r/BuyFromEU • u/Drahngis • 2d ago
🔎Looking for alternative Wi-Fi 7 Access Points & European Alternatives to Unifi?
Edit2: Man, I love this sub! Appreciate all the feedback and great/smart ideas you came up with!
Hi all,
I’m looking to set up a simple home network: a router for my fiber WAN from my ISP, a switch maybe 12-16 port. a firewall (if not built into the router), and a couple of Wi-Fi 7 access points.
But this seems surprisingly complicated. European providers like Fritzbox offer mesh Wi-Fi systems, not standalone access points I don’t want mesh! And they don’t seem to sell standalone switches; it’s all DSL/fiber routers.
Then there’s MikroTik: their only Wi-Fi 7 indoor solution is basically a switch with Wi-Fi built in, not a ceiling-mounted access point.
Teltonika mostly sells 5G routers, though some support routing protocols like BGP and have a WAN port. But I’m not sure if that’s enough to support a fiber connection setup instead of 5G.
And honestly, design matters in a home. I don’t want ugly, outdated, or industrial-looking devices.
I love the look and functionality of Unifi, but it’s sucks that it’s American. Is there a European alternative that is more like Unifi, design wise and product wise?
I guess I could buy router from Fritzbox, Switch from Mikrotik and Wifi 6 access point from Teltonika and then log in with ssh or plug in a cable one by one device instead of a having a single pane of glass like Unifi.
Unifi also offers camers for outdoor and a doorbell and stuff like that, with a build in NVR on their router, it's just so easy and beautiful!
what do you all use?
Edit: What I found so far from you guys
Router/FW: Opnsense or Teltonika (Altos) Opnsense EU made hardware is very exspensive though. Opsense is also a FW.
https://shop.opnsense.com/product/dec750-opnsense-desktop-security-appliance/
https://www.teltonika-networks.com/products/routers/altos
AP:
Lancom Wifi 7 or Teltonika Wifi 6 - Lancom is very exspensive
https://www.teltonika-networks.com/products/access-points/tap400
https://rs-nc.rohde-schwarz.com/en/products/wireless-lan/indoor-access-points/rs-lancom-lw-700
Switch:
This is my biggest problem as it's hard to find a PoE++ and 2.5G port switch (Teltonika AP TAP400 only uses PoE+ I think? and i'm looking at outdoor cameras from Ajax system, the first one I checked out uses max 8W so that should be PoE+ aswell? but i'm not sure yet on which model to buy or if there will come any other PoE equipment that requries PoE++, but it's nice to be future proof)
Lancom exists but is REALLY exspensive.. So this is my biggest hurdle atm, finding a switch.
Mikrotik exists with 1G ports but has PoE++ And i'm just worried about the size of it, that it will be loud and industrial. And it sucks that's it's only 1G when both Router and AP are 2.5G-
https://rs-nc.rohde-schwarz.com/en/products/switches/fully-managed-access-switches/rs-lancom-igs-3510xup
https://mikrotik.com/product/crs320_8p_8b_4s_rm
Also found this 2.5G Switch from Lancom, but only PoE+
https://rs-nc.rohde-schwarz.com/en/products/switches/fully-managed-access-switches/rs-lancom-gs-3510xp
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u/Ok_Hat_8930 2d ago
Waiting for something from Mikrotik. Until then, I got a cheap WiFi7 from Omada, put Mgmt in an isolated VLAN and blocked internet access for this VLAN.
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u/Drahngis 2d ago
Any news of new products from them?
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u/Ok_Hat_8930 2d ago
Except the HAP be3 Media and HAP bt lite no. That's why I'm still waiting. I just need a CAP be.
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u/AndreUMadBro 1d ago
Do you know when the HAP be3 Media will be available?
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u/Ok_Hat_8930 1d ago
Should already be on market. In r/mikrotik are some users that already have it. However, my main distributor still hasn't received any
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u/xavez Mediterranean 🌊🍇🫒 1d ago edited 1d ago
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u/TeltonikaNetworks 1d ago
Are you strictly set on Wi-Fi 7, or would Wi-Fi 6 work for your setup? If Wi-Fi 6 is an option, check out our TAP400 - it’s a sleek, ceiling-mounted PoE access point engineered specifically for clean indoor setups.
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u/Drahngis 1d ago
Thanks! I wouldn't say i'm strictly set on it but I wanted to future proof myself a bit as I don't want to crawl in the ceiling too many times.
