My Time Capsule. 3TB Literally stopped working today and have been looking for another solution. I back up a few MacBooks and have movies storied on there to watch with fuse. Anyone have a solution to make something work similarly? I have an Eero network system I had the Time capsule connected too.
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AirPort Base Stations: Will Apple Ever Return to Wi-Fi Router Market?
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Apple has never been good at RF or thermal management. They should just outsource it.
I never owned an Apple router, so I don't know how good they were. I'm guessing, in typical Apple fashion, they made it very user-friendly without sacrificing features. I don't know why Apple quit making them in the first place. I might be willing to buy one, depending on how Apple makes them better than the competition.
Best router I ever owned. Just insanely reliable, worked everywhere, easy to manage.
I still use my ac based Airport Extreme as my IoT device network. The reliability and range are really compelling there, plus it makes it a bit easier to wall those devices off and not give them access to the rest of my wireless network (in addition to VLAN's of course).
My current network is an 802.11ax WiFi 5 setup with 3 total sites in a mesh. And even the 2.4GHz network drops out before my IoT network based around the Apple router does.
I still use my ac based Airport Extreme as my IoT device network. The reliability and range are really compelling there, plus it makes it a bit easier to wall those devices off and not give them access to the rest of my wireless network (in addition to VLAN's of course).
My current network is an 802.11ax WiFi 5 setup with 3 total sites in a mesh. And even the 2.4GHz network drops out before my IoT network based around the Apple router does.
The problem with thermal management is Apple. And it's also the problem with outsourcing it.
Going all the way back to the Apple II which was prone to power supply failures because Steve Jobs didn't want it to have a fan in it.
You could outsource that design all you want; the problem will always be Apple's specifications. Which is always some impossibly thin design with minimal or no active cooling. The laws of physics are the problem, not a lack of engineering.
I would argue that Apple is better than anyone on the planet at thermal management. Because what they manage to accomplish given the specs that they try to follow is nothing short of a miracle. But the constant frustration is that if they'd just be okay with devices being a tiny bit thicker, having a fan in some cases, or being okay with it being just a bit heavier (i.e., having copper heatsinks internally instead of just some sort of aluminum heat spreader), they could still have the thinnest and lightest devices in class without thermal throttling and the like. Though at least on the Mac side, Apple Silicone makes this mostly moot.
Still use 4x Airport Extremes, 5 Airport Express around the house, the Airport Extremes manage the 5Ghz network, Wired only printer that I use, Power the Hive Hub and Ethernet for it, Network in my office, Time Machine(s) and Airport Expresses have Speakers attached. I would love Apple to bring a new version of Airport and would certainly part with money for them.
Would make sense with their new bluetooth and wifi chips. Maybe will package into the speakers like amazon does to use them as an extender if they can't use it as a full blown router (although I think Google was able to do this a few years back).
Agreed. I've owned the Unifi Express 7 for 30 days, my first Ubiquiti product, and I feel like I've known this little guy for years. It replaced my 4th gen Time Capsule space heater I'd been using Airport-only the past few years.
The Amazon Sidewalk and their extender/repeater function looks great on paper and but is kind of miserable in the real world. Every device creates a data bottleneck and slows down connectivity to devices connecting to it. But it does work. Mainly I think it exists to connect Ring cameras on doors and exteriors and not so much for real varied use or security. I have issues with the very concept of Amazon Sidewalk and as 5G is pretty much everywhere now I see little utility for it in 99% of locations.
As ubiquitous as Mesh is, there are a lot of things that need to be standardized and improved with it. It is a great and beneficial technology and most people are fine, but the variations and particulars can create headaches for advanced/heavy users.
I think having a Studio Display as a HomeKit hub is a great idea. They are always plugged in and on. I have a lot of HomePods and AppleTVs but I know most don't, though everyone I convince to get a HomePod LOVES it.
It seems Ubiquiti is cutting a few corners these days, in an attempt to go downmarket. For example, many people (including reviewers) say that the Ubiquiti Cloud Gateway Max runs really, really hot. It runs at over 70C and sometimes over 80C. Technically this is considered OK by them, but I'm uncomfortable with those types of temps for a consumer product that's always on 24/7. Furthermore, the UCG Max maxes out at 1.5 Gbps with IDS/IPS enabled, despite supposedly being a 2.5 Gbps gateway. It needs to use a more recent SoC with higher performance and lower heat output.
