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Re: I have AC1900 Nighthawk Rtr but need to extend, so what to buy? Orbi System or Nighthawk extende

samueljps
Aspirant

I have AC1900 Nighthawk Rtr but need to extend, so what to buy? Orbi System or Nighthawk extender?

Hi guys, 

I need to extend the coverage of my AC1900 Nighthawk, looking to see if I should buy Orby System or a NightHawk extender?

If I have to buy Orby System to replace my current router, I need one that has at least 3 ethernet ports plus the one for the ISP carrier. 

 

Please let me know your thoughts. 

Thanks, 

Samuel

Model: EX8000|AC3000 Nighthawk X6S Tri Band WiFi Range Extender
Message 1 of 9
StephenB
Guru

Re: I have AC1900 Nighthawk Rtr but need to extend, so what to buy? Orbi System or Nighthawk extende

Can you give us some idea on the size of the area you need to cover - number of floors, approx. square feet (or square meters) per floor, and some idea of construction (wood, brick, concrete, etc)?

 

Also, how many dead/poor coverage areas do you have?

Message 2 of 9
samueljps
Aspirant

Re: I have AC1900 Nighthawk Rtr but need to extend, so what to buy? Orbi System or Nighthawk extende

Hi Stephen, 

Thanks for replying. 

Area that I need to cover is 2800sq feet. My house has 2 floors, 1 floor has kitchen, living room, garage (that I need coverage too) and my office. 2nd floor has 3 rooms + playroom. Construction of the house is wood. 

NightHawk 1900 is located on the living room, 1st floor. My office is a poor coverage area (same the guest bathroom, besides that office) but the garage is fine, kind of weird. On the 2nd floor, there are many dead spots or weak areas, master bathroom for example is terrible on the second floor. 

I have been researching because I want to do a smart investment and not just a workaround for few months. 

 

Please let me know if this helps. Thanks again.

Sincerely, 

Samuel 

Message 3 of 9
StephenB
Guru

Re: I have AC1900 Nighthawk Rtr but need to extend, so what to buy? Orbi System or Nighthawk extende

That is helpful.

 

Either the Orbi RBK40 or the RBK50 should provide full coverage, and have enough LAN ports.  My own home is 3 floors, ~3500 square feet.  The RBK50 gave me better performance than the RBK40. I get ~300 mbps or better throughput throughout the house.  My router is placed about 25% along the long axis of the house on the ground floor, the satellite is about 25% from the opposite wall on the second floor.  I'm using ethernet backhaul, but it makes a good connection without that also.

 

There is one caveat - most WiFi clients are limited to 2x2 802.11ac @ 5 Ghz - that would be an 866 mbits max link rate.  But there are a couple of devices that are 3x3 - in particular the Macbook Pro.  If you happen to have one of those, there would a drop in the wifi speed when that particular client was connected to the main Orbi router.  

 

A mesh extender could work out too, but since you have a dual-band router you wouldn't to dedicate a router radio to the backhaul.  So the Orbi would give you better overall performance.  The Orbi should also be cheaper than replacing the router with a triband Nighthawk and buying the mesh extender.

 

Powerline networking is another possibility - putting a PLW1000 in the office (connecting the other powerline adapter to the router).  That might not help on the second floor though.

 

Message 4 of 9
samueljps
Aspirant

Re: I have AC1900 Nighthawk Rtr but need to extend, so what to buy? Orbi System or Nighthawk extende

Hi Stephen, 

Thanks again. 

Couple of questions, we have Apple Products, the drop on speed will be really bad? Right now we connect to the Netgear NightHawk AC1900 with no issues but I can see sometimes is slow. 

By other hand, if I already have that dual band router, adding EX8000 extender, is not better since I already have a decent router (Yes, just dual band).

Finally, why RBK40 or RBK50 and not RBK23W? Just asking. 

 

Really appreciate your help.

Samuel

Message 5 of 9
StephenB
Guru

Re: I have AC1900 Nighthawk Rtr but need to extend, so what to buy? Orbi System or Nighthawk extende


@samueljps wrote:

Couple of questions, we have Apple Products, the drop on speed will be really bad?

