NETGEAR Wireless Access Point (WAX214)| WiFi 6 Dual-Band AX1800 Speed | 1 x 1G Ethernet PoE Port| WPA3 Security | Create Up to 4 Separate Wireless Networks |Ceiling and Wall Mount

Product Information

Flexible options for power source, either by a DC power adapter (sold separately) or by a PoE Ethernet switch (sold separately). With the wireless scheduler option, we were able to easily set when the WAX214 is available using the Schedule Table. You can also set when to automatically reboot the access point, which is a good idea to do on a weekly basis. The Network > Wireless section allows you to configure detailed wireless settings of an access point for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz connections. This includes the Channel HT Mode and client limits, as well as enabling/disabling the Auto RF, 11ax mode, and multicast settings.

However, similar to the case of the EnGenius EWS850AP, getting the WAX214 up and running is dead simple, just like that of any PoE access point. We’d have liked to have seen a 2.5Gbit LAN port, but that feature was reserved for the more expensive NWA110AX. Where the front is made of white plastic, the rear feels metallic and has some keyhole projections to help fix it in place but keep it slightly proud of the surface. Looking at these numbers, we’d only allocate a WAX214 to a maximum of 32 people, even if it can handle more in theory. The access point comes with a mall setup booklet and a self-explanatory introduction printed on its underside. A typical PoE AP setupThe high hardware costs like the Netgear Orbi Pro are unsustainable in the longer term, and businesses are looking for low-cost, flexible solutions that can adapt to their business. It's important to note, though, that the SSIDs are virtual -- using more than one doesn't increase the bandwidth of the AP, and per Netgear, each WAX214 can handle up to 40 active devices simultaneously. That's more than enough for most homes. Netgear WAX214: Modest but reliable performance With an AC input voltage of 12V and an input current of 1.5A, the device requires a power supply of 18W to operate efficiently. These specifications help ensure reliable and stable performance. Designed to be easily mounted on walls and ceilings so it can be discreetly located in customer facing areas. Equipped with a reset button, users can easily restore the device to its original settings when needed. The access point also features LED indicators for LAN, Power, and WLAN, providing a clear visual indication of its status.

For home users, the local web interface might be a better choice, although the Nebula Cloud control works very nicely, albeit with a short time delay between cloud-initiated changes. Realme X50 Pro). While I did register a top link speed of 1200Mbps on the X50 Pro when stood one metre away, below are the average speeds I recorded when taking several speed tests, in a two-up two-down terraced house in South London. Zyxel made the NWA90AX PoE capable, allowing a single LAN cable to carry power and data in a single line. To achieve this requires a PoE (Power over Ethernet) 802.3at compliant switch that can offer 16W over that connection. The NETGEAR WAX214 features a compact plastic build with some mounting options and is ideal for smaller areas like showrooms, retail stores, conference rooms, and lobbies. Compared to the WAX204, it feels and looks a lot more like a consumer model or prosumer device than an enterprise WAP. It has a crossover SMB type of vibe to it. That said, it still looks good and has a quality feeling to it when handled. That’s because the true management tool is the Nebular control centre, and that’s a completely separate web location nested under MyZyxel. It isn’t obvious, there isn’t a true drill-down structure, and it will initially bewilder first-time customers as it did us.

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First, you need to mount where you want to deliver the best coverage. Then connect a network cable to its only LAN port. Now connect the other end of the cable to a PoE port of a switch (or an injector), and you're all done with the hardware setup. The only part of the Nebula interface that needs some work is that it has a map that shows where the equipment resides. We’re unsure how it calculates this location, but ours was utterly wrong, placing the NWA90AX at least 80 miles away from where it resided. The NETGEAR WAX214 wireless access point is a great addition to the company’s WiFi 6 Business Essentials portfolio. While products like the WAX204 (an access point from the same family) feature a much more enterprise form factor with some versatile wall/ceiling mount capabilities, the WAX204 is more of a consumer/prosumer-grade device with some SMB vibes. This makes it a more cost-effective solution for organizations that only have a smaller area of WiFi access to cover. The WAX214 is also PoE-powered, which is ideal for businesses who might not have access to power outlets in the areas they want to install their access points. These aren’t issues that are specific to the NWA90AX, but those investing in WiFi 6 technology should be aware that many of the performance numbers quoted by the makers are either theoretical or not practically achievable.

In the Realtime section, you can analyze CPU loading and network traffic via a simple line graph. Soon as this section loaded, the GUI immediately started gathering data so you won’t have to wait very long to see what’s going on with your access point. In our tests, the best performance we saw was around the 800Mbps for a single client, but with more clients connecting, that number will go down per client, even if the proportion of the total bandwidth used goes up. According to Windows 10, the adapter was connecting at 1.2Gbps when alongside the access point. Although being realistic, as the LAN port is only 1Gbps, it wouldn’t be possible to use all that speed unless the laptop was connecting to another also linked at this level. With the total available bandwidth of WIFi being 1775 Mbps, that’s not achievable. Getting this equipment functioning should be easy since Zyxel has created a phone application to register the device to its management solution. The WA214 also offers Power over Ethernet (PoE) functionality, meaning that it is both powered and has network connectivity using just a single network cable. This is ideal for those who might have areas with limited access to power outlets.But then, to confuse a new customer, once that device appears inside the MyZyzel portal, you discover that the controls you expect to be there to configure the access point aren’t anywhere to be seen.

But all these numbers are in ideal line-of-sight conditions, and building structures never improve the speeds. They can only negatively impact them. It’s easy to assume that the performance of this access point is determined by the bandwidth provided by the dual-band, 2.4 and 5GHz, capability. But wireless networking is never that straightforward, and there are many factors that impact what the user experience of the WAX214 might be.By default, the access point supports four different SSIDs, enabling one each to be allocated for admin and guest accounts, plus two more for users. On the top panel, it’s branded with the NETGEAR logo with the status LEDs on the bottom: 5Ghz, 2.4Ghz, network, and power. For our own sanity, we decided to test the performance to a LAN connected server, and that boiled the performance down to around 800Mbps at close range. That’s not the very fastest we’ve seen, but highly respectable.