RE: New mesh router and my thoughts on switching WiFi
Wow! Awesome! Wonderful! Such a wealth of information and advice on this email thread! Anyone considering upgrading their Wi-Fi network should read it! Thank you very much! -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: mk...@ucla.edu. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
RE: New mesh router and my thoughts on switching WiFi
Thanks, and yes, I do indeed know this, I have done my own networking both at home and at my retail store for the last 20 years and while I am perfectly happy to connect just about everything wirelessly there, at my business I still use more of a wired network. I bought a Cisco 24-port business grade switch some years back which also includes 12 POE ports should I ever want to switch to a Voip phone systems where the deskphones require both connectivity and power. It’s very noisy with a loud fan, but it’s tucked away in a little room upstairs where I keep my modem, switch, our current old Nortel phone system KSU as well as the PC which acts as our file server and which will soon get replaced with a Synology DS918+ 4-bay NAS unit. From: viphone@googlegroups.com On Behalf Of Arlene Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2018 1:04 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: New mesh router and my thoughts on switching WiFi It sounds like you chose a great router. You may already know this, however, that one port you said is free at the moment, well, if you need to turn that into more than one, just buy a good switch with the number of additional ports you might need. Happy networking, and if you have any questions just ask. Wayne - Original Message - From: Sieghard Weitzel<mailto:siegh...@live.ca> To: viphone@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com> Sent: Friday, October 19, 2018 11:23 PM Subject: New mesh router and my thoughts on switching WiFi Hi, I thought I briefly share this experience. I recently bought two Netgear Orbi mesh routers, one Home edition and one Pro/Business edition for my retail store. Nowadays having a robust WiFi network is essential especially if you have some home automation devices and are moving towards more home automation. Things like the ring Video Doorbell or Skybell HD Video Doorbell are installed outside the house and even in a relatively normal sized home the WiFi signal outside the fron tdoor may not be the best if the router is located in the office on the other end of the house as it is the case for our house. Of course at my retail store the problem is worse since it is quite a bit larger, it has two floors and the outside of the wall in back has metal siding which doesn’t help the signal. I had a traditional WiFi extender before and while it is set up upstairs right against the outside wall and the Ring Video Doorbell is basically just below it and maybe 10 feet over, we had nothing but issues and even standing outside with my phone I often only showed 1 bar on the WiFi. So, 2 days ago the Netgear Orbi home came, I purchased the version which comes with 1 satellite and in the description it says that this package should be good for a home up to 5000 sqft. Our house is significantly smaller, but I set up the main unit near the modem where our fibre connection terminates which is in the office at the very back of the house and it’s about in the middle when you look at the house from left to right. The satellite I put in the kitchen which overlooks the entry hall, it’s probably about 35 or so feet from the main unit and all the way on one side of the house. This unit is also only maybe 10 feet away from our entertainment stand with the TV, our Apple TV and my wife’s TV box for getting The Filipino Channel. It is also super close to the front door where our video doorbell is and just outside the wall is our deck off the kitchen. After I finally figured out how to configure the routers we are now getting 3 out of 3 bars everywhere in the house as well as outside both on the deck, in front and in the backyard and suddenly it is actually quite quick and easy to answer the Ring Video Doorbell which before often would just sit there saying “Loading”. I had a Netgear Nighthawk X6 AC3200 router before which is a very high-end unit with 6 antennas, but it doesn’t even come close to the performance of the Netgear Orbi. The Orbi has an app which is quite accessible and the web interface where you can do quite a lot more is also very accessible from what I have seen so far. The main unit has 4 ports, one is your Internet connection where you connect it to your ADSL, cable or fibre modem and there are 3 ports to hook up devices. I am using one for our Philips Hue bridge, another to plug in one of my Sonos players and I am currently not using the third, at some point I plan to get a NAS unit for at home and then I’ll need it for that. The satellite unit which looks identical has also 4 ports, all are ethernet ports where you can plug stuff in if you want. Here at home I use WiFi for pretty much everything, my laptop, printer as well as the Apple TV and my wife’s Filipino channel set top box. These could all be plugged in, but much easier without cables. All our other stuff needs to be wireless anyways, but I did find out how much of a pain it is to change WiFi networks, here is what we all had to reconnect to
