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Forum Discussion
Orbi (Router Mode) using as DHCP server
Hi, sorry if this is a numpty question.. I'm running RBR50 in router mode (with 2 RBS50's) behind a Virgin Media (UK) cable modem. My question is: should Orbi be running as DHCP server or should I ...
DCP4971 wrote:
....and losing the extra Wifi (wihch is always handy for if/when Orbi has a meltdown),
Does this happen often?
If the Orbi is sitting next to the modem/router, there's a risk of wifi interference and/or confusion when your wifi clients try to connect to wifi.
The Orbi technology, Mesh, is supposed to make life easier on the wifi front. I'd also expect it to have better wifi than the modem/router.
Doesn't happen so much now, just went through a phase of being really unreliable a few years back, so I built in the fallback of the other wifi and it's just been left as it is. Ordinarily, Orbi is far superior and has the coverage that we need across the house that the Virgin box simply doesn't.
The two routers are close together, but, I've got them on different channels, there are differnet wifi names and checked what other channels are being used by other local wifi to minimise the possiblility of interference.
Suspect I just need to bite the bullet and move the Virgin box to being Modem only and see how it plays out for a while - it just needs a bit of effort to get the Ring etc onto Orbi. I may have some time tomorrow when the family are out..
Am still intrigued about why the PS5 doesn't work as well on Orbi as it does on the Virgin box, but will see how it is after I change to Modem mode.
DCP4971 wrote:
Suspect I just need to bite the bullet and move the Virgin box to being Modem only and see how it plays out for a while
Have you tracked down the instructions on how to do that?
Some of these ISP boxes – think BT – go out of there way to frustrate "modem only" operation. That's why I have three BT modem/routers sitting in their original shrinkwrap.
DCP4971 wrote:
it just needs a bit of effort to get the Ring etc onto Orbi.
THere is a lot of huffing and puffing abut the inability to separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz on the Orbi. In reality, it is rarely necessary. But some makers of what the wits call "Internet of Trash" devices are incompetent when it comes to their setup apps. Connect your mobile device to 5GHz and they throw a wobbly because the device they manage works only on 2.4 GHz.
If your IoT stuff is talking to the Virgin box, in your shows I would investigate the switch to the Orbi before I played around with the modem. Then you will have the kit working before you pull the plug on the modem/router.
To be fair to VM, thier boxes are fairly straightforward (if limited in functionality), at least in tracking down the settings (BT, I recall were pretty shocking and I don't blame you for leaving them in their wrappers. Sadly don't have that choice with cable, I don't think). Am pretty sure we had the previous VM hub running in Modem only mode for a while - I got the shiny new 1g upgrade late last year, so have never tried it on the Hub4, but the navigation is the same.
That's a great suggestion of moving everything to Orbi first, thanks. I'd probably have done it the other way round and had everything offline for longer.
I've got a few things that only work on 2.4ghz but it's never seemed to be too much of an issue when setting things up previously. Ring is defo one, the Arlo cameras/lights are the other - and Arlo throws a massive hissy fit, putting loads of warnings in the app about not working on 5ghz network trying to set them up, but they then work anyhow because there is 2.4ghz network available.
DCP4971 wrote:
To be fair to VM, thier boxes are fairly straightforward (if limited in functionality), at least in tracking down the settings
Sounds good. I just wanted to give you advance warning. Anyone with a BT Homehub could have wasted hours looking for that setting.
DCP4971 wrote:
the Arlo cameras/lights are the other - and Arlo throws a massive hissy fit, putting loads of warnings in the app about not working on 5ghz network trying to set them up, but they then work anyhow because there is 2.4ghz network available.
Been there, done that, many times. I beta stuff for Arlo and have been down that road. Sounds scarier than it turns out to be.
As you say, ignoring the warnings seems to work.