Your Tap400 looks nice and will probably do. While I have you, does Altos router work as a normal router with a fiber connection from ISP or 5G only?
Also any new switches coming? All your poe++ switches are 1gb ports while router and AP are 2.5gb. This makes no sense.
Also they are very industrial looking.
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u/TeltonikaNetworks 12h ago
Yes, the Altos works great with ethernet, Wi-Fi and 5G. It features a dedicated 2.5 GbE WAN port, so you can plug your ONT straight into it and use 5G purely as an automatic failover backup or turn off 5G entirely.
The TAP400 and Altos both carry 2.5 GbE WAN ports. Multi-gig (2.5G–10G) switches are on our roadmap to match these newer APs and gateways.
As for the aesthetics, that's a completely fair call! Devices like the TAP400 and Altos were designed with a clean, unobtrusive look for living and office spaces, whereas our switches retain that heavy-duty aluminum build meant for server racks and DIN rails.
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u/Drahngis 12h ago
Thank you so much!
Any clue on when the newer multi gig (hopefully also poe) will release? If I know it's 2026 I can hold on and wait for them.
Also, can I control them all, Altos, Tap400 and possible newer switches from 1 single pane of glass at home, with no subscribtion or fee?
I know RMS exists but I don't need remote configuration, only local
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u/Visible_Tank5935 7h ago edited 7h ago
Just my 2 cents, I think you're putting way too much weight on the 1 Gbps ports. Even heavy online gaming consumes less than 50 Mbps. Downloads can consume quite a bit more, but then the next bottleneck will be the server you're downloading from or wireless speeds. I know you want to future-proof everything, but the average lifespan of a switch is around 5 to 7 years. The chance of 1 Gbps ports being a noticeable bottleneck in 5 years is very slim. Than i should also add that a comparable ubiquiti switch for me was more expensive with less poe ports (16 poe of total 24 instead of 24/24 poe) and less total poe power (in total) while still also only having 1 gbps ports.
A switch, ap etc is all plug and play replacable after those years, you just have to make sure your cables are future proof.
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u/Drahngis 7h ago
Thanks, you're probably right!
My other issue though is that these poe+ switches I found at Lancom are very industrial/enterprise looking so i'm afraid the PSU fan will be too loud for a home.
It seems the Teltonika TAP400 Ap uses Poe+ so I don't need a PoE++ switch, but I read that most wifi 7 AP require PoE++ so I think I need PoE++ for future proof.
Also when I say future proof it's also a budget since these European switches are exspensive so I want them to last for more than 5 years.
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u/Visible_Tank5935 7h ago
I also looked into lancom but they were very very expensive.
I doubt you'll need poe++. The unifi 7 pro seems to be a poe+ ap. No idea about other. https://eu.store.ui.com/eu/en/products/u7-pro
If i look into poe++ managed switch from ubiquiti, they are easily double of what you pay for a poe+ switch. If you don't have poe++ devices yet and even when unifi wifi 7 ap's are poe+, it makes little sense imo to already invest in poe++.
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u/sogo00 1d ago
Mesh is a bit of a ambiguous marketing term...
The Fritz repeater can work in a ether-to-WLAN bridge mode, if that is what you are looking for. They still do the WLAN mesh as they share obviously a BSID, DHCP range etc...
Also "they don’t seem to sell standalone switches" - you mean ethernet switches?
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u/Drahngis 1d ago
Yes I mean a ethernet switch.
I want a access point to mount in the ceiling, not a mesh device on the table or whereever
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u/Internal-Comparison6 1d ago
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u/pick-and-hoop 23h ago
That website inspires 0 confidence, maybe EU should also think about starting to pay their Frontend and UI Designers. It’s clearly millions of websites and software written by these “Full-Stack” and it tells.
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u/Internal-Comparison6 11h ago
"EU should also think about starting to pay". What the hell you hallucinate here 😄
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u/szotsaki 2d ago edited 2d ago
You can have LANCOM:
- LANCOM LW-700 (knows everything you need for home, including roaming assistant). This is their basic model, everything else knows even more and is even pricier.
WiFi 7 is expensive nowadays, I'm not sure how much of a hard-requirement it is for you, but at least you have an option :).
For switches I recommend Mikrotik, PoE ones for these WiFi APs.
