Reddit mentions of TP-Link AC1750 Wireless Wi-Fi Access Point (Supports 802.3AT PoE+, Dual Band, 802.11AC, Ceiling Mount, 3x3 MIMO Technology) (EAP245)

TP-Link has a line of software controlled access points that are about $50 less than Ubiquiti. AC1200 and AC1750. I have one arriving tomorrow, I'll update with how it goes.

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0XZ1TU/ref

Edit: Got it and installed it today. The web interface is super simple and very robust. Every setting you want is there. For 1 or 2 APs controller software is absolutely unnecessary. It seems like it even supports multiple APs without adding a separate controller. Signal strength seems to be as good or better than the TP-Link C7 router. So far it seems like a very strong buy vs Ubiquiti.

Thanks for all the advice. Got the boss to approve the budget for two PoE injectors, going to use two access points. After looking into it further, due to the heavy lighting and metal reflection, Wifi extenders probably aren't best-use.

Debating between these two access points:

https://www.amazon.ca/Ubiquiti-Unifi-Ap-AC-Long-Range/dp/B015PRCBBI/

https://www.amazon.ca/TP-Link-Wireless-Supports-Technology-EAP245/dp/B01N0XZ1TU/

Thanks for all the help! ^_^

Don't buy another router, you already have one. Buy an access point such as a TP-Link EAP225, EAP245, or Unifi UAP-AC-Lite. Give it an IP address on the same subnet as your router (if your router is 1.1, pick 1.2 or 1.254 or something out of the DHCP scope) and make the WiFi network the same details as your current setup. Your client will figure out which AP to connect to based on signal strength.

You don't mention what your current router is, but there is probably nothing wrong with it except its placement. I think your best bet is to place a wireless access point on the first or second floor and connect it to the router with an ethernet cable, if possible. Something like one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-Supports-Technology-EAP245/dp/B01N0XZ1TU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541101590&sr=8-1&keywords=tp-link+access+point

https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Unifi-Ap-AC-Lite-UAPACLITEUS/dp/B015PR20GY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541101627&sr=8-1&keywords=ubiquiti+uapaclite

whatever you do, do not buy an extender. they cause more problems than they solve.

With that kind of square footage (how many floors?) I'd say you're better off getting multiple APs. A triband device is nice and all if you're streaming to a bunch of devices in a small area, but getting 2 WAPs will give you the same experience if you stack them on top of each other, and a better one if you separate them. You can get everyone's favorite UAP-AC-Pro for $130, or you can get a TP-Link 3x3 WAP for $70. Of course, these would require a router still, and the ability to run cables.

If you don't have that ability, I would still suggest a mesh system over one of those tri-band routers. It just doesn't make sense to confine all the bands to 1 area when you can spread them out over a larger area for a better experience.

If you're looking for a straight AP, no routing, just using it as a wifi to ethernet bridge and disabling the wifi on your fios router and letting it continue to do the routing while your AP connects to it and provides wireless...
as an alternative to the Unifi UAP-AC-Pro or LT, there's the TP-Link EAP245 for $85
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-Supports-Technology-EAP245/dp/B01N0XZ1TU/

Just my two cents.

/u/OfensiveBias gives a lot of good details, so pay attention to that info.

My main suggestion is that Ubiquiti is a different architecture than traditional WAP's on the market. They require a "controller" which is really a PC, laptop, or (apparently) a smart phone running an app, in order to do any setup, configuration, or changes to the operation of the device. This is known as "SDN", which offloads the heavy part of the software on to a dedicated controller. Traditional devices have a web portal (or telnet/ssh/cli) built in. In these devices you browse to the IP address, configure the changes, and the device keeps the configuration on it.

Each style has it's pros and cons:

• SDN allows the controller software to be really advanced because it's running on a server. It also allows many devices to be easily managed from a central location, rather than having to logon to each and every device individually. If you have an office with 20 AP's this can be a huge advantage.
  
  
• Traditional (built-in portal) is simpler and more self contained. If you configure the WAP, and then a year from now somebody else wants to make a change, they can walk in with there own laptop, logon and make changes. Similarly the AP can be moved to another location without the need to do more than just logon to it and make the necessary changes.
  
  Given the following assumptions:
  
  
• you have a beginner level of network knowledge.
  
  
• the setup appears to be relatively small scale (not a lot of WAPs).
  
  I would heavily lean toward the traditional style of WAPs. Ubiquiti will work, and they are very respected because they generally perform well and offer nice features, but the advantage of SDN doesn't seem to apply in your case, and in fact would be a slight negative (IMHO).
  
