I bought the EX7500 late last year and whilst it works fine I still have a problem where the furthest room away from the router cannot be reached with wi-fi even when using the EX7500. At the moment we can only get wi-fi to that part of the house by usiung a Devolo Powerline adapter and so have two wi-fi networks in the house which I'm keen to get rid of.
Question is, can I buy another EX7500 and join them together? Or is it better to try the 8000, see if it reaches that part of the house and if not is the 8000 easier to join to a 7500 rather than try and join two 7500's together?
Thanks for your help.
Model: EX7500|AC2200 Nighthawk X4S Tri Band WiFi Mesh Extender
How big is your home and what material is it made of?
I usually tell people who're needing more than 1 extender, to move to a triband mesh system.
Using multiple extenders can cause network instabliity because nothing is controlling them.
Versus a full mesh like Orbi has the router controlling how they connect to the router and to other satellites.
the main difference from the EX7500 to the EX8000 is the wireless backhaul that each has. The EX8000 has a wider (faster) backhaul but its fronthaul is the same 866mbps.
You can try going with a 2nd extender to see if it helps.
Another option is the RBS40V. It has an extender mode. And that way if it does have the instabilities I warned about, you could still use it for an Orbi system as it has both modes. Plus it has a speaker and tends to be cheaper than the EX7500/8000
How big is your home and what material is it made of?
I usually tell people who're needing more than 1 extender, to move to a triband mesh system.
Using multiple extenders can cause network instabliity because nothing is controlling them.
Versus a full mesh like Orbi has the router controlling how they connect to the router and to other satellites.
the main difference from the EX7500 to the EX8000 is the wireless backhaul that each has. The EX8000 has a wider (faster) backhaul but its fronthaul is the same 866mbps.
You can try going with a 2nd extender to see if it helps.
Another option is the RBS40V. It has an extender mode. And that way if it does have the instabilities I warned about, you could still use it for an Orbi system as it has both modes. Plus it has a speaker and tends to be cheaper than the EX7500/8000
House is about 3,000 sqm and made of Cotswold stone so very thick in places!----ouch. This is going to do a great job of blocking wifi.
Isn't the EX7500 a tri-band mesh system already though?----It is a triband extender. but it doesn't have anything controlling the system like the orbi systems do. so when using triband extenders, if you're using more than 1, tend to be less stable then a full mesh system.
I can't use Orbi as the internet provider we are with supply their own router and I can't change away from that sadly.----Orbi has access point mode. This leaves the ISP supplied device running the routing with still being able to use orbi's wifi/ethernet setup.
Do you think that replacing the EX7500 with the 8000 may reach that dead spot?----Maybe? The ex8000 isn't going to broadcast further its just going to have more potential backhaul speed when you do connect.
House is about 3,000 sqm and made of Cotswold stone so very thick in places!----ouch. This is going to do a great job of blocking wifi.
Isn't the EX7500 a tri-band mesh system already though?----It is a triband extender. but it doesn't have anything controlling the system like the orbi systems do. so when using triband extenders, if you're using more than 1, tend to be less stable then a full mesh system.
I can't use Orbi as the internet provider we are with supply their own router and I can't change away from that sadly.----Orbi has access point mode. This leaves the ISP supplied device running the routing with still being able to use orbi's wifi/ethernet setup.
Do you think that replacing the EX7500 with the 8000 may reach that dead spot?----Maybe? The ex8000 isn't going to broadcast further its just going to have more potential backhaul speed when you do connect.
OK - so what would you recommend as the best solution then - Orbi with an extender? If so, which one?
I don't have a good answer for you.
When it comes to brick/stone walls, sometimes its worth the cost to run a few hardwired lines around the home.
But those walls/floors tend to be the limiting factor. Wifi can only penetrate so well.
If you've got hardwired lines, then you can run multiple access points to provide coverage.
the only reason for orbi over something else is the seamless roaming it offers when using a hardwired backhaul.
But maybe another extender would provide the coverage you desire. Its not something I can say 100%, yes go this route.
You're just in a diffcult circumstances (in terms of wireless coverage) because of the home you're in. It could take a combination of things to get you the coverage you desire. Again, ethernet runs, potentially using powerline adapters, or even moca adapters if you have coax ran throughout the home.
OK - so what would you recommend as the best solution then - Orbi with an extender? If so, which one?
I don't have a good answer for you.
When it comes to brick/stone walls, sometimes its worth the cost to run a few hardwired lines around the home.
But those walls/floors tend to be the limiting factor. Wifi can only penetrate so well.
If you've got hardwired lines, then you can run multiple access points to provide coverage.
the only reason for orbi over something else is the seamless roaming it offers when using a hardwired backhaul.
But maybe another extender would provide the coverage you desire. Its not something I can say 100%, yes go this route.
You're just in a diffcult circumstances (in terms of wireless coverage) because of the home you're in. It could take a combination of things to get you the coverage you desire. Again, ethernet runs, potentially using powerline adapters, or even moca adapters if you have coax ran throughout the home.
I'd like to try the EX7500 route but can't see anywhere in the instruction manual anything about adding a 2nd unit. I approached Netgear Support and they replied as follows but I'm not sure that it explains much!
"I certainly understand that you want to know if 2 EX7500 can be connected together and how to install it. I do apologize for the inconvenience that this problem has caused you.
Please be informed that it is possible to have 2 EX7500 connected to your home network. It will not cause any conflict as it will going to extend the connection only. The 2 extenders will be installed the same. You need to install the extender one at a time. For faster installation, please install the Nighthawk App and follow the installation steps."
You can run more than 1 extender and many do. I just usually recommend using a full mesh system if people are needing more than 1. They tend to be more stable when there's a router controlling it.
But it does work and many on here have used more than 1 extender.
