Access Point purchasing advice

[cogumel0]

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy an access point. I currently have a RT-AC66U running as access point only (I don't need the router features, my router is pfSense).

The range on the RT-AC66U has been getting worse over time, but also since a few months it refuses to sometimes let some clients connect (random ones, not always the same) or lets them connect but the connection speed is about 15kb/s, even if standing right next to the router itself. The fix is a restart, but it's becoming too much and gonna retire that one and buy an upgrade. I definitely want to do all of this with a single AP only. It was doable before, it's definitely doable now.

Anyway, my house has basement, ground floor, 1st floor and 2nd floor. The AP lives (and will continue to live) in the 2nd floor. Back when the AC66U worked well, I would have access with a mobile phone in the basement. It wasn't the best connection ever, but it was enough to watch a video on youtube or have a skype videocall. I was also able to have WiFi access anywhere in my garden.

I've never used 5g nor do I have much use for it. Same can be said about ac. In fact I simply switched 5g off altogether and am running purely on 2.4g limited to 802.11n.

Basically I'm looking for something that can replace this router and has similar or better range than my current one. While I'm currently not using either 5g or ac, that *could* change in the future so I wouldn't like to limit myself by buying something that can only do 2.4g or n. That being said, if at all possible I'd like to go for a AP only solution: it tends to cost less while still giving me everything I need (sometimes more, case of Ubiquiti for example).

Basically I'm after some help on what to get now. I'd like to, within my requirements, spend the least possible and am not at all bound to a particular brand. I was looking at the latest AirPort Extreme, some of the Ubiquiti models and some FritzBox too.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[sfx2000]

Pretty much all are going to have the same performance - with wireless, it's really about where to position the AP relative to where the users generally are.

Physics... and it's not just the AP, but the clients as well, both have a say here...

 

[cogumel0]

hi sfx2000, thank you for the reply.

I agree with you that there's a lot of aspects that define how well or how far a wifi signal will go, but I disagree that all access points/wireless routers have the same performance. What would even be the purpose of websites like this if that were true?

I'm merely asking, bearing in mind my requirements, what is a cheap yet feature rich model that is very likely to work properly in my home. I know no one can say with 100% certainty that x model from y brand is going to be the best in my particular case, but we can make comparisons against what I have and say with some certainty that if this one worked, then x model from y brand should work even better.

 

[MichaelCG]

You aren't even looking for "performance" for the most part since you aren't even using the 5GHz radio. From your description, you seem to be more interested in range and stability.

To answer that question (what has best 2.4GHz range) I'm sure the comparison charts will answer that. You haven't mentioned your budget, cabling options, nor client density requirements. There is no way a single device is going to provide great coverage/performance across 4 floors of a house. You already mentioned Ubiquiti, so at a most basic setup, use at least 2 UAP-AC-LITE on opposite sides of the house on different floors. If you want to step up a bit, look at the UAP-AC-LR. If we follow your desire for a single AP, get a UAP-AC-LR. It "should" have the more optimal antenna setup for mobile devices as well as devices on the fringe areas of coverage.

 

[cogumel0]

Sorry for the delay in replying here, no time at all these days ...

So I got the UAP-AC-LR to try it out. So far... not impressed.

I've tweaked its settings for performance and disabled the 5GHz radio, but I can't get nearly as good a range as I did with the RT-AC66U with both APs in the same physical location.

Also have to say I'm not a big fan of having to install Java + an app just to manage the AP. Sure I could use SSH but ... even most Enterprise APs have web interfaces these days ...

So I'm thinking of returning this one and getting something else, just don't quite know what. Any advice?

I wouldn't even mind purchasing another RT-AC66U, it did its job perfectly well 'till it went haywire, but I think I'd be better off taking the money I'd spend on that one, putting an extra 30-40 euros on top and getting something a wee bit better. Just don't quite know what though, any suggestions?

 

[sfx2000]

orry for the delay in replying here, no time at all these days ...

So I got the UAP-AC-LR to try it out. So far... not impressed.

I've tweaked its settings for performance and disabled the 5GHz radio, but I can't get nearly as good a range as I did with the RT-AC66U with both APs in the same physical location.

The UAP's - in terms of single client performance - it should be close... and it should have a bit more range.

Where the UAP's get into their own is capacity - when one has many clients that are associated, and if one has multiple AP's, the UniFI management interface starts to make more sense than with a single AP - one can set some thresholds, have some fine-grained control over client association, etc... that, along with being able to bind SSID's to VLAN's has value for the enterprise and small business markets - less value for home perhaps...

The UAP-AC-Pro might be a better choice for many here at SmallNetBuilder, compared to the UAP-AC-LR...

So for a single solution - maybe not, but when working with multiple AP's in a high usage environment, one can appreciate the capabilities of the UAP's and the management software.

(and valid point about needing Java - as this can be a problem later on - I had several issues with Java in the data center with the ILO management processors that required Java, but they didn't keep up with the changes in Java itself - one starts getting into certificate and manifest issues - I had problems with HP, IBM (now Lenovo), and even Sun/Oracle servers with ILO/AMM-IMM/SHM and Java)