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Forum Discussion
RBR50 and MR1100
I'm in a rural area and I have slow DSL (2Mbps) but the AT&T tower is nearby and we just got a MR1100 hotspot which averages about 40Mbps down. I'd love to send that signal throughout the house so I also got an Orbi.
I have read numerous posts here and elsewhere about how set up an Orbi with a MR1100 hotspot. The instructions seem fairly simple but I have one hurdle that prevents me from getting there. I cannot connect to the Orbi to make any changes (like setting it as an AP). The orbilogin.com page always shows me a Netgear error page.
On my iMac and my HP Envy I can see the Orbi (on Mac it shows up in System Preferences > Network as another WiFi network but choosing it results in a WiFi error. I have connected the Orbi Router's WAN port via a Cat 6 cable to the single MR1100 Ethernet port. I have rebooted everything, tried different cables but I get similar results on OSX 10.12 and Windows 10 - no Orbi login. The iPhone Orbi app doesn't see the Orbi at all.
I'm guessing there is one step missing. Can anyone help?
4 Replies
Alas, I fear you got the wrong gizmo. The user manual specifically says on page 11, "You can connect an Ethernet-compatible device to this port.Your mobile router can send data received from your service provider’s mobile broadband network through this port, but cannot send data receivedon this port out over the broadband network. Devices connected to the mobile router over WiFi anddevices connected to this port can send and receive information to each other. " Here's a link to the User Manual I found on the web:
https://www.netgear.com/images/InstallationGuide/mobile/MR1100ATT/MR1100ATT-USERS-MANUAL.pdf
In other words, an Orbi router connected to this cannot contact the internet.
Being battery powered, my guess is that this gizmo is intended to use as a portable hot spot. i.e. take it on a picnic, and everybody there can user their WiFi things. What you need is a regular LTE router.
As mentioned in my original post, I found several posters that stated they connected the MR1100 and Orbi. Here's one:
Here's an MR1100 connected via Ethernet to a different Netgear Router:
The manual page you cited calls the port a LAN/WAN port. In the section you quoted there seems to be two sentences directly contradicting each other. "Devices connected to the mobile router over WiFi and devices connected to this port can send and receive information to each other." If the ports can send data back and forth I should be able to access the Orbi in order to change its settings, even if it doesn't work to send broadband out over the Orbi network - though the other posters state that it can be done.
I'll try also posting a similar question over in the MR1100 section.
Thanks for your reply.
Good luck. I seriously hope that my reading of the User Manual is incorrect.
- This is bad information that is absolutely incorrect. If you have not attempted the what the user is asking then it’s irresponsible to respond with advice. This frustrates me so often on NETGEAR forums. It confuses users when they read advice from someone who hasn’t even attempted what they’re asking about.
I’ve successfully used the MR1100 with firmware 12.05.05.00 as a modem and used the Orbi mesh system RBR50 as the router for full cover of a 3,200 sq. ft. location. Turn IP Passthrough on, DHCP off (this is generally the case) and disable Etherne standby. I do not believe I used port forwarding.
Once I had everything setup on the MR1100, I restarted it and the orbi (both parent and child) and the MR1100 as the modem and Orbi as the mesh wifi has been working very well for 6 months in a row so far. (I use OTR mobile’s service in the MR1100 discussed in this message.)
