Meet Orbi Outdoor - Better WiFi. Indoors and Out

[BretD]

Editors Note: Stay tuned, our CES 2018 Coverage is just getting started!

Now stay connected both in and around the home from the backyard to the front porch with the Orbi Outdoor – Orbi Model RBS50Y. Extend high-performance WiFi coverage outdoors by up to an extra 2,500 sq. ft. with this weather-resistant, add-on Orbi Outdoor Satellite.

Orbi Outdoor Satellite Model RBS50Y

With this CES 2018 Innovation Award honoree the new Orbi Outdoor Satellite inherits the capabilities of the Orbi Whole Home WiFi System, including a single network name for seamless roaming, a dedicated third channel for data exchange between the satellite and router, and a separate and secure Guest WiFi network. The new satellite will also adopt the characteristics of Orbi Pro for Small Businesses when added to that network, such as guest and employee traffic separation and a dedicated admin network. An added feature of the Orbi Outdoor Satellite is ambient lighting that can be scheduled to automatically light up to add ambiance, or turned off, to keep the Satellite hidden and discreet.

The Orbi Outdoor Satellite is an add-on and Requires Orbi Router (RBR50, RBR40, RBR20 or SRR60 – sold separately) or use with your existing Orbi WiFi System

Read the full Orbi Outdoor RBS50Y press release.

Orbi Outdoor Satellite RBS50Y Tech specs

Combined WiFi speed:  AC3000 (1733 + 866 + 400Mbps)

Coverage:2,500 sq ft

Dedicated Backhaul: Tx/Rx: 2x2 (2.4GHz) + 2x2 (5GHz) + 4x4 (5GHz)

Processor: Powerful quad core 710MHz processor

With your new found super-power, where will you WiFi next?

[larryindublin]

Sounds like  great addition to the Orbi family, but before I would even think of it, I want to see stabilty for the existing units.

[aaz]

It's what I want to see from a forward thinking company - but have to agree with other Posters. I am not buying this until the existing units become rock solid in stabillity and features are caught up with modern routers. 

[dkunath]

I'll second that thought.

[lowepg]

Man, I would have been all over this had the standard INDOOR system (base + 2 satelites) been working acceptably :-(

Also, for $329, they are pricing this at more than double what a REAL high quality outdoor AP (ie Ubiquiti) sells for.

So, unfortunately, to sum it up:

Double the price of tried-and-true options +

Still cant even stabilize the firmware for existing products

= no way in hell anyone should consider this.

[lowepg]

Also, re-reading the specs (as I said- I really would like to like this- becuase I need it).

2500 sq feet coverage? Outdoors?

So that's, what, 28' or 30' range? 

That might be OK indoors- but thats really NOT very much for an outdoor application.

I wonder if they just "winged-it" with those specs?

for comparison, the $150 ubiquity has arange of about 500'!

[BretD]

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@lowepg wrote:

Also, re-reading the specs (as I said- I really would like to like this- becuase I need it).

2500 sq feet coverage? Outdoors?

So that's, what, 28' or 30' range? 

That might be OK indoors- but thats really NOT very much for an outdoor application.

I wonder if they just "winged-it" with those specs?

for comparison, the $150 ubiquity has arange of about 500'!

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Thank you for all the feedback so far. 

If you look at the disclaimer on the Orbi boxes, the Sq feet number refers to WiFi Connection speeds of <100mbs. You will definitely still get a WiFi signal outside of the 2500sq feet range but usually at a reduced bandwidth.

[turnerm05]

Maybe the 2500 SF range is somehow factoring in the average uptime after multiple random reboots per day?  LOL!

[M5Pilot]

I bought a 3rd satellite and ran it 40 feet into the woods from my house.  I bought a waterproof electrical junction box and ran 14/2 UF wire to it.  UF can be buried without conduit.  I plug it into an outdoor plug on the side of the house.  I used a spade and made a 12" slit in the ground to bury the wire.  Spray painted the box brown to match the pine needles.  My ring cameras out from the house had 4 green bars during wifi pairing.  I tested it first with an extension cord to make sure it would work before I bought a 3rd satellite and utility box.

