I recently signed up for--and installed-- a T-Mobile Gateway router. I have an RBR50 router that works fine. The T-Mobile device is weak in the extremes of the house. Is there some way to make use of the Orbi as a satellite to boost the T-Mobile wifi signal?

Orbi Satellites can only connect to Orbi RBR units. RBS can't connect to any other non Orbi system. So no. RBRs only work in router or AP modes.

RBR50 Used as a satellite? | NETGEAR Communities

FURRYe38
Guru - Experienced User
Nov 14, 2022
Orbi Satellites can only connect to Orbi RBR units. RBS can't connect to any other non Orbi system. So no. RBRs only work in router or AP modes.
CrimpOn
Guru - Experienced User
Nov 14, 2022
flyerpicker wrote:

Is there some way to make use of the Orbi as a satellite to boost the T-Mobile wifi signal?

No. Netgear Orbi routers (the R in RBR50) can never be used as a satellite (on Orbi or any other router). What can be done is to connect the RBR50 to the T-Mobile router with an Ethernet cable and use the RBR50 as a standalone WiFi system. If the cable is long enough, that might extend WiFi coverage far enough to be useful. However, the RBR50 WiFi and the T-Mobile WiFi will not be coordinated. Devices will not roam seamlessly between the Orbi and T-Mobile. In general, the impracticality of installing the Ethernet cable and the lack of interoperability make this sort of solution impractical.

However, depending on which T-Mobile gateway you have, some claim to be "Mesh Compatible". Check this out:

https://www.t-mobile.com/home-internet/gateway

The user manual, however, does not appear to contain any information about "Mesh Compatibility".

https://files.customersaas.com/files/CvUYJmmeNQwM9W6XY24h3g95.pdf

After quite a bit of searching, I have yet to find anything about "Mesh Compatibility". So Sad.
flyerpicker
Aspirant
Nov 14, 2022
Thank you so much!
Jim