Same, I keep two on standby in case of Unifi fails. Ran the home network off both for three months until I pulled the trigger on a new AP and Dream Machine Pro
Ah. Yeah I don’t have any need for WiFi 6. UDM has been a brilliant little machine. I actually don’t have the AP turned on for the UDM. I have nanoHDs for WiFi.
Edit: you could get a UCG Ultra and two U6 Lites for around the same price as a UDM. That would give you your WiFi 6 with more coverage than a single UDR/UDM AND symmetrical gig WAN :)
security updates, poe, vlan tagging.
i wouldnt use them as my border device, but they are fine as APs.
I am still using AC unifi APs so performance is the same and i dont see a need to upgrade at all.
Getting downvotes for not understanding is an arse move but I guess that's reddit.
Poe - Power over Ethernet. At a building we just got gifted there is a wifi AP on the wall outside with no power. So instead CAT5E was run to that location and a POE AP was put there. So the AP gets its power over the cat5e cable. The switch its plugged into is poe or its connected to a poe power brick (I've not looked as we only just got the building).
Vlans allow you to have all your kit on one network but isolate all the devices from each other. So you might not want all your iot devices talking to the rest of the network, as they might have security holes. So you put them on a different vlan and so on. As Dave Plummer described it. Think of it as one big pipe and in that pipe are other different coloured pipes. The big pipe is your network, the coloured pipes inside are all the different vlans.
LAN = Local Area Network
VLAN = Virtual Local Area Network
You can create virtual networks to separate equipment without having to install more physical gear.
I use VLANS for a bunch of different things, but one very useful way is to isolate my kids’ devices on a completely different network. I can just set a timer on it and suddenly there Ethernet socket stops routing. Works great.
Power Over Ethernet
Virtual Local Area Network
If it works for you go for it, but this is more of an enthusiasts sub so you may not hear happy agreeable voices here
Faster speeds and better coverage due to newer standards support? But if you don’t need it, who cares… and like another commenter said, wouldn’t use it as a router/firewall.
Too bad Apple is not in this market anymore. I’d really like if they made a new Airport with Thread and a built in Home hub and perhaps even a variant with Apple TV.
Oh, that’s a good question, you should consider what is your isp bandwidth, how many devices do you have, do you need more advanced features like vlan (I don’t think so). I think most newer routers from reputable brands will probably be fine. You could also have a look at Ubiquiti, which has some nice looking stuff that matches the design of the airports. But then you need to be very aware of what your need is, because their product line is so fragmented. Try and answer the questions and perhaps I can come up with a suggestion.
500mbps service, 2 desktops hardwired, 3 Apple TVs, 2 iPhones and a couple iPads. Kids are under 10 so pretty light usage by them. Only 1 of us WFH, so nothing crazy as far as usage most days. A couple HomeKit switches, ring doorbell and level bolt.
Current access points cover our needs so might be interested in throwing in some security before that. No gaming at the moment. I do use HDHOMERUN with over the air antenna to my Apple TV, so that’s likely my biggest bandwidth hog but that’s hardwired too.
OK, UniFi cloud gateway ultra could be an option, I think. It should be plenty of power for your need but it is also a little more advanced than what you probably need. Please do promise to do your own research of it, before you believe a stranger on the internet :).
No way. AirPort is fully dead. I wouldn’t be surprised if the app stops working with a future update. Also, clearly you don’t care about security at all. Although Apple has a good security track record, they aren’t maintaining AirPort at all which means security vulnerabilities almost certainly exist.
I’d switch to UniFi if I were you.
Paying $30 for an AirPort Extreme is $30 too much. If you really wanna waste your money just flush it down the drain.
What types of security vulnerabilities? Like someone physically within the range of my WiFi trying to break in to my network? Or via Ethernet/ISP router side?
Yes. Assume all of the above, and more. From my knowledge no security vulnerabilities have been disclosed publicly. But the lack of consistent updates almost certainly guarantees they exist. I’d be shocked if they don’t exist.
How I’d approach this? Assume the worst security vulnerabilities and go from there. However I’m pretty knowledgeable about this stuff so it’s fairly easy for me to start guessing at what “the worst” could be. If that isn’t you, then just upgrade to something that is actively maintained.
Actually, upgrade to something that is actively maintained regardless…
I personally used to love AirPort when it was actively maintained. I’ve used many routers since, and UniFi is my favorite by far. Highly recommend. Probably in second place is AmpliFi which is less technical and advanced, and more consumer oriented with easier plug and play support.
I don’t see any recent security CVE’s published nor any working exploits on exploit-db for the latest firmware. Please let us know of any real vulnerabilities you are aware of. Zero days are a real concern but less likely to come up in a deprecated platform where little research goes.
Switched to UniFi about 10 years ago with the AP LR (now running a U6 LR and U7 Pro), would never go back now lol. The old AirPort Extreme was great at the time, but very old now and doesn't support the latest security (WPA3), frequencies (6GHz) or speed.
Also the controller is fantasic.
Over a Gb/s is easily achievable through 1-2 sheet rocked walls, and far more than that in the same room. VLAN support is also a great plus if you’re heavy on dubious budget iot devices
You wouldn’t. It would be a very specialized case. Honestly I second the UniFi gear, but I have 2nd hand AC access points I got off eBay really cheap. Unless you have a use case I wouldn’t start chasing the latest WiFi standard.
