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Forum Discussion

mgruber's avatar
mgruber
Aspirant
Aug 06, 2019

Unable to extend Orbi RBR50 wifi with EX7700 – AC2200 Nighthawk X6 Tri-Band WiFi Mesh Extender

Hi I have an Orbi RBR50 router (firmware v2.3.5.30) and two Orbi RBS50 mesh satellites which all work happily. I am now trying to add an EX7700 nighthawk (firmware v 1.0.0.202 - latest) to the mesh, but I cannot get it to extend the wifi (see image attached).

 

I did the following;

  1. downloaded the latest firmware.
  2. factory reset the extender.
  3. connected the extender to the laptop, installed the latest firmware.
  4. log back into the extender.
  5. select the configuration genie.
  6. chose wifi extender setup.
  7. after auto-scan, selected the 2.4 and 5.0 GHz networks I want to extend
  8. choose to use the same SSID
  9. entered the WIFI passwords.
  10. completed the setup.

Fails to connect - I tried it via the app - and the app tells me the wifi password is invalid - which it's not as a copy/paste from the Orbi app to remove key errors. I also tried the WPS button sync - no good.

 

I've run out of ideas. Hopefully, someone has had the same problem and solved it.

regards Michael

 

p.s. also logged onto the RBR50 and tied to wps sync from the menu there too.

20 Replies

  • Christian_R's avatar
    Christian_R
    NETGEAR Employee Retired
    Aug 15, 2019

    Hello mgruber,


    Thanks for posting. Would you mind performing a factory reset on the extender by holding down on the reset button for 15+ seconds. After doing so, please run through the setup instructions and connect the EX7700 to the Orbi router. 

     

    Looking forward to hearing back!

     

    ~Christian 

    • Colmanlee's avatar
      Colmanlee
      Guide
      Sep 08, 2019

      I actually have exactly the same issue and I do not know how many times I hard reset the mesh extender and I still have the same problem over and over again.

       

      Really hope to have some sort of solutions coming from the Netgear team.

    • mgruber's avatar
      mgruber
      Aspirant
      Sep 09, 2019

      Hi,

      I did perform a factory reset, please review my initial post and steps again. 

       

      Ok, why +15sec, what is the difference between 5, 10, 15, 20 seconds - is it a physical difference i.e. how the power drains from the memory chips, a software difference i.e. a timer tracks how long reset is held?

       

      If you cannot explain the why, then your response has no merit and is unsupported by any real evidence.

       

      I'm not religious, so I don't like praying and hope things work, please explain the why.

       

      regards

      Michael

      • Christian_R's avatar
        Christian_R
        NETGEAR Employee Retired
        Sep 10, 2019

        Colmanlee & mgruber, 

         

        We have received similar reports of the same issue and have a trial firmware available for the EX7700 that may help resolve the issue. I have sent you both a message with the trial firmware. Please let me know how it turns out. 


        ~Christian 

  • salwoo's avatar
    salwoo
    Guide
    Sep 18, 2019

    I brought a ex6250 for my printer, and I facing the same problem as mgruber

    I would like to know whether the trial firmware is suitable for my extender. 

     

    Thanks, 

    Fred

  • navinm's avatar
    navinm
    Initiate
    Nov 30, 2019

    Please help. I bought this extender today and have spent hours trying to connect it to my orbi.

    • navinm's avatar
      navinm
      Initiate
      Nov 30, 2019
      I manually downloaded the current firmware for the extender onto a computer. I plugged the computer into the extender using an eternet cable and access the router to through the web browser. Then uploaded the firmware to the extender. After the update it connected to the router in a few seconds.