Re: Design Hep for Orbi

WestMilford-Di · ‎2018-02-26

I have a very long one story house and am currently using a router & range extender (see diagram on placement). The range extender does an OK job but does not reach out to cover my pool or external garages. I am thinking of switching to an Orbi system. I am looking at the AC3000 RBK50.

I assume that I would replace my current router with the Orbi router and current extender with the Orbi Satelitte. (correct?)

For the external coverage, I have electric power in both garages.

Should I get another satellite and put in inside garage A?

will the satellite need to talk to the Orbi Base or Obai satellite in the main house?

Will this cover the pool area?

Or do I need to get the outdoor satelitte unit?

I am new to this so sorry if these questions are basic and repeated in the forum. If you need further details, please let me know.

Thankful.

FURRYe38 · ‎2018-02-26

Where is the current router place now? Next to the modem?

I have a similar rectangular house and have my Orbi up up stairs on the 2nd level at one and of the house and my Satellite at the opposite far end of the house and both connect well and have great speeds and performances and coverage. My house is 5000Sq ft.

tucsontico · ‎2018-02-26

More information is needed to give you a better answer. You state you have a "long one story" house. How long? What kind of construction, e.g., drywall over wood framing or concrete block & stucco? How many walls between the Orbi base and Orbi satellites? What is the approximate area you're trying to cover in square feet?

Having said all that, I own a 3000 sq ft house with exterior walls made of concrete block and stucco. The interior walls are "standard" wood frame covered in drywall. I have an attached 4 car garage (about 1000 sq ft) also made from block and stucco framed out and covered in drywall. I have an Orbi Base (RBR50) and one satellite (RBS50). The base sits in my office in the far northeast corner of my single story house. The satellite is about 60 feet away with 3 interior walls between them. I get very good coverage throughout my house and garage. I also get decent WiFi signals within 50-60 feet outside the house. I live in a semi-rural area with my neaest neighbor over 100 yards away so I don'thave any competing signals disrupting my Orbi WiFi.

This coverage pattern did not happen immediately after I plugged in the Orbi! I had to adjust the location of the base and satellite several times to find a good compromise. Additionally, I did a "sweep" of signals outside my house to find a clear channel for both 2.4 gHz and 5 gHz bands. All these steps have given me a stable, strong signal as Imentioned above.

In your case, I'd start with an Orbi base and one satellite. Adjust the things I mentioned to get the best coverage and add a satellite if necessary later. As the car manufacturers say: "Your mileage may vary." Good luck!

WestMilford-Di · ‎2018-02-26

Thanks for the responses. I attached a layout of my property but I guess it didn't take.

My house is 70' long by about 25' wide. The modem/router is in the front corner BR of the property at one end of the house. Inside construction is standard 2x4 & drywalls. The range extender is currently in the LR about mid-way lenghthwise from the router (so about 35' away?).

The pool and backyard garages are about 200-225' feet from the house (so add another 50' to get to the router diagonally).

This probably doesn't change anything so I think I will start with the base + 1 satellite and see how that goes. If it covers 5,000 sq ft it may just make it down to the pool anyway.

But one further question that is still not clear: if I were to add a second satellite at my backyard garage, does that talk to the router/base or the first satellite?

FURRYe38 · ‎2018-02-26

If you can place the Orbi base router more centrally in the main house, then you can probably place the satellite more closely to the Garage and pool areas for better coverage throughout. I think in my house, i have an extreme configuration 65 ft long with the base router at one end at about 48 feet and the one satellite at the far other end. My garage is same location at base router downstairs though here.

I believe any additional Satellites will connect to the base router for there connections. There maybe some connections between the Satellites however main connection will be with the base router.

tucsontico · ‎2018-02-26

The Orbi can be configured either as a "Daisy Chain" or "Hub & Spoke" topology (Look in the "Advanced" Tab under Advanced Setup>Wireless Settings).

In the Daisy Chain mode, the satellites will "talk" via the Backhaul channel to each other to get/send data and the closest satellite will talk to the base (router) via this same channel . This can extend the straightline distance of your WiFi but it can/will slow down the speeds abit as the farthest satellite has to wait for the intermediate satellite to transfer the info.

