Orbi RBR50 Using the Orbi as a AP

[Piquard]

I live in Australia and have Fibre to the Home internet connection. The National Broadband Network (NBN) connection box is located in my garage which is apart of the house. The house has been wired with ethernet connection points located through out the house from a Hills Home Hub unit in the garage. I have a TP-Link Archer VR1600v modem/ router connected to the NBN connection box and have numerous ethernet cables connected to the LAN ports on the Archer modem/router, which are connected to the Home Hub.

I intend to connect the main Orbi unit to one of the ethernet connection points inside the house and use it as an AP. And place the Satellite at the other end of the house to provide good WiFi coverage.

I intend to turn the WiFi radio OFF, so not use that function on the Archer Modem/router. I intend to use the Orbi WiFi coverage.

My questions are.

Does this mean that I will be only using the Archer Modem router's features? ( which i am happy with )

If the Orbi main unit is set up as an AP will the Satellite unit still sync with the main Orbi unit?

Does this mean that the Router functions on the Orbi unit are all diabled?

Are there any settings on the main Orbi unit that I need to disable so there is no conflict with the Archer modem?

And will the Armor protection, which is activated on the Orbi unit, function as before?

Thank you for your assistance

[michaelkenward · Accepted solution]

---

@Piquard wrote:

Do you know if the Orbi is set to the AP function whether the Armor Protection provided on the Orbi, which I have subscribed to, will still function?

---

No idea. But I'd doubt it. After all, Armor is router level protection. At least, it was when I tested it.

This will give some clues although it isn't Orbi specific:

Disabled Features on the Router when set to AP Mode | Answer | NETGEAR Support

It also predates Armor, and, like many KnowledgeBase articles, needs an update!

Something for @Christian_R, @ChristineT or @DexterJB and the Netgear team to consider?

[michaelkenward]

That's a bit of a complicated saga. (I can't see what your end goal is.) But one thing you should try to avoid is having two, or more, devices on your network that work as routers.

Two routers on your network can cause headaches. For example, you can end up with local address problems. Among other things, the other router can misdirect addresses that the Netgear router usually handles, such as routerlogin.net or the usual IP address for a router, 192.168.1.1.

This explains some of the other drawbacks.

What is Double NAT? | Answer | NETGEAR Support

You seem to have that covered.

---

@Piquard wrote:

If the Orbi main unit is set up as an AP will the Satellite unit still sync with the main Orbi unit?

---

Yes.

It seems to be common practice for people to use Orbis in AP mode, probably because they have better routers. (I have the R7800.) And unlike many routers, configure it properly and the Orbi in AP mode does let you get into to control it fairly easily with the Orbi app. No need to dive in and out of AP mode for firmware updates, for example.

In AP mode, the Orbi does not routering. That is down to your other other router, which should still manage everything else.

[Piquard]

Many thanks for your help, it is appreciated. The reason for having this setup is to remove the Orbi from  a rather warm to hot garage, and to have it inside the house to provide better coverage than it might in the garage.

Do you know if the Orbi is set to the AP function whether the Armor Protection provided on the Orbi, which I have subscribed to, will still function?

Again thank you for your help.

[michaelkenward · Accepted solution]

---

@Piquard wrote:

Do you know if the Orbi is set to the AP function whether the Armor Protection provided on the Orbi, which I have subscribed to, will still function?

---

No idea. But I'd doubt it. After all, Armor is router level protection. At least, it was when I tested it.

This will give some clues although it isn't Orbi specific:

Disabled Features on the Router when set to AP Mode | Answer | NETGEAR Support

It also predates Armor, and, like many KnowledgeBase articles, needs an update!

Something for @Christian_R, @ChristineT or @DexterJB and the Netgear team to consider?