Hello!

I've got RB5009 and need 3 AP to cover my apartment. Thinking about going Mikrotik way for the ease of management through CAPSMAN. At first I will connect them to RB5009 wired for one AP and want to mesh the other two. Later I will connect all three by ethernet cables through Netgear M4300 switch. At my location I can get ax2 and ax3 for approximately 179 and 212 euros respectively. Which way should I go in term of stability and performance? Price is not a big issue here.

Managing expectations....
First of all I am not sure if the ax2 or ax3 contain MESH mesh capable radios. I believe most are looking for seamless roaming??
Hopefully someone will chime in and verify either way but do not assume that they are at this point.

Second, do not base wifi on ease of capsman, why because its an EGOCENTRIC approach, who gives a flying DUCK, if the wifi service/quality is crap.
In other words in order of priority, the USER should come first and that means decent wifi.

Thirdly, Three Access Points isn't that much and since the setup is basically the same for one as it is for three, capsman is not a strict requirement. I say this because using capsman is not trivial, its complex adding a layer of configuration on you , wifi settings and additional processing loads.

Not saying you shouldn't just managing expectations!!

Fourth, depending upon size of apartment, 3 APs may be overkill but since we have no info on space/coverage/obstacles etc........... hard to say.

Fifth, the experience level of users with AX2 and AX3 is very limited, probably more people that have used audience wifi.

Sixth, the questionable level of maturity of wifiwave2 drivers needed and the confusion they bring to the table is not funny......................... It will bring pain........

Seventh: Are your APs going to be wired to the router or are you relying upon the wifi devices to talk to each other to extend the signal ???

Eight, if wired, where are the connections coming from WALL plates?

I want to connect one AP by wire and other two wirelessly so to create mesh network.

I want to connect one AP by wire and other two wirelessly so to create mesh network.

For meshing audience was created.

I want wi-fi 6 functionality.

But doesn’t ax2 have better antenna? I’m a bit confused with the specs.

I look at the official specs of the antennas. Ax2 looks better in this domain. I’m in no way engineer but think the circuitry matters, not only physical size. Do you have any reason not to trust manufacturer’s specs?

Have no idea where things could go wrong with their design.

ax3 no brainer...............

Really getting tired of you making assumptions baseless at that, telling hoelve who has experience with both that he must be wrong.
You have issues!!!

If you want to only believe what you interpret out of the vendor speak, then read this from the product page.

Ultimate power for your whole home
hAP ax³ is our most powerful AX device with the best wireless network coverage so far.

@anav ... just don't chew off his foot, we need him walking.

So you are telling me to forget about what device maker says (actually, lies) and believe that in such devices only size matters based on someone’s personal experience that one completely different device is better than another completely different device? Ok. I like this scientific approach. Better just go buy longer antennaes for my old router so I could double the coverage while saving my money. Who needs these gain numbers, yeah…

Thank you for your extensive explanation, now you made it clearer. I will connect all AP by wire when I move but at the place where I now live I cannot do this so extreme parts of it are not covered even by 2.4 signal. So I have an idea even before I move to buy a couple of hAPs to make mesh network. I understand the drawbacks but the alternative is to not have coverage at some places at all. I still believe that in my particular case AX2 would be more appropriate. If that won’t work well I have a lot of RJ45s in all rooms to add more AP later

I still believe that in my particular case AX2 would be more appropriate. If that won’t work well I have a lot of RJ45s in all rooms to add more AP later

Its what I call religious arrogance, combined with "dumb as an ox", a unique combination........
(apologies CP, its what wheelchairs are for ;-P)

I believe that in real life you are not so brave and prone to rushing to conclusions. I see you more as a geek who doesn't give a s**t to things like design, price and many others normal people usually take into consideration. It's a pity I had to see you behaving not the way good people do.

No I just call it as I see it. Anything else would be a lie or pandering.
AX2 is a waste of money, the AX3 for a few pennies more gives you much better performance and more forward growth potential and is not a half baked step towards wifi6.
Its your dime, as you state!!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Regardless, its dawned on me that we have been discussing the wrong products or the title is not quite correct.
The ax2 and ax3 are not access points they are WIFI Routers! There are no capax3 access points for example
So the question could be construed as a discussion/comparison between the the radios in each device.


