 12, 2017Aspirant
Need help contacting Orbi to iAquaLink
I have a very large home (8,000sqft) & upgraded to the Orbi. I had no problem linking everything to this new system (Wifi is wonderful now). The only one I can not link it to, is the aqualink / pool c...
GinaFitz
Aug 14, 2017Aspirant
Hi - yes I have same question - and was wondering if anyone was able to use an extender. I understand that for some reason the iAqualink will only connect to a 2.4ghz network (not a 5.0) ... and that perhaps the Orbi network isn't combatible even though it is supposed to be "smart" enough to know what to send. So, I wondered if the extender worked.
FYI I just tried a nighthawk router as well to see if that works for us and am having trouble with the plug in extender ... cant seem to get that to connect to iAqualink... the signal just isn't strong enough to reach equipment I think. Orbi signal was only one that reaches.
- st_shawAug 14, 2017Master
GinaFitzThe fact the the Orbi signal is strong enough to reach your equipment is misleading. For an effective WiFi connection, the signal must be strong on both sides of the connection. So, unless your iAquaLink is sending an equally strong signal back to where the Orbi is located, it may not work reliably.
If the pool controller supports wired connections, then your best bet is to run an Ethernet wire to it.
If the controller is WiFi only, then your best bet is to run an Ethernet wire as close as you can to the pool controller, then setup a cheap wireless access point (WAP) dedicated to the pool controller, and run it on 2.4 GHz only. If you have power outlets near the pool controller, you could setup a powerline adapter and connect the WAP to that.
- GinaFitzAug 14, 2017AspirantThank you st_shaw ... this is helpful. Certainly the iAqualink signal is not strong enough to reach all the way back to the home location of the router or extender ... it has such a short signal reach. That seems to be counterproductive in a way ....as this is why we need the reach of the extender. If this is the case, then I am not sure any solution will work for us . without some special cable wiring I suppose... just given where our home modem is located vs. the equipment (far away from the house). Separately, do you happen to know if Orbi modems work with iAqualink? If so I can at least settle on that and work towards how to move other stuff around. Thanks for the comments.