Recommendations for a Wireless Access Point please

Matrix · 1 Feb 2022 at 17:56

Evening

I'm looking to put a wireless access point upstairs so we all get better wifi in upstairs .

At the moment where I'm thinking of putting it I have a TP-Link PoE Switch 5-Port Gigabit there. Which has a direct ethernet cable from the main router downstairs going to it . This holds the house camera system and one cable off it to my sons xbox.

But wifi isn't great a lot upstairs so was hoping off the TP-Link PoE Switch 5-Port Gigabit I could connect a wifi access point.

Could this be done and which one should I be looking at . I had been looking at something like a Netgear wireless access point (WAC104).

Also I assume moving from downstairs to upstairs it will stay on the same network using one of these access points ?

Thank for your time .

bledd · 1 Feb 2022 at 20:30

Unifi AC-Lite

Matrix · 2 Feb 2022 at 07:25

bledd said:
Unifi AC-Lite

Never even heard of this , would this allow everything I require and to keep everything on the same network passwords etc ?

Easy enough to set up?

Thanks

Turn · 2 Feb 2022 at 11:48

Archer C6 V3.2, it's on sale for £38.
Does ~500Mbps on 5Ghz.

I had the WAC104 for a month but returned it as it was very inconsistent

Matrix · 2 Feb 2022 at 12:47

0007 said:
Archer C6 V3.2, it's on sale for £38.
Does ~500Mbps on 5Ghz.

I had the WAC104 for a month but returned it as it was very inconsistent

Thanks for the reply just had a quick look at few vids so say my network was called
ID :-house1
Password :- 123456789

Am I right in thinking in the new router/access point I just put the same details ? That's the bit that's really throwing me at the moment .

I do have a very old TL-WDR3600 main router so another TP link product to use as an access point would be decent

Thanks

Orcvader · 2 Feb 2022 at 12:59

You can have two different access points/router providing the same SSID and password, but make sure they're on non-overlapping channels (eg for 2.4GHz, main router on channel 1, AP on channel 6). It will still be up to the client device to roam between the two.

On the other hand another option is a mesh setup with ethernet backhaul for seamless roaming (meaning the APs can hand off devices to the other). The Unifi mentioned above does offer this but it starts to get expensive since you need two, and you'll also need to set up the Unifi controller to set it up properly. There is the Deco M5 which is a cheaper option and simpler to set up if you want to stick with TP-Link.

Matrix · 2 Feb 2022 at 13:49

Orcvader said:
You can have two different access points/router providing the same SSID and password, but make sure they're on non-overlapping channels (eg for 2.4GHz, main router on channel 1, AP on channel 6). It will still be up to the client device to roam between the two.

On the other hand another option is a mesh setup with ethernet backhaul for seamless roaming (meaning the APs can hand off devices to the other). The Unifi mentioned above does offer this but it starts to get expensive since you need two, and you'll also need to set up the Unifi controller to set it up properly. There is the Deco M5 which is a cheaper option and simpler to set up if you want to stick with TP-Link.

Thanks for the reply and information . Yeah i really just want same SSID and password on all which would be better for us all here .

Just had a quick look the Deco M5 they look pretty simple and easy to hide etc i assume that would still work first being plugged in to the TP-Link PoE Switch 5-Port Gigabit, 4 PoE+ ports up to 30 W for each PoE port and 65 W for all PoE port.

Thank you

Turn · 2 Feb 2022 at 15:56

Yeah the Archer C6 V3.2 can be flashed with OpenWRT down the road aswell.
If you want something more beefy then there's definitely more expensive Archer's, I just don't think anything past 500Mbps is needed over WiFi which is why the C6 V3.2 is my go to.

If you want something which is PoE then the TP-Link EAP's aren't a bad choice.

Orcvader · 2 Feb 2022 at 18:22

Matrix said:
Thanks for the reply and information . Yeah i really just want same SSID and password on all which would be better for us all here .

Just had a quick look the Deco M5 they look pretty simple and easy to hide etc i assume that would still work first being plugged in to the TP-Link PoE Switch 5-Port Gigabit, 4 PoE+ ports up to 30 W for each PoE port and 65 W for all PoE port.

Thank you

I don't think the M5s can be powered via PoE but assuming the switch is smart enough it should detect they're not PoE devices.

Matrix · 3 Feb 2022 at 15:09

Orcvader said:
I don't think the M5s can be powered via PoE but assuming the switch is smart enough it should detect they're not PoE devices.

They can't be powered PoE which is a real shame to be fair .

So think it will the Archer assuming that can be powered via Poe if not the Unifi AC-Lite then maybe .

