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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!!
.
Thanks Michael, sounds reasonable. Some final questions / validation points though...
michaelkenward wrote:
Mats-cz wrote:When using Orbi together with Nighthawk there was a recommendation to use Orbi for wireless and not have Nighthawk doing any wireless (when acting as router). Not sure if anyone else has similar or different experiences?!
That is the usual advice. There are a couple of reasons for this.
For a start you don't want too many wifi sources around to interfere with each other and to confuse your wifi clients. And Orbi systems usually come with satellites and "Mesh" technology that provides a smoother handover from source to satellite as you move around with your wifi clients.
Question: do you have the Orbi devices connected by wire to the router or wireless between Orbi? I assume wired should help bandwidth? My plan would be to add another Orbi satellite to cope with the devices and i assume best would be to connect it with cable to the router? Or do you have a different view?
I have experimented with turning on and off the router wifi (the R7000 in your case but here an R7800). I saw no adverse effects. But my Orbi is about 20 feet away and on Powerline ethernet. I generally keep the wifi off on the R7800 because I don't need it.
Question: do you use the same SSID as on Orbi or a different one?Question: do you have the router wifi on or off in your current setup with Orbi attached? If i read it right you only use Orbi wifi?!?
The Orbi is generally designed to be easier to use, but that can mean less controllable, a feature that upsets some propeller heads who like to mess around under the bonnet, often for no obvious reason.
Mats-cz wrote:Could a new Nighthawk make a big difference even if i do not use it for wireless?
Only if you desperately need a new router and it has features that you lust after.
The R7000 continues to be one of Netgear's workhorse routers. It gets features like Circle and Armor but at the expense of removing features that are important to some people.
Question: There is something in the oruter called "Dynamic QoS" which uses a a database for performance but it has not been updated since 2018-06-21. Do you use this function as well? if yes - does it work well or do you use something else / disabled?
The newer incarnation of the R7000, the R7000P, based on a different chip, is still on sale. Netgear even has the R7000 in stock.
So, work out what you want to do and get the kit that can do it.
Thanks!
There's a lot going on in there. And my attention span is not great.
Let's deal with this bit, it is important:
Mats-cz wrote:
Question: do you have the Orbi devices connected by wire to the router or wireless between Orbi?
You can't do a wireless router > Orbi link.
The Orbi router has an access point mode, but not a wireless bridge (repeater) mode.
Your other questions are down to personal preference and are best answered when you have worked out what you really want to do.
My mistake in phrasing the question. What i meant to ask was - do you have your Orbi's connected through an ethernet cable and thereby they remain connected by ethernet cable between the orbi devices. i assume they can thereby communicate through the Ethernet cable (backbone). I understand the R7000 cannot connect with Orbi devices apart from through ethernet cables. Unable to insert a picture but... from my router (R7000) i have a Cat5 cable connecting to the Orbi Router which is in AP mode. Another cat5 cable goes from the router to the Orbi Satellite AP on 2nd floor. Does this make sense and what you are using as well?.I read a lot on teh Orbi being connected wireless to each other but is that better?!
For my other question (perhaps i should try the chat with netgear sales) - can you bring in Orbi Pro as a third device or are they not compatible at all with RBR? There are som every good pricing on Orbi Pro at the moment here...
https://www.dustinhome.se/product/5011041531/orbi-pro-srs60-tri-band-sattelite
And thanks for all help. I think i have most of it figured out now...
michaelkenward wrote:
There's a lot going on in there. And my attention span is not great.
Let's deal with this bit, it is important:
Mats-cz wrote:Question: do you have the Orbi devices connected by wire to the router or wireless between Orbi?
You can't do a wireless router > Orbi link.
The Orbi router has an access point mode, but not a wireless bridge (repeater) mode.
Your other questions are down to personal preference and are best answered when you have worked out what you really want to do.
Found another thread on comparison outside this community. so, Pro do NOT connect to Orbi "normal" it seems...
https://justclickappliances.com/netgear-orbi-vs-orbi-pro/
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!!
.