We're getting a fibre install in the next few weeks which will increase our speed from the current 70mb to 150 (I didn't see the need for anything faster). My current wifi access points are Cisco WaP121s - wireless N (wifi4) so they're going to be the limiting factor for wireless devices and it feels like a good time to replace them
Looking at TP link Omada kit with their Gateway, controller and I'll need 3 access points to replace current locations (they have wired internet to them and PoE).
Any experience? I'm trying to work out if there are any benefits of Wifi7 over Wifi 6. There doesn't seem to be much in price but it looks like the power consumption of the access points goes up from c10w to 17w or more.
I have 4 of the APs and a router. All works well never really drops or anything.
I didn't see the point in the cloud controller for home use - it allows you to remotely connect in for troubleshooting. I just run the controller software on my pc, you only need it for setup or occasional updates.
The only negative is the router takes an age to reboot if you have a power outage or need to update it. But I don't do that very often.
You probably won’t get much benefit from WiFi 7 with a 150mb fibre connection unless you have a lot of devices (like 100+) or are in a particularly congested area.
I do have a lot of devices and a WiFi 7 AP actually performed worse for my network.
I’ve bailed on Omada gear in the last couple of weeks and gone back to Unifi - my wife’s pixel 8 basically refused to work on WiFi, tried different versions of APs, different configs but nothing worked. My iPhone had the odd blip but nothing like as bad as her issues. Simple stuff like Sonos didn’t work until I manually created the Bonjour configuration on the controller, the controller docker image was garbage, very slow with continually micro lags. They have many iterations of APs with very slightly different specs which makes it hard to choose a setup.
It’s cheap, some of the APs have a second port for Ethernet pass through which can be handy depending on your wiring situation, and that’s about all I can say that’s good.
Unifi has been smooth sailing so far with much better WiFi performance around the house for pretty much every device, but particularly those that are far from the APs.
I moved from Unifi to Omada because I wanted to add an AP, the new ones weren't compatible with the old version of the controller software and the old ones weren't compatible with the new software. Pretty terrible in built obsolescence, I'm sure they all do it.
Anyway, haven't noticed the performance of Omada being worse than Unifi or had devices that won't play nice.
Edging towards unifi now. 3x u6+ and a cloud gateway ultra. Nothing significant in spend and the access points claim a lower power and better coverage and it seems the router is much more powerful.
Mac only household do need a controller (as I understand it)
Been on Omada for years. Controller running in a container on a Raspberry Pi just for giggles. 4xEAP615s for me for very wife friendly profile. Unifi scared me off when their EAPs seemed to be split between old-gen and new-gen with incompatibility issues (ISTR around PoE, probably long resolved although it sounds like controller compatibility is the new Achilles heel). I've got three switches in the setup, all TP-Link; one is Omada-integrated with PoE; the others are Easy Smart with a SG-108P providing PoE also. Easy Smart switches seem to be just managed enough to handle VNETs but super cheap and reliable. The setup has been stable for years. Just works and the value felt good.
[tinfoil hat mode]TP-Link/Omada doesn't get to run my router/firewall.[/mode]
Been on Omada for years. Controller running in a container on a Raspberry Pi just for giggles. 4xEAP615s for me for very wife friendly profile.
Are they covering a decent area? The neatness of the in/on wall appeals but they only claim a 50m2 coverage rather than the c100m2 of the flying saucers
The Cloud Gateway Ultra includes a built in controller so you won't need to run it externally, I'm currently running one of these with 1GB fibre, a U6 Lite downstairs, a U6 LR upstairs at the opposite side of the house, with a Flex PoE switch. This easily covers a 4 bed semi.
The u6 Lite are about 50% smaller than than other AP's which I didn't realise until it arrived.
The Cloud Gateway Ultra includes a built in controller so you won't need to run it externally, I'm currently running one of these with 1GB fibre, a U6 Lite downstairs, a U6 LR upstairs at the opposite side of the house, with a Flex PoE switch. This easily covers a 4 bed semi.
The u6 Lite are about 50% smaller than than other AP's which I didn't realise until it arrived.
The U6 in wall look good but not at £160 each rather than c£90 but yes, I've ordered the +
I need a 16 port switch so going to stick with the unmanaged Linksys I have for now. The format of the Unifi switches is really annoying - too deep for the shallow mini cabinet I have (the gateway will fit, but ports are on the back of it... which will be awkward to install) .
The only negative is the router takes an age to reboot if you have a power outage or need to update it. But I don't do that very often.
Tbf regular TP-link stuff does too
The only negative is the router takes an age to reboot if you have a power outage or need to update it. But I don't do that very often.
Tbf regular TP-link stuff does too
The TP LINK Archer 1600 I've got now has never felt that bad - people are seriously talking about up to 15 minutes for some of the Omada gateways.
people are seriously talking about up to 15 minutes for some of the Omada gateways.
I have an ER605 - it takes about 5 minutes. I must have bought it when I was with a provider that doesn't supply kit, can't quite remember. Having it all managed by the same controller is really neither here nor there for a home setup - kind of pointless. In fact I now have a router from my latest supplier sat in a box so I may swap to that and get rid of the ER605.
people are seriously talking about up to 15 minutes for some of the Omada gateways.
I have an ER605 - it takes about 5 minutes. I must have bought it when I was with a provider that doesn't supply kit, can't quite remember. Having it all managed by the same controller is really neither here nor there for a home setup - kind of pointless. In fact I now have a router from my latest supplier sat in a box so I may swap to that and get rid of the ER605.
i *think* having a controller optimises the handover from one ap to another as you move around the house. Thats one of the things I’m trying to improve over my current set up
Don't think so, my understanding is that is handled by the client. You can change the settings of the access points to help clients let go sooner, but again that is a one off config, I don't think the controller is optimising that on the fly. I could be wrong. It all works well enough that I don't really care or pay much attention to any advanced features.
my wife’s pixel 8 basically refused to work on WiFi, tried different versions of APs, different configs but nothing worked.
@afrothunder88 what were the symptoms with your wife's phone? I have a Pixel 8 and a BT Whole Home mini system and continually find that my phone either says it's connected but there's no Internet access or it just drops the WiFi and leaves the phone trying to find a non existent 4G data connection. I was thinking that upgrading to a modern mesh system might help but maybe not.
Basically those exact symptoms. I found some anecdotal data that suggested the Pixel 8 has issues with WiFi 6/7 but couldn’t confirm it in my case - it still happened even with WiFi 5 APs forced into 2.4Ghz only networks with the Omada kit.
It’s been rock solid on the UniFi gear like I said but that’s admittedly a bit more complex than the average BT-esq Mesh kit.
The Controller usually doesn’t need to run all the time but I do keep it up for stat collection and I like to tinker.