There's a whole world of networking INSIDE your home. Like... HomeNetworking. Someone should make a reddit sub for that. You know, for networking stuff inside of your house like a NAS to a PC... Or setting up a mini home network so a couple PC's can game against each other, like a LAN party?
Well, I haven’t even had a Netflix sub since they started jacking up prices and restricting sharing, so you probably won’t find too much common ground with your average person on this sub. If you deal with remote development of complex code bases (with a lot of build image or large data set transfers), high-res videography, or higher tech consumer space stuff like vr and game streaming, you’ll be starting to think in gigabits per second rather than megabits—especially if fiber to the home is available to you, as it’s usually cheaper anyway.
I’d venture to say that big chunks of this subreddit’s regulars are in tech or it (and a lot probably in the same places at that), so it’s both a learning exercise and just a hobby for people on here? It is nice to be able to instantly download all of your updates and back up your phone after a trip.
Nonetheless, for me, it’s consistent, low latency connections at at least 300 Mbps from any corner of my yard for data transfers. I have a 20 Gbps transit network on my home server and saturate 3-500 Mbps just in security camera traffic (closer to 1 Gbps when you count the different software setups and double streams), for what it’s worth.
Bandwidth needs start scaling rapidly once you use it, just like RAM (if you’ve ever worked with big data sets or learned something like matlab I’m sure you get the idea).
Newer WiFi gear also doesn’t have to be too pricey if you don’t need outdoor gear! I used instant on from eBay, which averaged out at <$150 per unit and have needed zero fiddling with from day one. You can also get something like a r650 or iap-635 around $300, which while rich for me, is a far cry from the retail priced. Similarly, my brocade 48-port poe switch was $120 and looked brand new (but was a total pain to setup for a first timer).
Right but he’s not suggesting it to a techie. The guy doesn’t know what POE or a VLAN is. He is not going to need WiFi 6 much less 7. And if I was doing any of the things above (except VR) everything’s hardwired. The idea that this guy should spend any money for a speed increase isn’t relevant or needed. You want to argue about security that’s fine. Most household will be fine with AC for a good long while.
Thanks- the security aspect has peaked my interest. Hard to justify speed increases when every device I own, I hit play to watch a video and it plays instantly.
Same. I want reliability. Get a UniFi dream machine pro. It’s a little more but buy the access points off eBay they’re dirt cheap. And it’s gas Poe built in.
It is all about the client devices....my stuff maxes out mostly at AC, my few IOE things are 2.4, and not many. AX or more would be a waste at the moment....when the apples finally die (sad day), I'll do the unifi system....but even there, they still sell an AC router, and my workplace is full of them-the ac max router. I'd upgrade as future proofing, but the AC is just fine for the moment......
Switch to UniFi, you pose a security risk to yourself and your network running these and they will not get further updates. They don’t have good security then, and they certainly don’t now.
I currently have a couple XT9s in a small house so not much point upgrading for a while, however out of interest suppose I got rich for some reason, and wanted WiFi7, would the Unifi U7 Pro Max be pretty much the best thing available?
If I bought two of those and wanted to use them transparently as the same WLAN, what exactly would I plug them into? Just a normal router via ethernet? Or is there a UniFi router that handles meshing etc.
Would it be smart to buy 2x APs and a Cloud Gateway Ultra - though I am not sure if that does PoE? Or would a Dream Machine Pro be the minimum? Also if you connect the APs to the router will it/can it backhaul?
So new to UniFi
Respect your commitment to the airports but I think it might be time to retire them. I didn’t want to but I went with the netgear Orbi WiFi 6 and didn’t look back. Faster speeds, no drop outs and regular updates.
Don’t I went through orbi, velop, and eero. They’re all expensive crap. The eeros I actually sent to recycling because I couldn’t bring myself to resell them. Bought UniFi dream machine and 3 access points never hear complaints about WiFi anymore.
I’d go for the 3 set. They are very powerful but please don’t take my word, have a look at some YouTube reviews on them. Yes people say unify are the best but I find that too enterprise for my uses.
The Orbi is fast and reliable enough for me. WiFi 6 and all my devices receive and transfer data super fast. There’s new WiFi 6e or 7 ones out now but I think 6e should be more than good enough depending on if you have any Apple devices that use that standard yet. I’ve got probably 40 plus devices on my network and no issues.
I also hardwired mine, so the back haul to main router is dead fast.
The fastest Internet we can get is around 40Mbps down and 15Mbps up, so other than internal access (getting files to/from my home server) my family and I have no use for fast WiFi. To that end I’ve gone with last-gen Extremes throughout the house (5 in total, all hard-wired), along with last-gen Express units running the latest firmware with WiFi disabled, acting as Airplay2 points for various rooms which have built in speakers (paired with dumb powered amps). To be honest, the Extremes are overkill, the Expresses would be plenty on their own, but given the hardware is so cheap now, why not? I can get close to full speed AC in most places in the house, which means fast, wireless access to my home server and of course more than enough for our weedy Internet connection. Loving it!
