RBS50 Satellite won't sync with Outdoor extender RBS50Y

[jandmmartel]

We have the Orbi Outdoor Mesh Extender (RBS50Y) , which has worked wonderfully for the past year.  We have some dead spots in the garage, so I purchased a satellite to use in conjunction with it (RBS50).  I cannot get the Satellite and Extender to sync up (shows Magenta each time).  I've upgraded the firmware on the extender, tried moving things around to various locations and have followed the steps in the quick start guide.  No luck.  FYI the Outdoor Extender is used in conjucntion with our Xfinity gateway.  Not sure if that matters. The Satellite will be at least 25/30 feet from the Outdoor extender in a garage.  Any ideas on what I am doing wrong here?

[plemans · Accepted solution]

the problem is that you don't have an orbi router controlling it. 

The RBS50Y and the RBS40V are the only 2 orbi devices that have an extender mode. The rest only sync with an orbi router. 

[plemans · Accepted solution]

the problem is that you don't have an orbi router controlling it. 

The RBS50Y and the RBS40V are the only 2 orbi devices that have an extender mode. The rest only sync with an orbi router. 

[jandmmartel]

Ugh, I thought we could connect the satellite to the outdoor extender since it was set up in extender mode.  Thanks!

[jandmmartel]

@plemans  So if we had another RBS50Y (insetead of the RBS50), we could sync the RBS50Y and RBS50Y together?

[plemans]

Or you could use any of the other triband extenders.

They'd work as well and probably be cheaper. 

Tribands:

EX7500, EX7700, EX8000, RBS40V, RBS50Y

[jandmmartel]

Awesome, appreciate it.

[plemans]

I would advise against daisy chaining them if at all possible. Daisy chaining increases latency and can cause issues with stability when you're not using a full mesh system like orbi (where the router controls it). Even when not daisy chained it can cause issues because the extenders can end up connecting to each other versus back to the router. 

Daisy chain: Router------>Extender------>extender

i'd use a star setup if at all possible. 

Star: Extender<--------router------->extender

I usually tell people that if they're needing more than 1 extender, a better investement is in a full mesh system like orbi. You can find them refurb'd for pretty cheap right now. And then you have the router controlling the system.