TRENDnet TEW-653AP Wireless N PoE Access Point TRENDnet TEW-653AP Wireless N PoE Access Point

Pros: I've got a fleet of about a dozen of these units, across several locations. They are absolutely ROCK SOLID. They are POE END devices. The MFR presumes (rightly or wrongly) that you already have POE available. I also have inherited and operate a mixture of ADTRAN, CISCO, and HP Procurve POE switches (no trendNets) and these WAPS work with each and every one of them. Signal strength seems great in every location I've deployed.

Cons: None So far...

Other Thoughts: Probably the nicest feature of these, for our use, is the support for 802.1x, VLANS and multiple SSIDs. It's great to be able to feed the WAP a tagged signal, and have separate wireless environments for authenticated (802.1x) devices/users and Guest users. This is a business class device with business class capabilities.

Pros: Unit seems to work OK.
Ceiling mount.
No stick antenna(s)

Cons: Advertises as POE, but no power injector included. Does not work except with Trendnet POE switches, my TP link equipment does not work. So this WAP is really nothing but an ordinary access point unless you have a Trendnet POE switch. This is boderline false advertising or is it a bait and ripoff.

Other Thoughts: Trendnet should really make is clear on the box and description that:-
(1) You need a Trendnet POE switch.
(2) If you don't have a Trendnet POE switch then you need
to buy a Trendnet power injector set, which will cost another $35-$45 with shipping.

Pros: Works well... no complaints really.

Cons: It's a rebranded EnGenius EAP9550, running an older version of the firmware where the web page doesn't work in Safari. This is an older EnGenius product, being sold at a premium price by TrendNet. Only buy if it's on sale really cheap, otherwise stick with the EnGenius units.

Pros: Clean, unobtrusive look and performance seems just fine. Range is good, not amazing, but good. Covers a large open cafeteria well.

Cons: HTTP setup page won't load in Safari or on an iPad (mobile Safari). Given I like to run around with my iPad to configure networks, this is a huge con. Poorly designed too. Minus one egg for an otherwise perfectly functional product.

Other Thoughts: Purchased at an extremely great price for install in a room at a campground that already has a mix of different brands of AP's. No issues working with other AP's. Bears an uncanny resemblance to EnGenius EAP units (as in, the case is clearly identical), but without the higher power rating those have.

Pros: We just moved into an office building on the 4th floor and mounted one of these to our wall. A fire alarm went off and we had to evacuate across the street some 150 ft away. I pulled out my Tmobile G2, and to my surprise, my WiFi connection was still active, with 3 out of 4 bars no less. 4th floor and 150 feet, I'm impressed!

Cons: None so far.

Pros: Blends well within office. Easy to configure.

Cons: Wireless signal weak even while sitting directly under the unit. While configuring the unit I would lose connectivity. Ran ping tests and sometimes got a response and sometimes would not. On a ping with 4 checks, a couple would reply and a couple would not. Could not get DHCP address from head end access point which is Linksys WRT54G while connected to the Trendnet. On occasion I got an IP, then would lose it. If near the Linksys, there were no problems. Dissatisfied because now I have to either RMA this unit which is inconvenient.

Other Thoughts: I will give this one more shot by changing the channel to 11 as mentioned in an earlier review. I have tried most other channels to no avail.

Manufacturer Response:

Manufacturer Response* Pending ApprovalManufacturer Response* ApprovedValued Customer,

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. If you have not already done so, please update the unit with the latest firmware.

If you still experience the issue please feel free to contact us at sales@trendnet.com, reference "New Egg product review" and someone will contact you immediately to help out.

Regards,

TRENDnet Sales team

Pros: This device is meant to be wall or ceiling mounted. There are no antennas sticking up, and the overall look is very unobtrusive and blends into the office. Yes, it looks very much like a smoke detector or part of a security system, which is why it blends in so well. Mounting is very easy.

Configuration is simple and straightforward, using a web interface as most routers and access points do.

Power over Ethernet. Always a big plus for installing wireless access points.

Wireless speed seems very good- I was able to connect laptops and handheld devices and get respectable browsing speed without any issues.

The coverage is much better than I would expect for a device with no external antennas. The device covered two floors without any issue and the range was adequate to cover a small office building.

Cons: Want wireless N speed? Well your laptop may connect to this access point at 300Mb, but the access point plugs into your network at 100Mb. This is a major weakness if you need top wireless speed to push videos or other massive data streams over wireless. For web browsing, email, and running conventional internet programs this is probably not an issue because 100Mb is more than adequate. But for accessing local data you may want a wireless access point with a gigabit port.

PoE adapter is not included.

Other Thoughts: Overall a very solid device. So long as the speed meets your requirements, this is a good buy. It mounts easily and looks great even when attached to the ceiling.

Pros: only thing going for it at this point, it looks like a large smoke detector

Cons: - visual: they put all the printing on the face in dark grey, so unless you paint it it doesn't reall blend in well on a white ceiling.

- performance, dhcp if used is sluggish as is pass through to other deivce if other system is used for dhcp

- issues: device keeps hanging and will not accept client connections. Appears to be part of powersave options that according to the device are 'off' but the device keeps putting itself into stand-by mode. Only a reboot will correct.

Other Thoughts: have case open to address with TrendNet, but right now I expect to be RMA'ing the device. For the ammount of time spent to date to get working, I should have bought a Pro Cisco AP.

Pros: Installed 28 of these puppies into a school. They installed great, the removable mounting bases were a plus. POE works great, and their smoke-detector-like look is a plus. Their range and ability to handle multiple clients is excellent.

Cons: None so far.

Pros: Looks unobtrusive
PoE, which is great
Pretty good configuration interface

Cons: Bridge is WDS only

Other Thoughts: Got this as a bridge, but couldn't get it to work as such. Here's what you need to know:

- Wireless bridge mode is WDS only -- this means that the other end of the bridge must support WDS as well. While some routers do, others don't. Check yours before you order.

- WDS "standard" (isn't really a standard yet) only supports WEP encryption.

- Vendors (like Trendnet, apparently) will support other encryption standards for WDS, but then you need a matched set.

No real complaints, I just wish they advertised the WDS-only limitation -- would have saved me lots of time.