Re: New mesh router and my thoughts on switching WiFi
It sounds like you chose a great router. You may already know this, however, that one port you said is free at the moment, well, if you need to turn that into more than one, just buy a good switch with the number of additional ports you might need. Happy networking, and if you have any questions just ask. Wayne - Original Message - From: Sieghard Weitzel To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Friday, October 19, 2018 11:23 PM Subject: New mesh router and my thoughts on switching WiFi Hi, I thought I briefly share this experience. I recently bought two Netgear Orbi mesh routers, one Home edition and one Pro/Business edition for my retail store. Nowadays having a robust WiFi network is essential especially if you have some home automation devices and are moving towards more home automation. Things like the ring Video Doorbell or Skybell HD Video Doorbell are installed outside the house and even in a relatively normal sized home the WiFi signal outside the fron tdoor may not be the best if the router is located in the office on the other end of the house as it is the case for our house. Of course at my retail store the problem is worse since it is quite a bit larger, it has two floors and the outside of the wall in back has metal siding which doesn’t help the signal. I had a traditional WiFi extender before and while it is set up upstairs right against the outside wall and the Ring Video Doorbell is basically just below it and maybe 10 feet over, we had nothing but issues and even standing outside with my phone I often only showed 1 bar on the WiFi. So, 2 days ago the Netgear Orbi home came, I purchased the version which comes with 1 satellite and in the description it says that this package should be good for a home up to 5000 sqft. Our house is significantly smaller, but I set up the main unit near the modem where our fibre connection terminates which is in the office at the very back of the house and it’s about in the middle when you look at the house from left to right. The satellite I put in the kitchen which overlooks the entry hall, it’s probably about 35 or so feet from the main unit and all the way on one side of the house. This unit is also only maybe 10 feet away from our entertainment stand with the TV, our Apple TV and my wife’s TV box for getting The Filipino Channel. It is also super close to the front door where our video doorbell is and just outside the wall is our deck off the kitchen. After I finally figured out how to configure the routers we are now getting 3 out of 3 bars everywhere in the house as well as outside both on the deck, in front and in the backyard and suddenly it is actually quite quick and easy to answer the Ring Video Doorbell which before often would just sit there saying “Loading”. I had a Netgear Nighthawk X6 AC3200 router before which is a very high-end unit with 6 antennas, but it doesn’t even come close to the performance of the Netgear Orbi. The Orbi has an app which is quite accessible and the web interface where you can do quite a lot more is also very accessible from what I have seen so far. The main unit has 4 ports, one is your Internet connection where you connect it to your ADSL, cable or fibre modem and there are 3 ports to hook up devices. I am using one for our Philips Hue bridge, another to plug in one of my Sonos players and I am currently not using the third, at some point I plan to get a NAS unit for at home and then I’ll need it for that. The satellite unit which looks identical has also 4 ports, all are ethernet ports where you can plug stuff in if you want. Here at home I use WiFi for pretty much everything, my laptop, printer as well as the Apple TV and my wife’s Filipino channel set top box. These could all be plugged in, but much easier without cables. All our other stuff needs to be wireless anyways, but I did find out how much of a pain it is to change WiFi networks, here is what we all had to reconnect to the new WiFi network: 4 Amazon Echo speakers Honeywell Lyric T5 thermostat Ring Video Doorbell Apple TV Filipino Channel Set top box My iPhone, my wife’s iPhone and the laptop (those were easy) HP Officejet Printer 2 Nest Protect smoke alarms Withings/Nokia Body Plus smartscale Sonos and Philips Hue just worked as they are wired I should get the Netgear Orbi Pro next week, then I can have some more fun doing the same thing at my store although here most of the computers are wired as is the larger Officejet printer, but we do have 5 Dropam (now Nestcam) 2 WiFi thermostats, a Skybell HD which by the way even on the current WiFi works way bettter than the Ring Pro we had before. Then there are 4 of the Meross smart wall switches I just purchased and which work great with a super-accessible app and setup process as well as two Amazon Echo speakers. I really look forward for these Netgear Orbi mesh routers to
Re: New mesh router and my thoughts on switching WiFi
