5 ms·

> You can get a two pack with one router and one point for $269 No mention of whether it supports 802.11ax. Why are WiFi devices lagging in speed advancements

> You can get a two pack with one router and one point for $269 No mention of whether it supports 802.11ax. Why are WiFi devices lagging in speed advancements so much? I ended up purchasing a second hand AirPort Extreme because it’s still one of the best performing 802.11ac devices (in my anecdotal experiences of running a lot of clients)... and it’s OLD!

kmlx 7y ago
https://www.netgear.co.uk/home/products/networking/wifi-routers/RAX80.aspx https://www.netgear.co.uk/home/products/networking/wifi-rout... works like a charm
- xd1936 7y ago
  Has yours gotten out of it's cage and made an attempt to escape through the window yet?
  - kmlx 7y ago
    should i be worried?
- izzydata 7y ago
  What is with router designs? Can we just get a clean box with as simple of antenna as possible?
  - kmlx 7y ago
    tell me about it. looks absolutely horrible
  - mikeyouse 7y ago
    It's not the only reason I went with Ubiquiti at my place, but it was definitely a selling point that my access points all look like this now: https://imgur.com/a/gTjUufY https://imgur.com/a/gTjUufY No blinking lights, no fighter-jet aesthetic, just fast reliable boring looking panels.
    - kmlx 7y ago
      way too slow for my connection.
      - mikeyouse 7y ago
        I regularly get 400mbps wireless and 1gbps wired... how fast is your connection?
        mikeyouse 7y ago
        FYI, this is the version I have: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1369199-REG/ubiquiti_networks_uap_ac_iw_pro_us_unifi_ac_in_wall_pro.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1369199-REG/ubiquiti_... And there's a new faster one available now: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1426307-REG/ubiquiti_networks_uap_iw_hd_us_unifi_ap_ac_in.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1426307-REG/ubiquiti_...
spacedog11 7y ago
> No mention of whether it supports 802.11ax. Even if it does support WiFi6( 802.11AX), there are no client devices that support WiFi 6 yet. EDIT: Apparently iPhone 11 pros support WiFi6 [0] [0] (https://www.cnet.com/how-to/the-iphone-11-supports-wi-fi-6-here-is-what-that-means-for-you/ https://www.cnet.com/how-to/the-iphone-11-supports-wi-fi-6-h...)
- heavymark 7y ago
  Huh? Don't all the millions of new iPhone Pro's sold this year support Wifi 6?
  - xd1936 7y ago
    Yup. As well as Microsoft's latest Surface devices.
- lucb1e 7y ago
  I got an 802.11ac access point before I got any clients. Either the chicken or the egg has to be first, and I don't replace my router together with my laptop/phone. I've had the same router for at least five years and only got a new one from the ISP because our current one didn't support IPTV. The old one is still in use elsewhere in the house as additional access point and is probably almost ten years old now. Somewhere in a router's lifespan, someone in my household will buy a new Wi-Fi client. If I need to get a new router, I might as well buy one that I don't regret and want to replace within its components' lifespan.
krisroadruck 7y ago
It does not support ax/wifi-6 and doesn't even have a dedicated backhaul channel between APs. This is overpriced garbage with 5 year old tech. The only thing "new" about it is they crammed an assistant in it. I am extremely disappoint.
- bobbonew 7y ago
  Without supporting ax/WiFi-6 I 100% agree that this is an absolute garbage purchase. I’ve been looking to upgrade over the past few months and this has seriously missed the mark.
pathartl 7y ago
My experience with the AirPort Extreme has been terrible to say the least. Over the years I have gone through 4 of them due to some poor design with the hardware. Usually is was the fan failing which caused a massive slowdown to the point where it's not usable. I took it into the Apple Store, they couldn't find the problem, I made a big stink and they gave me a new one. That one survived for another 6 months and failed in the same way. I switched to Ubiquiti and won't look back. It's cheaper, enterprise grade hardware. If you know anything about networking, setting up the environment isn't that big of a deal, but is definitely a deterrent for some.
- sosborn 7y ago
  I've had two Airports in my life. One I bought in 2007 and one I bought in 2013. Not one failure.
- supercommand 7y ago
  Ubiquiti is not enterprise grade anything. Especially not the last 3 years or so when it’s been a buggy software mess of outdated dependencies.
Al-Khwarizmi 7y ago
True. I need mesh WiFi for my home because it's very long, and I have been waiting for like two years for mesh devices with 802.11ax to come out, as I want the best possible speed and coverage and don't want to spend hundreds of euros in devices that will be obsolete in a few years. And at the moment, nothing seems to have been released, just announcements for the future... At the end I may run out of patience and just look for something second hand.
- jdmulloy 7y ago
  It's overly expensive, but Netgear does have an AX Orbi system. https://www.netgear.com/orbi/rbk852.aspx https://www.netgear.com/orbi/rbk852.aspx
scarface74 7y ago
What’s the maximum speed people are getting in the real world with 802.11ax? I have gigabit internet up/down with an 802.11ac router and I’m getting 420-440 u/d right under the router from both my iPhone and my laptops with 802.11ac. I get 930 u/d wired.
- dev_dull 7y ago
  Same exact as your metrics.
themagician 7y ago
ax is mostly about efficiency, not speed. While it has a much higher peak data throughput that’s often not realized anyway, so somewhat irrelevant. ax really doesn’t do much for most home networks. In a small network, 802.11n will provide all the throughput necessary to stream most things at 4K. And few people even have a connection faster than ac allows. ax provides faster speeds for highly congested networks, as well as better battery life for phones. That’s mostly what it’s about. It’s unlikely you’d see a difference between ac or ax on a small home network.
- dev_dull 7y ago
  I think it’s safe to say the HN crowd is a little different than most. For me personally I have gigabit and work from home periodically. I’ll regularly saturate my wireless.

