Looking to buy The ORBI OUTDOOR Range Extender but will it work?
I currently use an AC900 Nighthawk R7000 router and it covers my entire home quite well except for one issue. Outside on the patio it works well when the sliding glass doors are open, but when they are closed it's hit or miss and does not always work. I am guessing this has sometjhing to do with the sun film in the doors which I am also assuming may be a metallic film but don't know. Will the ORBI outdoor Range extender solve the problem? Or will I be running into the same issue when the patio sliding glass doors are closed?
Re: Looking to buy The ORBI OUTDOOR Range Extender but will it work?
Maybe we are talking about different devices. The Orbi RB50Y is what we think of as the "outdoor" unit. I looked at the product web page, and did not see a reference to connecting it to the Nighthawk line. https://www.netgear.com/orbi/rbs50y.aspx
Re: Looking to buy The ORBI OUTDOOR Range Extender but will it work?
Well it does say "any router". Might be worth a try.
However I would recommend matching the wifi specs for the RBSY to a better wifi router. Something that has the same wifi specs so as you get the best performance between the wifi router and the RBSY. The R7000 would be limited by only two radios and
Re: Looking to buy The ORBI OUTDOOR Range Extender but will it work?
Thanks for the advice. Sounds like you know your stuff. Much appreciated. Still, however, I am not sure a new router and extenbder oudoors will receive the signal through the sliding glass doors which have some kind of sun film in them. As I mentioned previously, the router covers my entire house almost 3,200 sq feet and works fine outside when the sliders are open. Butdoes not work much of the time when the sliding glass doors are closed. I may have to try your recommendation.
Re: Looking to buy The ORBI OUTDOOR Range Extender but will it work?
Thanks my setup is a Nighhawk AC1900 R7000 Router; Cable 250MB/24MB.
You're probably right about the building materials. If the sun film manufactured in the slider is metallic it will no doubt have a negative effect on any router or extender I buy. Currently the router is about 60 feet from the patio however it is also that far away from two other rooms inside the home and it works just fine. My only other otpion might be to install a direct cable line on the patio which I neglected to do when I built the home. Thanks again for all you advice.
Re: Looking to buy The ORBI OUTDOOR Range Extender but will it work?
You might check in to some Power Line units to see if you can connect the router to the remote location and then install a dedicated wireless AP there. Only works if the power line is on the same circuit as the router though.
As I mentioned previously, the router covers my entire house almost 3,200 sq feet and works fine outside when the sliders are open. Butdoes not work much of the time when the sliding glass doors are closed.
Sorry I neglected to complete my answer. The issue with sliding glass doors with metallic film is that people generally sit in locations where the doors may be between them and the WiFi system. An external WiFi access point would be ideal if it can be located where it gets a good signal from the base WiFi and is also open to the outside area. Depending on how the walls are constructed, the exterior access point could be placed above the patio doors, or on another part of the wall. Another solution is to place another access point next to the wall to one side of the patio doors so that it will radiate through the wall rather than the glass.
The benefit of placing another access point on the interior is running electrical power is simpler and the unit is not exposed to weather. That is why many exterior units (Orbi, Ubiquiti, etc.) power their outdoor units with Power over Ethernet (PoE). One small "low voltage" cable is a lot easier to pass through a wall than it is to install 120v power externally.
Re: Looking to buy The ORBI OUTDOOR Range Extender but will it work?
"The way to go" is not necessarily an Orbi outdoor rated unit. Since you already own and are happy with the Nighthawk R7000, it is probably worth a few minutes investigating a Nighthawk range extender. My brief search did not turn up one rated for outdoors, but there are a bunch of extenders that could be located indoors against the wall nearest the patio.
There is also an active R7000 user forum. Someone there might have addressed this exact problem.
Re: Looking to buy The ORBI OUTDOOR Range Extender but will it work?
Yes, I have also looked at range extenders associtaed with the Nighthawk router and as you say, none were rated for outdoors. But it may be possible to mount one on the wall closest to the patio. Thanks
