Help us make the Firewalla AP
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- Building a Zero Trust Network with Firewalla
- Firewalla Tutorial: Segmentation and Microsegmentation with AP7
- Early Access hardware is the FINAL production unit
- AP software in BETA.
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Compatibility Requirements:
- Gold, Gold Pro, Gold Plus, Gold SE: Must run Beta software.
- Purple, Purple SE: Must run Early Access software.
- Firewalla must operate in Router mode.
- Firewalla App must run Beta software.
- Availability: USA customers only.
- Shipping: 7–37 days post-order, in waves (FIFO).
- Order Limit: Soft limit of 3 units per order; exceeding this may delay shipment
- Early access signup ends 12/30/2024 at 11:59PM PST.
- A coupon (small discount) will be sent to early access sign-ups before 1/2/2025.
- You do NOT need to sign up to order.
- We started an AP7 Community Page, please post your questions here
- Full Integration with the Firewalla Security Stack
- Zero Trust Network Architecture
- VLAN Segmentation and Microsegmentation Support
- Easy to install, managed anywhere
- Wi-Fi 7, faster and more reliable
- Wi-Fi Mesh with Ethernet or Wi-Fi backhaul
- Firewalla running in router mode is required
- 8 Spatial Streams, tri-band, low-power indoor unit
- 10Gbit + 2.5Gbit Ethernet Interface
- Early access and beta are available only in the USA. (EU and other countries TBD)
- Price for beta units with discount: $299 to $349
- Final price after 1/20/2025: We don't know; it depends on the tariff
- Tentatively, early access/beta sale starts in early January 2025
Key Principles of Zero Trust
- Segmentation and Microsegmentation: Divide your network into smaller segments to limit the lateral movement of threats.
- Least Privilege Access: Grant users and devices only the minimum access necessary to perform their functions on the network.
- Continuous Monitoring: Continuously monitor and verify the security posture of all users and devices.
We usually run a pre-sale cycle, but due to the political changes (new President), it is not possible for us to pre-sale and build units without knowing possible tariff impacts. Instead, we’ve used the sale proceeds from BFCM to pre-purchase a batch of units.
The AP7 units should be built soon and be available for ordering. We plan to split the orders into groups: (This plan is still tentative, we may also merge beta+early access together)
- Early Access (for our earliest supporters at the lowest price, available mid- to late-December 2024. Must be running Firewalla Gold (v1 & v2), Gold SE, Gold Plus or Gold Pro in router mode)
- Beta Access (about 1 month later, available mid-January 2025. Must be running Firewalla Purple or Gold series units in router mode)
- Production (to be decided after 1/20/2025)
- For details please refer the the status update section below
All units will have the final production hardware, software will be in early access/beta.
- Limited number of units available
- Limited to 3 units per customer
- Early access unit will be using early access software
- Beta access will be using beta software
The Firewalla AP7 Ceiling Mount will come a couple of months after 1/20/2025. It will seamlessly integrate with the FWAP7 Desktop units.
Spec
- Triband 2.4Ghz 2x2, 5Ghz 2x2, 6Ghz 4x4
- 8 Spatial Streams, 320Mhz channel support 6Ghz
- Network Interfaces: 10Gbit RJ45 + 2.5Gbit RJ45
- VLAN
- PPSK+WPA2 Support (Personal Key)
- Mesh with Ethernet or Wi-Fi backhaul
- Dimensions: 5.43 x 3.15 x 7.48 inch
- Item Weight: 1.4 lb
- Power: 30W
- Compatible with and Required: Firewalla Gold / Firewalla Purple in router mode
Status Update: 12/10/2024
- The initial batch of APs is nearly complete.
- We plan to ship some units by air right around or after Christmas to reduce shipping costs.
- Shipping optimization is under consideration to keep the beta/early access pricing closer to $299.
- Apps version 1.64 and 1.980 are targeted for "early access" release during the week of 12/16. These updates will include exciting new features and code support for the Firewalla AP.
