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Issues setting up Orbi in AP mode alongside Nighthawk X6

ActiveNick
Aspirant

Issues setting up Orbi in AP mode alongside Nighthawk X6

My house is approx 8,500 sq ft (including basement) and I'm currently using two Netgear Nighthawk X6 routers for Wi-Fi. I have an R8000 setup as a the main router, and an R7900 setup in AP mode. Since I still have bad coverage areas on one side of the house and on the second floor, I bought an Orbi RBK53 (router + 2 satellites) to extend the coverage. I want to KEEP using my two X6 routers to maximize coverage. My current Nighthawks are both setup with two SSIDs, one for 2.4GHz, one for 5GHz, allowing me to roam across the house.

 

I was able to successfully setup the Orbi router (I think), and it automatically detected the other X6 router and setup the Orbi router in AP mode. The satellites appear to be connecting properly since they light-up blue once initialized. When I setup the Orbi router, I used the same SSID as the 5G network of the other Nighthawks so I wouldn't have to manually switch SSID on my Wi-Fi devices when roaming across the house.

 

My issue is I don't know if I'm setup properly and I can no longer connect to the Orbi router admin page. My laptop is connected to the 5G SSID, which is the same used by the Orbi router. Of course I can no longer use orbilogin.com, so I looked-up the IP address of my Orbi router by loggging in my main Nighthawk router admin page. What's odd is that the last digit of the Orbi's MAC address in the admin page doesn't match what's on the sticker (the first 11 digits match). And when I try to access the Orbi by its IP address, it's not accessible, I don't even get asked for login credentials.

 

So, my questions are:

 

  1. Is it ok to use the same SSID on the orbi in AP mode as another router to allow easy Wi-Fi roaming across the house?
  2. When setup this way in AP mode, how can I connect to the Orbi to check the configuration, update firmware, etc.

Thanks for your help.

 

Nick

Model: Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band WiFi System (RBK50)
Message 1 of 4

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ActiveNick
Aspirant

Re: Issues setting up Orbi in AP mode alongside Nighthawk X6

Actually, I figured it out and got it working. I managed to connect to the Orbi admin web console by turning off Wi-Fi on my laptop and connecting to the Orbi router via Ethernet cable. It turns out the Orbi was still setup in Router/AP mode, and it had its own fixed IP address at 10.0.0.1, whereas my Nighthawk router was at 192.168.1.1. That is why I could not load the admin web console when I looked it up in the IP table of the Nighthawk.

 

So I managed to update the firmware on the Orbi and the two satellites, and then set the Orbi router in Access Point mode only (no router). Once that was done, the Orbi got its IP address from the DHCP server on the Nighthawk and I can still manage it by looking-up its IP in the Nighthawk IP assignment table. Furthermore, I left the Orbi on the same SSID as the 5G network on my Nighthawk, which means I can now roam all over the house on the same SSID.

 

I benchmarked it using a Speedtest app in all the remote corners of the house - especially those that used to be problematic - and I now I have awesome Wi-Fi everywhere. Love it!

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Message 3 of 4

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Re: Issues setting up Orbi in AP mode alongside Nighthawk X6

So, my questions are:

 

  1. Is it ok to use the same SSID on the orbi in AP mode as another router to allow easy Wi-Fi roaming across the house?
  2. When setup this way in AP mode, how can I connect to the Orbi to check the configuration, update firmware, etc.

 

1. the orbi is designed to work alone wifi wise and its prob going to cause no end of issue running the same ssid 

 

2. access the r8000 and find the ip address the r8000 has given the orbi router 

Message 2 of 4
ActiveNick
Aspirant

Re: Issues setting up Orbi in AP mode alongside Nighthawk X6

Actually, I figured it out and got it working. I managed to connect to the Orbi admin web console by turning off Wi-Fi on my laptop and connecting to the Orbi router via Ethernet cable. It turns out the Orbi was still setup in Router/AP mode, and it had its own fixed IP address at 10.0.0.1, whereas my Nighthawk router was at 192.168.1.1. That is why I could not load the admin web console when I looked it up in the IP table of the Nighthawk.

 

So I managed to update the firmware on the Orbi and the two satellites, and then set the Orbi router in Access Point mode only (no router). Once that was done, the Orbi got its IP address from the DHCP server on the Nighthawk and I can still manage it by looking-up its IP in the Nighthawk IP assignment table. Furthermore, I left the Orbi on the same SSID as the 5G network on my Nighthawk, which means I can now roam all over the house on the same SSID.

 

I benchmarked it using a Speedtest app in all the remote corners of the house - especially those that used to be problematic - and I now I have awesome Wi-Fi everywhere. Love it!

Message 3 of 4
Paradoxes
Initiate

Re: Issues setting up Orbi in AP mode alongside Nighthawk X6

Glad to hear you sovle your issue, but one question about "Seamless Roaming". You set same SSID in Nightawk and your Orbi under AP mode,however, I try this with my R7800 and Orbi RBK40 it can't offer seamless roaming when I tested with video chat. I think there is one prequest should be considered,  your Orbi router, satellite and Nighthawk must place enough distance from each other, and have a few overlay, in the meantime tested with non-cache stream. If you test it work well, please share your configuration, Thx. 

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