Unlocking the RBR50: The Ultimate Solution for Your Son’s Gaming Experience!

Greetings! I acquired the Orbi RBR50 Mesh system 6 years ago (2019). Router with one satellite. The Router operates on Firmware v2.7.4.24 and the satellite on v2.6.2.4. I realize it’s an outdated unit and I assume firmware updates are not ongoing. Our house measures ~4400 sf and our internet service provider is Google Fiber (1GB plan). The fiber jack is situated upstairs with the Router; the satellite resides downstairs. We are a family of 5, equipped with the typical range of smartphones, Roku TVs, a couple of Nest Thermostats, work laptops, a treadmill, smart bulbs, etc. Nothing overly extravagant.

My son enjoys computer gaming (Call of Duty; Fortnite, etc.). I relocated his desktop to a gaming room. I checked his internet speed and it measures <30 MBps. There are 3 walls and possibly around 25 feet between the router and his computer. He noted there is some lag. He remains positive about it but is being patient while I attempt to resolve this, though I don’t possess much knowledge in these areas.

From what I can gauge, my options are (1) purchase a WiFi extender for the room; (2) acquire another RBR50 satellite; (3) switch to the Google mesh system provided with the service and position 3 or 4 of the pucks throughout the house; or (4) install an ethernet cable behind the walls to the gaming room so he can connect to a wired ethernet port. My limited understanding suggests that the 4th option would be the most advantageous since the RBR50 (which supports WiFi 5) is quite adequate for my other wireless necessities (the gaming appears to be the sole issue), thus creating a connection to that space would be ideal. Can anyone more knowledgeable than I confirm if you consider that the best option?

One additional question. If that is indeed the best choice, should I conclude that I do not need to run an ethernet cable from the Router itself to the gaming room, but instead should run an ethernet cable from the fiber jack inside the house and route it to the room behind the walls to establish a fiber jack?

I truly appreciate any help and/or insight, and I apologize for the lengthy message…!