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I'm looking at buying a home AP (I like the idea of the AP being seperate to the router, on PoE etc), but this really puts me off ubiquiti. What are good alte

I'm looking at buying a home AP (I like the idea of the AP being seperate to the router, on PoE etc), but this really puts me off ubiquiti. What are good alternatives?

shoo_pl 7y ago
Similar to Ubnt, you might want to check out https://mikrotik.com/ https://mikrotik.com/ At the same time if you want something more customer friendly simply search for "mesh system" (all major brands have one).
markvdb 7y ago
MikroTik? P.S. Zero affiliation to them.
tga 7y ago
How about a repeater like TP-Link RE650? No PoE though.
- shoo_pl 7y ago
  Repeaters are the _worst_ choice of all. Repeaters are put where your signal is already low (not right to the router's antenna). This means they will just repeat signal that is already low, and the further you get from repeater itself the signal will get even worse. Ie. You put repeater where your signal is at 50%. When you stand near it with your phone, it will show full wifi, but it will be just at 50% of the original one. Then you move away from repeater and you see that your signal is at 50%, which in reality means it's just 25% of the original... so yea, that sucks.
  - tga 7y ago
    Maybe I should have clarified: the RE650 is marketed as a repeater but it has an ethernet port and can be used as a simple access point.
wil421 7y ago
Try UniFi or edgerouter from Ubiquiti and return it if you don’t like. Despite the recent bad press, it’s a wonderful ecosystem. They are like the Apple of pro-sumer network gear and catch as much flack as Apple. MikroTik is cheap but lacking on the software and UI side. There are lots of complaints about RouterOS and SwitchOS on forums. I will be getting a 10gb switch for my backbone in the near future due to price. I have top to bottom UniFi gear in my house and a family vacation home. I also use UniFi protect which is their video option. Tons of PoE APs, switches, and cameras available. Setting up dynaDns, home VPN, subnets, and automatic updates are a breeze with UniFi. If you have specific questions I’d love to answer it.
timw4mail 7y ago
Running a low power computer with pfSense/OPNSense. Easier to configure than Ubiquiti products, too.
ectospheno 7y ago
I searched for alternatives and still went with ubiquiti. They exist in an interesting zone of technically competent, reasonably priced, and able to function without internet access. It is hard to find a competitor that hits all those marks.

I'm looking at buying a home AP (I like the idea of the AP being seperate to the router, on PoE etc), but this really puts me off ubiquiti. What are good alternatives?

shoo_pl 7y ago

Similar to Ubnt, you might want to check out https://mikrotik.com/ https://mikrotik.com/ At the same time if you want something more customer friendly simply search for "mesh system" (all major brands have one).

markvdb 7y ago

MikroTik? P.S. Zero affiliation to them.

tga 7y ago

How about a repeater like TP-Link RE650? No PoE though.

shoo_pl 7y ago
Repeaters are the _worst_ choice of all. Repeaters are put where your signal is already low (not right to the router's antenna). This means they will just repeat signal that is already low, and the further you get from repeater itself the signal will get even worse. Ie. You put repeater where your signal is at 50%. When you stand near it with your phone, it will show full wifi, but it will be just at 50% of the original one. Then you move away from repeater and you see that your signal is at 50%, which in reality means it's just 25% of the original... so yea, that sucks.
- tga 7y ago
  Maybe I should have clarified: the RE650 is marketed as a repeater but it has an ethernet port and can be used as a simple access point.

wil421 7y ago

Try UniFi or edgerouter from Ubiquiti and return it if you don’t like. Despite the recent bad press, it’s a wonderful ecosystem. They are like the Apple of pro-sumer network gear and catch as much flack as Apple. MikroTik is cheap but lacking on the software and UI side. There are lots of complaints about RouterOS and SwitchOS on forums. I will be getting a 10gb switch for my backbone in the near future due to price. I have top to bottom UniFi gear in my house and a family vacation home. I also use UniFi protect which is their video option. Tons of PoE APs, switches, and cameras available. Setting up dynaDns, home VPN, subnets, and automatic updates are a breeze with UniFi. If you have specific questions I’d love to answer it.

timw4mail 7y ago

Running a low power computer with pfSense/OPNSense. Easier to configure than Ubiquiti products, too.

ectospheno 7y ago

I searched for alternatives and still went with ubiquiti. They exist in an interesting zone of technically competent, reasonably priced, and able to function without internet access. It is hard to find a competitor that hits all those marks.