Which extender works with RBR 50 and RBS50

[maythahla]

My Orbi system is lousy, but it is too late to change it having spent time and money on it, over past 12 months. I paid for a contract with the Netgear support service, and the three people I have since spoken to have proved not to know much more than I do about this system. Problem is a persistently dead area right in the middle of a room that is only 10 feet away from the Orbi router. I won't bore you with the details, but I need to beef up the signal in the dead zone. Am hoping someone in the community can answer very simply, which of Netgear's extenders can I use (if at all) to bring a better signal to the dead zone. The service/support guy said any and many will do. I do not believe that, but someone in the community may know better than me. Please HELP!!!

[CrimpOn]

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@maythahla wrote:

Am hoping someone in the community can answer very simply, which of Netgear's extenders can I use (if at all) to bring a better signal to the dead zone. The service/support guy said any and many will do. I do not believe that, but someone in the community may know better than me. Please HELP!!!

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First, it may be worth "moving things around" a bit.  A completely dead zone just 10 ft. from an Orbi could be the result of some radio signal absorbing "thing" that lies directly between the two locations.  (I discovered a brick chimney running up the middle of a 1920's home (from when they burned coal for heating) that cast a huge WiFi "shadow".)

"Extender"  has multiple meanings.

• An Orbi satellite will expand the WiFi coverage area and maintain the "Orbi mesh".  i.e. devices that "roam" from one room to another will automatically connect to the strongest Orbi signal.  ANY of the original Orbi satellites will work: RBS50, RBS40, RBS20, RBW30) but not the "new" RBS10 (which is inexpensive, but totally incompatible).
  My personal favorite is the RBS40V which Amazon has been selling for $99US. It inludes Amazon Alexa capability, which can be ignored unless happen to want it.
• Almost any "WiFi extender" from an company will connect to the Orbi router and create a WiFi signal wherever you want.  I have used extenders from TP-Link and Netgear (EX3700).  The "downside" is that this WiFi extension is a separate WiFi network. Devices will not roam automatically.

So, for my two cents, (a) try moving the router around to see if the "dead zone" moves, too and (b) pick up an RBS40V.

[FURRYe38]

NGs EX7500 and EX7700 work as well as alternatives. 

[vajim]

A deaf zone 10 feet from the router indicates something going on besides throwing money at an extender

what devices remain dead in this zone?

[maythahla]

Thanks for everyone's thoughts and suggestions.

By 'dead', I mean an area in the room where the wifi signal is so low, it sometimes disappears altogether. To be precise, I have an open plan  kitchen/dining room that is about 30 feet long and 16 feet wide. It is the room next to my study wherein I have set up the modem and Orbi Router. The distance from study door to kitchen door is about 10 feet and the router is poised inside the study just above the door. As you go from study to kitchen, the signal is high and steady all the way from my study, through the hall to the kitchen entrance. When you enter the kitchen, there are ovens etc immediately on the left.  Nothing significantly 'metal' on the right. However, the signal there is quite good for the next 5 feet or more, even right next to the microwave. When you get past the ovens, and move forward into the open dining area, the signal drops significantly - sometimes to nil. It can also vary dramatically from full to nil within very short times, measurable in seconds rather than minutes. Oddly enough, if I continue past that area and get to the back end of the room which has doors to the garden, the signal can be slightly stronger (but still jittery) there even though it is further away from the router. It's like there is a big circular area, in the most open/uncluttered part of the room which is acting like a wifi 'Bermuda Triangle' where the wifi signals just cannot function steadily or strongly. I tried setting up the satellite in the kitchen, but it did not seem to improve the signal weakness.

I have enabled beamforming, MU-MIMO, fast roaming and dropped transmit control to 50% on Netgear's advice. The only thing left to change is the Preamble Mode which is currently set on Automatic. I've been wondering whether to change it to Long or Short, but haven't been able to find many clues in the Netgear Community forums. I am not any sort of tech pro or geek, so am out of ideas and willing to throw in the towel and go back to my Apple equipment which now does not look as incompetent as the Orbi.

any suggestions you have will be gratefully received.

[CrimpOn]

If you made a drawing of the study and 30x16 open plan room, where are the ovens in relation to the Orbi above the study door?  Could they be casting a "shadow" that includes that dead zone?  My first step would be to relocate the router (temporarily) to the wall next to the kitchen. (maybe stand it on a cardboard box to clear the lower kitchen cabinets).

[maythahla]

I just commented and uploaded a picture, but it looks as though it did not go. Here it is again, just in case.

I conveniently found a picture of the room, drawn up for our kitchen designer. I superimposed on it a green ring to approximately represent the  dead zone, and added the location and distance of the Router in relation to microwave, and dead zone. I'll send it in the next posting as I am having trouble making it work.

[maythahla]

[CrimpOn]

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@maythahla wrote:

I'll send it in the next posting as I am having trouble making it work.

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I have found that Netgear's forums require that "inline" pictures be approved by a forum moderator before they appear, whereas "attachments" are available immediately. (no clue why) Use the "Browse" button in the lower left.  jpg and pdf are accepted. exe, doc, etc. are not.

[maythahla]

In the picture, most of the measurements are done in metric format, but my superimposed bits are measured in feet.