This is specific to the Macbook Pro, not other Apple Products.  Though I haven't seen the wifi specs on the refreshed MacBooks.

 

I don't have these products, and I am getting 300 mbps wifi throughput (or better) with 2x2 802.11ac.  What speeds are you getting near the current router with speedtest.net?

 


@samueljps wrote:

 

By other hand, if I already have that dual band router, adding EX8000 extender, is not better since I already have a decent router (Yes, just dual band).

 

 


That is an option (as I said).  The RBK50 backhaul in particular is 4x4 802.11ac, which would outperform the router<->ex8000 leg of the extender connection.  The other aspect is that the router's 5G radio is shared between the EX8000 and the clients nearby the router (and that radio can only do one thing at a time).  Those tilt me towards the Orbi. It would be more expensive though, and the EX8000 should also deliver good wifi.

 

 


@samueljps wrote:

 

Finally, why RBK40 or RBK50 and not RBK23W? Just asking. 

 


It doesn't have the LAN ports you need (only two on the router, not four).

 

Message 6 of 9
samueljps
Aspirant

Re: I have AC1900 Nighthawk Rtr but need to extend, so what to buy? Orbi System or Nighthawk extende

Hi Stephen, 

I am just getting 130Mbps. 

Got it. Those RBK50 or RBK40, has any VPN functionalities or some other security features that I can configure like the NightHawk 1900? 

 

I didnt understand this part -> 

The other aspect is that the router's 5G radio is shared between the EX8000 and the clients nearby the router (and that radio can only do one thing at a time).

 

 

But it seems that Orbi is the way to go. 

 

Samuel 

Message 7 of 9
StephenB
Guru

Re: I have AC1900 Nighthawk Rtr but need to extend, so what to buy? Orbi System or Nighthawk extende


@samueljps wrote:

I am just getting 130Mbps. 

 


That is likely limited by your internet service, not by your Nighthawk.

 


@samueljps wrote:

Those RBK50 or RBK40, has any VPN functionalities or some other security features that I can configure like the NightHawk 1900? 

 


Yes.  Like the Nighthawks, Orbis include OpenVPN and DDNS support.  They also have the usual MAC address controls, and they include the same options for parental controls.  The user guide (covering all Orbi home systems) is here: http://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RBK50/Orbi_UM_EN.pdf

 

One thing I didn't mention is that Orbi can also give you a guest network throughout your coverage area.  The EX8000 can't extend both the home network and the guest network.

 


@samueljps wrote:

 

I didnt understand this part -> 

The other aspect is that the router's 5G radio is shared between the EX8000 and the clients nearby the router (and that radio can only do one thing at a time).

 


With WiFi (at least until mu-mimo), the router can only communicate with one device at a time over each radio.  Everything connected to the EX8000 would have all it's traffic forwarded to the router on the 5G radio.  In addition, any 5G wifi devices near the router would be directly connected through the same radio.  If you have enough devices connected, that could become a performance bottleneck.

 

Until recently, the focus of WiFi improvements was to increase raw speed of individual devices.  That still matters of course, but for most uses 802.11ac 2x2 is fast enough.  The focus now has largely shifted to handling more clients with good performance (system capacity).  That shift started with enterprises (including hotels, airports, stadiums, etc), but IoT is driving that emphasis into the home products too. Smart home folks need good full-house WiFi coverage 24x7 (also some outdoor coverage if they have a WiFi security system), and they have lots of devices connecting to their WiFi.

 

Triband is part of the response to that shift - two independent 5 Ghz radios can handle more simultaneous connections then one faster 5 Ghz radio. Mesh technology (both fully integrated mesh systems like Orbi, and mesh extenders like the EX8000) is also part of it.  

 

The emerging 802.11ax standard (just being completed, with first-generation implementations in the newest "ax" Nighthawks) also is aimed at "high density deployments".

 

 

Message 8 of 9
samueljps
Aspirant

Re: I have AC1900 Nighthawk Rtr but need to extend, so what to buy? Orbi System or Nighthawk extende

Hi Stephen,
Your help has been outstanding , really great. I am
Going to compare RBK50 vs RBK40 and take a decision to get one of those.
Sincerely,
Samuel
Message 9 of 9
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