  There are a few options you could go with:
  
  
• If you get a dedicated AP (for example: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N0XZ1TU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) you can logon, configure the IP address to be on your network, configure the SSID as has been described elsewhere in this thread, etc. This device would connect to a port on your switch.
  
  
• As a side note, the AP does need power, which is possible using a traditional power outlet if the device supports it. The Ubiquity AP you linked only operates using "POE" (power over ethernet). This is when the network jack supplies voltage over the network cable from which the AP gets power. It's super convenient in some cases because you can run a single cable to a location like the middle of the ceiling and it will not require a nearby power outlet. BUT, it requires that you have a switch with POE ports, or you need a standalone device called a POE injector, which is inserted in the path and adds power to the line for use by the AP. The Netgear 5 port switch you linked does not provide POE, so if you use the Ubiquity, you will need a different switch, or you will need a POE injector.
  
  
• A cheap and dirty option is to use a router as an AP. Some allow you to configure as a stand-alone AP, but if not, just use the "inside" LAN ports, and leave the WAN port disconnected. It will act as a bridge between the wireless devices and the wired network (that presumably goes out to your internet connection).
  
  Last point, I was really glad to hear you had a wired connection available. Avoid repeaters/extenders unless going wired is a huge obstacle. Repeaters/extenders will boost the signal, but the connection to the main network will be poor because that signal is already weak, and that same signal is presumably shared by others already. Wired as far as possible before going wireless is the best option.
  
  Good luck.

Get a Smart Switch that supports VLAN's, then your 2 NIC limit on the Jetway is no issue. You could use an AP from Ubiquitu. The AC Pro or AC Lite are often used and recommended. I am using
this AP at my home presently and I love it. I use a couple of these for my switching needs. It is a little pricier than other options, so anything that supports VLAN's should work fine. You can then setup a guest WiFi on a fully separate VLAN.

Nomachine is brilliant for this and "just works" in my experience and it's free. There are mac packages too. https://www.nomachine.com/ Although updates, configuration, rebooting, etc can all be done with ssh too.

Have you ever considered a pfSense router/firewall? I had an old celeron based pc sitting around unused so I installed pfsense on it, along with a $5 dual port gigabit NIC. It's served as a hardy, highly secure and configurable router for my house for the last 5 years with no issues. Then I bought a separate switch and also a separate Wifi access point. The huge advantage is I can swap out any single part and don't have to upgrade it all. For instance if I want wifi6 I can just swap out my current AP without having to touch anything else. Currently using the EAP245 5ghz AP from TPlink

$Free Pfsense BSD security router installed on any old pc https://www.pfsense.org/

$5 or $10 dual gigabyte NIC from eBay (usually pulled from server farm equipment so they're business class)

$27 Nice unmanaged switch https://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Unmanaged-Shielded-Replacement-TL-SG108E/dp/B00K4DS5KU

$99 Business class Wifi AP https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-Supports-Technology-EAP245/dp/B01N0XZ1TU or

$? Business class wifi6 Access point (might want to wait till 2020) https://www.linksys.com/us/c/business-wireless-access-points/ or https://www.engeniustech.com/engenius-products/802-11ax-4x4-managed-indoor-wireless-access-point/

Maybe add some wifi extenders to work with the AP if you need more coverage.

I don't, sorry. I haven't paid much attention to 3x3 APs because 3x3 STAs (client devices) are so rare. I literally don't have any, unless you count the world's shittiest ASUS USB3 wNIC (which you totally shouldn't, the thing is garbage and almost every 2x2 STA I have outperforms it by a wide margin).

I have not in general been particularly impressed with UAP Pros for the price point TBH. But, again, I'm not really concerned with 3x3 clients, so your mileage may vary there.

Looks like TP-Link's got an EAP-245 big brother to the EAP-225 APs I tested; I already know the management UI and the controller software is pretty fabulous, and with the price at $90 compared to $175 for a UAP-AC-Pro, it seems like a no brainer TBH. https://smile.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-Supports-Technology-EAP245/dp/B01N0XZ1TU

I'll say thank you in advance for your help so far, I'm learning a bit already.

From a previous attempt at using a router to function as an AP (which resulted in me running two SSID because I'm network-dumb) I have a currently unused TP-Link AC1750 router which I had originally placed in my basement while the modem did the majority of the work from upstairs.

This is the router I have
https://www.amazon.ca/TP-Link-AC1750-Wireless-Gigabit-1350Mbps/dp/B00BUSDVBQ

Would you suggest I use this and an access point to take control of my networking versus my existing modem's internal setup? Am I mistaken in thinking that I could pair the router with an "AC1750" TP-Link AP and have it function as you describe? I do have some apple products in the house, namely a pair of work iPhones and a Macbook air (the wife's computer) so I'd prefer to just go straight to the optimal solution where possible.

