connect arlo pro wireless camera to Netgear wifi extender

[peroloco]

How do you get the wireless camera to connect to the wifi extender?

There appears to be no option to connect the wireless cameras.

I had no problem doing this with the Arlo Q

[DaveWoj]

Page 8

https://www.arlo.com/en-us/images/Documents/ArloPro/arlo_pro_um.pdf

[jguerdat]

Dave, I think you misunderstand. The camera will never connect to any WiFi other than what is provided by a base.

You can't extend the connection for a camera through your WiFi. If you need greater range, you need additional bse stations. THOSE can be connected to your extender and cameras can then connect to the new base with better signal.

[DaveWoj]

Maybe I did misunderstand.

I assumed he wanted to connect his base station to the extender and not his router.

If he had the base station already set up and connected to his router, then I was also assuming he knows that the cameras only connect to the base station.

[peroloco]

Thanks. I'm understanding that I can't connect the cameras to the extender. Looks like I need the Netgear Orbi whole home mesh wifi system model RBK33. Right?

Too bad I can't just sink the extender to the Arlo base station. Sad.

[peroloco]

The user manual does not address synchronizing the cameras to an extender. I spent over 1 hour talking and chatting with different Netgear "support specialists" and it turns out they dont know what to do. They just try to sell me a "firewall" for $100.00.

Very anoying. You guys are MUCH more helpful.

[peroloco]

I think you are right. I just don't know how to do that. May just go ahead and get the Netgear Orbi, a whole home mesh wifi router with extenders. Right?

[DaveWoj]

I'm still confused. Maybe I'm missing something

Maybe jguerdat can give you some advice.

I have the Orbi and I have my base station connected to the satellite (extender)

If your extender has an ethernet connection then I'm not sure why it won't work.

Like jguerdat said, you can only sync to the base, you should be able to plug the base in anywhere.

But I don't want to be giving you incorrect advice as apparently I have been.

[jguerdat]

Somehow, I think we're all confused.

Let me start fresh - maybe it will help. The Arlo wireless cameras only connect to a base. No way to extend that connection. If one or more cameras need to be extended, they still need to connect to a base so a second one would be needed. How that base connects to the home network doesn't matter as long as the base connects via an Ethernet cable. You can use a WiFi or powerline extender or Orbi (or other mesh network device) satellites. There's no need to use an Orbi unless you feel it will help the home network somehow - it won't help Arlo at all. An inexpensive WiFi extender with an Ethernet port is all that's needed for a second Arlo base station. Or a long Ethernet cable to connect to the existing router.

Does that make better sense? Or am I still having problems understanding the issue?

[peroloco]

 According to the instructions the Arlo base needs to be connected to the home router with an Ethernet cable. if I take the Wi-Fi extender and plug it in to the base I have not gained anything because they’re all in the same location 

[peroloco]

 It makes a lot of sense thank you. I just can’t believe there’s no clear instructions from Netgear on how to extend these cameras.  Their customer service is really really  worse than useless !

[jguerdat · Accepted solution]

You don't plug a WiFi extender into the router - it connects to the router via WiFi, just like your phone. You connect the base to the extender via Ethernet which then provides the connection to the router/Internet. In a sense, you're connecting the base via WiFi. You can position the extender/base combo anyplace where you have sufficient signal from the router to allow things to work. 

Hope my ASCII art works here:

Internet---modem---router---base

                                        |

                                        +~~~~~~~~~~~~WiFi extender---base

--- = Ethernet

~~~ = WiFi

[peroloco]

your explanation is very clear. Thanks! I understand that to extend the cameras you need an additional base station for each Wi-Fi extender.

[DaveWoj]

---

@perolocowrote:

your explanation is very clear. Thanks! I understand that to extend the cameras you need an additional base station for each Wi-Fi extender.

---

My setup is probably a little different than most.

Instead of my base station being connected to my MAIN Orbi router which is inside my house, I have it connected to my Orbi satellite which is in my garage since it is about 1/3 the distance from my 2 cameras which are mounted directly outside the garage.

Good Luck

[jguerdat]

All sorts of weird things can happen with home networks. I have a base on the router, another off a switch and a 3rd on an extender. I've also had one on a powerline extender. Who knows what I'll do next?