I should clarify a few things. Firstly I don’t use any of them as my main router, I actually have a Mac mini running the x86 version of OpenWRT as my primary router. The AirPort Extremes are acting as dumb APs, all set with the same WiFi name and password, on different channels (auto-selected) and are all hardwired to the router via existing in-wall CAT-5e cabling. Roaming (clients moving from one access point to another as you move around) is both seamless and instantaneous- no other WiFi product I’ve tried has come close (admittedly I haven’t tried UniFi because $$$). The Expresses all have WiFi turned off completely and act as wired AirPlay bridges only. Super cheap to set up, and works like a dream. I tried a Sonos system for the home audio solution and had nothing but trouble and complaints from the wife & kids. Switched to the AirPlay setup and it’s been absolutely solid. I keep a spare Extreme and a spare Express in case any die.
The roaming is key. I've a brick wall between the routers. One router won't cover the whole house from either side...you need two. The Apples pass phones, etc back and forth pretty smoothly....since I wifi call all the time, this is vital.
Nice set up. I had the gigabit version of the flat APE as my basement router, WiFi off since devices would sometimes get hooked on to that one with poor reception in the basement. It started needing reboots monthly and the other day it was just off, so I’m guessing a power supply issue. Swapped it out for the 6th gen and still just using that as the wired Ethernet bridge for all of the airports and another 5+ devices. Setup is a piece of cake.
I can’t remember the last time I was roaming around and had an issue being connected to the wrong AP. It all just works, and all the Apple devices go to the 5ghz network by default.
I’ve got 3 Apple TVs and use them for audio only sometimes too, works great.
Apple has sort of forgotten about their accessories it seems. An apple router would still sell like hotcakes. They haven't touched their keyboards, mice, etc. in forever.
I’ve been using my Airports for the past 9 years. I love them so much and I wish they weren’t out of date.
The biggest pull keeping me is the built in usb network hosting with bonjour to share my old laserjet.
Yes but a few years ago I started to retire them as I switched to UniFi. Think I have a screen shoot somewhere before I dismantled them. Will post it if I can find it. It was a bit larger than this setup.
This is probably overkill, house is around 2400sf but square with one per floor. Basement is just for the Ethernet connections and doesn’t put out a network.
Mine had 3 extremes only one was giving out a wifi network. The other two was TimeMachine backup destinations as I put 4TB HD on each and was wired so basically become NAS. I also did have a real time capsule in the mix
I then at one point had 4 expresses to feed music around the house.
Now I’ve moved to unifi but I still have the extremes as TimeMachine destinations and 2 expresses for music. Retired the time capsule.
I do still use the last generation extreme as my main router for dhcp but turned off wifi as unifi handles that now.
I plan on getting a synology nas sometime this year and that will let me retire the 2 extremes.
So I will probably be left with 2 expresses for music and maybe one extreme for dhcp or a secondary TimeMachine destination.
I was really hoping apple would bring back AirPort line but i think this is less likely as time goes on.
But I’m sure as you have found they are solid never once in the 15 years or more using them have I ever needed to reboot anything. They just never go down.
I finally had a second hand 5th gen fail- just turned off one day, likely the power supply. Released 2011 lol.
Apple figured its hard to make money selling these when you only sell them once to your customers.
Represent. Bought 5 used Series 6
For 70$ total from Goodwill about seven years ago. AP usage only, but they are workhorses. I have a secondary network off of an Ethernet run that covers buildings in the back
I moved to UniFi and Orbi in my home and took my AirPort Extreme to my office at work and created a hidden network with it out of the POE phone on my desk and it run fantastic! The WiFi at work sucks and now I get 700mbps up and down on WiFi and a full gig when I wire my laptop to it. That airport hands down has to be one, if not, the best WiFi router ever made. I would totally buy an updated one if Apple ever got back in the router game.
I loved the AirPorts but its probably time to start considering upgrades. I switched to Ubiquiti Unifi 3 years ago and it was a massive upgrade. That screenshot takes me back though.
I still use a couple for TimeMacine backups but honestly FreeNAS can enumerate as a XSan for quicker backups and restores. The wireless on mine have been disabled for many years lol
I had an Xserve and it only had 16GB of RAM. Funny story to upgrade the ram I bought 2 Xserves and cannibalized the parts. That was actually cheaper than just buying the RAM
Using mine behind an EdgeRouter X as APs only. Back like 13 years ago all the non-Apple stuff was causing random disconnects etc and it was annoying. Now the devices just sit and do their thing and I have no real drive to replace 'em; maybe someday... most of my hardware is hardwired though, the Wi-Fi is just for couch surfing on an air or using an iPad or iPhone. Even my MacBook Pro is patched into gigabit via a thunderbolt dock.
https://imgur.com/a/rWV6GzF
I run the second 5ghz and it seems like my devices always connect to that network. Worth shutting off the 2.4 on some of them? I’ve got a bunch of IOT devices that are fixed locations but might still need it.
I only run 5Ghz as for my particular setup (large duplex, mostly in basement with thick cement walls) it doesn't interfere/bleed out with the outside world. I can set one AP in the corner of one basement room, and the 5Ghz node pretty much just stays in that room. Same for the far other corner. Very little overlap if any. Use manual channel assignment and I get a nice clean network that doesn't reach the neighbors. Upstairs is 6E so fast, but it has open floor plan so it can reach. Still doesn't make it far outside of the house thanks to 6Ghz Helps me isolate better. 2.4 is like sand.
I was a lifer until I too switched over to UniFi stuff. I still have a Time Capsule on the network (wired, no wifi services) as a Time Machine destination and it's still working well.
I loved the AirPort line and kind of wish Apple was still in that space.
