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Forum Discussion
Large house 6000sq ft has 3 Orbi routers with multiple satellites. Questions.
I have inherited this job from another tech. There are 3 seperate backloaded (wired) Orbi routers in various parts of the house, each with it's own satellites in a large house. I can connect with each system seperately by turning off the other two but I want to integrate the entire system to control it through the software. This is a breeze with TP-Link, but i haven't figured out how to do it with Orbis.
I have found that the browser-based controls are far superior than the app, but cannot connect via browser to one of the routers.
How can I integrate them all into the app, and will this give me a true mesh network?
2 Replies
AmyGonzales wrote:
I have inherited this job from another tech. There are 3 seperate backloaded (wired) Orbi routers in various parts of the house, each with it's own satellites in a large house
Well, you certainly have inherited an interesting situation. It would help to know
- exactly which Orbi units are installed (by model number)
- how they are connected,
- what the Internet Service Provider (ISP) device is,
- and if there are any network switches in the configuration.
Without knowing these details what it sounds like is someone has connected three Orbi routers to a single ISP device (either a combination modem/router or a modem with a switch attached to it.) It also sounds like all three Orbi systems were configured with the same WiFi credentials (SSID & password).
Netgear designed an Orbi system to consist of one router and one or more satellites which together form a "mesh" network. Devices connected to the network can roam seamlessly between the various units because Netgear implemented the 802.11 roaming protocols. Even if two separate Orbi systems have identical WiFi credentials, they remain separate networks. Because the routers do not coordinate, devices cannot roam between them. This is just fine for devices that never move (computers, printers, speakers, TVs, cameras, smart plugs, etc. etc.) Thus, this building has three distinct networks. People may be puzzled that sometimes mobile devices seem to perform worse and worse as they move around the house.
The most obvious solution is to
- remove two of the router units
- relocate the remaining router unit to the ISP feed
- connect all of the satellites to that single router.
This only works if all of the satellites are compatible with the router. (That's why those details are so important.) Bless their hearts, Netgear designed Orbi systems that are not compatible between many models. For example, units from the original 802.11ac products are not compatible with units from the 802.11ax product line.
https://kb.netgear.com/000065169/Which-Orbi-routers-and-satellites-are-compatible?article=000065169
What model Orbi systems do you have?
Only one RBR can be used at a time. Additional RBRs only work as routers or in wired AP mode. Won't integrate as the RBS will.
