I am currently using the nighthawk r8000 router but I have a 100' long house and the router is located at one end and the other end gets very weak signal. checking to see if anyone could recommend the best solution for either a mesh extender or the orbi system. Not trying to spend a fortune but i see netgear has the ax6000 mesh wifi extender and also another mesh extender.
both the mesh extender and the orbi seem to allow the same wifi name just curious if the mesh extender will solve my range issue and will it be a simple plug and play installation with no conflicts with the router.
yes I saw that one for a little more money the ax6000 seems to be better, can you tell me the difference between the ex8000 and the ax6000. the ex8000 only say coverage is 2500 sqft and need more than this.
The R8000 was released in 2014. I'm not saying its bad or has issues, but its getting a little older and I'd be curious about adding to it value wise. While I think an extender might work perfectly fine for it, I'm not sure how much extra I'd invest into keeping it going with adding an extender to it.
If you were going to add an extender, I'd look for either an EX7500, EX7700, or EX8000 to add to it. You can find them used/renewed for pretty reasonable prices, and they're triband extenders. So, they preserve the throughput (speed) of the system versus being a dual-band system. The single/dual band systems take a significant speed hit by the very nature of how they have to work (around 50%).
If it was me, you can pick up the RBK763 renewed for around $250 on Amazon. It's a 3-pack of 2 satellites and a router, and it is a triband system. It'll have much better coverage (maybe to much based on home size) and will get you to the next generation (AX) of wireless versus sticking with the AC speeds. Plus it'll have wpa3/wpa2 mixed mode for increased wifi security (not that much better). Plus the orbi mesh systems are rock solid in performance and stability. While its a renewed system, amazon sells 3rd party warranties if you're concerned about it that still put it significantly cheaper than new.
I compare it to a car a little bit. After a certain amount of time, the parts start nickel/diming you. Say you do buy the extender, and then the router craps out. Do you invest more in the same generation router or invest in the next generation? But then your extender might not match. So with a car, at a certain point, you get either a new car or a decent used one with lower miles. This would be similar.
yes I saw that one for a little more money the ax6000 seems to be better, can you tell me the difference between the ex8000 and the ax6000. the ex8000 only say coverage is 2500 sqft and need more than this.
7000 sq ft but it is 100 feet long and the router is at one end of the house now? thought the orbi systems were expensive that is why i stayed away looking at them. but if the rbk763 makes more sense I may start looking at those. is this the
Wow, ya 7K with one router is too much for one router. Would need two extenders at least.
One item for the 760 series Orbi, those come with a 750 series router unit and the satellites are 350 series. These RBS not not currently compatible with the latest version of FW for the 750 series that has more features. So the 760 series is limited on it's features and by FW. You can't install 750 series FW on the RBR and have the 350 satellites work, as they won't. NG hasn't come up with any v7 FW for the 350 series and looks like this may not. So I personally won't recommend the 760 series, however if you can find a 750 series system with 750 series satellites, then you'll be fine to use v7 FW. Or find a 850 series system. They are solid units as well. NG is still updating FW here and there for these models. One just last week.
30 feet distances starting, is recommended for satellites placed out from the main router unit for Orbi systems.
7000 sq ft but it is 100 feet long and the router is at one end of the house now? thought the orbi systems were expensive that is why i stayed away looking at them. but if the rbk763 makes more sense I may start looking at those. is this the
thanks for the info... so if the rbk763 is out then the rbk863sb would be a perfect fit? I was chatting with netgear yesterday but the guy could not give me any solid answers on what to go with. When I built the house, I ran all ethernet home runs for all tvs and 4 Ethernet ports in each corner of the house just in case I had was going to purchase a mesh network and would have a spot to plug in the satellite. I assume plugging in the satellite would be much better than finding it via wifi?
Yes you can ethernet connect the RBS. Recommended is to wireless connect them first, then once they are connected and the system is FW updated, then ethernet connect them at there remote locations:
Both of which are triband. And even if it included the RBS350, which is dual-band, you have ethernet running in the house and could hardwire in the satellites. That increases their performance on the dual band kits. Its a solid kit with your setup either way. Any of the kits you get, if you have an ethernet backhaul, I recommend using it. Significantly improves stability/performance in my experience.
What speeds do you pay for?
The 800 series is faster but it won't provide you any extra speeds unless you have pretty fast service
thanks for all the help for both of you. I am paying for 1 gig and on phone speed test is usually around 280 to 300 mbps. that is another good question what is the best source to test internet speed. I have been using the netspot app and seems to do well.
I recommend and use Ooklas installable speed test app on mobile devices and PCs and laptops. Wired speed testing is preferred as it shows best and most accurate results.
And I usually test a few sites. Mainly ookla and then xfinity's speedtest app. Sometimes ookla struggles to max out multigig speeds so that's when the ISP's site can help. For wifi testing I use ookla.
If I'm really testing speeds (faster than the ISP supports) then I use iperf3 but I've heard windows isn't recommending iperf3 because its emulated on windows. they recommend ntttcp
