Re: ORBI and Nighthawk R7900P working in mesh

EyalBC · ‎2019-07-15

Hi All, I am pretty sure I am not the first to ask, but couldn't find a solution just yet.

I am connected to ATT with Pace Plc 5268AC which until now was my router and partially wifi. It is pretty speard house, so I bought the R7900P and an additional TP-Link extender to complement the wifi, but the outcome was pretty weak and cumbersome.

Recently I got at Costco the ORBI 53 (router and 2 stations) which work pretty good, but I still havung coverage issues. I have two questions:

1. Is there a setup where the Nighthawk participates in the ORBI mesh? and

2. Is the Nighthawk R7900P better router than the Pace 5268? if yes, is there a way to set them all up together?

Thank you,

EB

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-07-15

@EyalBC wrote:
Hi All, I am pretty sure I am not the first to ask, but couldn't find a solution just yet.
I am connected to ATT with Pace Plc 5268AC which until now was my router and partially wifi. It is pretty speard house, so I bought the R7900P and an additional TP-Link extender to complement the wifi, but the outcome was pretty weak and cumbersome.
Recently I got at Costco the ORBI 53 (router and 2 stations) which work pretty good, but I still havung coverage issues. I have two questions:
1. Is there a setup where the Nighthawk participates in the ORBI mesh? No.
2. Is the Nighthawk R7900P better router than the Pace 5268? if yes, is there a way to set them all up together?
Yes:
Couple of options,
Dissable ALL wifi radios on the modem, configure the modems DMZ/ExposedHost or IP Pass-Through for the IP address the Orbi router gets from the modem. Then you can use the Orbi router in Router mode.

You could use the Orbi in AP mode behind the R7900P router, disable the wifi on this router and setup the Orbi for AP mode. https://kb.netgear.com/31218/How-do-I-configure-my-Orbi-router-to-act-as-an-access-point and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7LOcJ8GdDo&app=desktop

EyalBC · ‎2019-07-15

Thank you!

Are there real benefits to use the R7900P instead of the Pace 5268AC?

I guess you don't believe Netgear enabled the R7900P and the ORBI to participate in the same mesh.

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-07-15

Usually spec routers are better than ISP modem/routers. Have more features and better built.

The R7900P can't be included in the Orbi WiFi MESH system. IT's it's own kind of wifi system that uses smart connect and extenders to build the MESH system and add wifi coverage to a home. The R7900P uses non MESH wifi and is a stand alone wifi router. The router can connect to EX model extenders similar to Orbis satellites for extended wifi coverage.

EyalBC · ‎2019-07-15

Thank you again.

It seems the preferred configuration will be Pace as a modem (no wifi), R7900P as router (no wifi), ORBI as AP only.

I wish Netgear create firmware for the R7900P to play within the ORBI mesh, it would be a huge selling point for the ORBI with legacy users.

FURRYe38 · ‎2019-07-15

THe FW and R7900P are specific for it's product line. So is the Orbi. It it's own product line. Also technically they are different platforms, HW and support.

You'll be fine with that kind of configuration.

Good Luck.