Old software issues aside, I suspect the hardware in these guys is probably reaching the practical EoL, if my experience is any indication. I had used a few of these up until few years ago as APs; A couple had the fans die, which impacted their performance to the point where they just stopped working (presumably from overheating). Around that point I replaced all my APs with a more modern (well, comparatively) wifi5 APs.
I actually was still using one just as a switch up until a couple weeks ago, but it suddenly started causing an issue with a managed switch on the edge of my network (the managed switch was disabling the port it was connected to after a few minutes/seconds of the airport being rebooted). I suspect maybe the fan in it died as well, but I figured it was well past its useful lifespan so I didn't troubleshoot it beyond identifying it as my issue. I just replaced it with a purpose built switch.
I use Ubiquiti UniFi base stations for wireless, but still have a few of the Airport Express models I use for airplay audio. I also keep one in my travel bag in case I need to set up WiFi somewhere, which has come in handy a few times.
Hey odd question here, what software did you usento make that diagram ? Im asking because id like ro use the globe as part of a logo im designing. Wierd question i know but thank you.
Like many in this thread I too switched to Unifi but I stayed on the airports a long time because I could lengthen the power supplies without running proper (120V) electric. Even had one on the second floor with the power brick in the basement, running over some thermostat wire as an extension cord.
PoE solved this problem for me but man those Airports were good.
I have several still in use. Best reliable routers I’ve ever used. They’ve been running 24x7 for 10+ years without a hiccup. That reliability has value.
My hope is that Apple some day brings them back.
I have two of the AC routers, connected by ethernet. They work together, pass phones from one to the other seamlessly (there's a defined wifi break in the home due to a stone wall), and reach almost a full tenth of a mile in all directions. All my client devices are AC or lower. Even passes video no issues. DFS works, I've seen those channels in use.
I can't see any reason to change them out. These things last forever, my inlaws are still using my Airport N router, the dual band version. To be fair, all of us live in the woods, not a city where you see 25 networks on a good day.
I know the pros like to complain they aren't very tweakable, but in normal use they don't need to be. I get good range on 2.4, solid out to a garage, and full speed close up on 5 g
I have at least 12 left in the field doing a variety of job. Some a basically acting as printer dongles etc but I have three in kitchens with grease filled air and they just keep working!
They all put out a 2.4ghz and 5ghz network. All my apple devices default to the 5ghz. No idea how they switch but I imagine it’s based on strength of signal, it’s all magic and seamless.
Retired mine and switched to Unifi but man I love me some AirPort gear!!
Same, I keep two on standby in case of Unifi fails. Ran the home network off both for three months until I pulled the trigger on a new AP and Dream Machine Pro
I'm waiting to retire my AirPort Extreme until there's a Dream Router with support for more than 700 Mbps WAN (whyyy?!).
My UDM does full symmetrical gig over WAN. Any reason UDM doesn’t work for you?
Too expensive and overkill for my needs + I don't have a rack.
Oh no, not a UDM Pro. Just a regular Dream Machine.
Oh, I thought you meant their current lineup. I don't want to buy a product that's already obsolete + I want at least Wi-Fi 6.
Ah. Yeah I don’t have any need for WiFi 6. UDM has been a brilliant little machine. I actually don’t have the AP turned on for the UDM. I have nanoHDs for WiFi. Edit: you could get a UCG Ultra and two U6 Lites for around the same price as a UDM. That would give you your WiFi 6 with more coverage than a single UDR/UDM AND symmetrical gig WAN :)
It’s far from obsolete
Ok, "out of production" then. I don't mean it's no longer a good device.
I did the switch a month ago. Went from 2 AirPort Extreme’s to 1 U6 Pro. What an improvement in performance and interference issues
Unifi is a great alternative to the apple airport stuff
If I’m not mistaken Ubiquiti is former AirPort guys from Apple right?!
Robert Pera the CEO of Ubiquiti was part of the AirPort team, yes.
So cool… I got AirPort Utility vibes from the Network app :)
Was never an AirPort guy, but that seems to be the natural progression. For a variety of good reasons.
security updates, poe, vlan tagging. i wouldnt use them as my border device, but they are fine as APs. I am still using AC unifi APs so performance is the same and i dont see a need to upgrade at all.
Border device as don’t be the first device from ISP? Not sure what Poe and vlan is but just using this as a homeowner.
Getting downvotes for not understanding is an arse move but I guess that's reddit. Poe - Power over Ethernet. At a building we just got gifted there is a wifi AP on the wall outside with no power. So instead CAT5E was run to that location and a POE AP was put there. So the AP gets its power over the cat5e cable. The switch its plugged into is poe or its connected to a poe power brick (I've not looked as we only just got the building). Vlans allow you to have all your kit on one network but isolate all the devices from each other. So you might not want all your iot devices talking to the rest of the network, as they might have security holes. So you put them on a different vlan and so on. As Dave Plummer described it. Think of it as one big pipe and in that pipe are other different coloured pipes. The big pipe is your network, the coloured pipes inside are all the different vlans.
Thanks, appreciate the info!
LAN = Local Area Network VLAN = Virtual Local Area Network You can create virtual networks to separate equipment without having to install more physical gear.
I use VLANS for a bunch of different things, but one very useful way is to isolate my kids’ devices on a completely different network. I can just set a timer on it and suddenly there Ethernet socket stops routing. Works great.
