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Forum Discussion
Orb Mesh 50 Questions (newbie)
I am switching from the Nighthawk and looking at my options for a Mesh Network. I have a one-floor 4,000 sq foot home which is hard to cover. I currently have a repeater plus lots of deadspots not to mention a teenager streaming videos. (I would love to divert some that). I also have 10 TB NAS, printer on the network, one desktop hardwired via ethernet plus lots of wireless devices. I also would like to reach the backyard. Our home printer is a Netgear. I have heard that people are having a problem with the printer wired into the network. Questions: Given the size of my home, do you recommend more than the router and satellite? Is there a 3-pack available? Are there devices that can be used outside? What is your experience interfacing the printer with Orb? Thanks and sorry for all the questions. Leah
14 Replies
leahkushner wrote:I am switching from the Nighthawk and looking at my options for a Mesh Network. I have a one-floor 4,000 sq foot home which is hard to cover. I currently have a repeater plus lots of deadspots not to mention a teenager streaming videos. (I would love to divert some that). I also have 10 TB NAS, printer on the network, one desktop hardwired via ethernet plus lots of wireless devices. I also would like to reach the backyard. Our home printer is a Netgear. I have heard that people are having a problem with the printer wired into the network. Questions: Given the size of my home, do you recommend more than the router and satellite? Is there a 3-pack available? Are there devices that can be used outside? What is your experience interfacing the printer with Orb? Thanks and sorry for all the questions. Leah
Our home printer is a Netgear. Is this a typo? I am not aware of Netgear selling printers. Whereas Nighthawk supports printers connected to the USB port for sharing, Orbi does not have this feature (and never will). The only ways to "network" a printer are by (a) connecting it to a router or satellite with ethernet, (b) connecting with WiFi, or (c) attaching it to the desktop printer and sharing it. I have one printer with ethernet and one printer hung off a PC. Both work fine.
As you have already discovered, WiFi coverage is affected by the physical location of devices. For example, if this house is 40ft. wide and 100ft. long and the ISP modem is on one wall, it would be a miracle to get fabulous coverage at the far end. An Orbi radiates an almost circular radio pattern, with the 2.4G signal penetrating farther than the 5G signal. Things like brick walls, stone fireplace chimmneys, low emission glass, all degrade WiFi signals.
The satellite has to be placed far enough from the router that it "covers different areas" Assuming that the 5G signal will be pretty decent for 40-50 ft. you can push the satellite as far away as it will go and still get a "Blue Light" (indicating strong signal). Depending on the shape of the house and where the modem is, you may be able to get away with one router and two satellites. The pricing for "add on" satellites is not attractive, so I would look at a package of 1+2.
Because of the circular pattern, a WiFi access point placed against a wall will cover quite a bit of "outside". (That's how I cover my front and back patios.) There is an (expensive) "outdoor rated" satellite that will extend outdoor coverage 60-70 ft. (RBS50Y).
This is an awkward time to be looking at new WiFi systems, since every vendor is releasing WiFi 6 compliant products (even Netgear). And, Netgear has two "mesh" products: the Orbi and a Nighthawk, in both WiFi5 and WiFi6 variants.
Sorry if this isn't much help.
I would hold off buying a wifi 6 router now that wifi 6E has been approved. A wifi 6 router will not have the new 6 ghz band.
Jetdrive wrote:I would hold off buying a wifi 6 router now that wifi 6E has been approved. A wifi 6 router will not have the new 6 ghz band.
This is indeed the constant quandry with regard to electronics. At some point, a person simply "has to make a decision." WiFi 6 is "here now" and devices that use it are already for sale. WiFi 6E will be a reality (when???) and devices that take advantage of it will be on the market (when???). I'd say a year from now is optimistic. (Sort of like that Virus Vaccine.)
Meanwhile, all the "things we already own" are pretty happy with the (affordable) WiFi 5 systems. I am certainly glad that I am not in the market for a new WiFi system right now.
Thanks for the information. Yes it was a typo. My printer is a HP. Thanks for the information it was very informative. I have a few more questions. Our house is a 4,000sq ft one floor which made the coverage area very large. The modem is at one end of the house in the office. Right now we have the Nighthawk with another Netgear repeater plus (4) Netgear extenders plugged into the wall. It is crazy. We still have dead spots and we have 6-WIFI networks to choice from which is confusing when we are trying to print over local network or access the NAS or even the wireless speakers. The repeater is 1 year old and the Nighthawk 4-5 years old BUT it keeps cutting out meaning all of a sudden we lose 5 or the 6 access points. Our Modem is from Xfinity and it is an Arris. Not sure if that matters. We pay for high speed blast. I did some research on the new 6-system that came out this year. Some people have said the drawbacks are less ethernet , no parental control and the cost. I am not actually looking for parental control but rather to prioritize the flow. If we simply have the access of our printer on WIFI then it would not be password protected. Is this correct? The printer is not the big problem but access to our system is. Thanks for your help.
What is the model# of the Arris modem? Built in router here by chance or just a modem? Just a modem is preferred.
I have a 5000sq ft home and have used 1 RBR and 1 satellite with great coverage and operation. Orbi AC and AX. For a 4000sq ft home, I would try 1 RBR and 1 satellite first to see. Unless of course you find a stellar deal on Orbi AC or and Orbi AX system.
Regarding Wifi 6E, the protocols have only been approved. Nothing has been certified nor has any Mfr, router or client side have come up with any 6E to even buy that supports 6E. 6E is probably a couple of years down the road at least. So if you find a current deal on Orbi AC or AX kit thats a good price. Go for it. Kits come with 1 or 2 satellites.
leahkushner wrote:I am switching from the Nighthawk and looking at my options for a Mesh Network. I have a one-floor 4,000 sq foot home which is hard to cover. I currently have a repeater plus lots of deadspots not to mention a teenager streaming videos. (I would love to divert some that). I also have 10 TB NAS, printer on the network, one desktop hardwired via ethernet plus lots of wireless devices. I also would like to reach the backyard. Our home printer is a Netgear. I have heard that people are having a problem with the printer wired into the network. Questions: Given the size of my home, do you recommend more than the router and satellite? Is there a 3-pack available? Are there devices that can be used outside? What is your experience interfacing the printer with Orb? Thanks and sorry for all the questions. Leah
From what I've been reading they're predicting Wifi 6E on the market this year. If you're in the market now for wifi 6 router, I would wait especially considering there are not many wifi 6 clients out yet. With the current prices especially from Netgear at $700 or $600 on sale, I would just skip Wifi 6.
Orbi has other cheaper model AX now avialble. There are more 6 supporting devices for AX then 6E. No reason to wait for 6E unless one is a first adopter or just gotta having it. Some users may only need AC or not have a need to future proof. N or AC may work for most current average home users. Having stable wifi in the home maybe more important than the latest and greatest. Just becuase they approved 6E doesn't mean it really works well out in real world environments. I'm still seeing problems with AX and not seeing 4800Mbps connection rates on my supporting devices. But thats another story.
https://www.techspot.com/news/83483-wi-fi-alliance-introduces-new-wi-fi-6e.html
"The FCC has already unanimously agreed to open the 6GHz band for use in next-gen Wi-Fi. However, it still has some regulatory hoops to jump through before OEMs can start implementing it globally."
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