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Forum Discussion
Linking two nighthawk mesh extenders
Can two ex8000 extenders be liked to each other via Ethernet and then one end of the chain be linked wirelessly to a Nighthawk R8000 router to make a long seamless mesh chain? My router is in one building with the modem, while the extenders are in a nearby building, but only one extender is in range of the router. I understand the hazards of a wireless daisy chain, but if two extenders are wire-linked via Ethernet, will it work as a system? Thanks!
3 Replies
Not like you'd expect.
The EX8000 doesn't work in mesh mode if running with the wired backhaul.
You can daisy chain them but make sure they're far enough apart.
I take it you're wanting to go:
modem----R8000------->EX8000----->EX8000?
I do usually advise people to move to a full mesh system like orbi if you're needing more than 1 extender or wanting to mix wired/wireless backhaul.
Thanks. The diagram is essentially correct.
modem--------> R8000 ----------> EX8000 ----------> EX8000
cable. WiFi. cable
Would this work if the final EX8000 was set to a different SSID as A regular WiFi extender instead of same like a mesh? I understand that this system isn't quite true mesh like Orbi, but I already have it and am trying to make it work. Worst case, could I simply use both EX8000's as extenders (not mesh) as shown above?
yes you can.
The time when people run into issues is when the distal extender connects back to the router and not to the closer extender signal.
It does this because there isn't a controller in the system and it just connects based off ssid.
You can try it that way or try it with the middle extender having its own unique ssid so you know which signal to connect the further away device too.
