The 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. 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. Access points can shift four times that amount of data using extra frequencies and greater parallelism. But despite the enhanced throughput overall, they don’t offer substantially better performance to a single connected user. What I can comment on are the overall wireless speeds I enjoyed on two phones, one with a Wi-Fi 5 radio (an ancient Huawei Mate 10 Pro) and one with a Wi-Fi 6 antenna (a more modern 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.

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.

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. The access point comes with a mall setup booklet and a self-explanatory introduction printed on its underside. A typical PoE AP setup It’s theoretically capable of talking to up to 128 clients in total – 64 on the 2.4GHz band and 128 on the 5GHz band – but I wasn’t able to get anywhere close to simulating this level of activity when testing the WAX214 out in a domestic environment. I don’t even have 64 Wi-Fi-enabled devices to hand, let alone 128, so I can’t comment on how this stands up to maximum strain. 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. This is where you add and configure your SSIDs as well (max of 4). You can name them, enabled/disable 2.4/5GHz connections, edit their respective settings, and enable Guest networks.

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. It’s also very dependent on the connecting adapter, as we discovered that the typical speeds for some laptop wireless adapters were closer to 700Mbps, even if they were 802.11ax rated. 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 new access point supports Power over Ethernet (PoE) and does have a standard power port. However, out of the box, it comes with neither the power adapter nor a PoE injector -- it's rather useless. We’d have liked to have seen a 2.5Gbit LAN port, but that feature was reserved for the more expensive NWA110AX. Now, the Zyxel NWA90AX is here, and it doubles down on this bet by adding a free Cloud management service into the mix for roughly the same price as the Netgear WAX214. Now it's time to access its local web interface. (The AP doesn't have a mobile app, which is great.)

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. 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. 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

In addition to the management SSID, the access point supports four WiFi networks. By default, only the main WiFi network is enabled. Latest WiFi 6 technology with 1.8Gbps speed provides the performance and capacity required for many users streaming simultaneously. The access point comes with a total of four virtual SSIDs (Wi-Fi network names). You can use each as a Dual-band or turn off one of the two bands. You can also make each as a Guest network or customize it with lots of options. Considering the relatively low cost of this device, the Enterprise friendly controls are impressive, and there is no subscription cost for the standard Nebula functionality of Cloud management.

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 Netgear WAX214's coverage proved impressive, exceeding what Netgear claims, 1500 ft 2 (139 m 2).

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 Netgear WAX214 has a couple of surprises. For one, it's quite compact, significantly smaller than the EnGenious ECW230. And secondly, it doesn't come with a power supply. On top of it, there's a fifth SSID (2.4GHz) used for the setup process. You can turn it off once you've gotten things up and running. Netgear WAX214: Detail photos The Netgear WAX214 AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 Access Point's retail box. 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.