A good guide to setting up an Orbi system

[Bogart]

Hi
Been a lurker for a while and read lots of articles but now decided I need to get a grip of this matter. The more I read about Orbi things ie backhaul etc the more confused I become.
I have had an Orbi system for some years now but am not convinced I am utilising it to its fullest. I have a RBR50 router, RBS50 satellite x2, RBS40 satellite and a RBW30 satellite all connected. Router and two satellites,
RBS50 and RBS40, on ground floor other two satellites upstairs.
I started off with just the RBR50 and the two RBS50s but was never over confident they were doing the job, hence the purchase 2nd hand of the others. Some areas upstairs have very poor signal strength if any at all.
Now I have read that one should not have more than two satellites, others say you can have up to four even on wifi 5. I have contemplated getting rid of the Orbis and installing a good single router then using, better antennae, extenders and or
an amplifier but wonder if I digging myself into a hole. The system is in a big old rambling property, 16th century in UK with some thick walls. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the phone line enters
the property in one corner so not ideally placed. Mind you I would have thought with a mesh system this is not as crucial as if using a normal router. I have moved the satellites around but seems to not make much difference. I am not after
blistering speeds, only used for normal web access and odd YouTube video. I would just blike to have a decent signal in all rooms.
So what I am trying to get around to is should I stick with the Orbi setup? or go down a different route. I even comtemplated using an outdoor directional antenna, poe sort of thing, to do the upstaris with a standard wireless router doing downstairs.
I could if need run an ethernet cable to somewhere approximating more to the centre of the house but again do I need to if using a mesh setup? I am out in the country so the use of an amplifier would not upset anybody.
As you can see I have not got a clue and any help will greatfully received.

Regards

DAVE

 

[Dustin278]

I would stick with the Orbi system. I think of it's setup properly you should see stable connections and speeds. I believe the recommended distance between them should be 30'-50' and less than 30' can cause issues.

Are you using Voxel's firmware? If not I would highly recommend it.

I would stick with the main 3 RB50's and use the RBS40 only if you are having or finding a dead spot. I've have problems with my RBW30 in the past so I would recommend not using while you test. If possible I would find another RBS50 and stick with these only.

Once you have placement of 30'-50' I would test the following on different combinations after
disabling the netgear armor and disabling parental controls:

Enable Daisy-Chain Topology

Enable Implicit BEAMFORMING

Enable MU-MIMO

Enable Fast Roaming


Please report back your results

 

[sfx2000]

I have had an Orbi system for some years now but am not convinced I am utilising it to its fullest. I have a RBR50 router, RBS50 satellite x2, RBS40 satellite and a RBW30 satellite all connected. Router and two satellites,
RBS50 and RBS40, on ground floor other two satellites upstairs.
I started off with just the RBR50 and the two RBS50s but was never over confident they were doing the job, hence the purchase 2nd hand of the others. Some areas upstairs have very poor signal strength if any at all.

So how many Orbi's do you have connected? From what it sounds, it's actually "too much wifi"...

Each node should cover around 1500 sq ft @ 2.4 GHz and around 750 sq ft for 5GHz...

I would suggest starting over - do the intial router first, and see where coverage is - where it is weak, take some steps back, about half-way to the main node, and drop in the satellite node.

You might only need one root node and one satellite - maybe 2 at the most -- a 3 node Orbi system can cover around 5000 square feet with the rich chocolatey river of WiFi...

 

[bbunge]

Best recommendation is to sell it and get something else. The RBR50 and RBS50 are getting some age and never were very good. Yes, I had one but gave it away.

 

[Dustin278]

Best recommendation is to sell it and get something else. The RBR50 and RBS50 are getting some age and never were very good. Yes, I had one but gave it away.

I disagree with this. Yes it's showing age but @Voxel firmware has put new life into my setup. I recently purchased 6E mesh and returned within 2 days. Unless you want to drop $500-$1000 I'd keep and test what you got