Suggestions for wireless access points
I am currently in the market for some wireless access points and thought I'd get some suggestions here first. I am currently using some old eero pro's as access points with a firewalla router. The firewalla isn't old and I am happy with it so I am not looking to replace it with something at this time.
Are there suggestions for more privacy focused networking equipment? Or is that just a dumb question to ask?
For aps that are rock solid: Uniquiti and Mikrotek.
If you just want to tinker then buy whatever openwrt supports locally. (Gli.net devices come preinstalled with openwrt)
I’ll take a look at ubiquiti. I like to tinker but I don’t think my wife will like the internet cutting in and out while I try to figure out how to set it up or troubleshoot something.
TP-Link omada series - clones of ubiquity at half the price, can run openwrt if that's your thing. I've got 6 of those including outdoor ones covering the yard
This is the way, often it is really well documented too!
Ubiquiti, but cut off from the Internet and manual upgrades if you're worried about privacy
Ubiquiti is a solid choice. They require controller software to set up. You can run it on your computer, in docker, etc. You don't have to run it 24/7 if you don't want.
I have 3 different Unifi APs around the house and have no qualms with them. If I were going to replace them, I'd give Grandstream a serious look. They have built in controller software, or you can use their cloud management or run the software locally.
I've got two Ubiquiti APs and the standard Dream Machine and am quite happy with them too. Sure, they're not the cheapest option, but they're quite feature rich and expansion within the ecosystem is very easy.
I have been nothing short of impressed with ASUS. I recently upgraded to an GT-AX6000 and it’s run circles around the other ones I’ve tried (TP Link AX5400 and Netgear). ASUS might also be one of the rare few that don’t gate features behind a subscription. Be wary of that.
Also many need accounts to set up. Again, ASUS doesn’t.
If you want to look into enterprise grade equipment I recommend Ruckus with unleashed firmware. You can get older models r510 r610 from eBay for around 100-150 then flash unleashed by downloading it from official ruckus website. R610 requires more power so if you do PoE you need a switch that supports 802.3at 30w. R510 is less power hungry and suites most setups. You can do all sorts of network configurations with them. Meshing with other ruckus unleashed is supported. Guest portal, VLANs and client isolation. They are not the newest and don’t support wifi6 but are rock solid, support hundreds of devices and perform well in high congestion places. There are newer models but they are expensive r550 and r650. I used to recommend ubiquity equipment in the past but they are not the best for privacy focused deployment. Arguably the hardware of ubiquity AP’s are far inferior to enterprise gear like Ruckus or Aruba.
Sorry for asking, but what even is the use of having a Wireless Access Point? If you have a router then you should be all set, no?
Take this with a major grain of salt as I don't know much about this. I think that a router isn't always also a wireless access point. It could just be for wired connections like a switch. Please downvote and correct me if I'm wrong, I really know little about this.
A router bridges your local network and the internet. It decides where to send packets. Typically in residential installations, the router acts as a gateway, acts as a local DHCP server, acts as a DNS server. Kind of all in one.
A access point is a wireless device, which talks to wireless clients, putting their traffic on the network.
Again residential devices, tend to be all in one, everything you would expect in your router/gateway, and an access point.
This is fine for small installations, or people who don't really care particularly about quality. When you get into dedicated devices, you get higher reliability in your access points, better radios, better firmware. They keep it simple stupid philosophy applies to hardware as well.
If you have a large house, you'll probably need multiple access points to cover the entirety of the house, and you wouldn't want each access point to be acting as a gateway, a router, or a DHCP server.
It's DEFINITELY NOT for everyone, but if you're a nerd with some networking skills and time to spare you can make a baller enterprise-grade home network for under $300. My budget setup made from used components blows any $500 "premium" router away.
I think the Firewalla may be able to broadcast WiFi (I’m not sure) but it doesn’t matter much to me because it’s tucked away in my utility room. I need a couple AP’s for my upstairs for all my wireless devices.
I have two Linksys EA8300's running OpenWRT for the wireless infra at my house, and a Nexx WT3020 running OpenWRT as a bridge for my VoIP ATA. Solid hardware.
Been looking into using something like openwrt on a bananpi bpi r3
Apparently you can flash OpenWRT on some Unifi APs, though I've never tried it personally. I have a Unifi AP (with stock firmware) connected to my DIY PFSense box and it's working great.
Openwrt isn't privacy focused but it does give you a lot of flexibility
TP-link EAP 245 + openwrt.