Thanks

Turn · 3 Feb 2022 at 15:11

The Archer I mentioned can't be powered by PoE, your best bet is the TP-Link EAP series if you want the AP to be powered through PoE.

Matrix · 3 Feb 2022 at 15:31

0007 said:
The Archer I mentioned can't be powered by PoE, your best bet is the TP-Link EAP series if you want the AP to be powered through PoE.

Oh is it not thought I read it was must have been another one I looked at . Yeah I'll take a look at the tp link EAP then.

Thank you once more for your time

jfish · 3 Feb 2022 at 15:34

if you want cloud managed get a ZyXEL Cloud WiFi6 AX1800, its WiFi 6 POE and 70 pounds.

Matrix · 3 Feb 2022 at 15:43

jfish said:
if you want cloud managed get a ZyXEL Cloud WiFi6 AX1800, its WiFi 6 POE and 70 pounds.

Never heard of them they good then ?

Just want to really plug and play it using the same SSID and password as the main router network we have . My son struggles upstairs for wifi when on his VR and to be fair it's a bit flaky when I've used my phone upstairs too can drop out here and there so just want that fixing really .

Orcvader · 3 Feb 2022 at 19:12

Matrix said:
Never heard of them they good then ?

Just want to really plug and play it using the same SSID and password as the main router network we have . My son struggles upstairs for wifi when on his VR and to be fair it's a bit flaky when I've used my phone upstairs too can drop out here and there so just want that fixing really .

If VR is in the mix, is it the Quest 2 and does he use the wireless link to his PC? In that case WiFi 6 is recommended if he wants a better experience.

The above ZyXEL looks like a good shout especially at that price, and seems cloud management is free too which isn't for the Unifi stuff. Looks like the one that matches your needs.

WJA96 · 3 Feb 2022 at 20:14

@Orcvader - UniFi is completely free, no licence fees. For a single access point you can set up the controller on your mobile phone.

And at this price point I’d suggest the UniFi U6-lite or the UAP-AC-Lite as suggested by @bledd.

Unifi pretty much owns this segment of the market. Indeed, such is their market dominance that when TP-Link designed the user interface for their Omada system they blatantly ripped off the UniFi interface from 2017.

Orcvader · 3 Feb 2022 at 20:47

@WJA96 was more on about the cloud management, but yes the standalone one is free. However I found a proper controller compared to the standalone phone app had more control and features for the APs, such as fast roaming if OP desired that feature. Mind you if OP wanted to he could get something like a Pi and then run the full controller off that.

WJA96 · 4 Feb 2022 at 03:56

Orcvader said:
@WJA96 was more on about the cloud management, but yes the standalone one is free. However I found a proper controller compared to the standalone phone app had more control and features for the APs, such as fast roaming if OP desired that feature. Mind you if OP wanted to he could get something like a Pi and then run the full controller off that.

There are no charges for the UniFi controller. You can buy a dedicated piece of hardware to run the controller on, the Unifi Cloud Key, but you can just as easily host the controller on your home PC, NAS or a raspberry pi. It’s completely free. No charges. Are you thinking of Cisco Meraki?

And fast roaming on a UniFi controller is pointless with modern wireless clients. The zero-handoff feature replaced it and it works much better.

Matrix · 4 Feb 2022 at 08:19

To be fair both look like there'll do a job . I just require the simplest set up with PoE and to be able to use the same SSID and password . Other than that i won't be touching the interface really .

Just nee the access point to plug in the PoE switch we have already ( one port left in that) and then easy set up both look about the same don't they and can be done on the phone from what I've seen ? Though i can login through my Pc in the office if needed .

It is the Quest 2 but he doesn't have a pc he uses xbox x and a Air book but of course can't link them up . The wifi is just a bit hit and miss at times upstairs at that side of the house which might be due to an old router but i have no plans to change that hence just needing an access point to mount upstairs.

Thanks guys

Orcvader · 4 Feb 2022 at 10:19

WJA96 said:
There are no charges for the UniFi controller. You can buy a dedicated piece of hardware to run the controller on, the Unifi Cloud Key, but you can just as easily host the controller on your home PC, NAS or a raspberry pi. It’s completely free. No charges. Are you thinking of Cisco Meraki?

And fast roaming on a UniFi controller is pointless with modern wireless clients. The zero-handoff feature replaced it and it works much better.

When I mean cloud I mean the actual cloud controller, I don't mean the free controller you can run off your own dedicated hardware/cloud key (which is still local hardware). Notice in the original comment I used the word "cloud". I did not mean the controller software itself which I'm aware is free to use. I was originally comparing to ZyXEL's cloud management too. Apologies if my wording wasn't clear enough.

@Matrix in that case just a single AP will do. The Unifi doesn't have a web UI to access on PC so you'll have to depend on the app on the phone.