If you enjoy surfing the web, streaming movies, or doing your online shopping while relaxing poolside, the Netgear Add-On Orbi Outdoor Satellite (RBS50Y) is right up your alley. This weather-resistant mesh component lets you expand your Wi-Fi coverage to the backyard and other areas outside of the home. At $349.99, it's not cheap, but if you're already using an Orbi system and want to make sure you have seamless roaming both indoors and outdoors, it's a worthwhile investment.
Send Your Signal Outside
The Orbi RBS50Y Outdoor Satellite is an add-on component, which means you'll need an Orbi router such as the RBK50 ($219.00 at Amazon) , the RBK40, or the RBK30 to use it. As with other Orbi satellites, including the voice-controlled RBS40V and the nodes that come with the RBK50 and the RBK30 systems, the RBS50Y is a high-profile component. In fact, at 10.6 by 8.3 by 2.7 inches, it's the largest Orbi component I've seen. The enclosure has an IP56 weather rating, which means it has partial resistance to dirt and dust and full resistance to moderately powered jets of water. It is designed to operate in temperatures as low as negative 4 degrees up to 122 degrees. In other words, it'll handle most weather conditions.
There's an LED light on the bottom of the satellite that flashes white and magenta during setup. It glows solid blue for three minutes when setup is complete and you have a strong connection to the router and glows amber if the signal is fair, in which case you should relocate the satellite for optimal performance. The LED also acts as a sort of night-light that can be dimmed and turned on or off using the app. The rear of the device holds an on/off button, a Sync button, a power jack, a power switch, and a large heat sink, but there are no LAN ports or USB ports.
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The RBS50Y provides up to 2,500 square feet of Wi-Fi coverage. It's a tri-band AC3000 satellite with six internal antennas and can reach maximum throughput speeds of 400Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 866Mbps on one of the 5GHz bands. The second 5GHz band, dedicated for backhaul, can reach speeds of up to 1,733Mbps. It matches up nicely with the Orbi RBR50 router, which is also a tri-band AC3000 device. The RBS50Y is powered by a quad-core CPU running at 710MHz, 512MB of RAM, and 256MB of flash memory. It supports the same 802.11ac Wave 2 technologies as other Orbi components including MU-MIMO simultaneous streaming, direct-to-client beamforming, and automatic band-steering.
As with other Orbi devices, the RBS50Y satellite uses Netgear's Orbi mobile app (iOS and Android) which lets you manage Wi-Fi settings, see what client devices are connected, pause and resume connectivity for individual clients, enable guest networking, and configure Disney Parental Controls. Here you can also add new Orbi satellites, view Internet IP and MAC address information, and control the outdoor satellite's LED lighting by turning it on or off and creating a lighting schedule.
You can also use SpeedTest to check your internet upload and download speeds, view graphical network traffic statistics, and view a network map of all installed routers and satellites. Tap any component to see what clients are connected to it. For more advanced controls such as Static Routing, Port Forwarding, and VLAN/Bridge settings, you'll have to use the Orbi web-based console.
Solid Performance
Installing the RBS50Y satellite is easy. As per the written instructions, I performed the initial setup indoors in close proximity to an Orbi RBR50 router that I used for testing. I plugged the device in and waited several seconds for it to boot up. When the bottom LED turned solid white I pressed the Sync button on the back of the satellite and then pressed the Sync button on the router. The satellite's LED changed from blue to magenta and then back to blue, indicating a successful sync. Next, I unplugged the satellite and took it outdoors to a location about 35 to 40 feet from the router. I plugged it back in and when the LED turned solid blue I was ready to test.
The RBS50Y turned in solid scores on our throughput performance tests. It should be noted that as with other Orbi devices, this component uses automatic band-steering. As such, our test results are based on the satellite's 5GHz performance. The RBS50y's score of 453Mbps on the close-proximity test (within 5 feet from the satellite) was just a bit slower than the Orbi RBR50 router (480Mbps) and the Orbi RBS50 satellite (470Mbps) and was a good deal faster than the RBS40V satellite (319Mbps).
At a distance of 30 feet, the RBS50Y's score of 301Mbps beat all other Orbi components. Just for the heck of it, I tested the satellite's throughput from my neighbor's yard, at a distance of approximately 60 feet from the satellite, and recorded an impressive score of 110Mbps. I was also able to stream Netflix video on my tablet without any lag or chop.
Poolside Connection
The Netgear Add-On Orbi Outdoor Satellite (RBS50Y) makes sense for users who want to extend their existing Orbi Wi-Fi network to areas outside of the home such as backyard patios, poolside locations, and detached garages. It's easy to install and is a solid performer. It also has very good range, extending well outside of the home. Of course, all of this outdoor Wi-Fi goodness comes with a relatively steep price, and you don't get any extra connectivity options. That said, if you want to stream video and music or even get a little work done while catching some rays, this weather-resistant satellite is worth every penny.
The Netgear Orbi Outdoor Satellite RBS50Y makes it easy to extend your existing Orbi mesh network to the great outdoors, offering solid throughput performance at respectable distances.
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