EnGenius ECB9500 Wireless Access Point / Bridge / Repeater / Router with Gigabit & 802.3af PoE

Pros: This thing is great as an AP, has many enterprise/managed features and Gigabit for a good price. I've had it for at least 5 years now. When properly placed covers my whole 3400 sq. ft. (2 story + basement) house.

Cons: Can't connect both PoE and outlet power and expect it to switch to whatever one is available without a manual unplug. Unable to set a management VLAN ID, management traffic is just untagged. Had one of the antennas get loose a couple years ago, but it still works.

Other Thoughts: I had an issue with the channel auto-detect feature and had to turn it off, I suspect this was due to a nearby AP that our devices were picking up but the AP couldn't see. It worked fine for years prior to that. Turning on VLANs disabled SNMP, but this seems to have been fixed in a firmware update years ago that I haven't installed yet.

Pros: These units just work! Strong signal strength, never need to be reset because of connection issues.

Cons: A little more expensive, but worth it.

Pros: It was OK for a beginner access point.

Cons: This device is EOL (End of Life) at Engenius. It is an old model, and shouldn't cost more than $45 or $50.
Although it does do SSID to VLAN, it is not a true 802.1Q device.

Other Thoughts: The company selling it through Newegg knows its been around a long time...dont fall for it!

Manufacturer Response:

Dear DaBoomer

We appreciate your time in posting your comments and feedback.

We understand your concern about the ECB9500. We do have a new line of products that take advantage of today’s new technologies and are designed for the modern business environment.

If you have any questions regarding Engenius and our products you may reach us through our number at 1-888-735-7888 or e-mail us at support@engeniustech.com. Our support team would be glad to be of service to you.

Thank you for your patience and we look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Mike
Engenius Customer Support Team

Pros: Allows for multiple SSIDs

Cons: Recently the device started causing the entire network to crash whenever plugged in. After hours working with their tech support (much of it on hold), they could not solve and it is just out of warranty. Need to go buy a new one - and this one will not be an EnGenius.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Steve,


We appreciate your time in posting your comments and feedback. We are sorry to hear about your experience.

We understand your decision but we still hope to earn your business in the future. We have since released new models of access points/bridges some of which are dual band to meet today's wirelesss network needs. We take your feedback seriously and we continuously work to improve our products and customer support.

If you have questions about Engenius products you may reach us through our number at 1-888-735-7888 and ask for me or e-mail us at support@engeniustech.com. We would be glad to be of service to you.

Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you.


Sincerely,

Mike
Engenius Customer Support Team

Pros: Have used the EnGenius ECB9500 in multiple locations and with multiple clients in Wireless Access Point mode. Works well. Easy to setup. Reasonable price and 0 failures in 20+ deployments!

Cons: Tried one as in WAP/router mode. Could not get it to work as a WAP/router. Would not NOT recommend for this use.

Other Thoughts: Quick shipments, good prices and great customer service by newegg.com is always a winning combination! Thank you!

Pros: Rock solid, auto reset, good distance and performance, enterprise features included

Cons: The new features arent yet included in this model so dont expect fancy network management tools for easy deployment.

Setup is Not for Beginners

Other Thoughts: These things are rock solid, we use them again and again with only a few failures and mis-boxings (like the wrong antannea, yes it is a chinese company).

They are cheap, support POE, and once you learn how to configure them they rock.

Pros: VLAN tagging per SSID
Simple web interface
Played with it a lot in the few days I had it and it was solid - nothing strange happened.
Can see client strength 0-100% from web interface - nice touch.

Cons: Signal strength is no better than my old wap54g which I was looking to replace. Even with all of the new bells and whistles it wasn't worth the upgrade, so I am returning it.

Other Thoughts: This was the first experience with EnGenius. The device and web UI felt solid. I may go with one of their longer range devices and see how that goes.
As a pure AP, this device is too expensive. If you need another mode, that may be a different story.
I see folks complaining about documentation. It's adequate enough. Not overly verbose, there is an expected level of user knowledge. If you are messing around with settings and don't know what it's for, leave it as the default or look for more details on bing or something.

Pros: none

Cons: buggy; cli is awful; doesn't support DHCP as a client.

Other Thoughts: Do not use this as an Access Point. It was not designed to be regardless of what Engenius' literature states. The GUI is extremely buggy. The documentation does not match the screens. It's unusable. Thrown away.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer, 







We’re sorry for any inconvenience this might have caused you. Please contact us at 888-735-7888
 or email us at support@engeniustech.com. Our Support team members are more than happy to walk you through proper setup process.

Best regards, 






EnGenius Customer Support Team

Pros: Simple setup, excellent features. The range on this thing is unbelievable. I installed 6 in a school and was so impressed with the coverage that I bought 1 for home.

Cons: crazy to say, it's too light. If there's even a little down pressure on the ethernet cord or power cord, the thing falls off my shelf. Nothing a zip tie couldn't fix.

Pros: Using 2 Units in AP Mode:
Easy Install, 1Gb LAN Interface, Detachable Antennas

Cons: Wish it was multiband...

Other Thoughts: I have purchased 2 of these, and was happy enough with the first unit, that a year later when I needed a 2nd AP for an expansion, I purchased the same unit again!