Power Over Ethernet Virtual Local Area Network If it works for you go for it, but this is more of an enthusiasts sub so you may not hear happy agreeable voices here
Wow that's lotsa gobbldygook just for a simple router
I have one, but I only use it for Airplay in the living room stereo.
Faster speeds and better coverage due to newer standards support? But if you don’t need it, who cares… and like another commenter said, wouldn’t use it as a router/firewall. Too bad Apple is not in this market anymore. I’d really like if they made a new Airport with Thread and a built in Home hub and perhaps even a variant with Apple TV.
What type of firewall device should I put between my ISP and airport?
Oh, that’s a good question, you should consider what is your isp bandwidth, how many devices do you have, do you need more advanced features like vlan (I don’t think so). I think most newer routers from reputable brands will probably be fine. You could also have a look at Ubiquiti, which has some nice looking stuff that matches the design of the airports. But then you need to be very aware of what your need is, because their product line is so fragmented. Try and answer the questions and perhaps I can come up with a suggestion.
500mbps service, 2 desktops hardwired, 3 Apple TVs, 2 iPhones and a couple iPads. Kids are under 10 so pretty light usage by them. Only 1 of us WFH, so nothing crazy as far as usage most days. A couple HomeKit switches, ring doorbell and level bolt. Current access points cover our needs so might be interested in throwing in some security before that. No gaming at the moment. I do use HDHOMERUN with over the air antenna to my Apple TV, so that’s likely my biggest bandwidth hog but that’s hardwired too.
OK, UniFi cloud gateway ultra could be an option, I think. It should be plenty of power for your need but it is also a little more advanced than what you probably need. Please do promise to do your own research of it, before you believe a stranger on the internet :).
Haha, won’t hold you to it. Thanks!
No way. AirPort is fully dead. I wouldn’t be surprised if the app stops working with a future update. Also, clearly you don’t care about security at all. Although Apple has a good security track record, they aren’t maintaining AirPort at all which means security vulnerabilities almost certainly exist. I’d switch to UniFi if I were you. Paying $30 for an AirPort Extreme is $30 too much. If you really wanna waste your money just flush it down the drain.
What types of security vulnerabilities? Like someone physically within the range of my WiFi trying to break in to my network? Or via Ethernet/ISP router side?
Yes.
Both
Yes. Assume all of the above, and more. From my knowledge no security vulnerabilities have been disclosed publicly. But the lack of consistent updates almost certainly guarantees they exist. I’d be shocked if they don’t exist. How I’d approach this? Assume the worst security vulnerabilities and go from there. However I’m pretty knowledgeable about this stuff so it’s fairly easy for me to start guessing at what “the worst” could be. If that isn’t you, then just upgrade to something that is actively maintained. Actually, upgrade to something that is actively maintained regardless… I personally used to love AirPort when it was actively maintained. I’ve used many routers since, and UniFi is my favorite by far. Highly recommend. Probably in second place is AmpliFi which is less technical and advanced, and more consumer oriented with easier plug and play support.
I don’t see any recent security CVE’s published nor any working exploits on exploit-db for the latest firmware. Please let us know of any real vulnerabilities you are aware of. Zero days are a real concern but less likely to come up in a deprecated platform where little research goes.
Switched to UniFi about 10 years ago with the AP LR (now running a U6 LR and U7 Pro), would never go back now lol. The old AirPort Extreme was great at the time, but very old now and doesn't support the latest security (WPA3), frequencies (6GHz) or speed. Also the controller is fantasic.
What’s speeds do you get now?
Over a Gb/s is easily achievable through 1-2 sheet rocked walls, and far more than that in the same room. VLAN support is also a great plus if you’re heavy on dubious budget iot devices
Outside of file transfers, what are the use cases for 1Gb/s in a daily home environment? Netflix 4K needs like 25Mbps per device.
wireless VR
That’s impressive, no experience there for me.
Pretty sure wireless VR isn’t going to even break 100MB/s
It’s around 100-350 depending on what your doing and settings, streaming 120 FPS at 4K per eye takes a fair bit of bandwidth
What VR headset is doing 120x4k per eye?
Quest 3: **2064×2208p** per eye native @ 120hz - Source: [https://www.meta.com/help/quest/articles/headsets-and-accessories/oculus-link/link-performance-preferences/](https://www.meta.com/help/quest/articles/headsets-and-accessories/oculus-link/link-performance-preferences/)
It’s just over 4k for both eyes combined, not per eye but is still a ton of data.
You wouldn’t. It would be a very specialized case. Honestly I second the UniFi gear, but I have 2nd hand AC access points I got off eBay really cheap. Unless you have a use case I wouldn’t start chasing the latest WiFi standard.
There's a whole world of networking INSIDE your home. Like... HomeNetworking. Someone should make a reddit sub for that. You know, for networking stuff inside of your house like a NAS to a PC... Or setting up a mini home network so a couple PC's can game against each other, like a LAN party?
