Open Mesh A40

At a glance
Product	Open Mesh Universal 802.11ac Access Point (A40)   [Website]
Summary	2x2 AC1200 class PoE-powered cloud-managed access point. Supports Wi-Fi backhaul
Pros	• PoE powered • Supports mesh backhaul • Cloud-based portal supports multiple sites • Good for indoor and outdoor use
Cons	• No local admin option • Iffy, inconsistent roaming in open air tests

Typical Price: $80  Buy From Amazon

The Open Mesh A40 has two unique attributes in our roundup group. At around $160, it's the most expensive and it's the only product in the group managed via a cloud service. In fact, the only management option is Open Mesh's free, cloud-based CloudTrax system.

The good news is that, once set up, a network can keep running if its cloud connection goes down. The bad, of course, is that you are left with doorstops if Open Mesh closes its doors. This is less likely than it may have been, however, since Open Mesh was acquired by business continuity solution provider Datto early this year.

The 2x2 A40 could be mistaken for its 3x3 A60 sibling, since both come in the same off-white 6.5" rounded square plastic enclosure. Unlike most other APs in the roundup herd, the A40 has two gigabit Ethernet ports, one of which accepts 802.3af to power the AP. Note the A40's enclosure is water resistant and is ok for indoor or outdoor use.

Open Mesh A40 board

The A40 and A60 are both built on Qualcomm platforms, with the A40 using the QCA/9557/QCA9882 combination that also forms the core of the Linksys LAPAC1200.

The full review back in September describes life with Open Mesh's CloudTrax cloud management platform. It has most features you'd want in a multi-AP management system and I found it less confusing to drive than Ubiquiti's UniFi.

CloudTrax Network Overview

Open Mesh did a good job on CloudTrax' feature overview. You'll learn everything you need to know in about 4 minutes. The main weak points of the product are that band steering is supported only from 2.4 to 5 GHz and the only roaming assistance provided is to devices supporting 802.11r.

Introduction D-Link DAP2610 Edimax CAP1200 Linksys LAPAC1200 NETGEAR WAC-505 Open Mesh A40 TP-Link EAP225 Ubiquiti UAP-AC-Lite ZyXEL NWA1123-ACv2 Performance Performance-more, Closing

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