Hey guys, Networking amateur here, hoping someone can help clear some things up for me. I recently purchased an Orbi RBK50 for a new house after recommendations from a friend. I was experiencing pretty frequent network switches to cellular when walking around and this new place has fiber so the speeds are great and I figured I just needed better wireless coverage. I have a Nighthawk R7800 that I like and was under the impression that this Orbi would just extend the range of my existing 2.4/5ghz networks with the Orbi mesh network. During setup it started to dawn on me that this was not the generally intended use but then I found the AP mode and thought I'd give that a go. So I set it up in AP mode but the default Orbi SSID was still listed as an availble WiFi network which led me to believe that the AP setting did not take as I expected it to just assimilate my pre-existing custom 2.4 and 5ghz networks. Now I've changed it so that Orbi SSID/password matches my pre-existing SSID so it's not longer separately visible, is that enough? How do I know if everything is working correctly? I don't want to have interfering network signals or something like that, is it enough to just match SSID's and our mobile devices should switch to the best access point as seamlessly as possible (given the coverage of course?)

Sort of. You can also plug devices into the Orbi router and satellite, but their IP addresses will still be assigned by the Nighthawk, and the Nighthawk will still be the one making the routing decisions. All the wifi will be handled by the Orbi, but both the Nighthawk and Orbi can handle wired connections. Generally, you only want one router on your network (putting the Orbi in AP mode means it won't count as a router for these puposes). You'l get one IP address from your ISP, and then your Nighthawk will give all your devices something in, say, the 192.168.1.x address space, using network address translation (NAT) when it communicates with the internet. But if the Orbi is in router mode, it will will also get an IP address from the Nighthawk, and will have to use a different IP address space, say, 192.168.2.x for devices connected to it. You won't be able to use 192.168.1.x on both the Nighthawk and Orbi. And the Orbi will also have to do NAT to commuicate with what it thinks is the internet, but which is actually only your Nighthawk's network. Double-NAT can cause problems, and is something you should avoid. And no, the Nighthawk can't function as part of the mesh. Right now, generally, you can only use routers and satellites sold as part of a mesh system (Orbi, Velop, Google Wifi, etc.) in a mesh system. None of them are compatible with each other, and you can't even just add another Netgear router to the Orbi to expand it, can't add another Linksys router to a Velop system, etc. Maybe someday there will be more compatibility, but not yet. If you use the Orbi and Nighthawk with the Orbi in AP mode, and both with the same SSID and password, you will basically have two different networks with the same name and on the same IP network. But, at a functional level, it won't really be any better than giving them different SSIDs and passwords, other than saving you from having to configure your devices twice. You'll also probably have some problems with some functions. If you use file sharing, devices connected to the Orbi and Nighthawk will be on different networks (despite the SSIDs being the same), and won't be able to see each other. If you use access control lists, any devices that move around will have to be added to both. Same with any reserved IP addresses. And, any changes you make will also require logging into the Orbi to change there, and then logging into the Nighthawk to make the same changes again there. If you use the Nighthawk as the router, and the Orbi as the APs, then you'll basically only have to log onto the Orbi to change wireless settings (SSID, password, which channels you use), and all other things will be done from the Nighthawk (ACLs, reserved IPs, blocked sites and services, scheduling, etc.).

If you want to use the Orbi for better wifi coverage, but want to keep the Nighthawk as your router, you did right to put the Orbi in AP mode. But you also need to go into the Nighthawk and disable the wifi on it. You can have both the Orbi and Nighthawk broadcasting the same SSID, but I don't think you'll get the same handoff between one of the Orbis as the Nighthawk as you do between the Orbi router and an Orbi Satellite.

