WiFi Access Point suggestions

[timwhit]

I need a new AP for my living rooming. I have a Gigabit Cat-5E drop that it will be connected to, so it would be nice if the AP supports Gigabit speeds. I looked at the Ubiquiti APs, but they all seem to use POE and I don't want the added complexity and extra cables sitting behind my TV.

Suggestions?

 

[Handruin]

I need a new AP for my living rooming. I have a Gigabit Cat-5E drop that it will be connected to, so it would be nice if the AP supports Gigabit speeds. I looked at the Ubiquiti APs, but they all seem to use POE and I don't want the added complexity and extra cables sitting behind my TV.

Suggestions?

The Ubiquiti APs support two types of PoE, one is fully-baked, the other is their implementation. Regardless, they will ship a power brick that connects to the AP if you don't want to use your own PoE and it works fine. I've used both their brick and my own PoE without issues.

Their power brick looks a bit like this. You plug your CAT 5/6 into it and another cat 5/6 into the AP and they'll supply the correct power to the PoE side via the brick.

 

[Handruin]

You may also want to take a look at this ars technica article from Sept 3rd: Ubiquiti revamps its enterprise UniFi gear, and we've got some to review. Looks like Ubiquiti is rolling out new APs (or already have) and you can now get 802.11ac a bit cheaper than their previous version.

 

[Mercutio]

Ubiquiti APs are overkill for home use unless you have a massive propert you're trying to cover or something.

I'd probably buy a Netgear dual band AP and call it a day. I imagine that you would want to be on .AC not so much for available bandwidth but to stay on top of interference from other nearby 802.11 networks, right? Do you even have any 802.1ac client hardware yet?

 

[timwhit]

I don't even know what my clients support. I connect 2 laptops and 2 LG G3s.

I was looking at this: http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-Wireless-Gigabit-Extender-DAP-1650/dp/B00JFOP688/

 

[timwhit]

The giant power brick is what I want to avoid, Doug. Plus, this adds one more wire to the mix.

 

[Handruin]

The giant power brick is what I want to avoid, Doug. Plus, this adds one more wire to the mix.

Sorry, I misunderstood. Wouldn't you have a power brick anyway with any other AP? The power brick isn't that big but I can understand reducing clutter from behind the TV.

 

[timwhit]

Yes, hopefully something small and unobtrusive that is plugged into a power strip.

 

[timwhit]

Any opinions on the D-Link cylinder looking AP I linked?

 

[Mercutio]

I usually avoid D-link because it tends to offer lame firmware, but I base that more on my opinion of its routers than APs.

 

[timwhit]

As long as I can give it a SSID and password and then never touch it again I am good. My router is a Ubiquiti RouterStation Pro, this is just going to be connected to that through a gig-e switch.

 

[blakerwry]

Sorry, I misunderstood. Wouldn't you have a power brick anyway with any other AP? The power brick isn't that big but I can understand reducing clutter from behind the TV.

I don't understand either. The ubiquiti power brick I have is similar in size to that of any other hub/switch/modem/router. The benefit of the PoE type brick is that the power brick can be 1 foot away or 100. If your router/switch is in another room, just connect the brick there and you don't have to worry about a brick behind your TV.

 

[timwhit]

Will PoE work with standard Cat 5E? If not it won't help me. The cables are embedded in my drywall.

 

[ddrueding]

Will PoE work with standard Cat 5E?

Yup. No problem at all. And if you find yourself running more devices that can use PoE (cameras, APs, etc), you can get a switch that includes providing PoE power and simplify your wiring further.

 

[Mercutio]

Will PoE work with standard Cat 5E? If not it won't help me. The cables are embedded in my drywall.

You plug in the injector next to your switch and run a short cable to that, then the long cable from that. I do still think the Ubiquiti gear is overkill for a high density residential setting, but that probably just means you'll have the strongest 2.4GHz signal in your building.

 

[Howell]

Poe splitters also exist to send power down unused pairs and power non poe devices.

 

[timwhit]

I ordered this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005H4CDF4/

 

[ddrueding]

No doubt overkill, but at that price why not?

 

[Mercutio]

I ordered this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005H4CDF4/

Down side: Those are 2.4GHz wireless N only. The new models are UAP-AC-LRs I think, but that one is just a UAP-LR.
Up side: if you have a decent client, you'll be able to get a signal in places you wouldn't not expect.

I stuck one out on my balcony and I can get on my home network from my laptop while sitting on a bench in the park across the road, a good 60m away.
Also, I might have a couple extra ones set aside for trying to find a place where I can get anything like the claimed maximum range.

 

[timwhit]

The new model is more than 3x the cost. As long as the one I bought has better range and works better through walls I'll be happy. 5Ghz is going to have worse penetration than 2.4Ghz.

http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Networks-UniFi-Enterprise-System/dp/B00D80J2XU

 

[time]

We suffered with a Netgear business WAP at the office for 18 months. It was a giant piece of crap.

Finally, we got the Ubiquity model that timwhit did. Zero problems. Aside from the single band limitation, it's an absolute bargain.

FWIW, I solved apparently insurmountable WiFi problems at one site by deploying Edimax USB adapters with directional antennae. Effectively turned brick walls into paper.