Wait till you start using the 60Ghz 10 Gbps capable mesh units that should be getting marketed next year. QWualcomm introduced their new chips with this capability a few days ago. The only real issue I see with such short wavelengths (millimeter waves) is that they can be easily blocked by a sheet rock wall or brick even thick enough cardboard. Still, if you have a mesh network setup outside, then having other units within 100 feet could make for a very fast neighborhood network. :) -Eric > On Oct 19, 2018, at 9:42 PM, Cristobal Muñoz wrote: > > I’ve got a second generation Eero with two extenders for a 3300 SQFT house. > Run two businesses out of it. 4k, TV, regular HD TVs, Fire Sticks/Fire TVs, > Ring Video Pro, desktop/laptops/wireless printer, iOS devices, etc. The one > thing we really don’t do are all that smart speaker/home automation stuff > and yeah, Once you go mesh, you never go back. My TPLink triband AC router is > sitting in the closet collecting dust wondering what it did wrong. > The one issue I’m still having is that my Ring Video still hangs when trying > to answer an alert. I really haven’t tried figuring it out though. My signal > in the garage where all my workout stuff is solid and I can get my Netflix on > and Pandora out to my heart’s content back there all I want while on the > treadmill or bike or whatever. My garage is further than where the Ring and > front door is so who nows. > Anyway . . . yes, a Mesh system for serious connectivity really is the future. > > Cristóbal > > From: viphone@googlegroups.com On Behalf Of > Sieghard Weitzel > Sent: Friday, October 19, 2018 9:23 PM > To: viphone@googlegroups.com > Subject: New mesh router and my thoughts on switching WiFi > > Hi, > > I thought I briefly share this experience. I recently bought two Netgear Orbi > mesh routers, one Home edition and one Pro/Business edition for my retail > store. > Nowadays having a robust WiFi network is essential especially if you have > some home automation devices and are moving towards more home automation. > Things like the ring Video Doorbell or Skybell HD Video Doorbell are > installed outside the house and even in a relatively normal sized home the > WiFi signal outside the fron tdoor may not be the best if the router is > located in the office on the other end of the house as it is the case for our > house. Of course at my retail store the problem is worse since it is quite a > bit larger, it has two floors and the outside of the wall in back has metal > siding which doesn’t help the signal. I had a traditional WiFi extender > before and while it is set up upstairs right against the outside wall and the > Ring Video Doorbell is basically just below it and maybe 10 feet over, we had > nothing but issues and even standing outside with my phone I often only > showed 1 bar on the WiFi. > So, 2 days ago the Netgear Orbi home came, I purchased the version which > comes with 1 satellite and in the description it says that this package > should be good for a home up to 5000 sqft. Our house is significantly > smaller, but I set up the main unit near the modem where our fibre connection > terminates which is in the office at the very back of the house and it’s > about in the middle when you look at the house from left to right. The > satellite I put in the kitchen which overlooks the entry hall, it’s probably > about 35 or so feet from the main unit and all the way on one side of the > house. This unit is also only maybe 10 feet away from our entertainment stand > with the TV, our Apple TV and my wife’s TV box for getting The Filipino > Channel. It is also super close to the front door where our video doorbell is > and just outside the wall is our deck off the kitchen. > After I finally figured out how to configure the routers we are now getting 3 > out of 3 bars everywhere in the house as well as outside both on the deck, in > front and in the backyard and suddenly it is actually quite quick and easy to > answer the Ring Video Doorbell which before often would just sit there saying > “Loading”. I had a Netgear Nighthawk X6 AC3200 router before which is a very > high-end unit with 6 antennas, but it doesn’t even come close to the > performance of the Netgear Orbi. > The Orbi has an app which is quite accessible and the web interface where you > can do quite a lot more is also very accessible from what I have seen so far. > The main unit has 4 ports, one is your Internet connection where you connect > it to your ADSL, cable or fibre modem and there are 3 ports to hook up > devices. I am using one for our Philips Hue bridge, another to plug in one of > my Sonos players and I am currently not using the third, at some point I plan > to get a NAS unit for at home and then I’ll need it for that. The satellite > unit which looks identical has also 4 ports, all are ethernet ports where you > can plug stuff in if you want. > Here at home I use
RE: New mesh router and my thoughts on switching WiFi
