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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 ...
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.
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.
leahkushner wrote: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.
You have correctly identified the primary benefit of a "mesh" WiFi system over using extenders. Unless a WiFi device never moves, keeping track of which extender to use at any given time is frustrating.
leahkushner wrote:Nighthawk 4-5 years old BUT it keeps cutting out meaning all of a sudden we lose 5 or the 6 access points.
Nighthawk routers are generally very reliable. If the Nighthawk is losing internet connectivity often, there is probably an underlying problem which may affect any replacement router. While this is separate issue from dead zones and multiple SSID's, it needs to be addressed.
leahkushner wrote: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.
If the printer is connected to the network over WiFi, the only devices which can print to it must also be connected to the WiFi network. Does this count as "password protected"? Most people use a router feature to "assign" a network address (IP) to the printer based on the Media Access Control (MAC) address of the WiFi adapter in the printer. (or the MAC of the ethernet adapter if it is connected using an ethernet cable.)
This is a really awkward time to be purchasing a new WiFi system. "Mesh" is not unique to Netgear. Prices on WiFi 5 systems (such as Orbi, Google Mesh, Velop, Ubiquiti,.....) are dropping as vendors release new "WiFi 6" systems. Netgear even has two competing lines of mesh WiFi products: Nighthawk and Orbi. Back in 2018 when I looked for a mesh system to fully cover my house, Netgear Orbi was hands down the "leader" in every review I could find. Today's WiFi market is entirely different.
