Will Orbi work with a cable?

[rlowry]

I live in Lima, Peru and I have a cable router. Does Orbi work with cable? Can I add pods to existing router? Can I replace my Router with the Orbi?

[Ely · Accepted solution]

Yes, you are correct, you will connect one ethernet cable from your cable modem and connect it into the Orbi's ethernet input, then if possible disable the cable modem's Wi-Fi part or router part, that's something you should be able to do from the router's configuration page, there should be settings to disable both, or at least one of them.

I would say you will be ok with just 1 Satellite unit yes, my house is made of concrete too and I have experienced no problems at all, must make sure you look for the best placement for your satellite, where it's not too close or too far from the main Orbi unit, placement is paramount to get good signal everywhere and also for the signal to propagate, again you have to make sure you get the right power adaptors.

[Ely]

Hi there,

Yes, it works with cable, no problem with that, Yes, you can use your existing router and add pods to it then use the Orbi in AP mode, but I would just use it as the router, it's the best router you can get, trust me, and yes to your last question, the Orbi is a router in itself, so yes.

Hola,

Si, funciona con cable, no hay problema con eso, si, puedes usar tu router existente y agregar unidades Orbi a ella, si haces eso entonces tendrias que usar Orbi en mode AP, pero yo solo usaria Orbi como un router, creeme Orbi es la mejor router que puedes comprar, y para contestar tu ultima pregunta, si Orbi es un router en si mismo.

[rlowry]

OK. Thanks. So is there a place on the ORBI to plug in the cable or is there a different model? Which Orbi should I get for 4 rooms? And is everything dual voltage? We had 220v here.

[Ely]

The cable that you will use is an ethernet cable (the big one that looks like a phone line cable) you will connect that ethernet cable from your modem's ethernet output directly into your Orbi's ethernet input, you can look for pictures of the back of the orbi unit on Google, you will notice that the input one has a yellow color to it, now if you have a Modem/Router convo from  your ISP and it does not have an ethernet output then you would be in trouble I guess, you would probably have to  change your modem, not sure how things work in Peru regarding connectivity etc.

My house has 3 rooms and the range of the Wi-Fi reaches way beyond that, so I think you would be safe buying just the Orbi/Satellite convo, if that doens't cover it all which I doubt you can always buy an aditional satellite unit.

Not sure about the voltage part, I'm guessing they sell 220v adatpers for Orbi on the Netgear website, or maybe you need to buy a model that comes with that type of adaptor, but I'm not versed about that, sorry.

[rlowry]

Thank you. My cable modem from the cable provider has 4 outlets for Ethernet cables to plug into computers. So if I understand correctly, I would plug an Ethernet cable from the modem into the Orbi and then I would probably need a couple of satellites or whatever they call them? We have concrete walls, floors and ceilings so WiFi doesn't go far. Concrete is about 8 inches thick.

[Ely · Accepted solution]

Yes, you are correct, you will connect one ethernet cable from your cable modem and connect it into the Orbi's ethernet input, then if possible disable the cable modem's Wi-Fi part or router part, that's something you should be able to do from the router's configuration page, there should be settings to disable both, or at least one of them.

I would say you will be ok with just 1 Satellite unit yes, my house is made of concrete too and I have experienced no problems at all, must make sure you look for the best placement for your satellite, where it's not too close or too far from the main Orbi unit, placement is paramount to get good signal everywhere and also for the signal to propagate, again you have to make sure you get the right power adaptors.

[rlowry]

Thanks. You have answered all of my questions.

[Ely]

You are very welcome.