However, you seem to be indicating that there are more important factors in the equation hitherto not communicated previously, namely budget and
aesthetics
Then, that gives us more wriggle room! Lets look at the facts..........

A. You have a fantastic router - the RB5009 and thus you dont need any more wifi routers .
B. You should consider smart Access Points.
C. You have multiple wired outlets and thus a wall mount solution is possible and less obtrusive. ( it would appear rabbit ears are deemed ugly? )
D. You want to spend minimally.

I have similar in my house, MT routers with TPLINK eap245 and eap660HD.
However the EAP660HD is a huge ugly round monster luckily sits up high out of sight so not really an issue and the EAP245 is wifi5 tech (stale).
I trunk port into them and they handle vlans nicely and great performance.

They have come out with better form factor devices for wifi6 and budget friendly.
https://www.amazon.ca/TP-Link-Business- ... 362&sr=8-1

They can be (as I do) configured as standalone APs, so dont need any TP omada software crap. The only key would be to turn down 2.4ghz power as you would need very little power and separate channels from each other and ensure sufficient 5ghz power and channel separation to roam around the apartment.

Recommendation: Purchase two of these items and only take one out of the box. Place one temporarily centred in the apartment. If performance is adequate throughout, return the second. If not then move the first one to one end of the apartment and the take the second one out of the box and place it at the other end of the apartment..

( I am going to purchase one myself to play with to replace the eap245 in the basement ( should be here by wednesday )

ps. separate model but this one same width.height but almost 2 inches thick and the ethernet port protrudes signficantly into the wall.
https://www.amazon.ca/TP-Link-Business- ... 181&sr=8-1

pps. what should be clear is that by using access points, you can more cheaply convert to newer technology down the line and keep your excellent 5009 for the next 10 years.

The difference in specced antenna gains between ax2 and ax3 is not really significant (around 1dB; ax2 is better on 2.4GHz, ax3 is better on 5GHz). What is significant is 5dB lower Tx power available on ax2 (17dBm-24dBm on 2.4GHz, 15dBm-23dBm on 5GHz) compared to ax3 (22dBm-29dBm on 2.4GHz, 20dBm-28dBm on 5GHz). The lower HW power is at higher rates meaning that in mediocre conditions ax2 will perform worse because available Tx power on ax2 is lower than most country regulations and higher HW Tx power does make a difference.
Rx sensitivity is the same, so performance in direction from station to AP should not be different too much.

Flexibility to orient antennae on ax3 may also improve range/throughput.

Thank you for all your inputs. There’s definitely something to consider here.

I want wi-fi 6 functionality.

In that case wait for audience ax, or pair two hap ax3 units together if you want 5ghz meshing. It means one ax unit will mesh, other will be AP for stations.

Can't wait for Audience unfortunately. Won't AX2 allow for 5 GHz meshing?

Can't wait for Audience unfortunately. Won't AX2 allow for 5 GHz meshing?

You can use ax2, but regular AP/router have only one radio, so 5ghz band can mesh, or be AP - not both at the same time.

You mean it'll use 5GHz as a backhaul so only 2.4GHz will be available for client devices? How AX2 is different from AX3 here?

Wrong Hoelve........
- the ax2 as MKX indicated has lower wifi output power.
- the axe2 does not have a USB port
- the axe2 does not have a 2.5 Gib port
- the axe3 CPU will perform better due to better cooling, bigger box!

Conclusion: Only after a severe concussion and in a cocaine haze would I ever consider purchasing the ax2.

Dearest Hoelve, How can I make you "see the light" ?? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwgOUzodS6E

In any case the OP should not waste money on a wifi router.
Reasons
A. he has a perfectly good router the RB5009
B. he is looking for wifi not routing.
C. neither the ax2 or ax3 provide mesh........... although in a small apartment I dont think its really needed.

The other vendor business access points provide MESH if using their omada software, although stand alone works great.
The OP seemed offput by the form factor of especially the ax3, so 'looks' is important, and the other vendor has some new flat plate APs that are not ugly.

