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Forum Discussion
I cannot see my second Orbi System in the app
Hi - I have installed 2 Mesh Systems (RBK753). One in my main house, and one in a house I am renting. Both are working perfectly, but I can only see the one installed at my main house on the app. Any ideas how I could see both systems (or switch for one system to another) in the app?
3 Replies
The Orbi 'app' installed on an Apple or Android device can monitor many separate Orbi systems.
This is possible because the app has an optional feature: Anywhere Access. This feature is found on the Settings menu which opens after pressing the menu symbol in the upper left of the screen. (Often called a 'hamburger menu' because it resembled a hanburger: bun/meat/bun. I would have preferred 'pancake menu', but I am often bewildered by internet terminology.)
There are several keys to this:
Key1 is that Anywhere Access can be enabled only when the device running the Orbi app is connected locally to the Orbi system. After Anywhere Access is enabled, the device running the Orbi app can be connected to any network, "anywhere".
Key2 is that every Orbi system administered by an Orbi app must be linked to the same Netgear login. It is the Netgear login that provides the link in the Netgear Cloud between the app and the Orbi system.
Key3 is that every device running the Orbi app is distinct. Anywhere Access might be enabled on one iPhone (for example) and not on another one. (I have the Orbi app installed on four different Android devices. If I wanted to add another device using Anwhere Access, I have to connect all four of them locally to the Orbi WiFi and enable Anywhere Access on each one.) Forget to bring one on the trip? Too bad.
One feature of Anywhere Access that annoys people (and has prompted comments on the forum) is that the Orbi app uses the physical model number of the Orbi router when offering a choice of systems to manage, rather than the name that we have so carefully given the router. So, if the user has four Orbi RBR750 systems called "Tom50", "Dick50", "Harry50" and "Jan50", what will appear in the Orbi app is "RBR750", "RBR750", "RBR750", "RBR750"
Thanks for the tips - do you know if there is a way to check with "access anywhere" is set up on my other system, knowing that the 2 houses are 2000 miles apart? I just can't go there easily and just check it.
When the app is opened, selecting that menu in the upper left brings up the screen with a list of the systems available to manage at the top (see screen shot):
This shows my Orbi 'app' connected to the one Orbi system it can manage. (another) of the things that annoys me about the Orbi app is that the software engineers try Anywhere Access first and if it works, they do not attempt local access. So, here I sit connected by WiFi to my Orbi router and every action taken with the Orbi app goes through the internet to the Netgear Cloud, then back through the internet to my router. And, responses come back through the same internet pathway. OK. "it works,so what's the matter?"
If you see only one device, you're screwed. Either fly 2,000 miles or mail a cheap smart phone to someone you trust who can go over to the property to set up Anywhere Access, who can mail it back to you...... (probably not)
I do not see a solution
