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DaddyMan's avatar
DaddyMan
Aspirant
Oct 15, 2018

Want to use Orbi RBK53 as primary router and mesh with Airport Extreme as extender

I am replacing my Apple Airport Extreme Base station router with Orbi RBK53 and want to re-purpose my Airport Extreme (AE) as an extender/beacon (in bridge mode) but without using any ethernet cables from the AE. I am fine if the AE needs to be plugged in to the Orbi for the time I need to go through the factory reset and re-setup as a bridge, but operationally I would like to have the AE setup as a bridge/extender/beacon in my basement (well within signal range of the router RBR50).

 

Can anyone confirm this is do-able? Existing answers I have read on this forum all say that the have cables running to the router or a switch connected to the router - this unfortunately is not an option for me!

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Installation

9 Replies

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  • FURRYe38's avatar
    FURRYe38
    Guru
    Oct 15, 2018

    You can use AE in wireless bridge mode if it supports it. It should connect to the 5ghz radio on the orbi as a connected client. 

    You'll have to try this out and see. You'll need to refer to Apples support site and information on configuration of the AE...

    • AC641's avatar
      AC641
      Luminary
      Oct 15, 2018

      Is using a couple of Powerline Adapters an option to give you the Ethernet connection?  

      • DaddyMan's avatar
        DaddyMan
        Aspirant
        Oct 17, 2018
        AC641 wrote:

        Is using a couple of Powerline Adapters an option to give you the Ethernet connection?  

        I would still have the issue of running cables from the adapter to the Airport Extreme (AE) Basestation as extender/bridge. It's an impractical option but slightly better than running Ethernet cables end-to-end through walls & floors...

    • DaddyMan's avatar
      DaddyMan
      Aspirant
      Oct 17, 2018
      FURRYe38 wrote:

      You can use AE in wireless bridge mode if it supports it. It should connect to the 5ghz radio on the orbi as a connected client. 

      You'll have to try this out and see. You'll need to refer to Apples support site and information on configuration of the AE...

      FURRYe38 - will have to try that - so far it seems experimentation is the way to go forward - will be an undertaking and sharing on this forum - any thoughts on how do I ensure testing if the AE is functioning as desired?

      • ekhalil's avatar
        ekhalil
        Master
        Oct 17, 2018
        DaddyMan wrote:
        will have to try that - so far it seems experimentation is the way to go forward - will be an undertaking and sharing on this forum - any thoughts on how do I ensure testing if the AE is functioning as desired?

        I tried to connect my Airport Time Capsule wirelessly to Orbi but that did not work for me! I did not get the option "Extend Cusrrent Network" that you usually get if the network is from another Airport router.