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Nighthawk R7000 + Orbi RBR50 - apps, Armor and a lot of devices... best approach?
Hi, I tried to search the community but have not found what i was looking for so if i missed something, feel free to just point me to the right thread... I have a 2 floor house, wooden. approx 1...
To sum up this thread for any future useage:
You can find best setup in the following links in regards to Orbi:
https://www.tech21century.com/netgear-orbi-questions-and-answers/
https://averagetechblog.com/how-to/netgear-orbi-settings/
After review of several sources and chat within this thread, it seems having the router (R7000) as router is the best thing but disable the wifi of the router. Use Orbi as main Wifi-connector!
If you can, then connect Orbi by cable to the router, disable daisy-chain in Orbi RBR50 unless you have 3 satellites or more OR have in a chain situation like RBR - Sat - Sat approach... and if you have them connected by wore / cable to the router you should not need to have daisy chain either...
So, above are my findings after a lot of reviews and questioning.
Netgear Armor has for me been very useful, covering unlimited devices. The portal is still a bit "crappy" but finctionality remains good. Both Orbi as well as the R7000 can enable Netgear Armor for you.
If you want to use teh Nighthawk APP you need to enable and connect to the Nighthawk wifi (i set up a small "admin SSID" that i use now and then but disable it, when in "normal use".
Also, please note - my R7000 did NOT find the latest firmware that was released in early April. I had to update manually to close the security flaw. Might be useful to know!!
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Mats-cz wrote:
To sum up this thread for any future useage:
This observer, me, cautions against believing that the advice in this Solved message is the one and only way out.
It may work for some people but others might like a more conventional approach.
In particular, this bit is confusing:
Mats-cz wrote:
... it seems having the router (R7000) as router is the best thing but disable the wifi of the router. Use Orbi as main Wifi-connector!
This may, or may not, be suggesting that a good approach, depending on your circumstances, is to use the Orbi in Wireless Access Point mode. It is certainly the way to proceed.
Using the right label, Wireless Access Point, is important because it tells people where to look in the settings for the device.
Whether you turn off the wifi on the router is up to you. It may make no difference here. I have tried it on/off and it does not do much if you have separate SSIDs.
As to this bit:
Mats-cz wrote:
If you want to use teh Nighthawk APP you need to enable and connect to the Nighthawk wifi (i set up a small "admin SSID" that i use now and then but disable it, when in "normal use".
You don't need to faff around with 'a small "admin SSID"', whatever that means. The Nigthawk app works as is. With an Orbi in AP mode, "Remote Management" does the trick or use a browser wired to the network and aim it at the usual address.
I find it much easier to use standard practice than to resort new tricks, but it is always good to have feedback and suggestions.
Thanks for the feedback Michael and sorry if the summary was not clear enough. As stated in the message::
"So, above are my findings after a lot of reviews and questioning"
So again - the summary is what has worked out for me personally based on my setup which i stated at the start of the thread and after getting advice in this community as well as searching the artciles which i also included as references. Others might find other solutions more suitable so i do not claim this is "the bible". It works for me so far and i am adding another Orbi satellite in order to cope with the no of devices as well as expand my network. I see no real reason to "clutter" my network with a number of different SSID's where i actively need to go in and change so - i disabled those.
if the information can help others - great. If not, well... it seemed to help me so i simply tried to sum it up instead of leaving the thread "hanging" and open.
Have a great day!