I intend to replace my Apple AirPort Extreme and several Apple Express units as extenders with the RBK50.
Our home is 2500 sq ft with basement and an attached 1000sq ft garage.
The AirPort and extenders currently cover the whole house reasonably well.
We built this house so the ISP modem terminates in the basement near the middle of the house then the network CAT 6 cable feeds to the main level about the middle of the house high on a wall where the current Apple router sits then feeds a patch panel to some hardwired devices. The hous is an open floor plan.
My question is; if I put the Orbi router high on the same wall where the Apple is, do I put the satellite in the basement and purchase another satellite for the garage, or????
Again, sorry for the long post but about to pull the trigger on the Orbi and want try to place the unit(s) in the right place.
Thanks,
Model: RBK50| Orbi AC3000 High-Performance Tri-Band WiFi System
I had an airport extreme before but was never satisifed with the stability of it. If your house is completely wired you may not get as much benefit from Orbi as someone that has no wiring. Question is why are you replacing your current system?
Anyways - what you have planned should work. I would try to place the router and then do a scan around the house to see where you have deadspots before placing the satellite into its final place. The airport utility on iphone or ipad have a built in scan - just go into options and turn on the ability to scan and then walk around the house.
One satellite may do well enough or if you need two and if costco is an option they seem the have the best price for the set of 3.
Thanks for the reply. Stability is one of the issues. (Although, I am seeing some really bad things concerning the Orbi's most recent firmware upgrade.)
And, AirPort Express units in several places haven't really helped the wireless issue much as it seems they tend to loose some speed when you add them.
My Airport Extreme was in storage for almost a year while building the house and even though it has the latest firmware update from December, it doesn't seem to have the punch it once had. While most of my major pieces (receiver, TVs, Apple TV, etc.) are hardwired I still see a degredation with the ouput of the AirPort.
Good call with the airport utility. I will do that.
I will give Costco a try. I want to get the unit this week. But, really am concerned about the bad reviews of the most recent firmware. I am hopiing that has been resolved.
