NETGEAR Announces DIY Orbi Extender

[thiggins]

To really take advantage of this, you need more than a big honking router, you need one with 2 5Hz. radios. If you have that, then this looks like a good addition to improve one's wireless coverage (if needed *smile*).

No, you don't need a tri-radio router. The extra radio in the extender will help in either case by eliminating retransmission.

 

[RogerSC]

No, you don't need a tri-radio router. The extra radio in the extender will help in either case by eliminating retransmission.

Yes, you're right. I meant "take maximum advantage", but didn't say that *smile*. Was thinking of the original Orbi, with the ability to use both the low and high channels of 5GHz. band, lower channels for clients, upper channels for backhaul.

 

[pege63]

No, you don't need a tri-radio router. The extra radio in the extender will help in either case by eliminating retransmission.

But would not clients near the router and who connects to the ROUTER, fighting for the bandwith with the Extenders backhaul on the 5GHz band now?

 

[thiggins]

But would not clients near the router and who connects to the ROUTER, fighting for the bandwith with the Extenders backhaul on the 5GHz band now?

Yes. But the 4 stream (vs. 2 stream) Extender backhaul will compensate somewhat.

RogerSC properly re-stated the situation.

 

[bobsilver]

NETGEAR Nighthawk EX8000 Orbi like tri-band repeater

Earlier this month NETGEAR announced the EX8000 Nighthawk repeater. The EX8000 is a tri-band repeater with a dedicated 5ghz backhaul band that provideso 1733 mbps backhaul speed. The client side dual bands provide 400mbps 2.4 ghz and an 833 mbps 5 ghz speeds.

The unique aspect of the EX8000 is that it can seamlessly provide wifi coverage using the same SSID as your existing network. There is no need for the EXT add to existing network names. I compare the EX8000 to the Orbi because like the Orbi it has the dedicated backhaul and the 2 client bands. It also is setup for fast handoff with 802.11k standard employed for those mobile devices that can make use of it.

The setup of the EX8000 was very straightforward. I used a browser on my iPhone and did it the manual way. Connect via wifi to the EX8000. Then have it scan for your networks. Tell it which 2.4 and 5ghz networks to join. Give it the proper password and wait a few minutes. There is also the push to connect method but I opted to do it the manual way to see how it worked. It was fast and easy.

The EX8000 became a seamless add to my network. The front panel lights indicated when it is connected and operational. Plus Netgear has just released an Android network tool that will help fine tune it. No IOS version at this time.

The EX8000 also has 4 built in ethernet ports and a usb 2.0 port as well.

The form factor while the black/grey color of the Nighthawk products is reminiscent of the Orbi form factor. While more rectangle then oval its about the same size and stands vertically.

So who is the target for the EX8000? When discussing this with the Netgear product manager it became clear to me those with a high end router that they are happy with, dont have the ethernet back haul to installed AP's would find this a very viable solution for gaining a large expansion of no compromise high speed wifi coverage. The EX8000 is priced at $229.

I look forward to the thoughts and opinions the SNB audience of this new device. While not a mainstream solution (based on its cost) it solves a major problem for some.

Bob Silver
Netgear Forum Advisor

 

[thiggins]

Review posted. Discussion here please.