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cheshbr's avatar
cheshbr
Apprentice
May 21, 2018

Use Of RBW30 to fill in dead spots

As I get in deeper with Orbi, i can identify a couple of spots in an under-cover outdoor area where most devices connect to the Satellite because its much closer than the router, which is further away and in a room with walls and doors, but then the devices disconnect and become tied to the router for some inexplicable reason, with a much poorer signal strength according to the NetGear Genie.  (Occasionally I loose my Lifx bulbs and TP-Link Kasa switches), so I'm putting it all down to the range or distance over which these devices must communicate with the satellite.

My satellite is Ethernet-wired to the router, and my Orbis are in Access Point mode.

 

My questions:

1.  if I purchase a RBR30 wall mounted Orbi satellite, and dedicate it to my under-cover outdoor area, which is entirely open-plan - no walls or substantial doors (screens yes), the nearby devices should latch on to the RBW30 and stay there because, hopefully, the signal path would be stronger.

2.  The RBW30 has no ethernet capability, so can I have two satellites - one hard wired and the other on a the default 5GhZ WiFi backhaul on the same network?

 

I would welcome any other tips and tricks, and more info about the RBW30

 

Thanks

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Troubleshooting

3 Replies

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  • DarrenM's avatar
    DarrenM
    Sr. NETGEAR Moderator
    May 21, 2018

    1. Its not recommended to put a normal satellite outside we do offer the RBs50Y which is a outdoor unit with a wall mount.

     

    2. yes you can.

     

    DarrenM

    • cheshbr's avatar
      cheshbr
      Apprentice
      May 21, 2018

      Thanks.  I said that the area in which I plan to put the RBW30 is an undercover outdoor area. It is a fully roofed area with sliding-screen walls and doors, and there is no prospect of an RBW30 mounted there getting wet. The strength of this area is that all smart lighting (Lifx) within it, and other devices truly outdoors, would in direct line of sight of the Orbi RBW30, whereas at present there is a solid brick wall lined in plaster and in-wall insulation between my RBS50 satellite and the outdoor area. I think it is this obstruction that occasionally causes complete disconnects, and forced roaming to the router, much further away. 

      I’m trying to find out of an RBW30 will fill in the black spots with a consistent, reliable and strong WiFi signal