Router compatibility

[hillcrest540]

Hi
I have a Mikrotik router and would like to use the Orbi system however before buying I have a couple of questions.

I am rural, so on a farm, and need coverage outside of my home - a further 50 feet. 

Orbi have a RBS50Y model which is the Orbi Outdoor Satellite. This looks suitable to me so I have a couple of questions.

1) is the orbi wifi mesh system compatible with my router

2) has anyone used the Orbi Outdoor Satellite in Australia - if so where did you purchase it from, is it easy to add to your existing wifi network. 

3) does the Orbi Outdoor Satellite actually do what it states - extends the wifi substantially outdoors

Thanks..

Any help appreciated. 

[st_shaw]

I live on a very large rural lot--similar to a farm.  I use Orbi with a Mikrotik router.  I also have an RBS50Y.

Your results may vary, but I can get a usable signal at least 100 feet from the house.  I've gone as far as 500 feet, across my pond. I could do this before I had the RBS50Y.  The 50Y increased the signal strength by a few dB.

You would need to run your Orbi in Access Point mode behind the Mikrotik router.  That's how mine is setup.

With the RBS50Y, you should have no problem getting a signal 50 feet from your house, as long as you have clear line of sight between your device and your RBS50Y.  If you don't have any satellites outside, then your results will depend upon the construction of your house.  Your results could range from great to zero signal.  If your house is masonry, stone, or cinderblock, then forget it.

Keep in mind that no WiFi access point can magically extend the range, beause the weakest link will always be your WiFi client device.  Phones and tablets have low power, small antennas, and cannot broadcast as far as your access point.  Laptops can usually do far better.

[hillcrest540]

Hi thanks for your reply
So are you saying I need to have the router visibly seen by the Outdoor Satellite? I can plug an Orbi access point into the Mikrotik router but then as its inside, in a room there wont be any visible line of site to my outside paddock area. 

Where did you buy your Outdoor Satellite from as I am having problems locating one. Im in Victoria. 

[st_shaw]

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@hillcrest540 wrote:

Hi thanks for your reply
So are you saying I need to have the router visibly seen by the Outdoor Satellite? I can plug an Orbi access point into the Mikrotik router but then as its inside, in a room there wont be any visible line of site to my outside paddock area. 

Where did you buy your Outdoor Satellite from as I am having problems locating one. Im in Victoria. 

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What I'm saying is to get the best long-distance reception outdoors you will want your client devices to have line of sight to the RBS50Y.

The RBS50Y doesn't need line of sight to the router, as it should be able to punch through one or two walls to reach the router. (The RBS50Y has much better antennas and higher power than client devices.)  However, the fewer walls between the satellite and the router, the better the backhaul connection will be.

Not sure I can help much on where to buy the RBS50Y as I'm in the US. Amazon Australia lists it here though:

https://www.amazon.com.au/Netgear-Outdoor-AC3000-Extender-Satellite/dp/B07KB465L1/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8...

[CrimpOn]

There may be a misunderstanding in this thread.  The Orbi RBS50Y outdoor-rated satellite works ONLY with an Orbi base unit.  It will connect to the Orbi base unit over 5GHz WiFi.  It will not connect to any other router.

The BIG advantage to Netgear's Orbi system (and several others) is that the entire WiFi environment has a single SSID and is managed transparently to the user.  Inside/outside, near the Orbi base or near a satellite.  It all looks the same to devices.

Since you want to keep using the router functions of your Mikrotik, you may want to look at outdoor rated access points instead of Orbi.

Sorry if I jumped to an incorrect conclusion.

[st_shaw]

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@CrimpOn wrote:

There may be a misunderstanding in this thread.  The Orbi RBS50Y outdoor-rated satellite works ONLY with an Orbi base unit.  It will connect to the Orbi base unit over 5GHz WiFi.  It will not connect to any other router.

The BIG advantage to Netgear's Orbi system (and several others) is that the entire WiFi environment has a single SSID and is managed transparently to the user.  Inside/outside, near the Orbi base or near a satellite.  It all looks the same to devices.

Since you want to keep using the router functions of your Mikrotik, you may want to look at outdoor rated access points instead of Orbi.

Sorry if I jumped to an incorrect conclusion.

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Good point of clarification about the RBS50Y requiring the Orbi base unit.

However, as I wrote above, one can use the router functions of Mikrotik and the WiFi capability of Orbi together.  You just need to run Orbi in Access Point Mode. That's exactly how my system is configured.