Will Orbi 6 work better through walls than Orbi 5?

[petermorlion]

I currently have an Orbi 5 (RBR50). It works fine in my home, but there is a smaller building separate from my house that needs internet as well. Internet there is spotty. It's never been superb, and my thinking is that it's the walls (because the distance isn't spectacular). I've tried adding powerline networking but the other building has its own differential switch which significantly reduces the network speed (as I understand).

So network speed remains volatile: sometimes good sometimes bad.

I'm wondering if the Orbi 6 (RBR850) is more powerful through walls. From what I read it's better over longer distances, but I'm not sure about wall penetration. If it's the same as the Orbi 5, it makes no sense for me to invest in the upgrade. But if it's better, I will consider purchasing the Orbi 6.

[CrimpOn]

More detail about the physical layout would help.

• is it possible to provide a rough drawing of these buildings, and
• indicate the distances involved?
• Is there a single WiFi access point in one building and the remote building has no access points?

The WiFi Alliance did us no favors when "naming" the various flavors of WiFi.

• WiFi5 introduced the 5GHz frequency band.
• WiFi6 introduced a new method of encoding the same 5GHz frequency band. (802.11ax)
  i.e. whatever causes WiFi5 signals to weaken does exactly the same thing to WiFi6 signals.
• WiFi6E introduced the 6Ghz frequency band, which is even more affected by distance and building materials than the 5GHz band.

Just replacing the existing WiFi5 system with a WiFi6 system is not likely to be a satisfactory solution.

The most obvious way to provide WiFi to this  smaller building is to install an Orbi satellite in the building, or perhaps a WiFi extender.

The devil is in the details.

[plemans]

Why not try using a simple point to point system to connect the 2 buildings?

[petermorlion]

I made a rough sketch, with distances that should be about right (in meter and feet). At the bottom left, the "R" indicates my Orbi router. In the top left of the first building, the "S" indicates a satellite. There is a satellite on the second floor as well, practically above the router.

The distance between the router and the satellite on the drawing is about 14.5m or 47.5 feet. The distance between the two buildings is about 2m or 6.ft.

Now, because I had this problem in the past, I purchased an extra satellite and placed it in the top building, in the top left corner. I had the impression that the satellite had trouble connecting, so I added a powerline-adapter between the two buildings. But like I said, they have their own electrical switchboards so the data has to go through the differential switch, which is what slows it down, from what I read.

[petermorlion]

What do you mean by a point-to-point system exactly? I'm no network expert, though should be able to understand what I read (I'm a developer so do have some IT understanding, just not a lot of hardware knowledge). I can't connect the two building by any new cables because that would require removing tiles, which would not make my SO happy 🙂

[plemans]

Exterior walls do a great job of blocking wifi as they tend to be made from materials that are great at it. 

Like *tiles*, metal, foil lined insulation, etc. 

A point to point system is just like it sounds, a system that has a master and a satellite that are basically designed to act as a wifi bridge between 2 points. Usually its for more distance as its very directional as its designed for longer distances.

You don't have far to go but you have 2 exterior walls to get through (garage and the home). 

Might not be the best option for you. 

With the close range, running the cable is the best option but the tiles cause issues. 

I don't really have a good answer for you.

You're a bit limited as if a AC system doesn't penetrate, the AX system probably won't as well. 

so you're reduced in your options. 

[petermorlion]

Ok, but then that's good to know. Saves me the big investment of the Orbi 6. I guess I could investigate the point-to-point system and see if I can test the wall penetration at a reasonable price. Any recommendations? Or good online guides to choose a point-to-point system?

[CrimpOn]

Oh, dear.  2m is "so close" and just screams out for an Ethernet cable between the buildings.

It was a smart move to try PowerLine. As you found out, however, there are serious limitations in that technology.

Would you happen by chance to have cable TV coax that is placed in both buildings?  I have used MoCA units with great success.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia_over_Coax_Alliance 

It was also correct to purchase another satellite.  Once you get a network connection from the primary building to the separate structure, having a "real satellite" inside the building will make a dramatic improvement in WiFi.

I would first try moving the satellite to be as close to the primary building as possible.

Some people are fortunate to have windows that face each other.

Those point to point wireless bridges are probably overkill for this situation, being rated for serious distance, which is ironically what sometimes allows them to be mounted indoors.  The models that use Power over Ethernet (PoE) solve two problems: (1) getting power to an outside unit (because PoE is "low voltage" and can be run straight through an exterior wall without violating building codes, and (2) gets the network connection through the wall that has been blocking WiFi.  In the US, Amazon offers a variety of models at ever price range.  New Zealand may not have as many choices.