Options to replace my Orbi system

[speedlever]

I recently replaced my old but functional WiFi (Asus RT-Ac56U router and Asus RT-N66U configured as an AP) with a new Orbi RBK 53 system. I have fiber to the house and enjoy Gb service up/down.

Because the first floor of my 2 story house is wired for ethernet, I can easily connect the router from where the internet enters on one side of the house to the far side of the house as well as to the center of the house. I do NOT have ethernet wiring to the 2nd floor, so depend on good WiFi signals to propagate to the 2nd floor.

I've not been pleased with the single router and AP WiFi environment connected at opposite sides of the house. While it worked just ok, signals were pretty attenuated in the center of the house and especially upstairs. I also had to split the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands so I could keep the 5 GHz devices on the 5 GHz band, else they would grab the first signal they latched onto as you enter the house and would keep it until the signal pretty much died. So a single SSID was not workable. The Orbi solved that issue, but apparently has other issues that may force me to ditch it.

I recently ran a cat 6 cable to the center of the house so I can put another AP there for better wifi coverage of my first and 2nd floors. And so with the Orbi, I have the router on one side of the house where the internet enters, a satellite in the center of the house, and the other satellite on the far side of the house, all connected by ethernet. I have wired backhaul in place.. but only on the first floor.

For the first couple of weeks the Orbi has functioned perfectly except for some faulty data reporting where some wifi clients are reported as being connected by wire. NG is supposed to be working on a fix for that, but otherwise, routing and general internet usage for my growing family of connected devices (20+) seems to be excellent.

Today, the Orbi refuses to let me log into the web interface. I can log into the debug.htm page for the router and both satellites, but that's it. Otherwise, it still appears to function normally. But being attuned to the many reports of issues with Orbi, I've kept a watchful eye on it sorta waiting for the ax to drop, as it were. Not sure yet, but this may be the excuse I need to return the Orbi system.

If I elect to return the Orbi system, I'm interested in suggestions to replace it as my older router gear is somewhat dated now. I'd like to stay within the constraints of what I'll get back on the Orbi system (about $400-ish).

Attached is a rough drawing of my first floor layout. There is a TV/chromecast or TV/Fire TV/gaming consoles, etc at the location of each AP. I have a couple of Gb switches I can use and try to keep everything I can wired except for mobile devices: cell phones, iPads, laptops, multiple Google Homes, etc.

 

[Fyodor]

I am slightly different situated than you, but I have a narrow four story concrete rowhouse that gets bad coverage between the floors. I use some repurposed FIOS routers as MoCA/wireless bridges. They don't have any special handoff/AC intelligence. I keep everything on 5ghz and devices seem to find the right AC pretty quickly.

It seems like you have two separate issues.

1. Overall coverage.

2. Devices stay on 2.4ghz signals that are weak and far away.

For #1, it seems like your new ethernet extension should fix things. For #2, if you've got good enough coverage, do you really need the 2.4 ghz band for your mobile devices?

If the orbi isn't working for you, I'd consider just getting a new access point (or old router with DHCP/uplink disabled), plugging it in at the new location and seeing if it works.

In terms of more advanced solutions, I think that the ubiquiti dedicated access points are reasonably priced and well received.

 

[speedlever]

I am slightly different situated than you, but I have a narrow four story concrete rowhouse that gets bad coverage between the floors. I use some repurposed FIOS routers as MoCA/wireless bridges. They don't have any special handoff/AC intelligence. I keep everything on 5ghz and devices seem to find the right AC pretty quickly.

It seems like you have two separate issues.

1. Overall coverage.

2. Devices stay on 2.4ghz signals that are weak and far away.

For #1, it seems like your new ethernet extension should fix things. For #2, if you've got good enough coverage, do you really need the 2.4 ghz band for your mobile devices?

If the orbi isn't working for you, I'd consider just getting a new access point (or old router with DHCP/uplink disabled), plugging it in at the new location and seeing if it works.

In terms of more advanced solutions, I think that the ubiquiti dedicated access points are reasonably priced and well received.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Yes, I believe the additional AP in the center of the house will fix the coverage issues that the router and single AP could not solve.

But regarding the 2.4 GHz band, we still have some legacy devices (laptops in particular) that do not have the 5 GHz band. So we must keep both bands.

I think the N66U is old enough that it would be good to replace it. Same for the AC56U. Both are running an older version of Merlins firmware. I haven't bothered to update the firmware for a long time since I have no comfort zone in backing up the config so I could easily update the firmware, then upload the backup settings. But that's a minor nit in the scheme of things... I just need to learn the process how to save and restore my custom router settings in Merlin.

I guess what I'm looking for is a knowledgeable person to opine whether or not a wifi system (mesh) is a better or worse option for my layout vs a conventional (but more modern) router with a couple of APs set up.

I've considered the Ubiquiti APs, but wonder if I use the cloud for managment, is that a free service or would I have to pay for it? I'd prefer to have a unified interface to manage the router and APs, so I'm open to replacing everything but the wires.

