WBC502 Airbridge

[goblea]

I have purchased a WBC502 to connect my garage to my home internet where I want to attach a small network switch to connect 4-5 devices.  I only have one WBC502 and was thinking setup as an AP. Does anyone know if this will work ? Also when setting up as AP I have gone through the manual but cannot seem to link it to my network, it finds the mac address of the master but cannot go any further. Any ideas and will this work ?

[plemans]

Do you have an ethernet line ran from your home to the garage? 

Or are you just seeing if you can get the WBC to reach the garage?

Because in point to point mode, you'd need 2 of them. 

did you look through the manual? page 11 goes over the modes and page 111 goes over how to change/manage it in that mode. 

https://www.netgear.com/support/product/wbc502.aspx

[goblea]

No cable currently using Orbi but keeps on dropping so thought this would be a better option.  The website states that this can be done, might be in Client Bridge mode though.

Just seems very hard to setup but if your right its not going to work for me, i have attached a screen shot of the website showing a WBC talking to a router

[plemans]

It does have an access point mode but its not going to project any further than orbi does in access point mode. 

In bridge mode, its a directional connection thats basically "aimed" at the other bridge to form a connection. 

[goblea]

Im hoping being on the outside of the garage this will help, I have got Orbi connected but its on the limit.  So might be worth purchasing another airbridge.

any clues how to setup either in AP or client base I followed the instructions but it will not connect onto my network when I disconnect the cable and no signal lights. 

time to search for a network engineer near me I am quite techie but this seems out of my knowledge area

[plemans]

You have it hardwired to your orbi? the WBC502 isn't a repeater/extender. 

In access point mode it has to be hardwired into your router/satellite

[goblea]

No to set it up I plugged it into my switch but want to use it from my garage.  Netgear advise you can use it away from your network and its talks to my AP/router and the WBC502 will give me an ethernet connection at my garage.

Netgear state..

Outdoor WiFi Client Bridge

NETGEAR AirBridge can connect to an existing Wireless Router or Access Point for IP camera connectivity. In this case, the user connects the AirBridge to the Main site as a WiFi client. The AirBridge is located either indoor or outdoor, away from the Main Site. The IP Camera connects to the AirBridge through the Ethernet port. This mode is available through the local standalone management mode only.

https://www.netgear.co.uk/business/products/wireless/wireless-airbridge/wbc502.aspx 

[Erik72]

Hi @goblea , I was curious if you ever figured out a solution to your setup? I purchased an airbridge for the same reasons, and I'm having the same problems.

[goblea]

In the end I ditched the Orbi and bought another wbc502 as would not work and now use as master and slave. I’m not impressed with the system as I cannot connect to the system WiFi but is now working for cabled network in my garage.

[Erik72]

Thanks for the info. Looks like we both were conned by the false advertising...