I'm looking to move away from TP Link. I have 5 plus a repeater now, 2 are outdoor. I did a quick search for US Government approved access points and HPE Aruba and Ubiquity, among others (more enterprise suitable), came up. I wasn't really looking to spend $1k on new access points. Anyone have recommendations? Thanks
IMO the entry and lower tier Ubiquiti APs are good. I've now installed a couple U6 Mesh's (my parents' home) and a U7 Lite (my home) and am happy with them. If you don't need 6GHz or the maximum number of spatial streams, U6+ or U7 Lite are good and cheap options.
Beware the U7 Pro, U7 Pro Wall, and maybe also the Pro Max have a built-in fan that some have expressed concerns about. The lower tier models don't use a fan. The new U7 XGS is also fanless, but definitely blows the budget.
HPE, Ruckus and others might give you access to more advanced options through CLIs and whatnot that you can tinker with. With Ubiquiti you get a more curated set of knobs and buttons, but it's easy to work with. You need to self-host the Network application if you're not using one of their gateways, but I think the APs can also be adopted and set up (to a limited extent) with a phone app. Not sure if that applies to all of them.
The Unifi line of products can be set up in many different ways:
1. Via an Android or IoS app. There are some features that require a running controller, like guest portals, so it's limited.
2. Via a Unifi Cloud Key or any of their Gateways (the latter do not make much sense when you use OpnSense, though).
3. Via a self-hosted Unifi network controller (can be deployed as a VM).
4. Via a self-hosted Unifi network controller hosted on an OpnSense via the os-unifi9-maxit plugin from Mimugmail's repository.
5. Via a cloud network controller service like HostiFi. (this variant is debatable security-wise)
I used them for years, they are quite reliable and well supported. Any of the options but #5 give you full local control over them.
Thanks. Given that I'm currently using TP Link, I don't really require anything special. I would need 2 that can take heat. One is in my attic and one is in my detached garage. I'm using TP-Link EAP225 Omada AC1350 for those and the TP-Link AX1800 WiFi 6 Router V4 (Archer AX21) for the indoor ones.
I have 1 AP on LAN1, 3 on LAN2, and 1 on LAN3. All have unique SSIDs.
I'm wondering if I can get away with the Unifi U6-Pro or the U6+. They say they are good to 140 deg F. I really don't want to employ a controller.
Thanks again.