![]() The important thing is that twenty dollars extra for the “long range” model gets a more powerful signal. ![]() The range is not to be taken literally, of course – as with all wireless, it depends on the location of the access point, the number of intervening walls, the construction materials in the building, and a healthy dose of good or bad luck. There are two models – the regular access point for eighty dollars with a range of 400 feet, and the “long range” model for a hundred dollars with a range of 600 feet. It can sit flat on a high shelf but it comes with wall mounts as well as ceiling mounts for professional setup with cables running above drop ceilings. UniFi wireless access pointsĪ UniFi wireless access point is a flat white disk about eight inches across. (“Bruce, I can’t connect to the wireless network.” “ Have you tried turning it off and on again?” How I wish it was just a punch line instead of your daily reality.) They fail after a year or two, although seldom in obvious ways.Īlong comes UniFi with the hope of a better experience. The other problem is that consumer-grade routers and WAPs are kind of cruddy. Or maybe you’re drawn by the allure of a repeater that connects one wireless access point to another without a wire, until you discover that speeds plummet at the far end and connections are flaky. If there are cables running to each wireless access point, you wind up with two or three separate wireless networks, and it’s up to you to disconnect manually from one and join the other when you move from place to place. Theoretically it’s possible to set up the same wireless network name and move from one end of the building to the other and stay connected, but in reality that almost always falls down. One problem is that they tend not to play well with each other when there’s more than one wireless access point. There are two problems with wireless routers and consumer-grade wireless access points. (Remember: only one router per network.) Instead, you buy a wireless access point, which traditionally has been a consumer-grade device from Netgear or Linksys that looks just like the router. If you want to add to your wireless coverage, you don’t buy a second router. That’s necessary when the router does not include wireless, or when you want to extend coverage to areas beyond the reach of the wireless router. Comcast Business Internet service, for example, is set up with a device that is only a router, the Comcast Business Gateway (a relabeled box from SMB or Netgear).Ī wireless access point (WAP) is a separate box that connects to the network with a network cable and broadcasts a wireless signal. You can tell the router to turn the wireless on and off with a checkmark in the router’s control panel.Īlthough it’s become rare, there are routers that do not include wireless. ![]() It’s all part of the same box – but remember, it’s a separate task. In your mind, imagine that the job of creating a wireless network is a separate task from the job of being a router.įor many of you, the job of creating a wireless network is done by the router. The rule of thumb on small networks is: there can only be one router on a network. It’s the device that takes the Internet connection and makes it available to multiple computers. You almost certainly have a router at your home or business. ![]() Background – about routers and wireless access pointsįirst, a bit of background. I ran across it almost by accident perhaps the world has changed and there are lots of choices just like it but UniFi wireless is the one that I know about today. Ubiquiti Networks bills its equipment as “enterprise wireless,” but it is inexpensive and simple enough that small businesses can drop it into place and improve their wireless experience right away. My cynicism about wireless has been built up from years of poor experiences. Almost everyone gets used to power-cycling the router when the wireless won’t connect, or discovering sadly that there’s no easy way to extend the range to cover areas where the signal drops off. The only alternative has been consumer-grade routers and wireless access points from Netgear, Linksys, D-Link, and the like, which work – well, they work fine but it’s nothing like a great experience. Setting up true business-class wireless has required the services of expensive specialists and high-end equipment with sky-high price tags. There has been a sharp divide for years in wireless networks. You cannot imagine how satisfying it is to write that. You can get reliable wireless coverage for large areas at prices that small businesses can afford. UniFi wireless access points provide high performance, extended range, and a well-designed control panel.
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