What router or access point for about £50?

Werewolf · 25 Jun 2016 at 23:52

Hi

I was chatting to my brother in law earlier and he needs a new access point (or router that can be turned into an access point) for his living room.
He already has a router that is good enough for what he wants in terms of wired connections, but it's never worked reliably with Idevices so a few years back I gave him a Linksys WRT54GS, which is now dying (and is really really old).

So does anyone have a suggestion for either a wireless access point or Router for around £50 that works well with things like Iphones, assorted tablets etc and has a reasonable range.

I can see a bunch on the store but have no real idea and can't find much out about several of them, i'd probably take a punt on one of the ASUS or TP link ones, but as it's not for me I want to try and get it right first time

Sparx · 26 Jun 2016 at 00:06

If you really want a good AP, look for the Ubiquiti UniFi UAP (300Mbps N) for approx £55.

Or if he can stretch the budget, Ubiquiti UAP-AC-LITE (1200Mbps AC) for approx £76.

I'm going off the typical consumer grade tat!

bledd · 26 Jun 2016 at 00:37

Ubiquiti or a mikrotik ap

Werewolf · 26 Jun 2016 at 13:42

Cheers, I'll have a look at the Ubiquiti's as they seem to be about what I think he'd like but I'm not sure if he'll agree with the cost

(the reason he's been using my old linkysys for years is partly because he didn't want to buy a new AP/router originally).

I'm actually tempted to get one for here as well, as it looks like it would be better than the old Belkin router I've got running as an access point in the living room (and with it being POE I could easily try moving it around the place to get a better signal).
For some reason I thought they were a lot more expensive.

DampCat · 2 Jul 2016 at 14:53

Can i ask, the Unifi appears to work best mounted on a ceiling? Or am i inferring that incorrectly. I too am looking for an AP and the Unifi keeps coming up over and over but I cant do a ceiling mount.

MarkLP · 2 Jul 2016 at 15:11

DampCat said:
Can i ask, the Unifi appears to work best mounted on a ceiling? Or am i inferring that incorrectly. I too am looking for an AP and the Unifi keeps coming up over and over but I cant do a ceiling mount.

I installed a UAC AC Pro yesterday on a wall, it's range is very impressive. Get 2 bars on my iPhone through 2 walls and about 30 metres away. It's also facing the opposite way.

DampCat · 2 Jul 2016 at 15:17

Awesome. Also I've not worked with POE before. I want to run it from my HH5, so I suppose i need something between it and the HH5 to make it work?

Sorry for stealig your thread Werewolf.

MarkLP · 2 Jul 2016 at 15:29

DampCat said:
Awesome. Also I've not worked with POE before. I want to run it from my HH5, so I suppose i need something between it and the HH5 to make it work?

Sorry for stealig your thread Werewolf.

UAC AC Pro comes with a POE Injector (Mains cable to Injector, one cable from HH5 to Injector, One from injector to AP) Can't be sure if it comes with UAC Lite best to check the package list.

bremen1874 · 2 Jul 2016 at 17:59

AFAIK all the single packs include an injector.

If you buy the multi-packs it varies.

DampCat · 2 Jul 2016 at 18:18

Thanks guys. Package list (Linkto PDF) confirms that it does have POE Injector.

Awesome. Gonna order one now. £71 on rainforest. 62 on ebay but.. ebay.

Steveocee · 3 Jul 2016 at 09:59

BoatyMcBoatface said:
Ubiquiti or a mikrotik ap

This.

You can get ex-corporate Ubiquiti UAP's for about £25 on the famous auction site. I managed to get a bulk deal of 3 for £60. Very handy when you use MikroTik RB260GSP's then you don't need PoE adapters :-)

Craigius · 3 Jul 2016 at 13:35

I have 2 Ubiquiti AP's in my house and I have to say they are nothing short of excellent the range on 5Ghz is fantastic for i-phones and i-pads. :cool: