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ctu5000's avatar
ctu5000
Aspirant
Oct 29, 2018

RBR40 - Configuring as Access Point

I have searched/read existing discussions/knowledgebase articles, (and talked to customer support without much help) but haven't found a clear answer to my question...

I have an existing wifi network with a traditional router providing both wireless and hard-wired ethernet connectivity near one end of the building.  I have an RBR40 Orbi router which I would like to set up as an access point in a more central location, hard-wired through an ethernet drop back to the existing router, in order to provide better coverage.

Right now both the existing router and the Orbi are running in "router" mode.  Before I change the Orbi to "access point" mode, I would like to know if it will be possible to also change the Orbi SSID to be the same name as the existing router, so that users will only see one SSID and not be confused by multiple SSID's.  If so, will their wireless devices automatically connect to the "best" signal (ie, either the Orbi or the existing router) as they move throughout the building?

Thanks...

Installation

4 Replies

  • FURRYe38's avatar
    FURRYe38
    Guru - Experienced User
    Oct 29, 2018

    You sould need to make sure the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz radios are far from each other for each router unit. Your main host would be set to 1 and the Orbi to 11 on 5Ghz. 

     

    I would be best to disable the main routers wifi and just run the Orbi wifi alone...

     

    Is this in a home or apt? 

      • FURRYe38's avatar
        FURRYe38
        Guru - Experienced User
        Oct 30, 2018

        You can use the DMZ on the 1st router if you wish to use the 2nd router in router mode. Just need to set a different IP address on the 2nd router, ie, 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.5.1.

         

        Let u know how it goes. 

        ctu5000 wrote:

        Thanks... I'll take a look at that.

         

  • ekhalil's avatar
    ekhalil
    Master
    Oct 30, 2018
    ctu5000 wrote:

     

    ......

    Right now both the existing router and the Orbi are running in "router" mode.  ....

    No, it's absolutely not possible to have both Orbi and your existing router in router mode. You will have conflects in IP addressing and there will be no way for your devices to communicate properly with each other.

    You should only have one and only one router.