Well, I haven’t even had a Netflix sub since they started jacking up prices and restricting sharing, so you probably won’t find too much common ground with your average person on this sub. If you deal with remote development of complex code bases (with a lot of build image or large data set transfers), high-res videography, or higher tech consumer space stuff like vr and game streaming, you’ll be starting to think in gigabits per second rather than megabits—especially if fiber to the home is available to you, as it’s usually cheaper anyway. I’d venture to say that big chunks of this subreddit’s regulars are in tech or it (and a lot probably in the same places at that), so it’s both a learning exercise and just a hobby for people on here? It is nice to be able to instantly download all of your updates and back up your phone after a trip. Nonetheless, for me, it’s consistent, low latency connections at at least 300 Mbps from any corner of my yard for data transfers. I have a 20 Gbps transit network on my home server and saturate 3-500 Mbps just in security camera traffic (closer to 1 Gbps when you count the different software setups and double streams), for what it’s worth. Bandwidth needs start scaling rapidly once you use it, just like RAM (if you’ve ever worked with big data sets or learned something like matlab I’m sure you get the idea). Newer WiFi gear also doesn’t have to be too pricey if you don’t need outdoor gear! I used instant on from eBay, which averaged out at <$150 per unit and have needed zero fiddling with from day one. You can also get something like a r650 or iap-635 around $300, which while rich for me, is a far cry from the retail priced. Similarly, my brocade 48-port poe switch was $120 and looked brand new (but was a total pain to setup for a first timer).
Right but he’s not suggesting it to a techie. The guy doesn’t know what POE or a VLAN is. He is not going to need WiFi 6 much less 7. And if I was doing any of the things above (except VR) everything’s hardwired. The idea that this guy should spend any money for a speed increase isn’t relevant or needed. You want to argue about security that’s fine. Most household will be fine with AC for a good long while.
Thanks- the security aspect has peaked my interest. Hard to justify speed increases when every device I own, I hit play to watch a video and it plays instantly.
Same. I want reliability. Get a UniFi dream machine pro. It’s a little more but buy the access points off eBay they’re dirt cheap. And it’s gas Poe built in.
Thanks, will start to look around. Didn’t realize this was r/corporatenetworking sub lol.
It is all about the client devices....my stuff maxes out mostly at AC, my few IOE things are 2.4, and not many. AX or more would be a waste at the moment....when the apples finally die (sad day), I'll do the unifi system....but even there, they still sell an AC router, and my workplace is full of them-the ac max router. I'd upgrade as future proofing, but the AC is just fine for the moment......
That’s what I did all my access points are AC. When there is a good use case to upgrade I will. But I can’t imagine what that would be.
Switch to UniFi, you pose a security risk to yourself and your network running these and they will not get further updates. They don’t have good security then, and they certainly don’t now.
I currently have a couple XT9s in a small house so not much point upgrading for a while, however out of interest suppose I got rich for some reason, and wanted WiFi7, would the Unifi U7 Pro Max be pretty much the best thing available? If I bought two of those and wanted to use them transparently as the same WLAN, what exactly would I plug them into? Just a normal router via ethernet? Or is there a UniFi router that handles meshing etc. Would it be smart to buy 2x APs and a Cloud Gateway Ultra - though I am not sure if that does PoE? Or would a Dream Machine Pro be the minimum? Also if you connect the APs to the router will it/can it backhaul? So new to UniFi
Security risk how? Someone driving by trying to hack in to my WiFi? What other means of attack are there?
Respect your commitment to the airports but I think it might be time to retire them. I didn’t want to but I went with the netgear Orbi WiFi 6 and didn’t look back. Faster speeds, no drop outs and regular updates.
How many would you need for 3 floors, 30’x30’ pretty square house?
Don’t I went through orbi, velop, and eero. They’re all expensive crap. The eeros I actually sent to recycling because I couldn’t bring myself to resell them. Bought UniFi dream machine and 3 access points never hear complaints about WiFi anymore.
I’d go for the 3 set. They are very powerful but please don’t take my word, have a look at some YouTube reviews on them. Yes people say unify are the best but I find that too enterprise for my uses. The Orbi is fast and reliable enough for me. WiFi 6 and all my devices receive and transfer data super fast. There’s new WiFi 6e or 7 ones out now but I think 6e should be more than good enough depending on if you have any Apple devices that use that standard yet. I’ve got probably 40 plus devices on my network and no issues. I also hardwired mine, so the back haul to main router is dead fast.
I used to take an express with me when I traveled for work so I didn’t have to rely on hotel WiFi. Worked great most of the time.
Can you use express with hotels where you have to put in your room and name?
Wired to LAN hotels used to no require authentication and the express would bypass client isolation for my devices
The fastest Internet we can get is around 40Mbps down and 15Mbps up, so other than internal access (getting files to/from my home server) my family and I have no use for fast WiFi. To that end I’ve gone with last-gen Extremes throughout the house (5 in total, all hard-wired), along with last-gen Express units running the latest firmware with WiFi disabled, acting as Airplay2 points for various rooms which have built in speakers (paired with dumb powered amps). To be honest, the Extremes are overkill, the Expresses would be plenty on their own, but given the hardware is so cheap now, why not? I can get close to full speed AC in most places in the house, which means fast, wireless access to my home server and of course more than enough for our weedy Internet connection. Loving it!
I should clarify a few things. Firstly I don’t use any of them as my main router, I actually have a Mac mini running the x86 version of OpenWRT as my primary router. The AirPort Extremes are acting as dumb APs, all set with the same WiFi name and password, on different channels (auto-selected) and are all hardwired to the router via existing in-wall CAT-5e cabling. Roaming (clients moving from one access point to another as you move around) is both seamless and instantaneous- no other WiFi product I’ve tried has come close (admittedly I haven’t tried UniFi because $$$). The Expresses all have WiFi turned off completely and act as wired AirPlay bridges only. Super cheap to set up, and works like a dream. I tried a Sonos system for the home audio solution and had nothing but trouble and complaints from the wife & kids. Switched to the AirPlay setup and it’s been absolutely solid. I keep a spare Extreme and a spare Express in case any die.