[cue003]

@M5Pilot... any pics of the finished weatherproof box and electrical setup? Thx

[M5Pilot]

I bought this cover for the wall socket so it can stay dry while there is a plug in the socket.  Ran 40' of wire out to the box.  Drilled a small hole in the bottom to run the wire up in the box.  Of course, bought male and female sockets.  Used silicone caulking to seal the hole.  The 14/2 wire comes in a 50' roll.  I left the additional 10' coiled up in the box in case I want to move it out further.  Took about 30 minutes to install.  Outside temps have been in the teens and it's working perfectly.

Can't figure out how to rotate the pics.

[mumbles76]

With all due respect, why would you introduce an outdoor model when the indoor model barely works?

[ktd]

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@mumbles76 wrote:

With all due respect, why would you introduce an outdoor model when the indoor model barely works?

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I agree 100%. Why work on anything else then to get the existing Orbi to work more than a few hours at the time?

[yaggermr]

Now you can get constant reboots and disconnections outside! Do you love unstable firmware indoors? If so your gonna love awful firmware updates outdoors! Welcome to the future of getting to run inside on a beautiful day to work on your router! Should I reboot, reflash, factory reset or roll back the possibilities are endless.

[lowepg]

Firmware issues aside, I really wisth this thing was priced a bit more competitively.

[BretD]

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@yaggermr wrote:
Now you can get constant reboots and disconnections outside! Do you love unstable firmware indoors? If so your gonna love awful firmware updates outdoors! Welcome to the future of getting to run inside on a beautiful day to work on your router! Should I reboot, reflash, factory reset or roll back the possibilities are endless.

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https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi/OrbiOS-2-1-1/td-p/1476960 

Please upgrade to the new Orbi Beta firmware through the manual upgrade process.

The Orbi team at NETGEAR is aware that some users are experiencing higher than expected Orbi Router reboots, special characters in WiFi Passwords and WiFi / Internet disconnects.  We believe these issues are related to the OrbiOS 2.1.1 firmware. We are actively working to address these issues, and expect to fix them with a firmware upgrade soon.  In the meantime, we’re temporarily suspending auto-upgrading users to OrbiOS 2.1.1. 

[yaggermr]

I did upgrade to the beta 2.12 same results constant reboots. If you look in the thread about 2.12 beta few users have been helped by this beta update. What userers need is a stable firmware for there devices. The outdoor stuff is great but the exsting product is severly flawed and people should be are before they buy this product. 

[Miles267]

Have opened a new case with Netgear Orbi support re: the new Outdoor unit.  Mine is on the factor f/w 2.1.2.6.  Router is on latest beta f/w 2.1.2.10.  However, it's very apparent that client devices are roaming correctly between RBR50 and RBS50Y (Outdoor) for a period of time after the RBS50Y has been recently powered on.  Not long after, the status page of the RBS50Y shows that no devices are connected.  This typically occurs within 1 hr after the device has been running.  A power cycle of the RBS50Y will restore the correct behavior.  There seems to be a bug in the RBS50Y firmware.

[Miles267]

Issue has been escalated and observed by Netgear Orbi Level 2 support in real-time.  Debug logs and copy of my config were captured and provided to Level 2.  They've informed me that a new firmware for the Orbi Outdoor Satellite (RBS50Y) is in development.  Given timing of these findings, they hope to work these into their release (TBD).

[wooties]

They should offer us this outdoor satellite at an 80% discount for those of us suffering through the last several painful firmware updates. .. that may help my patience  return because right now,  if I get another reboot after reverting, the wife won't stand it and I'm going to sell the Orbi and go another route.. Sadly.

[sleepr88]

Netgear, since you can't seem to fix the Orbi, are you going to start issuing refunds? or exchanging everyone to Orbi Pros (which doesn't appear to have these problems, because you value business customers over regular consumers?)? and you think anyone will pay the outrageous price for this when you can't even get the original systems to work correctly anymore?

[turns2stone]

This is a much-needed addition to the Orbi lineup.

But whew, is this thing priced too high!

[eljarviso]

When will this be coming to canada?

[Miles267]

Finished testing a new Orbi RBS50Y beta firmware. Has corrected my known issues with the new Outdoor unit. Props to Orbi L2 Support and Engineering team.

[Ht3kn1c]

Seems like I am having the same issues with with my RBS50Y. Upon initial power up everything works fine, then the next day, it shows nothing is connected. Any idea when the new firmware will be available?