In a Hub & Spoke mode, each satellite talks to the base independently via te Backhaul channel. This gives higher overall throughput but can limit the range. Remember, the 2.4gHz band will give better range through obstructions while the 5 gHz band is faster its signals drop off rapidly with distance and obstructions. BTW, the backhaul channel is in the 5 gHz band. That's why experimenting with placement of the base and satellitesis very important to get good coverage/signal strength.

FURRYe38 · ‎2018-02-26

Good to know. Something I guess mine doesn't support since I don't see those options. Maybe a future thing.

tucsontico · ‎2018-02-26

I'm running firmware ver 2.1.2.18. I beleive the topology button was added in ver 2.1.x.x. Of course if only have one sat it doesn't matter!

FURRYe38 · ‎2018-02-26

AH ok. Ya, I only have one satellite as well.

Good info though. Will keep that in mind.

webminster · ‎2018-02-26

The "Enable daisy chain topology" setting was added in 2.0.x, it exists in 2.0.0.74 and 2.0.1.4. Many here disable it, since it can create instability.

WestMilford-Di · ‎2018-02-27

My units arrive today and I am excited to get them installed tonight.

Out of curiosity (I can probably find this in the documentation but am too excited to wait), if it comes down to it, can a satellite unit be "wired" to the base unit if the wireless is too weak? Just wondering....

Thanks and I will let you know how it goes.

FURRYe38 · ‎2018-02-27

Yes you can connect the Satellie to the LAN port of of the base router for BACK HAUL support. Add performances that the Wifi can't provide. Sends most of the data over this connection while letting the wifi on the Satellie handle wifi connections from devices.

I recommend trying just the Orbi router and just one Satellite at first. Good placement is key.

Do not upgrade the FW initially. Use whats already loaded on the system.

Use a LAN cable connected PC to the Orbi router to first set up the router. Run the on board speed test before connectin any other devices to get a good speed test result. Then connect up the rest of the network and devices.

@WestMilford-Diwrote:
My units arrive today and I am excited to get them installed tonight.

Out of curiosity (I can probably find this in the documentation but am too excited to wait), if it comes down to it, can a satellite unit be "wired" to the base unit if the wireless is too weak? Just wondering....

Thanks and I will let you know how it goes.

WestMilford-Di · ‎2018-02-28

Update:

I installed my system last night. It was easy but took 1/2 hour. For me, that is a RECORD just the same for installing a wifi system. It usually takes me HOURS to do so. The reason it took this long was that it takes a few minutes for the satellite to find the base. I had to move the unit 3 times before it got a "blue" light (good connection). Had it found the signal the first time, the installation would have taken about 10 minutes or less. The interesting part, it that the satellite would NOT work in the spot where I had the old range extender.

I installed a wifi signal strength app for my phone. 1/2 of my house is now at 99%. The furthest away, where I have a smart TV is 79%. Hopefully, this will be enough to stream Netflix.

Outside, down by the external garages, I am getting 66-75%. I'll see how it goes when trying to use my iPad (husband like to watch YouTube instructional videos in garage when fixing cars or working on things). If it isn't strong enough, I'll consider adding a satellite down there or possibly attaching my old range extender via wire (that is already in place).

Thanks for everyone's input!

FURRYe38 · ‎2018-02-28

Good to hear.

If you notice any wireless problems, start by disabling Beamforming MIMO and Daisy Chaining Satellites as a trouble shooting step.

Come back and post if you need too.

Enjoy now. I'm enjoying mine.

@WestMilford-Diwrote:
Update:

I installed my system last night. It was easy but took 1/2 hour. For me, that is a RECORD just the same for installing a wifi system. It usually takes me HOURS to do so. The reason it took this long was that it takes a few minutes for the satellite to find the base. I had to move the unit 3 times before it got a "blue" light (good connection). Had it found the signal the first time, the installation would have taken about 10 minutes or less. The interesting part, it that the satellite would NOT work in the spot where I had the old range extender.

I installed a wifi signal strength app for my phone. 1/2 of my house is now at 99%. The furthest away, where I have a smart TV is 79%. Hopefully, this will be enough to stream Netflix.

Outside, down by the external garages, I am getting 66-75%. I'll see how it goes when trying to use my iPad (husband like to watch YouTube instructional videos in garage when fixing cars or working on things). If it isn't strong enough, I'll consider adding a satellite down there or possibly attaching my old range extender via wire (that is already in place).

Thanks for everyone's input!