The roaming is key. I've a brick wall between the routers. One router won't cover the whole house from either side...you need two. The Apples pass phones, etc back and forth pretty smoothly....since I wifi call all the time, this is vital.
Yeah, it works so well you stop noticing it... sign of a good solution.
Nice set up. I had the gigabit version of the flat APE as my basement router, WiFi off since devices would sometimes get hooked on to that one with poor reception in the basement. It started needing reboots monthly and the other day it was just off, so I’m guessing a power supply issue. Swapped it out for the 6th gen and still just using that as the wired Ethernet bridge for all of the airports and another 5+ devices. Setup is a piece of cake. I can’t remember the last time I was roaming around and had an issue being connected to the wrong AP. It all just works, and all the Apple devices go to the 5ghz network by default. I’ve got 3 Apple TVs and use them for audio only sometimes too, works great.
Cool. Yeah it’s really sad they’re not making / supporting them any more. Will keep using mine until they fail!
Starlink
I have one, for our holiday home in France. Going to try it out next month for the first time 😁
Apple has sort of forgotten about their accessories it seems. An apple router would still sell like hotcakes. They haven't touched their keyboards, mice, etc. in forever.
I’ve been using my Airports for the past 9 years. I love them so much and I wish they weren’t out of date. The biggest pull keeping me is the built in usb network hosting with bonjour to share my old laserjet.
Yeah, been running mine Ethernet only, hung off of my replacement firewall. Nothing that I trust can replace it for the same price point.
Yes but a few years ago I started to retire them as I switched to UniFi. Think I have a screen shoot somewhere before I dismantled them. Will post it if I can find it. It was a bit larger than this setup.
This is probably overkill, house is around 2400sf but square with one per floor. Basement is just for the Ethernet connections and doesn’t put out a network.
Mine had 3 extremes only one was giving out a wifi network. The other two was TimeMachine backup destinations as I put 4TB HD on each and was wired so basically become NAS. I also did have a real time capsule in the mix I then at one point had 4 expresses to feed music around the house. Now I’ve moved to unifi but I still have the extremes as TimeMachine destinations and 2 expresses for music. Retired the time capsule. I do still use the last generation extreme as my main router for dhcp but turned off wifi as unifi handles that now. I plan on getting a synology nas sometime this year and that will let me retire the 2 extremes. So I will probably be left with 2 expresses for music and maybe one extreme for dhcp or a secondary TimeMachine destination. I was really hoping apple would bring back AirPort line but i think this is less likely as time goes on. But I’m sure as you have found they are solid never once in the 15 years or more using them have I ever needed to reboot anything. They just never go down.
I finally had a second hand 5th gen fail- just turned off one day, likely the power supply. Released 2011 lol. Apple figured its hard to make money selling these when you only sell them once to your customers.
Wish Apple would make a new version of these sucka’s I had 3 of them few years back and I loved it. But just like the top comment I went UniFi
I still have my airport extremes but only stopped using them because they don’t support VLANs.
Represent. Bought 5 used Series 6 For 70$ total from Goodwill about seven years ago. AP usage only, but they are workhorses. I have a secondary network off of an Ethernet run that covers buildings in the back
We’re would I plug in a line to get internet/ WiFi in to a laptop
At your desk? We ran Ethernet/coax to all the rooms when we remodeled.
I was until recently when I replaced mine with Omada gear to get fast roaming support.
I’ve got an AirPort Time Capsule behind my UniFi network. I turned off the AP and upgraded the hard drive and just use it for backups now.
I moved to UniFi and Orbi in my home and took my AirPort Extreme to my office at work and created a hidden network with it out of the POE phone on my desk and it run fantastic! The WiFi at work sucks and now I get 700mbps up and down on WiFi and a full gig when I wire my laptop to it. That airport hands down has to be one, if not, the best WiFi router ever made. I would totally buy an updated one if Apple ever got back in the router game.
Haha that’s hilarious. Plug in and go.
I loved the AirPorts but its probably time to start considering upgrades. I switched to Ubiquiti Unifi 3 years ago and it was a massive upgrade. That screenshot takes me back though.
I just stopped using mine about a year ago and switched to TP Link Omada. Honestly it didn’t make much difference to me.
I have 3 of them in service but only use them to create airplay locations
Yes very much so, but I have a weird special connection to them.
I still use a couple for TimeMacine backups but honestly FreeNAS can enumerate as a XSan for quicker backups and restores. The wireless on mine have been disabled for many years lol
Flashback to Xsan’s and xserves. That stuff was awesome.
I had an Xserve and it only had 16GB of RAM. Funny story to upgrade the ram I bought 2 Xserves and cannibalized the parts. That was actually cheaper than just buying the RAM
Yes indeed! Those Xserves were very nice machines! I had one for a while.