Maybe you could integrate them, but there really is no point I my opinion. The advantage of a mesh router like the Eero or Netgear Orbi or Linksys Velop is that it creates a seamless WiFi network which is different from what you get with a traditional router and extenders. I spend quite a bit of time deciding which to get and while the eero was the original company who came up with the concept, the Netgear does one thing nobody else does, it uses one of the 5Ghz radios/channels as a backchannel or whatever they call it, i.e. the connection between the router and satellite or satellites is one that one 5 Ghz band and apparently the Netgear Orbi is pretty much at the top when it comes to speed. These mesh routers pop up like mushrooms in the fall now, just received an email from Synology that they are releasing a brandnew mesh router as well and given the reviews of their regular router I assume it will also be a good product. The Netgear Nighthawk X6 Triband router I had before was over $300 canadian so by no means a cheap router, but when I recently upgraded my fibre connection from 125 Mbps download to 250 Mbps I would only get the 125 speed on anything connected to the Netgear Nighthawk. I assume maybe it was a setting or cable issue, but I ended up using the WiFi generated by my provider’s modem for a while until I got the Orbi. When I hooked it up I did so with a new Cat-6 cable I ordered, one of the Amazzon Basic cables, and after it was set up I did a speedtest and I am now getting the full speed. Cristobal is correct, these mesh systems are definitely the way to go. If your system with Airport Extreme and Airport Expresses works well I wouldn’t be in a hurry to change it. I bought this because I was frustrated with the WiFi I had never performing as well as I wanted it to. The Netgear Orbi Home package with 1 satellite I bought was $426.99 on Amazon Canada, it was listed at a regular price of $499.99. I just checked on Amazon.com and it is currently listed at $328.97 US. There are multiple Orbi systems, I bought the fastest Triband system, the model is RBK50, there is also a less expensive RBK23 version. Here is the link for the one I bought: NETGEAR Orbi Ultra-Performance Whole Home Mesh WiFi System - fastest WiFi router and single satellite extender with speeds up to 3 Gbps over 5,000 sq. feet, AC3000 (RBK50)<https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Orbi-Ultra-Performance-Whole-System/dp/B01K4CZOBS/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc=UTF8=1540049249=1-3=netgear+orbi> Regards, Sieghard From: 'Harry Bell' via VIPhone Sent: Saturday, October 20, 2018 4:26 AM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: New mesh router and my thoughts on switching WiFi For using an AirPort Extreme etc with the Netgear Orbi, what I found on the web is: “My settings on the Airport (connected by ethernet to the Orbi via a switch): Router mode: Off(Bridge Mode) Network Mode: Create a Wireless Network SSID/Password: Same as the Orbi network Internet Connection: DHCP You must put AirPort Extreme, AirPort Time Capsule, and AirPort Express in bridge mode for the devices to function properly with your Orbi WiFi System.” Does this actually work to be able to use the old Apple routers in conjunction with the mesh system? Harry On 20 Oct 2018, at 05:23, Sieghard Weitzel mailto:siegh...@live.ca>> wrote: Hi, I thought I briefly share this experience. I recently bought two Netgear Orbi mesh routers, one Home edition and one Pro/Business edition for my retail store. Nowadays having a robust WiFi network is essential especially if you have some home automation devices and are moving towards more home automation. Things like the ring Video Doorbell or Skybell HD Video Doorbell are installed outside the house and even in a relatively normal sized home the WiFi signal outside the fron tdoor may not be the best if the router is located in the office on the other end of the house as it is the case for our house. Of course at my retail store the problem is worse since it is quite a bit larger, it has two floors and the outside of the wall in back has metal siding which doesn’t help the signal. I had a traditional WiFi extender before and while it is set up upstairs right against the outside wall and the Ring Video Doorbell is basically just below it and maybe 10 feet over, we had nothing but issues and even standing outside with my phone I often only showed 1 bar on the WiFi. So, 2 days ago the Netgear Orbi home came, I purchased the version which comes with 1 satellite and in the description it says that this package should be good for a home up to 5000 sqft. Our house is significantly smaller, but I set up the main unit near the modem where our fibre connection terminates which is in the office at the very back of the house and it’s about in the middle when you look at the house from left to right. The satellite I put in the kitchen which overlooks the entry hall, it’s probably about 3
Re: New mesh router and my thoughts on switching WiFi
I got the Orbi mesh router a few months ago, and my expresses connected just fine to it. I only use them for airplay. And the Orby works wonderfully well, giving me signal in places where my airport extreme never did very well. Mary Sent from my iPhone > On Oct 20, 2018, at 12:16 AM, Apple Gourmet- wrote: > > I’m currently using an Apple extreme with for Apple airport express. Will I > have to junk these if I get a mesh router? > Any suggestions on what to do with my Apple extreme and for airport expresses > which were quite expensive? > Thank you very much! > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if > you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or > moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: > mk...@ucla.edu. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at > caraqu...@caraquinn.com > > The archives for this list can be searched at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: mk...@ucla.edu. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: New mesh router and my thoughts on switching WiFi
