I've just installed an Orbi RBS760 system in my house with 4 satellites.
I want to get wifi in my back garden but am not sure what product to add. It looks like the WAX610Y is Netgear's only outdoor product. However, I have gotten some advice that it may not be a good idea to add an extender to the Mesh system. It may not work well.
Until about 2015, WiFi Extenders were routinely used to extend WiFi coverage over a wider area. The main drawback to extenders was that WiFi devices did not roam seamlessly between units. Users would find that performance suffered as a mobile device stayed connected to a WiFi access point that was farther away than a nearby unit. People had to realize, "oh, crap" I need to restart the WiFi on my tablet (phone, laptop, etc.) Mesh systems were created by Google, Netgear, TP-Link, etc. to address this problem. The result: seamless roaming.
So, if the goal is to provide WiFi to devices which remain in fixed locations, WiFi extenders (from any vendor) are fine.
One potential solution is to locate indoor satellites next to outside walls (or even in windows which do not have metallic film) so that half of their signal "goes outside". With four existing satellites, there may be significant outdoor coverage already (depending on the construction of exterior walls). The problems with locating indoor satellites outside include (a) getting electrical power to them, (b) sheltering them from weather and extreme temperatures, and (c) getting the WiFi connection to them. Outdoor rated WiFi extenders address these issues mostly by using Power over Ethernet (PoE) to provide both the power and signal. Low voltage Ethernet cable is relatively easy to pass through exterior walls.
No one knows why Netgear did not produce a WiFi6 version of the RBS50Y outdoor rated satellite. (Perhaps they didn't sell enough to justify the cost?) There is no obvious benefit from purchasing an outdoor rated WiFi extender from Netgear.
Hmmm, I have the 753 system (router and two satellites) and I get excellent coverage within our 3500 sq. ft. and outside (which is about a 1/2 acre). The router is downstairs and both satellites, hard wired, are upstairs at opposite ends of the house. Unless your property is really big, 4 satellites should provide adequate coverage.
Maybe you just need to reposition your satellites. Are they hardwired back to the router?
Thank you for the advice. It was really helpful. Previously, I had no wifi signal more than 15 feet into the garden. I have now positioned one of the satellites to the back of the house, on an upstairs bedroom window ledge (inside). It is wirelessly connected. It has improved the signal in the garden but just "okay". The router is downstairs at the front of the house (can't move it) and the other 3 satellites are hard wired.
1 satellite is in the attic (hard wired)
1 satellite in a cupboard below the television (hard wired)
1 satellite in the kitchen suspended ceiling (hard wired)
Bit of a theme. All the satellites are "covered" or "enclosed" in some way. Would that have a significanlty negative impact?
3 satellites are hard wired to the router - 1 downstairs in kitchen suspended ceiling, 1 downstairs in a TV cupboard and 1 in the attic. The 4th is now connected wirelessly and on a bedroom window at the back of the house pointing to the garden. It has definitely improved the wifi in the garden but it's just okay. We have a need to get a wifi signal to the back of the garden - approximately 60 feet from the back of the house. Is that distance unrealistic without an extender?
The more material a WiFi signal must pass through, the more the signal is reduced. It's physics. Orbi units are clearly designed to "blend in" typical environments. (no ugly antennas sticking in all directions). Guessing that the attic is occupied?
There is a difference between signal strength and performance.
Signal strength is affected by the distance/materials for the connection between satellite and user device. In open air, 60 ft. might be "ok". (Can you temporarily open the window and see what difference it makes?)
Performance involves how the internet connection gets from the router to the satellite. Does the WiFi connection to that satellite in the window link it with the router, or with one of the wired satellites?
This is also affected by what user devices out at the end of the garden will be doing. Getting alerted to email and processing messages or surfing the web, for example, doesn't require much bandwidth. Even streaming a 4K video (for "movie night in the garden" requires only 25Mbps. A 2.4G connection might be perfectly acceptable.
I've always followed the practice of keeping the router and satellites elevated and in the open as much as is possible. Nothing around them. As far as your distance, there are lots of factors that can affect performance so you may have to experiment with that one coverage area if that's your only issue with your home WiFi.
Thanks for reporting this mix of Residential Orbi and Business (Insight) products. Could you comment on their observation about seamless roaming? ***
My searches do not turn up much from Netgear regarding mixing the two product families. Three years ago, one Netgear employee responded "no" in response to a similar question:
Seamless roaming is the key characteristic of mesh WiFi networks. Years ago, people created wider WiFi coverage areas by deploying WiFi Extenders, connected to the primary WiFi system with cable or over a WiFi link. Even if an extender is defined with WiFi credentials exactly matching the primary system (SSID/password), a common complaint was that mobile devices would stubbornly hold onto an existing WiFi connection that was getting weaker and weaker, rather than switch to a different WiFi access point with a stronger signal. At some point, the mobile device will "give up" on the existing connection, search for WiFi access points that it knows the credentials for, and connect. The problem people experienced was that performance would become poor or that there would be a gap in service before the re-connection took place.
Thus, a person might have a mobile device (phone, tablet, laptop) that is connected to the primary WiFi system, but not be actively using an application that is sensitive to the connection. Moving outside and away from the indoor Orbi, it might switch to the outdoor WAX610Y and they would not be aware. However, if actively streaming video, or on a network phone call, they might be aware of a "glitch".
Mesh WiFi networks that appeared in 2015-2016 addressed this problem by actively using IEEE standards that manage the transition between WiFi access points.
*** Thus the question: Has this client commented specifically about how this mix or Orbi and WAX710Y performs as a mobile device transitions from indoors to outdoors (or back) while actively using a network application?