kmlx 7y ago

https://www.netgear.co.uk/home/products/networking/wifi-routers/RAX80.aspx https://www.netgear.co.uk/home/products/networking/wifi-rout... works like a charm

xd1936 7y ago
Has yours gotten out of it's cage and made an attempt to escape through the window yet?
- kmlx 7y ago
  should i be worried?
izzydata 7y ago
What is with router designs? Can we just get a clean box with as simple of antenna as possible?
- kmlx 7y ago
  tell me about it. looks absolutely horrible
- mikeyouse 7y ago
  It's not the only reason I went with Ubiquiti at my place, but it was definitely a selling point that my access points all look like this now: https://imgur.com/a/gTjUufY https://imgur.com/a/gTjUufY No blinking lights, no fighter-jet aesthetic, just fast reliable boring looking panels.
  - kmlx 7y ago
    way too slow for my connection.
    - mikeyouse 7y ago
      I regularly get 400mbps wireless and 1gbps wired... how fast is your connection?
      - mikeyouse 7y ago
        FYI, this is the version I have: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1369199-REG/ubiquiti_networks_uap_ac_iw_pro_us_unifi_ac_in_wall_pro.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1369199-REG/ubiquiti_... And there's a new faster one available now: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1426307-REG/ubiquiti_networks_uap_iw_hd_us_unifi_ap_ac_in.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1426307-REG/ubiquiti_...

spacedog11 7y ago

> No mention of whether it supports 802.11ax. Even if it does support WiFi6( 802.11AX), there are no client devices that support WiFi 6 yet. EDIT: Apparently iPhone 11 pros support WiFi6 [0] [0] (https://www.cnet.com/how-to/the-iphone-11-supports-wi-fi-6-here-is-what-that-means-for-you/ https://www.cnet.com/how-to/the-iphone-11-supports-wi-fi-6-h...)

heavymark 7y ago
Huh? Don't all the millions of new iPhone Pro's sold this year support Wifi 6?
- xd1936 7y ago
  Yup. As well as Microsoft's latest Surface devices.
lucb1e 7y ago
I got an 802.11ac access point before I got any clients. Either the chicken or the egg has to be first, and I don't replace my router together with my laptop/phone. I've had the same router for at least five years and only got a new one from the ISP because our current one didn't support IPTV. The old one is still in use elsewhere in the house as additional access point and is probably almost ten years old now. Somewhere in a router's lifespan, someone in my household will buy a new Wi-Fi client. If I need to get a new router, I might as well buy one that I don't regret and want to replace within its components' lifespan.

krisroadruck 7y ago

It does not support ax/wifi-6 and doesn't even have a dedicated backhaul channel between APs. This is overpriced garbage with 5 year old tech. The only thing "new" about it is they crammed an assistant in it. I am extremely disappoint.

bobbonew 7y ago
Without supporting ax/WiFi-6 I 100% agree that this is an absolute garbage purchase. I’ve been looking to upgrade over the past few months and this has seriously missed the mark.

pathartl 7y ago

My experience with the AirPort Extreme has been terrible to say the least. Over the years I have gone through 4 of them due to some poor design with the hardware. Usually is was the fan failing which caused a massive slowdown to the point where it's not usable. I took it into the Apple Store, they couldn't find the problem, I made a big stink and they gave me a new one. That one survived for another 6 months and failed in the same way. I switched to Ubiquiti and won't look back. It's cheaper, enterprise grade hardware. If you know anything about networking, setting up the environment isn't that big of a deal, but is definitely a deterrent for some.

sosborn 7y ago
I've had two Airports in my life. One I bought in 2007 and one I bought in 2013. Not one failure.
supercommand 7y ago
Ubiquiti is not enterprise grade anything. Especially not the last 3 years or so when it’s been a buggy software mess of outdated dependencies.

Al-Khwarizmi 7y ago

True. I need mesh WiFi for my home because it's very long, and I have been waiting for like two years for mesh devices with 802.11ax to come out, as I want the best possible speed and coverage and don't want to spend hundreds of euros in devices that will be obsolete in a few years. And at the moment, nothing seems to have been released, just announcements for the future... At the end I may run out of patience and just look for something second hand.

jdmulloy 7y ago
It's overly expensive, but Netgear does have an AX Orbi system. https://www.netgear.com/orbi/rbk852.aspx https://www.netgear.com/orbi/rbk852.aspx

scarface74 7y ago

What’s the maximum speed people are getting in the real world with 802.11ax? I have gigabit internet up/down with an 802.11ac router and I’m getting 420-440 u/d right under the router from both my iPhone and my laptops with 802.11ac. I get 930 u/d wired.

dev_dull 7y ago
Same exact as your metrics.

themagician 7y ago

ax is mostly about efficiency, not speed. While it has a much higher peak data throughput that’s often not realized anyway, so somewhat irrelevant. ax really doesn’t do much for most home networks. In a small network, 802.11n will provide all the throughput necessary to stream most things at 4K. And few people even have a connection faster than ac allows. ax provides faster speeds for highly congested networks, as well as better battery life for phones. That’s mostly what it’s about. It’s unlikely you’d see a difference between ac or ax on a small home network.

dev_dull 7y ago
I think it’s safe to say the HN crowd is a little different than most. For me personally I have gigabit and work from home periodically. I’ll regularly saturate my wireless.