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samueljps's avatar
samueljps
Aspirant
Dec 05, 2018

I have AC1900 Nighthawk Rtr but need to extend, so what to buy? Orbi System or Nighthawk extender?

Hi guys, 

I need to extend the coverage of my AC1900 Nighthawk, looking to see if I should buy Orby System or a NightHawk extender?

If I have to buy Orby System to replace my current router, I need one that has at least 3 ethernet ports plus the one for the ISP carrier. 

 

Please let me know your thoughts. 

Thanks, 

Samuel

Before You Buy

8 Replies

  • StephenB's avatar
    StephenB
    Guru - Experienced User
    Dec 06, 2018

    Can you give us some idea on the size of the area you need to cover - number of floors, approx. square feet (or square meters) per floor, and some idea of construction (wood, brick, concrete, etc)?

     

    Also, how many dead/poor coverage areas do you have?

    • samueljps's avatar
      samueljps
      Aspirant
      Dec 06, 2018

      Hi Stephen, 

      Thanks for replying. 

      Area that I need to cover is 2800sq feet. My house has 2 floors, 1 floor has kitchen, living room, garage (that I need coverage too) and my office. 2nd floor has 3 rooms + playroom. Construction of the house is wood. 

      NightHawk 1900 is located on the living room, 1st floor. My office is a poor coverage area (same the guest bathroom, besides that office) but the garage is fine, kind of weird. On the 2nd floor, there are many dead spots or weak areas, master bathroom for example is terrible on the second floor. 

      I have been researching because I want to do a smart investment and not just a workaround for few months. 

       

      Please let me know if this helps. Thanks again.

      Sincerely, 

      Samuel 

      • StephenB's avatar
        StephenB
        Guru - Experienced User
        Dec 06, 2018

        That is helpful.

         

        Either the Orbi RBK40 or the RBK50 should provide full coverage, and have enough LAN ports.  My own home is 3 floors, ~3500 square feet.  The RBK50 gave me better performance than the RBK40. I get ~300 mbps or better throughput throughout the house.  My router is placed about 25% along the long axis of the house on the ground floor, the satellite is about 25% from the opposite wall on the second floor.  I'm using ethernet backhaul, but it makes a good connection without that also.

         

        There is one caveat - most WiFi clients are limited to 2x2 802.11ac @ 5 Ghz - that would be an 866 mbits max link rate.  But there are a couple of devices that are 3x3 - in particular the Macbook Pro.  If you happen to have one of those, there would a drop in the wifi speed when that particular client was connected to the main Orbi router.  

         

        A mesh extender could work out too, but since you have a dual-band router you wouldn't to dedicate a router radio to the backhaul.  So the Orbi would give you better overall performance.  The Orbi should also be cheaper than replacing the router with a triband Nighthawk and buying the mesh extender.

         

        Powerline networking is another possibility - putting a PLW1000 in the office (connecting the other powerline adapter to the router).  That might not help on the second floor though.