TP-Link Omada Long Range Outdoor Access Point - WiFi Extender Outdoor Universal Compatible, AC1200 Dual Band, IP65 Weatherproof, Free Expert Help, Omada Remote Managed(EAP225-Outdoor)

Just received and connected, not a long-term review.I learned basic networking for an Associate's degree in programming I started in 1999. The bubble burst and due to my life commitments I never got into IT but it has helped a lot over the years. Networking sure has come a long way since then. The technologies and acronyms are enough to drive me crazy and I don't have time to figure it all out. In the default configuration the advanced features are there if you need them but this is just for a home network so I'll leave them alone.I'm using this as a standalone access point, the Omada software is probably great but I didn't want to add a controller or have a 24/7 server running it. This unit has it's own web UI that lets you set all of the basic info and a lot of advanced features.It has a scheduler so I'm just going to put some reasonable times in it for the kids to connect and change the password on our downstairs system.We don't have gigabit internet but did recently upgrade to 300Mbps. Our old Apple Airport Express system was certainly faster than our WAN connection but after seeing the insane speeds this AP hits I MAY have to get a controller to use with my TP-Link ER605 and set up a few more of these.Again, it's been 20+ years since I went to school and I haven't kept up with all the advances but the screenshot I've included was taken on my Mac Mini with ethernet disabled, wireless connection to the EAP225 connected to our LAN. Somehow I got faster speeds than I pay for but that MIGHT be some quality or service or similar trickery that the AP provides. Either way it's hella fast AND includes a POE injector which is a great deal at this price point.I had looked at a LOT of mesh and secure wifi systems but could never find for certain if the RJ-45 ports on the back were manageable. Couldn't find any company that even talked about it. Maybe they are but I didn't want to have to fill the ports with hot glue if they weren't.Decided on this instead because it's pretty easy to plug something into the back of one of those but this can be mounted on the ceiling or wall and will kill ALL the wifi upstairs if they try to take it off to get to the ethernet jack.The unit is smaller than I thought it would be. The LED is green and doesn't look like it will be horribly bright. However it has the ability to turn it off (genius!) in the UI.120 yr old plaster house results using EAP225 connecting to testmy.net:*Using 5GHz band in the same room I get 300Mbps or more on iPhone 13 mini, one room over drops to 180, and then in the kitchen it drops to 100. Not horrible.*Using 2.4GHz band it drops to 80 in next room and 20Mbps in the kitchen.Pretty decent with the 5GHz so if you struggle with plaster walls this works well.If you were wondering why we are still using old Apple Airport setup it's because they were able to make a "mesh" system long before they became mass market items. In our impenetrable old house WiFi suffers horribly trying to get through layers of plaster, lath, more lath, and then more plaster so we have Airport units placed where we need them that are connected to a central Airport. They all share the same network name and password so we can roam and automatically connect to the best connection. Usually.After this review I've convinced myself to look deeper into the Omada software and may wind up getting a controller and a few more APs. Will update if so.This is a great price for a great piece of hardware whether you use it as a standalone AP or part of a larger system. If you want something smaller they have a /Wall version with 3 ethernet ports on the bottom and the WAN port on the back.

I bought one of these for the opposite end of my ranch-style house, since my router's wifi was weak at that distance. I like that it's POE, so I only had to run a CAT5e cable to it and hook it to my POE switch (although it comes with its own POE power injector which is a nice bonus). The setup was fairly straight forward using the app to get it set up initially, and later using the built-in web admin page through a browser for additional changes.It puts out a decent signal, but I was a bit disappointed in that it didn't quite make it from its location to my office, which is on the same level, but about 50 feet away with about 3 hollow (stud/drywall) walls between. My office seems to be somewhat of a dead zone in the house due to its layout, so I ended up buying another for near my office, creating a triangle around the perimeter of the house with my router and the two APs. When you're within 20-30 feet of the AP and no walls, it works very well and signal is quite strong.In my tests, it provided full throughput for my internet service, just make sure you connect it to a gigabit router and/or POE switch or it will only operate at the speed of the slowest link. My existing POE switch was only 100 mbps (for security cameras), so the switch was limited to that throughput, so I added a gigabit POE switch and connected the APs to that instead and they now show full throughput on internet speed tests.One feature I really liked was the ability to add additional SSIDs. During initial setup it asks for your 2.4GHz and 5GHz passwords, but I also have a 2.4GHz and 5GHz guest networks on my router. After the initial setup, I went into the browser interface and found a small "add" (+) button near the list of SSIDs and I was able to add the guest network SSIDs for each frequency. I was also able to select them as "Guest" networks in the AP configuration pages. I duplicated the SSIDs from my router and there doesn't seem to be any conflicts. Wirelress devices just seem to pick up their connection from the closest AP or the router depending on where they are in the house, which is how I hoped it would work.For installation, the mounting plate attaches to the ceiling, then you "twist" the device into to three "tabs" until it lock in place. This part was a bit tricky as the tabs seemed tight. Getting it to twist into the tabs is difficult to align as you place the AP over the bracket, and I really had to push the AP up and rotate it hard to get it to snap into the bracket. The "snapping" process on one of them took a lot of force and I thought I broke it when it finally locked in, but it was fine. It has a tab you can insert a paper clip into to release it from the bracket for removal. I think the mounting plate design could use a bit of a rework given my experience, but it's certainly not a reason to pass this by.Another inconvenience was the fact that updating the firmware causes all your settings to be lost. This happened with both devices. I hope future updates don't require a full reconfiguration of the device each time.I'm looking forward to great wifi throughout my house now. So far, the devices that were previously located in a "dead" or "weak" spot (for example, streaming boxes that could only able to get 1-3 mbps) now get 90+ mbps so it definitely solved those issues. Just be aware that depending on the size and layout of your home, you may need more than one. I didn't want this to be visible in the center of my living room ceiling (which is the center of my home), so I had to install them in hallways which are more on the perimeter of the home, thus needing more than one to get full coverage.For the price, this was an excellent choice for our home and I highly recommend it.

I have extensive home HomeKit automation, inside my home, in my backyard, and in my front yard.The automation needs rock solid Wifi to work reliably.About a year or so ago, I replaced my Apple AirPods with TP link hardware, including their hardware, controller and hardware, router, and ethernet switches.It has worked super reliably, super well, and I’ve been extremely happy with it.But my house is made out of steel reinforced concrete. It’s like living in a Ferriday cage. I already had five of their access points, but Wi-Fi in my bedroom was not great, so I just added this additional one.I already had an ethernet switch in my garage, so I drilled a hole through the concrete wall and run the ethernet cable to the ethernet switch in my garage and add a PoEP injector so is not have to run a separate power cable.The software includes the ability to create heat map appss. I’ve added the heat map of my home. after installing this additional access point. The software is really good for setting up your Wi-Fi and knowing where dead spots are.