Orbi RBK50 Setup with Verizon Fios

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ender3424 wrote:

3) Leave Verizon Router in line from the ONT, keep it as a router, connect Orbi to LAN port. This would be a double NAT config, which I am thinking may not be ideal? Could disable wifi on Verizon Router and then just connect wired/wifi devices to Orbi, but then everything would still be flowing through the original Network on the Verizon router.

There is one in wall ethernet drop run from the 1st floor closet with current verizon ONT + Router up to the 3rd floor. So I was thinking I could put Orbi router in 1st floor, use ethernet backhaul to connect to the satellite which is placed on the 3rd floor, or vice versa.

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Very good description of the problem.  Item #3 is incomplete.  If the Verizon router stays, putting the Orbi in Access Point (AP) mode will eliminate the "double NAT".

Regarding the single (1) in wall ethernet, which for discussion we assume will handle gigabit speed.  Ordinarily, I recommend placing the Orbi router where the most traffic sensitive devices can be connected to it, preferably using ethernet.  However, with only a single ethernet cable, putting the router on the 3rd floor would "use up" that single cable, leaving the satellite with only 5G WiFi for backhaul.  My choice would be: router on floor 1, satellite on floor 3.

As Retired_Member says, WiFi placement is tricky.  Ordinarily, "center of the space" is best, unless of course all the devices are on one side with nothing on the other side.  Metal, stone, and brick degrade WiFi signals more than air and drywall.  So, next to an AC duct is a non-starter.  WiFi radios do not perform as well when they are stacked vertically.  Typical omni-directional antennas have a "torroid" radiation pattern, with significant nulls directly above and below.  After experimenting, you may find that the satellite needs to be "offset" horizontally from the router.

Good luck.