Nighthawk r8000 and Nighthawk MR60 Mesh

[dchando]

I have the r8000 wifi route, and I purchased the nighthawk mesh system, thinking the 2 could co-exist under a single SSID.  Is this possible and has anyone done this without having to hardwire more that one router?  I cant seem to set either the MR60 or the r8000 routers in repeater mode, so i essentially get conflicting wifi networks.

Thanks for any help on this

[plemans]

The R8000 isn't a mesh device. 

You can set it with the same ssid as the MR60 but its not going to help/make it a mesh. What'll happen is devices connected to the R8000 will be "sticky" and not want to roam as they should versus the devices connected to the MR60. 

What you can do and what I've done? 

run the R8000 as primary with the wifi having its own name. Either for backup or for a few dedicated devices. And then connect the MR60 to it in access point mode to provide the wireless coverage you want. 

Or set the MR60 as the primary and connect the R8000 to it with the R8000 in access point mode.

but I'd stress to make sure the R8000 uses its own ssid name to prevent devices from "sticking" to it. 

[dchando]

@plemans that was unfortunately the answer I was expecting.  would be nice to be able to use the r8000 as simply an extender.

I also have the Nighthawk X6S, which integrated perfectly into the mesh system, except that I only see it as a device on the network, not as a satellite or extender - that is when viewing it in the nighthawk app.  Any thought on making these compatible devices visible from a single "mesh" view in the app?  

[plemans]

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@dchando wrote:

@plemans that was unfortunately the answer I was expecting.  would be nice to be able to use the r8000 as simply an extender.

I also have the Nighthawk X6S, which integrated perfectly into the mesh system, except that I only see it as a device on the network, not as a satellite or extender - that is when viewing it in the nighthawk app.  Any thought on making these compatible devices visible from a single "mesh" view in the app?  

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It'd be awesome if they were all integrated and could function as "mesh" 

But they don't. The orbi is designed with the router controlling the setup with satellites as access points. 

Your extender works but I'd be a bit uncertain if its performing to the same level the orbi router and satellites are.