Table top access point

[bdub]

I'm looking for some recommendations for a table top access point.

A little background. I've got a 2 story house with a finished basement; roughly 3800 sq ft. I've been using an Orbi RBR50 and 2x RBW30's for the past 6 months. Coverage/speed for the most part is good, for my 300/12 Mbps service.

We built our house 3 years ago and about 3 months ago, I finally got around to terminating all the low voltage. 18 CAT6 and 13 RG6. Unfortunately, I was somewhat short sided and didn't run any CAT6 to ceiling boxes. As a network engineer by profession, I should've known better. Oh well, what can you do?

In the next few months, I plan to change ISPs and upgrade to 1Gbps symmetrical fiber. For that reason, I want to improve my wireless. I'm looking at access points, since I plan to install a pfsense rackmount firewall/router. For now, I'm using an old Netgear R7000 as a router only.

Now, back to my original question. Without ceiling mount options, I'm looking for a table top access point. Unfortunately, most access points tested on this site (and in general) are meant to be ceiling mounted. I understand they can be table/wall mounted, but at a performance cost.

I've tried a couple options recently:
Linksys Velop (Dual band): AP mode, wired backhaul. I liked the form factor, but it had pretty poor wifi performance overall. Returned.

Netgear RBK23 (RBR20, 2x RBS20): AP mode, wired backhaul. Wireless coverage was good, however, I couldn't get wired backhaul to work reliably, even with the firmware released less than a week ago. I'm about a week into my 30-day return window. If firmware was better, this might be an ok option.

Netgear WAC505: AP mode (obviously). I love the web UI (not using insight) with its advanced features and customization options. Unfortunately, wireless throughput is underwhelming, specifically its 5Ghz coverage. Most of the time, it would band steer to 2.4Ghz.

A few other options I've also ruled out:
Eero Pro - no local management, somewhat sketchy privacy policy, and pretty high price for what you get.
Google Wifi - bridge mode only works with a single AP.
Ubiquiti UnFi - ceiling mount makes this an improbable option.

Again, I guess I'm looking for an access point that's omnidirectional, but works well on a desk/table/etc. I think the RBx20 Orbi's would work well, if only wired backhaul was stable. (Yes, I've read forums and opened tickets with support to try and resolve the problem to no avail).

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[whsbuss]

I'm looking for some recommendations for a table top access point.

A little background. I've got a 2 story house with a finished basement; roughly 3800 sq ft. I've been using an Orbi RBR50 and 2x RBW30's for the past 6 months. Coverage/speed for the most part is good, for my 300/12 Mbps service.

We built our house 3 years ago and about 3 months ago, I finally got around to terminating all the low voltage. 18 CAT6 and 13 RG6. Unfortunately, I was somewhat short sided and didn't run any CAT6 to ceiling boxes. As a network engineer by profession, I should've known better. Oh well, what can you do?

In the next few months, I plan to change ISPs and upgrade to 1Gbps symmetrical fiber. For that reason, I want to improve my wireless. I'm looking at access points, since I plan to install a pfsense rackmount firewall/router. For now, I'm using an old Netgear R7000 as a router only.

Now, back to my original question. Without ceiling mount options, I'm looking for a table top access point. Unfortunately, most access points tested on this site (and in general) are meant to be ceiling mounted. I understand they can be table/wall mounted, but at a performance cost.

I've tried a couple options recently:
Linksys Velop (Dual band): AP mode, wired backhaul. I liked the form factor, but it had pretty poor wifi performance overall. Returned.

Netgear RBK23 (RBR20, 2x RBS20): AP mode, wired backhaul. Wireless coverage was good, however, I couldn't get wired backhaul to work reliably, even with the firmware released less than a week ago. I'm about a week into my 30-day return window. If firmware was better, this might be an ok option.

Netgear WAC505: AP mode (obviously). I love the web UI (not using insight) with its advanced features and customization options. Unfortunately, wireless throughput is underwhelming, specifically its 5Ghz coverage. Most of the time, it would band steer to 2.4Ghz.

A few other options I've also ruled out:
Eero Pro - no local management, somewhat sketchy privacy policy, and pretty high price for what you get.
Google Wifi - bridge mode only works with a single AP.
Ubiquiti UnFi - ceiling mount makes this an improbable option.

Again, I guess I'm looking for an access point that's omnidirectional, but works well on a desk/table/etc. I think the RBx20 Orbi's would work well, if only wired backhaul was stable. (Yes, I've read forums and opened tickets with support to try and resolve the problem to no avail).

Thanks in advance for your help.

I know the UniFi APs are made to be wall or ceiling mounted, but I used them successfully just sitting on a table or desk. They work best ethernet backhaul and have terrific bandwidth performance.

 

[CaptainSTX]

If you have an attic above the second floor and given that your home is new construction it should be relatively easy to extend an Ethernet cable from a wall jack on an interior wall to a new location on the ceiling. If you don't have the tools to terminate the Cat6 just buy a preterminated cable of the necessary length.

 

[bdub]

If you have an attic above the second floor and given that your home is new construction it should be relatively easy to extend an Ethernet cable from a wall jack on an interior wall to a new location on the ceiling. If you don't have the tools to terminate the Cat6 just buy a preterminated cable of the necessary length.

Good call out. This is definitely doable, and I have the tools/cabling to do it, however I would think of this as a last resort option. It's messy work and really only addresses the second floor, not the first floor or basement. I'd rather have a standardized solution.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Good call out. This is definitely doable, and I have the tools/cabling to do it, however I would think of this as a last resort option. It's messy work and really only addresses the second floor, not the first floor or basement. I'd rather have a standardized solution.

If the basement doesn't have a permanently installed ceiling you can go from a first floor jack down and install a ceiling mounted AP in the basement. If using the Ethernet jacks on your first floor you locate your router in the center of the home you might not need a another ceiling mounted AP.

 

[bdub]

Yeah, doing ceiling mounts are possible, just not something I'd consider unless I had to. I was curious if there were recommendations for APs to try that could address my needs without running new cabling.

 

[MichaelCG]

None of the three Ubiquity devices at my house nor the two at my in-laws are ceiling mounted. I have one UAP-AC-IW wall mounted very high, one UAP-AC-LR mounted on a wall, and one UAP-AC-LR sitting on top of my kitchen cabinets facing upwards to service my 2nd floor. At my in-laws the first floor UAP-AC-LR is on the floor under an end table facing upwards, and the second floor UAP-AC-LR is on the floor behind a recliner facing downwards.

Are they all optimal? Nope...but getting a proper ceiling mount just wasn't an option that I was willing to chase.