For using an AirPort Extreme etc with the Netgear Orbi, what I found on the web is: “My settings on the Airport (connected by ethernet to the Orbi via a switch): Router mode: Off(Bridge Mode) Network Mode: Create a Wireless Network SSID/Password: Same as the Orbi network Internet Connection: DHCP You must put AirPort Extreme, AirPort Time Capsule, and AirPort Express in bridge mode for the devices to function properly with your Orbi WiFi System.” Does this actually work to be able to use the old Apple routers in conjunction with the mesh system? Harry > On 20 Oct 2018, at 05:23, Sieghard Weitzel wrote: > > Hi, > > I thought I briefly share this experience. I recently bought two Netgear Orbi > mesh routers, one Home edition and one Pro/Business edition for my retail > store. > Nowadays having a robust WiFi network is essential especially if you have > some home automation devices and are moving towards more home automation. > Things like the ring Video Doorbell or Skybell HD Video Doorbell are > installed outside the house and even in a relatively normal sized home the > WiFi signal outside the fron tdoor may not be the best if the router is > located in the office on the other end of the house as it is the case for our > house. Of course at my retail store the problem is worse since it is quite a > bit larger, it has two floors and the outside of the wall in back has metal > siding which doesn’t help the signal. I had a traditional WiFi extender > before and while it is set up upstairs right against the outside wall and the > Ring Video Doorbell is basically just below it and maybe 10 feet over, we had > nothing but issues and even standing outside with my phone I often only > showed 1 bar on the WiFi. > So, 2 days ago the Netgear Orbi home came, I purchased the version which > comes with 1 satellite and in the description it says that this package > should be good for a home up to 5000 sqft. Our house is significantly > smaller, but I set up the main unit near the modem where our fibre connection > terminates which is in the office at the very back of the house and it’s > about in the middle when you look at the house from left to right. The > satellite I put in the kitchen which overlooks the entry hall, it’s probably > about 35 or so feet from the main unit and all the way on one side of the > house. This unit is also only maybe 10 feet away from our entertainment stand > with the TV, our Apple TV and my wife’s TV box for getting The Filipino > Channel. It is also super close to the front door where our video doorbell is > and just outside the wall is our deck off the kitchen. > After I finally figured out how to configure the routers we are now getting 3 > out of 3 bars everywhere in the house as well as outside both on the deck, in > front and in the backyard and suddenly it is actually quite quick and easy to > answer the Ring Video Doorbell which before often would just sit there saying > “Loading”. I had a Netgear Nighthawk X6 AC3200 router before which is a very > high-end unit with 6 antennas, but it doesn’t even come close to the > performance of the Netgear Orbi. > The Orbi has an app which is quite accessible and the web interface where you > can do quite a lot more is also very accessible from what I have seen so far. > The main unit has 4 ports, one is your Internet connection where you connect > it to your ADSL, cable or fibre modem and there are 3 ports to hook up > devices. I am using one for our Philips Hue bridge, another to plug in one of > my Sonos players and I am currently not using the third, at some point I plan > to get a NAS unit for at home and then I’ll need it for that. The satellite > unit which looks identical has also 4 ports, all are ethernet ports where you > can plug stuff in if you want. > Here at home I use WiFi for pretty much everything, my laptop, printer as > well as the Apple TV and my wife’s Filipino channel set top box. These could > all be plugged in, but much easier without cables. All our other stuff needs > to be wireless anyways, but I did find out how much of a pain it is to change > WiFi networks, here is what we all had to reconnect to the new WiFi network: > 4 Amazon Echo speakers > Honeywell Lyric T5 thermostat > Ring Video Doorbell > Apple TV > Filipino Channel Set top box > My iPhone, my wife’s iPhone and the laptop (those were easy) > HP Officejet Printer > 2 Nest Protect smoke alarms > Withings/Nokia Body Plus smartscale > Sonos and Philips Hue just worked as they are wired > > I should get the Netgear Orbi Pro next week, then I can have some more fun > doing the same thing at my store although here most of the computers are > wired as is the larger Officejet printer, but we do have 5 Dropam (now > Nestcam) 2 WiFi thermostats, a Skybell HD which by the way even on the > current WiFi works way bettter than the Ring Pro we had before. > Then there are 4 of the Meross smart wall switches
RE: New mesh router and my thoughts on switching WiFi
