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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 ba...
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.