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Re: Which devices to connect (or not connect) to Orbi Satellite ethernet ports?

PDIGS44
Aspirant

Which devices to connect (or not connect) to Orbi Satellite ethernet ports?

I am setting up a new 4K system. I have the Orbi router (not the satellite yet) and computer in the office already hooked up and working (good coverage throughout the house even without the satellite, BTW)... and now I want to set up the entertainment system in the living room along with the Orbi satellite (satellite in the living room as well). Here is what I am setting up:

 

Sony 4K TV

XBox One

Direct TV DVR (genie) - BTW - this is the same Direct TV DVR genie I have had set up already on my old TV

 

My question is: what is the ideal way to do this? Should the TV, Xbox ONE, and the Direct TV all be connected to the ethernet ports on the Orbi satellite (which is next to all of these devices), or is that overkill? Should I just hook up the Direct TV DVR to the Xbox One and just use and ethernet for the Xbox One... or the Xbox and TV without the DVR? Or all three?

 

Totally confused! Can someone PLEASE give me some expert advice? Thank you.

Message 1 of 5
loomis1975
Luminary

Re: Which devices to connect (or not connect) to Orbi Satellite ethernet ports?

I have not ever used a DirectTV DVR, but I assume it needs or would benefit from an internet connection greatly, as would the 4K TV, if just for firmware updates.

 

If the TV, DVR, and Xbox One S are going to be near the Orbi Satellite, I would definitely use their wired ethernet port connections instead of using wireless for such a short distance to the satellite, which could cause interference.  Taking 4 devices that could use WiFi in a small area and reducing it to 1 device is always a good thing. So if they have ethernet ports, use them.

 

It seems that your placement of the Orbi Satellite is more device dependent (where all the 4K goodies are) than coverage dependent (trying to provide more coverage past the edge of current useability), since Wifi is working pretty well in the house already.  In this scenario, I would be cognizant that I might need to turn down the transmit power on the 2.4 ghz channel via the Orbi router menu so the wireless signals aren't stepping all over each other, especially as Orbi Router and Satellite use the same channels for talking to client devices.  You might want to start at 50 percent power and go from there.  This does NOT change the power of the backhaul signal between Router and Satellite, so don't worry about that.  I have not had to drop the transmit power of the 5 ghz channel in any of my scenarios, but if the satellite ends up fairly close to the router, it could be a consideration,

Message 2 of 5
PDIGS44
Aspirant

Re: Which devices to connect (or not connect) to Orbi Satellite ethernet ports?

Thank you for your detailed reply. This helps me out a lot! I'm still not sure if I will be using the Xbox One S or the Smart Hub on the TV itself for "my hub" (for streaming essentially) - but I guess it makes sense to use the ethernet ports regardless (it can't hurt anyway). Thanks again for your help. Much appreciated!

Message 3 of 5
st_shaw
Master

Re: Which devices to connect (or not connect) to Orbi Satellite ethernet ports?

 

Wire everything that you can, especially the DirecTV box and the 4K TV if you plan to stream any video over the Internet. That will save WiFi bandwidth for mobile devices and devices that don't have wired connections.

Message 4 of 5
PDIGS44
Aspirant

Re: Which devices to connect (or not connect) to Orbi Satellite ethernet ports?

Thank you. Really appreciate the help from you guys! 

Message 5 of 5
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