Hi. I'm new to this so apologies for a simple Q. I'd like advice on which Net gear Access Point product would work best for a wired Cat 5/6 Home/Small office, coming off a Net gear N 300 router. I have renovated an old stone home and need to boost wifi across both the house and an adjacent barn 30 metres away which also has hard wired cabling. I'm looking at the EX 6150 (but is this old tech but so is our router) and/or should I go for the EX 7000 series. I need to hard plug in the Ethernet cable from the router into the access point. Also as the whole house has Cat 5 points, assume I can use a couple of these if the wifi signal isn't too in other parts of the property? Thanks
Model: EX6150|AC1200 WiFi Range Extender,EX7000|AC1900 WiFi Range Extender
The ex6150 in AP mode would certainly work, and has faster wifi than your current router. Whether that matters depends on your internet speed. You ideally want cat 5e cable, not just cat 5.
You can use multiple extenders in the house, but I think a better approach would be to get an Orbi. You could also put an Orbi satellite in the barn (connecting it via ethernet to the Orbi router). Can you give us some idea on the size of the house (# floors and approx. square feet)?
Thanks. The house is 2 floors but with old thick stone walls and lots of tri-iso isulation that can block wi-fi. House size is 260 sq metres but the wifi is a front and disaapears at the back of the house. Sorry yes the internal ethernet cabling is cat 5e. I am not familiar with the Orbi set-up, so thought at this stage of having say 1 x EX6150 in AP mode as an access point in the house and an EX7000 in the Barn. I reads on the tech UM that in AP mode for the EX7000 you can't only use the other ethernet ports to hard wire? Sorry to have so many Q's!
Orbi would replace your router, and would cost quite a bit more than an EX7000+EX6150. It's a fully integrated wifi system.
>>> I read on the tech UM that in AP mode for the EX7000 you can't only use the other ethernet ports to hard wire? In AP mode, you should be able to use the remaining ports of the EX7000 to connect other devices.
Thanks and apologies for the terrible spelling in my earlier reply. I've had a look at the Orbi netgear systems and was wondering if you would look at the orbi SRK 60 pro or the RBK 50 with say 2 satelites? (obviously price is a factor). It looks a bit more complex to set up. Does the Orbi base station hardwire into the existing ISP provided router ( N300) and can you also hard wire the Orbi satelitte (in the Barn) with the Ethernet cat 5e. We use a Netgear Prosafe 8-port switch at the router to all the RJ45 terminals: are there any conflcits with using a switch and the Orbi set-up. Again, apologies for multiple Q's and advice really appreciated.
Thanks and apologies for the terrible spelling in my earlier reply. I've had a look at the Orbi netgear systems and was wondering if you would look at the orbi SRK 60 pro or the RBK 50 with say 2 satelites? (obviously price is a factor).
The Pro is intended for small business, the RBK50 is intended for home use. An RBK53 (which has two satellites) would work well.
Does the Orbi base station hardwire into the existing ISP provided router ( N300)
You can connect it to the ISP-provided router (directly or via the switch ) and turn the N300 wifi off. In that configuration you'd set it up as an access point.
Once that's done, you sync the two satellites - best done near the base station. Then you can place the two satellites where you want them (one in the barn, one in the house). You can connect them with cat5e, and the satellites will use gigabit ethernet as the backhaul. The satellite in the house could also use wifi backhaul if there is no convenient cat5e there.
Hi Apologies for the delay in coming back to you.
I've got the Orbi system and wanted to check the exact way this will work with the Netgear N300 router/modem. This is model DGN2200v4.
1. Do I need to turn-off the Router/modem Wi-Fi? I can see from the Netgear forums that this is required? I've logged into the Netgear genie and can see that I can set the router/modem to AP mode in the advanced settings. Is this correct? Does this turn-off the modem Wi-Fi and enable the Orbi Router to work without conflict?
2. I have a switch to take Cat5e Ethernet across the property. Which order do I plug the modem and Orbi in.
Incoming BT socket to Netgear N300 modem to Orbi Base station to switch? Or some other combination.
Help much appreciated.
2. I've logged into the Netgear genie and can see that I can set the router/modem to AP mode in the advanced settings. Is this correct? Does this turn-off the modem Wi-Fi ?
No, AP mode leaves the WiFi on, and disables the router features.
If you need the DGN2200v4's modem feature (which you likely do), then the simplest thing here is to turn off the DGN2200v4's wifi, and leave it configured as a router. See the screen shot on page 82 - that includes a checkbox control to disable the wifi. http://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/DGN2200V4/DGN2200v4_UM_EN.pdf
You then have two options on the Orbi setup. You can set it up as a router, but using a different IP address range from the DGN2200v4. For instance, you could use 10.0.0.x. The Orbi's router mode setup will normally do this automatically.
You can also set up the Orbi as an access point (and you should get a prompt for this option during setup also).
Either mode will work. Port forwarding is a bit more complicated if you set up the Orbi as a router. You'd need to forward from the DGN2200v4 to the Orbi, and then forward again from the DGN2200v4 to the final device. On the other hand, the Orbi has some nice features that only work when it is a router.
My own Orbi is behind my ISP-provided router, and I've chosen to set up the Orbi as a router also.
@Walkers wrote: 3. I have a switch to take Cat5e Ethernet across the property. Which order do I plug the modem and Orbi in?
The ADSL connection of course goes to the DGN2200v4. Then ethernet from a DGN2200v4 LAN port to Orbi WAN port. All other ethernet connections to the DGN2200v4 should move to an Orbi LAN ports - which will provide gigabit ethernet instead of the 100 mbps ethernet you are getting now.
