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dashrendar2112's avatar
dashrendar2112
Aspirant
Aug 20, 2020
Solved

RBS40V-200 wired backhaul to R7000 router?

Hi all,

 

This is a question regarding the RBS40V-200, which works with any router, as opposed to the RBS40V, which works with only the Orbi system.

 

I currently have an R7000, located in the basement in one corner of an 1900 sq ft house.

 

It works great and provides good coverage to the basement and first floor and vertically to the 2nd floor. It struggles a little on the opposite corner of the 2nd floor.

 

I currently have an Alexa Echo speaker right in the middle of the house, on the first floor in a center location. I have also have a wired Gigabit ethernet connection available in this central location (via MoCa).

 

I read tha the RBS40V-200 satellite can work with either an Orbi mesh system or any third-party router.

 

I wanted to potentially disable the Wifi on the R7000, but still keep it as a router, and replace the Alexa speaker in the central location with an RBS40V-200 satellite using wired ethernet backhaul to the R7000 (it would essentially function as an access point).

 

My questions are: Can the RBS40V-200 work in this manner? I think it would be ideal in my situation.

2 Replies

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  • Mstrbig's avatar
    Mstrbig
    Master
    Aug 30, 2020

    Yes you have to put the RBS40V-200 into Extender mode, to work with the R7000 router. 

    1. Place your Orbi Voice near your router.
    2. Connect your Orbi Voice to a power source.
    3. If your Orbi Voice is on turn it off, then press and hold the Sync button.
    4. While holding the Sync button, press and release the Power button to power on the device.
    5. Wait for the ring LED to pulse white and light blue.
    6. Release the Sync button. The Orbi Voice satellite should now be in extender mode and the ring LED will pulse light blue, wait until the ring LED turns solid light blue.
    7. Once the ring LED turns solid light blue, your Orbi Voice satellite will be in extender mode and ready for setup.
    8. Use the app to configure your RBS40V and activate Alexa voice. Note: In order to use Alexa features on the Orbi Voice you will need to have or create an Amazon Alexa account and enable voice.
    9. After the setup is complete, move your Orbi Voice to its new location.
  • dashrendar2112's avatar
    dashrendar2112
    Aspirant
    Sep 07, 2020

    I was worried because the product mentioned NOTHING about Access Point mode, only Range Extender. Why would NetGear support one mode and not the other? But I thought I would check it out, so I took a risk and ordered it.

     

    Good news! I was able to get the RBS40V satellite to work in Access Point (AP) mode *on its own*, *without* needing an Orbi Mesh router (RBR50), which is amazing because I saw zero documentation of this ability--not in the manual, not in Reddit, and not in review sites unless I missed something.

     

    Right now, I have it working with my existing NetGear R7000 Nighthawk router.

     

    For whoever is interested in running this satellite in AP mode, follow the manufacturer's instructions as normal, which sets it up as a Range Extender using the Nighthawk phone app.

     

    Once you're done and everything is working fine, do the following:

    1. Note down the IP address of the Range Extender (Check your main router's device list)
    2. Log into it from your Internet browser. Create an username/password and/or an account as necessary.
    3. Once you log in, click on "Smart Setup".
    4. Click on "Access Point" and then follow the instructions. Make sure you're ethernet cable is connected between your router and the Orbi Satellite's port on the back.


    Note: You CANNOT use the mobile app to switch it to AP mode. I don't know why.

     

    I confirmed this by disabling WiFi on my main router (R7000). Now I have great WiFi coverage in my entire house from this single satellite located centrally in the house.

     

    Alexa is working great on it. I don't really notice a difference between this and the Amazon Echo I had before, except that it is definitely physically beefier.

     

    One issue I noticed was that Spotify Connect works only if Alexa is not configured, which is weird and I am thinking it's an issue with the firmware rather than the AP configuration. I will mess more with it to see if I can Spotify to work, before I contact NetGear about it.

     

    Based on the above, I don't need the RBR50 or any mesh systems to get this to work in Access Point (AP) mode.