Let's Talk About WAPs

I’ve seen so many people post about WAP in their homes or even in the workplace and wanted to weigh in.

Some of you are happy with the WAP you have and I think that’s great and wouldn’t want to steer you in another direction. Ben Shapiro seems particularly upset and I wanted to clear up a few big points:

  1. A WAP can be confusing and MANY people struggle to work with them, even if they’ve had a lot of experience with WAPs in the past, it doesn’t always translate to a new WAP.

  2. Functionally, WAPs are similar but there’s a lot of options out there and many people can feel tricked when relying on their friends and family for WAP judgements.

  3. Sharing a WAP will lead to issues across the board and I generally don’t recommend it, especially from a safety and security standpoint.

  4. Always protect your WAP and consider picking a safe-word or special phrase you can remember.  This makes sure everything in your house stays safe.

So what WAP do I recommend to Mr. Shapiro and those like him that are dissatisfied with their current situation? Simple:

Cardi B is holding two Ubiquiti WAPs

Cardi B is holding two Ubiquiti WAPs

My favorite wireless access point is the Ubiquiti UAP AC Lite (Amazon). It has fantastic coverage, can be adopted into your existing home network without much fuss and can be found for less than $100 on Amazon. They have bigger options with even more coverage and multiple WAPs can work together to create a seamless network without any lapses in coverage. It’s been fantastic in my own house and I’ve put many in business networks to resolve pre-existing WAP issues.

Are there other options for you, if this WAP seems too complex? 

There are a slew of routers available that have very respectable radios included. They tend to be pricier but can provide very similar coverage in an admittedly more user friendly package. I like this TP-Link quite a bit and it’s most often under $200 (Amazon)

No matter what you choose, remember to pick a good password, don’t share your WAP with people you don’t trust. Don’t always listen to your friends in regards to what WAP you like. It’s you that has to live with it. 

Wireless Access Points are an important part of life and I hope everyone continues to stay educated and seeks help if they continue to struggle.

And Ben, if you want a professional to help with your WAP, I have pretty reasonable rates.

Derek PorterfieldComment