I really want to have a dive into Kinetik ecosystem so I am ready to buy Kinetik routers and use them as mere APs as there are no AX APs from MikroTik now.
But on another forum I’ve been advised that:
- I can surely make my clients roam between MikroTik routers configured as APs when connected to RB5009 by Ethernet cable. This topology I intend to use in my new apartment.
- I can create mesh network with the same equipment and wireless backhaul. This configuration I want to use until I move.
So the latter is in fact not possible even with wireless speeds dropped due to traffic interchange between APs due to hardware limitations? The person who gave me the advice seems to be very competent in MikroTik products.

You mean it'll use 5GHz as a backhaul so only 2.4GHz will be available for client devices? How AX2 is different from AX3 here?

No, I mean you buy 4 units.

Not if you have to deal with thick concrete/stone walls. A friend of mine had to install a whole bunch of APs to get reasonably decent coverage throughout the apartment because of this. The only positive is that he barely notices the neighbors' wifi.

Not if you have to deal with thick concrete/stone walls. A friend of mine had to install a whole bunch of APs to get reasonably decent coverage throughout the apartment because of this. The only positive is that he barely notices the neighbors' wifi.

In overall yes. I have 2 bedroom flat and I have 2 APs. Our buildings have tick walls, so one AP is not enough. You can buy hi gain APs, that can somewhat get thru walls, but issue is stations. I tested ax3 in middle of flat, multiple times noticed laptop and phone drop from AP (extensive data loss - AP didn't hear station for a while). Besides, to get a good WiFi speed you need good signal coverage to achieve good modulation.

But that is not what i mean whit a APs. You need 2 APs per mesh point:

ax2 (receive mesh signal)->RJ45->ax2-> wifi to stations.

The only way how to get 5ghz ax mesh at this moment.

So is it possible to make mesh network with one Mikrotik router (in my case, RB5009) and several AX routers configured as access points, one of witch connected to the router by wire and others wirelessly to the first one?

I got a house with really thick brick walls and concrete floors. Currently covered with 2 AC3's. 2 AX3 will do as well (I got one for test in my office, it reaches all the way to the other corners and other floors of my house)

Much the same here but since our house is pretty long we need 2 APs for each floor and 3 in the basement.

However, my friend has his apartment in an old stone house from the early 1800s where the walls are about 40-50 cm thick which was a pretty tough challenge to make it work (not exactly easy to drill through either I can tell you).

So Mikrotik cannot share backhaul with with clients traffic in the same frequency range?

How did I miss out on this gem!!!

I was already wondering why it took you so long

I have been really pounding away on these 3 radio WAPs. Need to get them up to par so I can move off Ruckus.

6GHZ is pretty f--king awesome when you are in the wifi soup.

My AP replacement arrived and will be testing via my iphone vs AX3 later on.
Nice small form factor for an apartment (POE in).
Only 2.5cm longer then a hex and half as deep..........
...

My AP replacement arrived and will be testing via my iphone vs AX3 later on.
Nice small form factor for an apartment (POE in).
Only 2.5cm longer then a hex and half as deep..........
...
Compar2.jpg

Hi,

any compare test done? Tnx

Yeah the small TPLInk wifi6 is no better than the TPEAP245 wifi5 already in place. It has less power and smaller and less antennas and thus not an improvement......
Speaks to the power of better or more antennas!!

Stick with the subject matter holveo,,,,,,,, we be talking APs, not wifi routers............ must be that brain worm you have.

Will send you cookies!!

My XE3-4 has been pretty solid.

Cheaper than Ruckus... but I still stumble over issues here and there. XV2-21 is pretty close to where I need to be to get clients to stop asking me about Mikrotik wireless

Sweet device, nice can move to 6E when needed!!
However I dont drive a Ferrari either!

I am using hap AX3 and AX2 without any issue (with ROS 7.9rc).

Unfortunately... Some of the places that I have to keep devices connected... Make or loose Ferrari Money Every Day.

Ergo why I had to give up my beloved caps-man.

some aproximate data about performance advantage of ax3 over ax2

Saw the topic and just had to come to say this:

Get the AX3.

Why wireless backhaul instead of ethernet?

Proper wireless backhaul requires more channels. You're planning to build this in apartment. And, channels are scarce resource in apartment buildings, because you're sharing wireless air space with neighbors.

And, when neighbors get wireless meshing too, you will produce lots interference to each other, once you start to have overlapping signals from different (yours and neighbors) access points on same channels, because you ran out of free channels. Eventually, you will ruin your wireless performance for each other.