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Forum Discussion
Solved
Cannot Pair RBS750 Satellites to RBR750P Router
I've been using the RBR750 with two RBS750 (FW 7.2.6.31) satellites with excellent reliability and ease of use for 5 years.
Several days ago, after a lightening strike near the house, my router failed. I have since purchased (from a local Best Buy) a system composed of an RBR750P (FW 6.3.8.5_1.4.80) router and a single RBS750P (FW 6.3.8.5) satellite.
My hope was to install the new system (router and (1)satellite) and add the old (2)satellites to that system. The new router and satellite paired immediately on power up. Regrettably, I have been unable to pair the RBS750 satellites to the RBR750P router after extensive phone support (6 hrs) from Orbi/Netgear customer support. These agents believe these older satellites should be compatible with the new version of the router even though the firmware (while the most current for each device) is NOT the same.
We have done factory resets on both of the older satellites and attempted to pair with and without the Orbi app. We have attempted to pair using wifi and cabled connections.
After all of these attempts the front LED on the older satellites initially go solid blue (suggesting a successful pairing) but then cycles to solid amber and then goes dark. The Orbi app network map only shows the newer satellite and router.
While the pairing attempts with the older satellites have been unsuccessful, I've observed the following behavior for the RBS750 (older) satellites:
1) Each of the satellites are broadcasting wifi over the RBR65 default ssid noted on the bottom of the satellite. I can log into this wifi ssid (with no internet connection) using the default userid and password.
2) Each of the older satellites will appear on the RBR750P router device list as a "netgear" router with a unique IP address which I can use to log into the satellite using the admin credentials. It appears that I could change the firmware on these satellites if I wanted to revert to another version other that the most current (7.2.6.31).
3) The MAC address in the device list for these devices is indexed by one in the rightmost character from the MAC address listed on the bottom of the satellites.
I would appreciate any guidance on the following:
1) How can I successfully pair these devices? Does anyone have experience successfully pairing these devices?
2) Is there any diagnostic I can run on the RBS750 satellites to confirm their function?
I sincerely appreciate any advice this community could offer.
Chris Turner
Spring Hill, TN
I see now that the compatibility chart clearly shows that the RBS750 is NOT compatible with the RBR750P. When purchasing the replacement system, Apparently, I need to purchase a RBS760 satellite to be compatible with the RBR750P router. I made the mistake of assuming that the 750 series model numbers would be compatible. I wish I would have looked at that chart sometime during the first hour of my time with the tech support (would have saved us 5+ hours on the phone). Thanks to each of you for your help and Merry Christmas!
8 Replies
Could you please look at the product label on one of the new satellite and verify the product number?
(i.e. is it RBS750P or RBS760P)
My guess is that you're screwed. Not surprised that Netgear support could not come up with a solution. The "official" list of Orbi compatible satellites does not list the RBS750P satellite at all:
https://kb.netgear.com/000065169/Which-Orbi-routers-and-satellites-are-compatible
(Notice that it says the RBR750P is compatible with only one AX satellite, the RBS760. Either Netgear failed to include the RBS750P or the satellite is named RBS760P)
Firmware for the 750 product line jumped from version 4.x to version 7.x (with no 5 or 6 in between) in summer of 2023 when the IoT feature was introduced.
The 750P product has had only one firmware release (the first, dated 2/9/2024)
Satellite compatibility has been a puzzle with the AX products. Whereas the original Orbi WiFi5 systems allowed all of the satellites (RBS50, RBS40, RBS20, RBS10, RBS30W) to connect to any of the routers (RBR50, RBR40, RBR20, RBR10), the AX products seem to function differently. The few instances of "inter-connection" have led to customers experiencing strange problems (such as the RBR750 router with RBS350 satellites which fail if the router firmware is upgraded).
I have this terrible premonition that your choices are:
- Purchase additional RBS760P satellites if you require more coverage (certainly not cheap), or
- Return the purchase to Best Buy and get a different package (or a different system entirely)
Thanks for your quick response. I've confirmed that the product label is RBS750P. Regrettably, I've discarded the packaging for my 750P purchase and Best Buy will not accept the return. I just didn't anticipate this kind of compatibility problem with this family of products.
Seems that the 750P series is from a 350 series hardware, thus this sepecific version of RBS and FW is not compatible. You'll need to downgrade the RBR750 back to prior working version of FW for the P series kit, RBR and RBS.