 

[Handruin]

The new model is more than 3x the cost. As long as the one I bought has better range and works better through walls I'll be happy. 5Ghz is going to have worse penetration than 2.4Ghz.

http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Networks-UniFi-Enterprise-System/dp/B00D80J2XU

That's not the one you'd want. That one is way overkill. You'd of wanted this new model that comes out shortly named the UAP-AC-LITE for about $150.

edit: I realize it's still 50% more costly than what you bought and it's also brand new so you might be fighting bugs and frequent firmware upgrades. It really depends if you care about 802.11ac and 5Ghz. My UAP supports 5Ghz over 802.11n but I don't use it that frequently because coverage is less. When I've done wifi scans, no one in my neighborhood has anything I can see on the 5Ghz frequency though which is nice.

 

[timwhit]

That's not the one you'd want. That one is way overkill. You'd of wanted this new model that comes out shortly named the UAP-AC-LITE for about $150.

edit: I realize it's still 50% more costly than what you bought and it's also brand new so you might be fighting bugs and frequent firmware upgrades. It really depends if you care about 802.11ac and 5Ghz. My UAP supports 5Ghz over 802.11n but I don't use it that frequently because coverage is less. When I've done wifi scans, no one in my neighborhood has anything I can see on the 5Ghz frequency though which is nice.

I didn't see that one on Amazon or the Ubiquiti website. I think I'm fine with the one I purchased, I didn't want to go over $100 just for an AP. I also like the idea that the Long Range model I bought has more power.

 

[Handruin]

It's part of their new product lineup so it's just coming out now. See the arstechnica article I linked to earlier for more details on what changes they've made to their products if you're interested. As always anything new will have bugs so you're probably fine with what you have.

 

[timwhit]

I got the Ubiquiti AP today and set it up. It's kind of pain to have to install software to do this, but it works on Linux at least.

The speed when I'm near the AP is much better than the POS TrendNet AP it's replacing. It seems to work slightly better through walls, but not appreciably.

 

[timwhit]

Has anyone used the Ubiquiti USG?

 

[Howell]

Never used any ubiquity. If I remember correctly your place is old multi wythe brick. You very well might have to go with multiple APs hard wired or relayed through fewer obstructions. Maybe down the side of the building. I have a hard enough time with 70 yo plaster and lathe.

 

[timwhit]

Yes, my building is over 100 years old. I only have 2 ethernet runs from the back to the front. I could connect another AP in the back in the office, but it's not that big of a deal. Most usage is near the AP.

 

[ddrueding]

Where the Ubiquiti solution really shines is in multi-AP installs. Once you have the software going adding another AP takes under a minute.

 

[Howell]

Yes, my building is over 100 years old. I only have 2 ethernet runs from the back to the front. I could connect another AP in the back in the office, but it's not that big of a deal. Most usage is near the AP.

Long and narrow? The G router I have currently will barely go 20', through 2 walls.

Where the Ubiquiti solution really shines is in multi-AP installs. Once you have the software going adding another AP takes under a minute.

My 8 year old Aruba solution will do that, it's not terribly unique. It is handy though.

 

[timwhit]

Yes, it's my condo unit is long and narrow. It's horrible for WiFi.

I was inquiring about the USG because my RouterStation Pro is pretty old and hasn't been updated in quite awhile.

 

[timwhit]

Does anyone know if it's possible to use a UniFi AP as a wireless bridge?

 

[Mercutio]

Unifi devices don't have any way to bridge, but AirMax devices can. You can set up a transparent AirMax bridge to a Unifi AP if you want.

 

[time]

Edimax EW-7811DAC USB adapter with dual band directional antenna

Achieved better than 50Mbps (according to Speedtest.net) through two brick walls with one of these about 30ft away from a 802.11n WAP on the 5GHz band. I realize that's no help if you want it for anything other than a PC.

 

[timwhit]

I got another of the same UniFi AP so I can get coverage on the other side of my condo. It's working, however, my LG G3 phone is somewhat sticky to whatever one it's connected to first. Any ideas?

 

[ddrueding]

You added both the APs to the same config, right? This will automatically give them both the same SSID/password and makes them play pretty well together. How low the reception needs to get before it jumps is an open question.

 

[Howell]

Have you tried turning down the signal power so that there is very little overlap? As we as seeing to different channels.

 

[timwhit]

Yes Dave, same config and ssid.

Howell, I left the radio strength and channel as auto. Should I just start lowering them until it works? Seems like trial and error would take quite a while.

 

[Howell]

I don't have Ubiquity experience personally, so I don't know how good they are at adjusting channels automatically. I would think it would at least tell you what channel it chose.

You should use a tool to learn the channels in use and signal strength around you and set yours accordingly. You could use inssider on Android to get close but a laptop has a better antenna and would hold on longer. It is also available on Windows but I'm not sure about linux.

The tool will give you numbers to go by but in the end you have to play with it until it works. The client is responsible for releasing and reconnecting so you'll need to test with all of your clients.

 

[timwhit]

The only devices that really move around are two LG G3 Android phones. I've been using Wifi Analyzer on my phone, but didn't spend a ton of time on it yet. How good is Android about connecting to the best AP when initially connecting?