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Orbi placement concerns
Having one router / WAP near the edge and the other WAP (satelite) near the middle of the home is a poor layout for optimized coverage. Reminds me too much of single WAP systems this Orbi mesh system...
Every home is different but this is our general guide for common house layouts: http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/31029/~/where-should-i-place-my-orbi-satellite%3F
The optimal placement does very depending on the layout of the home.
You can experiment a bit to see what works best for you, but there's a good chance you'll find the first place you put the Satellite works great.
Most internet connections have wiring that terminates at the edge of the home. Yes some of the coverage of the router would fall outside the home. Unless you are able to place the router in a more central location (due to internal wiring) there's not much that can be done about that.
Our focus has been on performance with a dedicated wireless band. As we've gone for performance rather than trying to minimise the size of the unit at the expense of performance, we also put a lot of effort into designing Orbi to be aesthetically pleasing. Whilst the router might be tucked away somewhere the satellite could be e.g. in the living room where it could be in the field of vision a lot.
I have a single story 2026 sq ft home with a small wiring closet that is almost in the center of my house. This is where my cable modem and current router are located. From this location I have CAT5e runs to wall jacks in all my rooms. I use small switches in a few of the rooms that feed TV, Roku, DVD, server, desktops, etc.
I’m slowly building a smart-home and some of the devices are Wi-Fi only, case in point, my Ring doorbell. Sometimes the connection is fine and other times, not so good. In other parts of the home I have Wi-Fi security cameras that have the same problem.
My current wireless router is in need of an upgrade because of those areas around the house that lack good Wi-Fi service so I’m looking at the Netgear Orbi. Because my cable modem is located in the wiring closet, the Orbi router will need to go there. Where should I put the satellite unit so I’ll have the optimal coverage?
hi at 2026 sq ft i think the orbi system would be overkill and would not achieve good results as the units would be just too close together and create issue with overlap and roaming issues , i have a single story house thats just over 4000 sq ft and the single orbi router and 1 sat is plenty , and in my case running the second saty causes an overlap issue , i believe how orbi see it , 1 router = 2000 sq feet , 2 router and sat = 4000sq ft , 3 router and two sats = 6000 sq feet
tbh at that size you prob best of with a single wireless AC unit something like r7000 up to the r8500 , i have just started looking at the r8500 and it covers from one end of my house to the other without any disconnects and my wemo down the other end work fine
seeing as you can place the router in a central location i would suggest any good wireless ac router would be fine and prob saze you some money
Thanks Peteytesting for the feedback. I currently have a Netgear WNDR3700/N600 and as I add more wireless devices to it, i've noticed a slowdown in performace. Randon speedtests at the same locations vary day by day. Like I previously said, with the Wi-Fi cameras (4), a couple of Echos, a couple of thermostats, a couple of smartphones, tablets and a couple of laptops.
I use the wired portion of my network for everything else. I'll look at the R7000 & R8500 to see if they can handle the workload.
the 3700 is pretty old now and prob well past its prime esp in the wifi world , you will notice a quite dramatic improvement in your wifi if you go with any wireless AC router solution , however speed tests usually dont prove a lot when it comes to congestion and other factors
as an example
wndr 3800 at 25 meters gets around 2MB/s throughput
r7000 at 25 meters gets 20MB/s throughput
you also have both built in amps and beamforming in wireless ac routers that improve performance and coverage
there is plenty of choice in the wireless AC world so do some homework and work out what router has the features you need and the price point that is right for you
pete
