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Forum Discussion
Orbi switch connection
I have the Orbi router and three satellites. I need to connect three 24 port switch boxes to the network. Must I connect the switches to the router or can I connect a switch to each satellite?.
Thanks, I have a 6,000 sf house and have widely distributed TVs, music, cameras and phones, which is why I spread 3 24 port switches within the house. Not all are full, but I like a port available when needed. I doubt speed is critical so I will test moving the switches to satellites, because running long ethernet wires across the attic from one router is difficult.
That's a large area to cover. It sounds like you already have the three switches installed and wired back to a router. Is that the case?
Yes you can connect switches to the satellites just as you would connect wireless devices to a satellite vs. the main router, especially if speed is not critical.
I have Time Warner with my own modem, which has only one ethernet port. I run it to the Orbi router. I bought the 4th satellite today and it appears to have installed correctly. Each satellite has a 24 port switch connect to it which also appears to work. The satellites are positioned at the 4 corners of the house. The external garage is away from the house but I buried an ethernet cable to it. The router has hubs plugged into the ethernet ports: Samsung, Sonos, and Arlo Pro. I connected the X8 R8500 into the ethernet in the external garage and the ports work but its wi-if does not. I appears to be there but message says "no internet connection". This appears to be a common Orbi problem, secondary wi-fi's do not connect. So I am left with another switch if I have multiple devices. Does anyone know how many switches can be connected in series? I have tried that before and sometimes it works and sometimes it does not.
Elvisj wrote:I connected the X8 R8500 into the ethernet in the external garage and the ports work but its wi-if does not. I appears to be there but message says "no internet connection".
There is no way for the Orbi to know you have a secondary wifi connection. Based on your description that the R8500 ports work, but the WiFi does not, it sounds like you have the R8500 connected incorrectly and/or misconfigured.
Setup the R8500 in Access Point mode. Make sure the cables are connected correctly for AP mode. This means connecting one end of the Ethernet cable to a LAN port on the Orbi router and the other end to the Yellow Internet port of the R8500.
See page 89 of the R8500 manual for instructions on how to setup and wire the R8500 router for Access Point mode:
http://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/R8500/R8500_UM_4jan2016.pdf