Hmm interesting, thanks for the reply, so if I disabled the WiFi on the Nighthawk then I am letting the router do it's thing for the direct wired connections and the Orbi's are exclusively handling all Wifi connections.My initial thought of having the Nighthawk WiFi and Orbi WiFi working in harmony isn't possible then? The Nighthawk can't function as another element of WiFi coverage that is part of the larger mesh network along with the Orbi? It's one or the other?

randomousity wrote: .......... Maybe someday there will be more compatibility, but not yet. ......... Beside what randomousity mentioned, you can theoritically have Orbi and your R7800 router use the same SSID but with different channels (to avoid radio interference). The only thing that is not guaranteed to work is roaming. Orbi supports 802.11k, v and r. Only if the R7800 router and your devices support these standards you will be able to roam without issues between the coverage areas of the 2 base stations. I could not find information about R7800 roaming specs. Most probably you will not see issues with idle roaming (when the devie roams between base stations in idle mode), but you might see drops if you roam while using apps like Skype.

I really appreciate the thorough responses, thanks guys. I disabled the WiFi radios on my Nighthawk and I think I've got it all squared away now. Thanks for helping me make sense of all this.

Orbi AP Confusion | NETGEAR Communities

15 Replies

randomousity
Luminary
Dec 23, 2018
If you want to use the Orbi for better wifi coverage, but want to keep the Nighthawk as your router, you did right to put the Orbi in AP mode. But you also need to go into the Nighthawk and disable the wifi on it. You can have both the Orbi and Nighthawk broadcasting the same SSID, but I don't think you'll get the same handoff between one of the Orbis as the Nighthawk as you do between the Orbi router and an Orbi Satellite.
- Jamesom
  Guide
  Dec 23, 2018
  Hmm interesting, thanks for the reply, so if I disabled the WiFi on the Nighthawk then I am letting the router do it's thing for the direct wired connections and the Orbi's are exclusively handling all Wifi connections.
  
  My initial thought of having the Nighthawk WiFi and Orbi WiFi working in harmony isn't possible then? The Nighthawk can't function as another element of WiFi coverage that is part of the larger mesh network along with the Orbi? It's one or the other?
  - randomousity
    Luminary
    Dec 23, 2018
    Sort of. You can also plug devices into the Orbi router and satellite, but their IP addresses will still be assigned by the Nighthawk, and the Nighthawk will still be the one making the routing decisions. All the wifi will be handled by the Orbi, but both the Nighthawk and Orbi can handle wired connections. Generally, you only want one router on your network (putting the Orbi in AP mode means it won't count as a router for these puposes). You'l get one IP address from your ISP, and then your Nighthawk will give all your devices something in, say, the 192.168.1.x address space, using network address translation (NAT) when it communicates with the internet. But if the Orbi is in router mode, it will will also get an IP address from the Nighthawk, and will have to use a different IP address space, say, 192.168.2.x for devices connected to it. You won't be able to use 192.168.1.x on both the Nighthawk and Orbi. And the Orbi will also have to do NAT to commuicate with what it thinks is the internet, but which is actually only your Nighthawk's network. Double-NAT can cause problems, and is something you should avoid.
    
    And no, the Nighthawk can't function as part of the mesh. Right now, generally, you can only use routers and satellites sold as part of a mesh system (Orbi, Velop, Google Wifi, etc.) in a mesh system. None of them are compatible with each other, and you can't even just add another Netgear router to the Orbi to expand it, can't add another Linksys router to a Velop system, etc. Maybe someday there will be more compatibility, but not yet.
    
    If you use the Orbi and Nighthawk with the Orbi in AP mode, and both with the same SSID and password, you will basically have two different networks with the same name and on the same IP network. But, at a functional level, it won't really be any better than giving them different SSIDs and passwords, other than saving you from having to configure your devices twice. You'll also probably have some problems with some functions. If you use file sharing, devices connected to the Orbi and Nighthawk will be on different networks (despite the SSIDs being the same), and won't be able to see each other. If you use access control lists, any devices that move around will have to be added to both. Same with any reserved IP addresses. And, any changes you make will also require logging into the Orbi to change there, and then logging into the Nighthawk to make the same changes again there. If you use the Nighthawk as the router, and the Orbi as the APs, then you'll basically only have to log onto the Orbi to change wireless settings (SSID, password, which channels you use), and all other things will be done from the Nighthawk (ACLs, reserved IPs, blocked sites and services, scheduling, etc.).

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Orbi AP Confusion