On the hunt for the best WAP (Wireless Access Point) devices? Then you're in the right place. The devices on this page allow you to connect your devices to a Wi-Fi network quickly and easily.
Buying the best WAP for your business or home office allows you to extend the reach of your Wi-Fi network. If you have a wireless router that struggles to reach every part of the building, or handle the demands of your growing business as you add ever more wireless devices, then our best WAP picks can help you out.
After all, the number of wireless devices in an office or home is continually growing. Laptops and tablets have to jostle for the Wi-Fi alongside smartphones, printers, projectors and more. The best WAP devices can help take the load of your router, allowing for much better wireless network performance.
Whatever reason you have for checking out the best WAP, we’ve listed our picks of the top models available below.
- Also check out our pick of the best wireless routers.
- Want your company or services to be added to this buyer’s guide? Please email your request to desire.athow@futurenet.com with the URL of the buying guide in the subject line.
These clever disk-shaped wireless access points have three dual-bad antennas inside and can be fixed to ceilings or placed anywhere else around a property. After setting them up through the cloud or locally, you can manage all of them at once from an intuitive network view that also lets you further configure and control them while monitoring their data throughput. Ubiquiti Networks' WAP features guest portal/hotspot support, user accounts, and remote firmware upgrade capability. Better yet, the access points take just minutes to set up – power them up, log on, pop in the SSID and you’re away.
Linksys has a winner in the LAPAC2600, which can give routers a welcome boost when used over the 5Ghz band. This results in a connection that feels like you’re connect using an ethernet cable, it’s that solid. It can be configured in Linksys’ busy, but not complex captive portal which be configured for guest use. This lets an organisation’s workers access certain basic network services while keeping vital operations behind lock and key.
TP-Link's N300 could be mistaken for a Wi-FI router with its two large antennas sticking out of the top. It’s a fast performer, offering 300Mbps wireless transmission rates over 802.11n, which isn’t market-leading but that is reflected in the access point’s low price. It supports multiple operating modes – including being used as an access point, a client, a WDS repeater or a wireless bridge. It also offers Power over Ethernet (PoE) capability up to 100 feet for more flexible positioning.
This affordable WAP from Netgear beings the speed with dual-band 802.11ac tech, and it even features a USB port for charging a device. Sadly, there’s no MU-MIMO streaming tech onboard. It does sport an easy to use Advanced Home interface that lets you view network settings for both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands, and there you can also configure port forwarding (and triggering) settings, set up a VPN, control access control scheduling, block websites and set up email alerts when somebody tries to access a website you’ve banned.
This Ubiquiti model introduces enterprise-grade features at an affordable price. It’s a little more complex to set up than your average AP, requiring connection to a computer, powersource and finally a UniFi controller. The latter is a mechanism to control multiple UniFi access points, which is a bonus if your organisation want to deploy and manage multiple UAP-AC-Pro units. This WAP can be configured locally or via the cloud and offers solid wireless performance.
TP-Link’s model comes with some nifty features including MU-MIMO for simultaneous data transfer with multiple devices, band steering (which speeds up devices by moving then to the 5Ghz band) and PoE (power-over-ethernet) for added convenience. It’s a great value option for home offices and small businesses alike, offering fast Wi-Fi speeds, simple web-based configuration and easy-to-setup security that does more of the legwork for you.
Operating over the speedy 802.11ac spectrum band, this WAP from EnGenius Technologies features optimal bandwidth support. Designed to be used as an outdoor bridge in locations where cabling isn’t possible or practical, secondary IP device can be connected to allow for high bandwidth coverage over long distances. Because of this, it has IP55-rated housing and comes with integrated or detachable antenna options.
What is a WAP?
A Wireless Access Point (WAP) can be ideal if you're finding that the Wi-Fi signal emitted by your basic router isn't covering everywhere in your home or office.
Often a router’s Wi-Fi signal might not cover your whole property, leaving deadspots that need to be catered for - but a WAP can address that by boosting amplifying the signal further.
This boost can also allow more devices to connect to your Wi-Fi network, which can be useful if you have a lot of smart home or connected devices in your house, or multiple computing items in an office.
- These are the best routers.