This topic has been marked solved and closed to new posts due to inactivity. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.
I wonder whether you can help me choose the right router to replace our 7-year old R8000 AC3200 router, which appears to be failing.
We run a home office and have 2 people in the main building and 3 people in a building that is 150ft away with clear line of sight from window to window connecting to another router that is set up as an access point. It can happen that up to two people are streaming video and one to two people on a video conference call at the same time, but that would be the absolute maximum in use. The R8000 has worked for this set up until not too long ago.
I am considering purchasing the new Nighthawk RAXE300 even though we only have one device at this time that can connect to the 6 GHz network. With the old R8000 having had two radios for 5 GHz and the RAXE300 only having one, will this reduce performance? Should we rather go with the older RAX200 router?
I looked at the Orbi AX6000 as well, but I don't think it'll work with the distance of 150ft to the satellite.
I'd really appreciate your thoughts in the matter.
Ok, I figured out the problem with the RAXE300. The MAC address for the internet connection was the problem. It wouldn’t let me use the default one, then it wouldn’t connect at all. But there was one stored in the R8000 and using that one, I finally get the proper speed.
As for the connection to our neighbours, we’ll have to see how it works over the next few days.
We run a home office and have 2 people in the main building and 3 people in a building that is 150ft away with clear line of sight from window to window connecting to another router that is set up as an access point.
150 feet is a stretch for wifi. And a router set up as an access point depends on having a wired connection back to the main router.
How is your R8000 connected to your anonymous router? Or is that the main router with something else in the "remote" office?
I looked at the Orbi AX6000 as well, but I don't think it'll work with the distance of 150ft to the satellite.
I am surprised that the R8000 covers that distance.
AX6000 is not a unique Netgear model number. Many devices come with the AC/AX tag, but it is essentially a label that Netgear, and others, attach to hardware to describe wifi speeds.
Orbi's AX6000 is a router plus satellite bundle. Orbi Pro WiFi6 Router Model SXR80 plus Orbi Pro WiFi6 Satellite Model SXS80.
Thanks for the response. The R8000 is the min router directly connected to the internet modem. The access point in the other building is connected by WiFi to the R8000. It is a wireless router configured as an access point. Yes, it is almost surprising how well it has worked for the past 7 years.
I have seen a review online where they tested the range of the RAXE300 and got over 170ft in an unobstructed environment.
Sorry for not having been specific, I was referring to the Orbi RBK852.
The access point in the other building is connected by WiFi to the R8000. It is a wireless router configured as an access point. Yes, it is almost surprising how well it has worked for the past 7 years.
By definition, an access point is wired back to the main router. If it has a wifi connection to the R8000, then it is probably an extender or a router in extender mode. Hard to tell without more details on what it is.
Yes, it is almost surprising how well it has worked for the past 7 years.
I would look for something designed for those circumstances.
What makes you think that the R8000 is the issue rather than this remote device? It could even by a change in the local wifi environment, with someone else moving in on the same channels that you are using.
You’re of course right. The router in the other building must have been set up as an extender. I didn’t do it myself. It was done by a network specialist at the time.
i’m starting to suspect a problem with the R8000 as it does no longer show the internet as being disconnected when I experience the short outages. It took almost 5 minutes to reboot and connect to the internet again last week. It never took that long in the past.
You mentioned it would be better to get a set up that is designed for these circumstances. I do not know what that would be and the Netgear dealer didn’t offer any other suggestions either with the exception of the Orbi system.
You mentioned it would be better to get a set up that is designed for these circumstances. I do not know what that would be and the Netgear dealer didn’t offer any other suggestions either with the exception of the Orbi system.
The trouble is that Netgear doesn't make extenders designed for those "long distance" connections. The Orbit might be perfect if it works, but I doubt if Netgear would guarantee to cover that distance. Sources on "wifi range" are confusing.
The specs say that it would be suitable for "large homes". But that is because it comes with satellites that can spread the wifi. The Orbi range used to include an Outdoor satellite but that seems to have died the death.
You’re of course right. The router in the other building must have been set up as an extender. I didn’t do it myself. It was done by a network specialist at the time.
I'm a little doubtful of this "specialist," as anyone who knows anything about Wi-Fi isn't going to recommend that setup for a business environment. Business class setups should be designed for stability. The extra money you put into them is worth it.
Pay someone to bury and underground rated ethernet wire between the 2 buildings and connect them properly. Or buy a point-to-point system and mount them properly for a reliable connection. it should't be setup by a "specialist" with one in each window at the max of wifi connection. That's sketchy at best.
Then pickup a decent mesh system to have them connected.
Sadly, Netgear EOL'd the Orbi Pro's (hopefully, a new one will come out), but a solid mesh consumer one would work fine or switching to an insight managed version would be great for a business.
Avoid the "it should connect" options for a business. There shouldn't be downtime or instabilities on a connection your business relies on.
I appreciate your response and that certainly would be the proper way to go, no doubt. To clarify through it’s actually just our neighbour using our internet for household purposes and this setup has worked flawlessly with the R8000 for the past 7 years. I even checked the speed the were getting from the R8000 over the weekend and at 150ft distance, the full 50mbps down and 10 up came through without a problem.
Picked up a new RAXE300 yesterday and waisted an entire day to get it to work properly. It seems to throttle the internet to a fifth of the speed our ISP provides. Hooked up the R8000 again, full speed. Unfortunately sometimes the R8000 drops the connections altogether, or I wouldn’t have looked for something new right now. Beyond disappointed in the new Nighthawk. Spent hours chatting and on the phone with Netgear, so far no solution.
The issue is within 6ft from the router. Sigh. Tempted to find an unused old R8000 again.
Ok, I figured out the problem with the RAXE300. The MAC address for the internet connection was the problem. It wouldn’t let me use the default one, then it wouldn’t connect at all. But there was one stored in the R8000 and using that one, I finally get the proper speed.
As for the connection to our neighbours, we’ll have to see how it works over the next few days.
