Orbi + Nighthawk X10 - best configuration when both used?

[jwckauman]

I have both a Nighthawk X10 and an Orbi RBK50. I got the Nighthawk first when i lived in a small house. It provided ample WiFi to the entire house and just as importantly,  it acted as an Ethernet switch for all my wired devices (4K TV; XBOX; Workstations, etc.) and i had Ethernet in the home to get those devices from their respective locations back to the Nighthawk.  Then i moved to a much bigger house that did not have Ethernet in the home. The Nighthawk had to go on the 3rd floor as that is where the 4K TV, XBOX and Workstation all live.   It wasnt strong enough to send WiFi down to the 2nd and 1st floors. I tried Extenders but those didnt work either. I then tried Orbi (one main unit and two Satellites). That has worked better but i dont know if i had the best configuration as WiFi is still weak and inconsistent. 

What would be the optimal setup with these two solutions?   I have my internet service coming into the house via an Arris cable modem.

1. Which order?  Arris -> X10 -> Orbi? or Arris -> Orbi -> X10?

2. I have X10 still providing WiFi. Would you disable that? Is that causing problems for Orbi?

3. There is something called bridge mode, right?  Should i have that enabled and if so, on which device?

4. Would i be much better off removing the X10 and putting a pure switch in it's place?  if so, where would it go in the order of things? (Arris -> Switch -> Orbi? or Arris -> Orbi -> Switch?).

Any other advice, tips or experiences is much appreciated.  Thank you in advance.

[plemans]

If you look in my signature you'll see how I hooked mine up. I don't have the X10 but I have the RAX200. 

I went Modem---RAX-----Orbi (in ap mode)/switches.

I did this because the rax has a bit better processor, a 2.5g port, and link aggregation for wan/lan. I placed the Orbi in AP mode and just use it for wireless and hardwired satellite coverage. 

I disabled the 2.4ghz on the RAX and just use the 5ghz channels. I've been able to keep the wifi channels far enough apart to keep them from overlaping/causing issues.   

It works great. 

But everyone's situation is different and you can try multiple configurations to see what works best for you. 

[jwckauman]

Thank you!  I had somebody tell me that the two wireless networks could be overlapping. Is that a real thing?  If so, how do you prevent it? (Sorry, i'm not that well versed in such things).

[plemans]

They can/do overlap a bit. You can minimize this a bit. I disabled 2.4ghz my RAX but didn't need to for my home. I did it to be nice to my neighbors as there's quite a few 2.4ghz in my area.  If you live in a rural area with not many wireless routers broadcasting, you'd be fine.

5ghz has more channels available to help avoid overlap. I could write a whole article on it but luckily that's been done several times by others. Each article focuses on differnent wifi spectrum overlap and both articles are pretty short. Worth looking at. 

https://www.metageek.com/training/resources/why-channels-1-6-11.html

https://www.maketecheasier.com/best-wifi-channel-for-5ghz-frequency/