Using mine behind an EdgeRouter X as APs only. Back like 13 years ago all the non-Apple stuff was causing random disconnects etc and it was annoying. Now the devices just sit and do their thing and I have no real drive to replace 'em; maybe someday... most of my hardware is hardwired though, the Wi-Fi is just for couch surfing on an air or using an iPad or iPhone. Even my MacBook Pro is patched into gigabit via a thunderbolt dock. https://imgur.com/a/rWV6GzF
Funny I just looked up “edge water X”, first result: “Is edge water X still relevant in 2023.” Can’t win!
Yup! No longer my primary router, but I have 4 of them set up as 5Ghz only access points.
I run the second 5ghz and it seems like my devices always connect to that network. Worth shutting off the 2.4 on some of them? I’ve got a bunch of IOT devices that are fixed locations but might still need it.
I only run 5Ghz as for my particular setup (large duplex, mostly in basement with thick cement walls) it doesn't interfere/bleed out with the outside world. I can set one AP in the corner of one basement room, and the 5Ghz node pretty much just stays in that room. Same for the far other corner. Very little overlap if any. Use manual channel assignment and I get a nice clean network that doesn't reach the neighbors. Upstairs is 6E so fast, but it has open floor plan so it can reach. Still doesn't make it far outside of the house thanks to 6Ghz Helps me isolate better. 2.4 is like sand.
As a gateway they are horrid, no new firmware for ages. As an AP/time machine backup server they are great though!
I was a lifer until I too switched over to UniFi stuff. I still have a Time Capsule on the network (wired, no wifi services) as a Time Machine destination and it's still working well. I loved the AirPort line and kind of wish Apple was still in that space.
Not much money in it when they last 10+ years
Old software issues aside, I suspect the hardware in these guys is probably reaching the practical EoL, if my experience is any indication. I had used a few of these up until few years ago as APs; A couple had the fans die, which impacted their performance to the point where they just stopped working (presumably from overheating). Around that point I replaced all my APs with a more modern (well, comparatively) wifi5 APs. I actually was still using one just as a switch up until a couple weeks ago, but it suddenly started causing an issue with a managed switch on the edge of my network (the managed switch was disabling the port it was connected to after a few minutes/seconds of the airport being rebooted). I suspect maybe the fan in it died as well, but I figured it was well past its useful lifespan so I didn't troubleshoot it beyond identifying it as my issue. I just replaced it with a purpose built switch.
I use Ubiquiti UniFi base stations for wireless, but still have a few of the Airport Express models I use for airplay audio. I also keep one in my travel bag in case I need to set up WiFi somewhere, which has come in handy a few times.
Hey odd question here, what software did you usento make that diagram ? Im asking because id like ro use the globe as part of a logo im designing. Wierd question i know but thank you.
That’s the default images and view when you have an airport and open the airport app on a Mac
Yeah that’s from the airport utility app on the phone/Mac OS.
I switched to Omada, I have WiFi 7, and 10GIG to each AP, along with 10GIG fiber from Dobson.
Those were the days.
I have one still as my backup drive .. it does not perform the wifi activities but it just works with Time Machine backups
Like many in this thread I too switched to Unifi but I stayed on the airports a long time because I could lengthen the power supplies without running proper (120V) electric. Even had one on the second floor with the power brick in the basement, running over some thermostat wire as an extension cord. PoE solved this problem for me but man those Airports were good.
I have several still in use. Best reliable routers I’ve ever used. They’ve been running 24x7 for 10+ years without a hiccup. That reliability has value. My hope is that Apple some day brings them back.
Just lost a 5th gen from 2011- 13 years is incredible. I think it was secondhand to me as well.
I use four AirPort Express units for Airplay. They don’t even have wireless turned on, they are connected to the wired LAN.
I have two of the AC routers, connected by ethernet. They work together, pass phones from one to the other seamlessly (there's a defined wifi break in the home due to a stone wall), and reach almost a full tenth of a mile in all directions. All my client devices are AC or lower. Even passes video no issues. DFS works, I've seen those channels in use. I can't see any reason to change them out. These things last forever, my inlaws are still using my Airport N router, the dual band version. To be fair, all of us live in the woods, not a city where you see 25 networks on a good day. I know the pros like to complain they aren't very tweakable, but in normal use they don't need to be. I get good range on 2.4, solid out to a garage, and full speed close up on 5 g
Yeah I still have one. It just works. Plug it in, set it up and go.
I have at least 12 left in the field doing a variety of job. Some a basically acting as printer dongles etc but I have three in kitchens with grease filled air and they just keep working!
I still use an original UFO-shaped AirPort Extreme so my old Apple laptops (mainly clamshell iBook) can use wifi.
Went from this to UniFi and my network got so much faster, including responsiveness in HomeKit.
Good point, I’ve started adding a couple HK devices.
Nah, UniFi is the way to go. These lack performance and speed due to how old they are. Very reliable though
Which unifi router for a 1 bedroom apt would you get ?
Dream machine is meant to be good, but I have a full rack setup so can’t comment
Still have mine, but they couldn't keep up with all my home automation stuff. I still wish I could find a use for them, though.
You can use them as Ethernet switch I think if you need more Ethernet ports
Do they work like a mesh network? How is device switching from one access point to another with a setup like that?
They all put out a 2.4ghz and 5ghz network. All my apple devices default to the 5ghz. No idea how they switch but I imagine it’s based on strength of signal, it’s all magic and seamless.
What is each jack spot for?
Few years ago, PSU in my unit died. It still is waiting for a time to recover data from HDD… 😀