Orbi installation

There are many options that are affected by physical constraints:

• Where is the internet service and is it simple to extend it to the center of the building?
  For many of us, internet service is "where it has always been" on one side, or even one corner, of the building.
  The optimal location for the Orbi router is usually in the center of the building, with satellites arranged in a "star" around it.
  Determining where the router will be is the first step.
• Is there ethernet wiring throughout the house from the router location?
  Using ethernet cabling to connect satellites to the router provides the best results.
  A lack of cabling was why I invested in Orbi in the first place.  The separate 5G WiFi backhaul link provides the best connection and interferes the least with device connections.
• Using WiFi backhaul, satellites have to be close enough to the router to get a strong signal, but far enough away that their radios do not compete too much with the router.  In practice, a distance of "about 30ft." (10meters) seems to be the "sweet spot".
  Of course, a satellite is not going to be placed in the middle of a room, behind a metal appliance, etc.  There has to be an electrical outlet nearby.
  Unless service outside the building is desirable, locating Orbi's on the exterior wall "wastes" much of the radio coverage, since the antennas are omnidirectional.
• That outbuilding may be a challenge.  WiFi doesn't carry 100's of feet.
• Most Orbi's have sat in storage along the distribution pipeline, and thus arrive with firmware that needs to be updated.
  Best to get this out of the way before doing any serious configuration on the router.
  Update satellites first, then the router.
  Most people recommend after the firmware is updated, to do a "factory reset" on all the devices to ensure that you are starting out with clean systems.  Since little configuration has been done to this point, there is no serious time lost.
• I (persoanlly) would elect NOT to activate Armor or Disney Circle at first.
  There seem to be enough complications there to warrant caution, and you can always go back and activate them if you want to.
• An important issue is whether the Orbi will be set up as a router or as an Access Point (AP).
  If the internet service device is a simple modem, then the Orbi will be given the public IP address and must be set up as a router so that devices in the building can get individual IP addresses.
  If the internet service device is a modem/router, then one of them has to be made NOT a router.
  Either that device should be put into "bridge mode" (sometimes called "passthrough"), or the Orbi should be put into AP mode.
• People on this forum are generally much more comfortable configuring and managing the Orbi using the web interface with a computer that is wired to the Orbi router.  (That's why there is a separate forum for the Orbi "app".)

Probably more than you wanted to hear.