just got the Orbi rbk50 to try it out to see how it performs so my issue that it doesn't connect to satellite unless it close by
By default, Orbi satellites connect to the router using a 5G WiFi signal. 5G has greater bandwidth than 2.4G and (typically) there are fewer 5G WiFi devices competing for the same bandwidth. However, 5G does not penetrate building materials as well as 2.4G.
As the Netgear guide points out, when the satellite displays a BLUE ring light for two minutes (and then turns off), the signal is "Good". Amber means "Not Good Enough" and Magenta (sort of red) means no communication at all.
As a general rule of thumb, most users attempt to place the satellite approximately 30 ft. from the router and observe the ring light. If it turns BLUE, then maybe a bit farther away will work. Not BLUE, it needs to be closer. It all depends on the building dimensions and construction. In my case, 30 ft. would be in the middle of the living room. Nothing to place the satellite on and no electrical outlet to power it with. I wound up at about 25 ft. and it works great.
My practice with satellites is to first pair them in the same room as the router. That way, I can use the router web interface on my PC, handle the sync buttons on the two units, and watch the ring LED without running all over the house. Once the satellite is successfully paired, it can then be moved anywhere in the house, plugged in, and the ring LED observed.
Orbi satellites will also connect to the router using Ethernet cable (no longer than 300ft.)
If the satellite does not pair when sitting in the same room as the satellite, it may take a Factory Reset to clear out any existing configuration on the satellite (not the router).
Like many people, I signed up for internet through my cable company (about 20 years ago? I forget.) and had the cable drop placed in my "computer room" in one corner of the house. Fast forward through 15 years to people carrying tablets, smartphones, laptops around and the complaints started, "Why is the internet so slow in the LIving Room?" and other places. My WiFi router in the original location was beaming nearly 75% of the WiFi signal through the walls to outside. After considering LOTS of options, I replaced it with Orbi RBK50 and put the satellite where it would broadcast "in a circle" that covered those spots the primary location missed.
If I had it all to do over again, I probably should have moved the cable location to the center of the house. Oh, well. Live and learn.
The only 'settings' that I changed from default are:
Defining CloudFlare and Google DNS in place of the DNS servers provided by my ISP.
Reserving IP addresses for most of the devices on the network. (I like to know which IP belongs to which device. Not sure entirely why.)
Defining user friendly names for every device.
Setting up OpenVPN (mostly because it's there and seemed interesting).
If coverage is not really an issue, there is not really much need for a mesh system. The entire purpose for a mesh is to blanket the entire building with one WiFi network where devices can roam seamlessly from one part of the building to another.
The RBK50 came out in 2016, when WiFi6 (802.11ax) was still "coming soon" and WiFi6E (6GHz bands) was not even on the horizon.
If devices capable of WiFi6 (or even 6E) are likely to be in your future soon, those capabilities in a single router might be important.
Also, the Orbi is not designed for gaming. People who fixate on latency often complain about Orbi and the inability to prioritize certain devices or activities.
okay yeah i purchased the orbi to see what difference it would be vs rax5400 so really not a difference i got 30 days
to try out and return so im see how it goes
yeah coverage is really not my issue i just want some that give me a constant wifi connection for my wifi device such as my wifi security cams my firesticks
oh so the orbi wouldn't be good for ps4 online gameplay yes or no
well im not sure if in the future if i will have wifi 6 devices what are some wifi 6 devices
RBK50 is WiFi5. I do not play internet games, so have no personal experience. Will be keeping my RBK50 for some time, as there is only one device in the house that supports WiFi6 (iPhone) and it is almost never taken out of a purse.
WiFi5 is feasible for most use cases. However, the need for wireless internet depends on the user. If you are going to add Wi-Fi 6 or AX systems to your network it would be best to upgrade to WiFi6. If most of your devices use WiFi5 then you would not be able to get the desired WiFi6 speeds on those devices.