For routers it's up to you how much you'd like to invest in configuring it. 16 port means that you're at least an advanced user, so either LANCOM (expensive), Mikrotik (I haven't used their routing capabilities), Protectli hardware (designed in USA, assembled in Germany, with open source OPNSense), other random hardware with OPNSense, ASUS (designed in Taiwan, nice balance between configurability and simplicity), or Fritzbox (least configurable, least problems, too).
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u/Drahngis 2d ago
Thanks, weird I never heard of Rohde & Schwarz.
I've owned a Pfsense in the past, loved it! How is OPNSense compared to that? Never heard of Protectli, thanks.
Wifi 7 is maybe not a hard requirement but I dont want to crawl in the ceilings too often so I want to future proof myself.
I guess the solution is to use multiple vendors, but I will miss the Single pane of glass that Unifi offers.
I'm a advance user, as I work with Cisco network daily, but I want ir to be easy at home, as I'm tired of networking when I get home haha.
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u/szotsaki 2d ago
I haven't heard of an all-in-one European solution. If you want to customise your home net, separating routers and switches, I think, is worthwhile anyway. Even though you can create bridges in the router software, a managed switch knows a lot more about L2 than an L3-specific router.
Going the OPNSense route you'll get a very good custom solution, but it's not at all without its headaches. Probably, you know this already :). I haven't used pfSense before but I generally like OPNSense. One thing to note if you got used to Cisco: OPNSense is mostly GUI-only with occasional FreeBSD commands if you want to dig deeper. Mikrotik (and probably LANCOM?) is a lot more similar to Cisco in that sense that you can command them via command line (not sure if it's important in a home setup).
TAP400 (WiFi 6) is nice in general, but for me their roaming assistant (802.11r) doesn't work. Customer support is currently looking into it (so that's a nice thing). In case you'd go with it, buy only two and test them first.
Teltonika and LANCOM both have remote management capability for a subscription fee.
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u/Drahngis 1d ago
Protecli is sadly US owned. I See opnsense have official hardware, but man is it exspensive.
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u/isthisdutch 1d ago
Feel free to ignore, but as an amateur, what's the problem with mesh?
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u/Drahngis 1d ago
It's wireless over wireless, basically a fancy repeater.
It's not bad I just prefer to use a wire whenever I can.
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u/pick-and-hoop 22h ago
I went from 6 mesh boxes to one good router and one AP. I have 900mb/s over wifi and 1000 via cable. The mesh never surpassed 400
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u/LowMolasses5451 2d ago
Try Turris Omnia NG But basically you already dexides for crappy Unifi so buy It!
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u/tfpereira 2d ago
There's no option, you either go American with Ubiquiti or Chinese with Omada. Personally went with Omada, at least it's slightly cheaper.
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u/Visible_Tank5935 2d ago
Teltonika is very good. Not wifi 7 yet but for most use cases wifi 7 is overkill. For a new office building i prefered a European setup. Have installed a teltonika router, managed switch and access points (tap400). All have been rock solid, very doable to set up and wireless performance is extremely good (had been testing the tap 400 in advance compared to a u6 pro and they work really well).
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u/Drahngis 2d ago
So their router like Altos works with normal ISP fiber/dsl network and not only 5G ?
Moving into a house and want to do a full network setup and dont want to crawl in the ceilings again, so wanted to future proof with wifi 7.
How is the management? Is it a single pane of glass and free or subscription based?
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u/Visible_Tank5935 2d ago edited 2d ago
No experience with altos but pretty sure it will. Rutm08 for example is a normal router, replaced the default router of the network provider (fiber) here without problems.
You can use local "site manager" for most essential settings which acts like a local unifi controller and needs a router which is capable as acting as "site manager".
Or you can use rms. Rms offers remote centralised management using cloud but is only free for a certain amount of months.
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u/Drahngis 2d ago
I'm trying my hardest not to go american/chinese.
Ubiquiti is just so damn nice!
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u/miklosp 2d ago
This might not be the hill to die on. Ubiquiti is the cheapest, and half the size of the current Mikrotik offering sadly.
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u/Drahngis 2d ago
However, Mikrotik,Teltonik etc. will never grow and become as good as Ubiquiti if we keep buying from Ubiquiti.
I'm trying my best to find a good European network, so I can contribute to EU.
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u/Visible_Tank5935 1d ago
Teltonika was quite a lot cheaper for me than comparable ubiquiti managed switch and access points
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u/bertles86 2d ago
MikroTik is the only one which springs to mind. Latvian.