Review on 📶 Enhanced Wi-Fi Access Point, Grandstream Networks 802.11AC Wave 2 (GWN7630) by Rex Bareham

I had a single Unifi UAP-AC-LR access point that served both floors of my home and I wanted to add a second access point to improve coverage downstairs . Rather than buying another UAP-AC-LR I decided to try this GWN7630 as it is a Wave 2 access point and supports 802.3af/at PoE/PoE+ (I think newer UAP-AC hardware versions -LR support the PoE standard, not mine). I've had hotspots for a few weeks and am happy so far. I connected them to a TP-Link TL-SG1016PE switch and had no issues with PoE+ which is great (I'm glad I got rid of the extra power injector I had to use with the Unifi AP). The speed was okay (but I don't have very good internet service through CenturyLink, so I don't have a good way to test how it works with a fast internet connection). The coverage with 2 GWN7630 (1 on each floor) is noticeably better than the coverage with a single UAP-AC-LR (hence the "long range” part of this AP probably doesn't just replace more APs). built-in controller. There is no need to run the controller on a separate PC or transfer control of your devices to the cloud. I also like the 802.11r/k/v support, which seems useful for a multi-AP setup. I have all three enabled and haven't had any compatibility issues with my devices (I currently have 18 devices connected via 2 hotspots). I didn't really buy this for the capacity (1 AP should be able to handle 18 devices easily), so I can't say how well this will handle a super-dense environment. I don't really understand the second Ethernet. port on the access point. This access point doesn't support link aggregation, so I think it should behave like a switch if you want to connect something else to the access point. I have no idea what you're going to connect to an access point on your ceiling (and I don't think the second port has a PoE output, so you can't connect something like a camera or other IoT chip what is all I can think of, might also make sense to install on the ceiling). All in all, the GWN7630 pair was a great upgrade over the single-wave 1 long-range AP I had previously.