This. Also:
- A router can't be seen as a "fashion statement" - Apple knows people won't be poor-shamed for having a router from another brand.
- Apple wants their user base of [largely] sheep to "upgrade" every 12-24 months - how many of these largely tech-illiterate customers upgrade their router or WAPs that often? Their router breaks and they go to Best Buy (you know, to ask the experts)
- They claim "security" and "privacy" as fundamental parts of the Apple user experience and don't want to be held responsible in the court of public opinion (or the EU) for the privacy and security of their users home networks.
- They have a horrible history with peripherals. Look at the state of their monitor lineup - a single 27" consumer monitor and a 6 year-old 6k prosumer that hasn't changed in price. Their best LCD lineup still had only 3 monitors back about 20 years ago (20", 23", 30" Cinema displays). They gave up on printers a long time ago. AP Max going on 4 years now.
There is no reason for it to be Apple device locked.
However; Apple Music is available on Android and Windows. If they do new Airport base stations there is no reason why there wouldn't be a new Windows or Android app.
I'm struggling to see what added value Apple can bring to a router. I look for the one that supports the latest standards and mostly has a good track record for not suddenly hiccuping during the day as some routers I've used have done. Currently an ASUS one is working well for me. Can anyone help me understand what added value Apple can bring other than (hopefully) just making a solid router?
Eero offers a very similar experience.
There is no point in competing, as Eero also has a high price point and looks very Apple-like so Apple won’t win on premium pricing or appearance. /s
This (also)
I was a long time Airport person, owning the first Airport capable Mac (iBook) and the flying saucer Router that could log-in to dial-up and share the connection via wired 10baseT and Airport.
Apple created a product that was revolutionary at the time: wireless and networking for the consumer. Configuration of routers back then was not easy.
Over time, they created networked backups (time capsule) and disks, music sharing (building in DACs and headphone jacks into the express), remote login pathways (back to my mac) and other features, again all done in a consumer friendly way.
Apple has nothing to offer now. All of those things are obsolete or cloud based or achieved in a user friendly way via products like eero and hub devices and client devices running Airplay2 and Homekit.
I would happily throw down some cash for a new Apple router. My old airport was one of the most reliable I’ve owned. We can dare to dream I suppose…
Firewalla is the way to go for consumer routers. Unifi is pretty nice, too.
What could Apple offer me? They don't want to let me store stuff locally. A native MacOS app for WiFi setup?
What could Apple offer me? They don't want to let me store stuff locally. A native MacOS app for WiFi setup?
With every ISP giving you a pre-configured router with your subscription, it's kind of pointless for the average person to buy or even think about routers. Yes you can find the password on the back, enter the IP address, find the part where you can put it into bridge mode, then connect a 3rd party router to it, but the vast majority of people won't do that.
Ok, I’ll bite.
I’ll agree on the temperature thing. That does seem high. However it does not appear to be causing major issues. Lots of noise on how it runs warm, but little on this being an actual problem, crickets. My UDR7 is at 73.3 right now.
There are no devices in this pricing category in which enabling IDS/IPS will not impact performance. Further most consumer devices do not even offer this capability. Very few folks have connectivity beyond 1.5 GBPs. If they do and this is a problem, just turn it off. How fast is your ISP provided gateway with IDS/IPS enabled?
For $279 I have a setup that includes 4 networks. Core, IoT, Main, Guest and VPN with zone based firewall rules between them. I have also added a 5 port $99 dollar PoE powered switch. I can place any device, wired or WiFi on whatever network I decide with ease via web UI or app on my phone. My place is simple at the moment. In the past I have had more elaborate setups. Multiple switches and APs.
I get very granular usage and traffic detail on everything.
When I saw your topology picture, it immediately screamed Unifi to me. You can get WiFi 7 APs starting at $99. Switches at $59.
Here is a really good video on how easy it is to setup what I discuss above. Buy a UDR7 or gateway and follow his instructions and you are set.
I always liked the idea of kids having their own Homepod Mini-esque devices to backup and cache their own data.