I’m currently using an Apple extreme with for Apple airport express. Will I have to junk these if I get a mesh router? Any suggestions on what to do with my Apple extreme and for airport expresses which were quite expensive? Thank you very much! -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: mk...@ucla.edu. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
RE: New mesh router and my thoughts on switching WiFi
I’ve got a second generation Eero with two extenders for a 3300 SQFT house. Run two businesses out of it. 4k, TV, regular HD TVs, Fire Sticks/Fire TVs, Ring Video Pro, desktop/laptops/wireless printer, iOS devices, etc. The one thing we really don’t do are all that smart speaker/home automation stuff and yeah, Once you go mesh, you never go back. My TPLink triband AC router is sitting in the closet collecting dust wondering what it did wrong. The one issue I’m still having is that my Ring Video still hangs when trying to answer an alert. I really haven’t tried figuring it out though. My signal in the garage where all my workout stuff is solid and I can get my Netflix on and Pandora out to my heart’s content back there all I want while on the treadmill or bike or whatever. My garage is further than where the Ring and front door is so who nows. Anyway . . . yes, a Mesh system for serious connectivity really is the future. Cristóbal From: viphone@googlegroups.com On Behalf Of Sieghard Weitzel Sent: Friday, October 19, 2018 9:23 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: New mesh router and my thoughts on switching WiFi Hi, I thought I briefly share this experience. I recently bought two Netgear Orbi mesh routers, one Home edition and one Pro/Business edition for my retail store. Nowadays having a robust WiFi network is essential especially if you have some home automation devices and are moving towards more home automation. Things like the ring Video Doorbell or Skybell HD Video Doorbell are installed outside the house and even in a relatively normal sized home the WiFi signal outside the fron tdoor may not be the best if the router is located in the office on the other end of the house as it is the case for our house. Of course at my retail store the problem is worse since it is quite a bit larger, it has two floors and the outside of the wall in back has metal siding which doesn’t help the signal. I had a traditional WiFi extender before and while it is set up upstairs right against the outside wall and the Ring Video Doorbell is basically just below it and maybe 10 feet over, we had nothing but issues and even standing outside with my phone I often only showed 1 bar on the WiFi. So, 2 days ago the Netgear Orbi home came, I purchased the version which comes with 1 satellite and in the description it says that this package should be good for a home up to 5000 sqft. Our house is significantly smaller, but I set up the main unit near the modem where our fibre connection terminates which is in the office at the very back of the house and it’s about in the middle when you look at the house from left to right. The satellite I put in the kitchen which overlooks the entry hall, it’s probably about 35 or so feet from the main unit and all the way on one side of the house. This unit is also only maybe 10 feet away from our entertainment stand with the TV, our Apple TV and my wife’s TV box for getting The Filipino Channel. It is also super close to the front door where our video doorbell is and just outside the wall is our deck off the kitchen. After I finally figured out how to configure the routers we are now getting 3 out of 3 bars everywhere in the house as well as outside both on the deck, in front and in the backyard and suddenly it is actually quite quick and easy to answer the Ring Video Doorbell which before often would just sit there saying “Loading”. I had a Netgear Nighthawk X6 AC3200 router before which is a very high-end unit with 6 antennas, but it doesn’t even come close to the performance of the Netgear Orbi. The Orbi has an app which is quite accessible and the web interface where you can do quite a lot more is also very accessible from what I have seen so far. The main unit has 4 ports, one is your Internet connection where you connect it to your ADSL, cable or fibre modem and there are 3 ports to hook up devices. I am using one for our Philips Hue bridge, another to plug in one of my Sonos players and I am currently not using the third, at some point I plan to get a NAS unit for at home and then I’ll need it for that. The satellite unit which looks identical has also 4 ports, all are ethernet ports where you can plug stuff in if you want. Here at home I use WiFi for pretty much everything, my laptop, printer as well as the Apple TV and my wife’s Filipino channel set top box. These could all be plugged in, but much easier without cables. All our other stuff needs to be wireless anyways, but I did find out how much of a pain it is to change WiFi networks, here is what we all had to reconnect to the new WiFi network: 4 Amazon Echo speakers Honeywell Lyric T5 thermostat Ring Video Doorbell Apple TV Filipino Channel Set top box My iPhone, my wife’s iPhone and the laptop (those were easy) HP Officejet Printer 2 Nest Protect smoke alarms Withings/Nokia Body Plus smartscale Sonos and Philips Hue just worked as they are