How would I go about setting up booting off the devices that have poor signal strength to force them to re-acquire the network from a better location?

Is this a good AP to pair with my router or can I get away with the one you suggested before to match up with my current unused router?

https://www.amazon.ca/TP-Link-Wireless-Supports-Technology-EAP245/dp/B01N0XZ1TU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542147727&sr=8-1&keywords=tp-link+access+point

Wireless Access point.

​

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-Supports-Technology-EAP245/dp/B01N0XZ1TU/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1542513701&sr=8-5&keywords=wireless+access+point

​

Here's a nice one.

Don't do wireless internally, get a separate AP and wire it over ethernet.

https://smile.amazon.com/TP-Link-EAP225-V3-Wireless-Supports/dp/B01N0XZ1TU/

Thank you so much for your help. I got this product below and it works like a charm!!!

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-Supports-Technology-EAP245/dp/B01N0XZ1TU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1511800941&sr=8-4&keywords=tp%2Blink%2Baccess%2Bpoint&th=1

Do you need a router or an access point?

The Ubiquiti AC Lite isn't obnoxious looking. My girlfriend didn't take great offense to it. Same with TP-link's unit (faster but less "enterprise grade")
https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Unifi-Ap-AC-Lite-UAPACLITEUS/dp/B015PR20GY/
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-Supports-Technology-EAP245/dp/B01N0XZ1TU/


It can be wired and placed like either a smoke detector or just left loose. It also only required a single ethernet cable going to it and it gets power over ethernet - read: you can strategically locate it.



The alternate suggestion is upgrading your GF to a new model. This has its own issues though and information you seek online is much less reliable.

You're right. I've never actually used an adapter, as I've always just had PoE switches available. It's nice working for a company with good available resources and funding for dev/prod upgrades often. Makes more sense to put the injector on the switch side. Still, makes no sense to use them over a PoE switch, though.

Why are you assuming I'm using Ubiquiti throughout the whole network? I have an ER-X, that's my only Ubiquiti product at home. I see tons of people recommend other brands, for instance like a TP-Link AC1750 as a decent cheaper alternative to Ubiquiti APs. And look, it doesn't ship with a PoE adapter!! Dang! https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-Supports-Technology-EAP245/dp/B01N0XZ1TU/ Only ~$80, instead of ~$130 for a UAP-AC-PRO (Which on Amazon it says it doesn't come with a PoE adapter either! https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Networks-UAP-AC-PRO-Access-Included/dp/B079DSW6XX/ ). So here's an one adapter for $20 https://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-PoE150S-Injector-Adapter-compliant/dp/B001PS9E5I/ but wait, it can only push 15W! My Aruba APs can draw up to 25W. So less flexible, gotta get adapters for every AP, gotta power them near the switch, what a hassle.

It'd almost be awesome if there are affordable PoE switches available! Oh, look at this 8-port Gigabit PoE Managed switch for only ~$65! https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Gigabit-Lifetime-compliant-TL-SG108PE/dp/B01BW0AD1W/ whereas a Unifi Switch 8 PoE is ~$110 https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-UniFi-Switch-60W-US-8-60W/dp/B01MU3WUX1/ Plus, you'll probably need the cloudkey if you're gonna use UAPs, so there's another $80. And might as well throw in a USG while you're at it for another $120, since OP needs a router anyways.

So, we could do your Ubiquiti stack:

• UAP-AC-PRO - $130
  
• PoE Injector - $20
  
• USG - $130
  
• Cloudkey - $80
  
• Still will likely need some switch, unless OP has one already. USG doesn't have enough ports. Could get a good ole' Netgear GS108 for $50, only $15 cheaper than the TP-Link PoE version above, which if you're paying $20 to get an injector (and more if you need multiple injectors) that doesn't make much sense does it?
  
  And we'd see that setting up your Ubiquiti network will cost somewhere around $400.
  
  If we do the other brands:
  
  
• TP-Link 1750 - $80
  
• TP-Link SG108PE - $65
  
• We can use an ER-X as our gateway since it's relatively cheap - $60
  
  Wow, look how much simpler that is! And it only cost around $205!
  
  So, remind me again in which section it's cheaper to use the PoE injectors? OP (likely) needs a switch anyways. PoE switch is $15 more expensive than non. But you're paying $20 for one injector anyways (PoE switch is like getting (Edit: 4, not 8) injectors for only $15). Did I miss anything here?