I'm not convinced I'm going to replace the Orbi system yet. It finally let me log into the web interface. But I'd like to have a fallback plan in place should this system become unreliable. I'm skittish about it due to all the problem reports I've read.. especially in regards to the auto-update policy that Netgear employs which has rendered stable systems unstable after the auto-flash.

Edit: a couple days later and the Orbi has remained stable. The minor nit about the login issue has not appeared again and I've modified the nvram to disable auto-updates. So the Orbi is not yet giving me reason to dump it. I still feel that axe over my head, but not as prominently as before. If the Orbi remains stable, I'll eventually gain confidence in it.

 

[speedlever]

The Orbi system was rock solid for a good 2 weeks, and then died a couple days ago without warning. I couldn't get onto the web GUI or the debug page. My network was dead.

I rewired from the modem straight into my PC and quickly got back online again. So it wasn't my ISP. I reconnected the Orbi and repowered it, but no change. Later, as I was nosing around the house, looking for my old network gear so I could get my network back up, I heard my PC chime indicating it received a new message. Sure enough, the Orbi was back online.

I have the Orbi on a UPS and didn't see any sign of a reboot, power issues, etc. I have no idea what caused it to die like that. So I went ahead and brought up the old network gear again. It works, not as powerfully or as well as the Orbi, but at least it works!

The Orbi is going back to the store. My new gear should be in tomorrow or so. Fortunately (or unfortunately, as the case may be), I had already begun thinking what I might replace it with, just in case.

 

[Xruptor]

I highly recommend an RT-AC86U. It's the upgraded version of the RT-AC68U and it's doing the majority of my house with no issues whats so ever. I have an older N66U acting as a AP much further down the house to catch the soft spot that the RT-AC86U signal is a little weaker. Not by a whole bunch mind you but I like to keep the WIFI at a specific strength The RT-AC86U is a beast of a router and it's no wonder that it's the successor to the RT-AC68U. This thing was worth every penny. My friend has one too and we are both satisfied. If you are looking for a Netgear alternative the Netgeart Nighthawk 4xs is also very good. If you are looking for a more different approach you can do the AmpliFi boxes from the makers of the EdgeRouter Lite (https://www.amplifi.com/).

 

[speedlever]

I highly recommend an RT-AC86U. It's the upgraded version of the RT-AC68U and it's doing the majority of my house with no issues whats so ever. I have an older N66U acting as a AP much further down the house to catch the soft spot that the RT-AC86U signal is a little weaker. Not by a whole bunch mind you but I like to keep the WIFI at a specific strength [emoji4] The RT-AC86U is a beast of a router and it's no wonder that it's the successor to the RT-AC68U. This thing was worth every penny. My friend has one too and we are both satisfied. If you are looking for a Netgear alternative the Netgeart Nighthawk 4xs is also very good. If you are looking for a more different approach you can do the AmpliFi boxes from the makers of the EdgeRouter Lite (https://www.amplifi.com/).

Close, but not quite what I have coming in today. I elected to go with the Unifi USG, a UAP-AC-Pro, and a UAP-AC-Lite. As I learned here, since I have ethernet cabling to my downstairs APs, I don't really benefit from mesh. The USG allows me to use the software controller to manage the router and both APs.
Modem -> USG -> Gb switch (office - off to one corner in the far side of the house)
Office switch -> PC and printer
Office switch -> Gb switch (den - central location) ->4k TV, CC Ultra, AC-Pro
Office switch -> Gb switch (LR - opposite side of the house from the office) ->1080p TV, Fire TV, 2 PS boxes, AC-Lite

I'm hard wiring everything that I reasonably can. (which still leaves a lot of mobile clients between Google Home devices, cell phones, laptops, iPads, thermostat(s), etc.). And I haven't gotten into home automation. Yet. [emoji1]

If this has coverage and works as well as the Orbi did (while it lasted), I'll be very happy. I really think the missing link was having an AP in a central location, which I didn't have until I installed the Orbi. Since I've put the old wifi system back in place with the router and AP at opposite ends of the house, I'm getting family complaints about spotty coverage upstairs in central rooms. Hope to have that fixed pretty soon with the new gear.

 

[mreg376]

If the width of your house is only the 50-60 foot length of that Ethernet cable, you should not need a mesh system, or even an AP in addition to a router. I suggest you try either the Netgear X4S (R7800) or the Synology RT2600ac. Both sport the same fast CPU and have great range and reliability.

 

[speedlever]

If the width of your house is only the 50-60 foot length of that Ethernet cable, you should not need a mesh system, or even an AP in addition to a router. I suggest you try either the Netgear X4S (R7800) or the Synology RT2600ac. Both sport the same fast CPU and have great range and reliability.

When I had the rt- ac56u in the office connected to the rt-n66u AP in the living room, the upstairs central rooms had issues with dropped connections.

When the Orbi system worked, it was fabulous. Unfortunately, it proved to be unreliable for me.

So far the Ubiquiti gear has been rock solid with the ac-Pro in the den and the ac-lite in the living room. I had planned to put another ac-lite in the office, but simply don’t need it.

 

[degrub]

Did you mount your APs vertically (on wall). Should give higher signal strength upstairs.

 

[speedlever]

No. The pro sits on top of a tv cabinet in the den while the lite sits on the mantle in the living room.