- Sales are expected to begin in early January, with units shipping within seven days of order placement. (The exact date will be confirmed next week.)
Status Update: 12/17/2024
- The Firewalla AP7 is coming very soon!
- We are aiming for 1/7/2025 9 AM PST as the Early Access purchase date, but we'll let you know if anything changes! (if the shipment is late, then this date might be pushed back to 1/14/2025)
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my house is not wired, so I am not going to pay thousand dollars to run cables through the ceiling for new APs. I would rather spend more on desk units. Labor in the Bay Area California is expensive, if I want to put new cables, I would just pull the cable to each room, then I am talking about a lot of money on labors.
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I live in the area where airplanes sometimes turn around for landing on to local airport, although the airport itself is far from my home, if I’m using WiFi routers with omnidirectional antennas like desktop units some people want, part of 5GHz spectrum is blocked automatically to avoid interference with airplanes landing radar systems, and because of that most neighbors WiFi radios are crowded on frequency’s not affected by this restrictions, so because of that the 5GHz spectrum is used inefficiently. But with ceiling WiFi access points, with antennas with signal radiation predominantly downwards, I don’t have this problem and I can utilize those frequencies without restrictions.
Thats why I need a ceiling unit
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By the way, the survey you see at the beginning of the thread is meant to help us decide what's important to the community. For example, most of the surveyed are interested in a desktop unit, and next is a ceiling mount, followed by a wall mount.
This is the reason we are releasing the ceiling mount two to three months after the desktop unit.
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Hello,
I have absolutely no interest in Wifi7, mostly because it's worthless, it's nothing more than a chipset change. I've been sitting in on a number of seminars and Wifi7 workshops and there's nothing that excites me here. First, nothing in the home network, at current, can support the speeds. Second, The bottleneck is at the RG and ISP. Third, with exceptions, most residential customers are not going to purchase of even understand the concept of Wifi7 and won't purchase the equipment necessary to overcome the speed limitations of the rest of the home network.
Firewalla, I would wait for Wifi7 to become a little more "baked" and sorted out before you jump on the bandwagon. And besides, Wifi8-9 and, dear god, 10 is on the horizon.
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@Peter Davis
I am on board with you, but I am only interested in the WIFI7 MLO and AFC because it can do wireless backhaul with all the radios. HOWEVER, non of the companies can fully cook the MLOP and AFC feature (Asus, UNIFI, ORBI etc). yea, probably I am the only person who is interested in the wireless backahaul.
Right now I am using Asus Routers with UNII-4 channels (channel 149 to 177) for wireless backhaul and MESH speed is stable above 1200Mps/1200Mpbs between 3 units. ( main unit in my office, 1 unit in my garage 30 ft away, another unit is at the end of the house, 30 ft away, with mutiple walls)
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If we sign the contract this month, the early access units may arrive in late December (in limited quantity). We may do a quick early access sale where the hardware is production quality and the software may be 'early access.'
From software perspective, we already have something running for a while now. Most of our team members have been using it for a while. The 'firewalla' magic still need a few more touch-ups and cleaning
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Looking forward to this, I have tired a bunch of WiFi AP and Routers (as Access Points) over the years.
Unifi, Asus, Synology, Orbi Pro and got rid of them all as they just don't compare at all to a pair of Alien Routers I got back in 2020 along with the FWG (now a FWG-Pro)
Desktop units in the cylindrical format would be my preference, like the Alien with at least tri-band (quad-band with two 5Ghz radios would be great though!) Ceiling mounted units just don't have the range like desktop units do.
Little disappointed US only at first though :(
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Yes, too many AP's if not deployed correctly can be an issue as well; my suggestion is to start slow and optimize.
If you are playing with APs now, the firewalla WiFi test can help a lot. And once that tool integrates with firewalla AP (of the future), it will be a bit easier to measure coverage.
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Thanks. I would love to ‘get it right’ during the first iteration, because in theory I’ll be completely replacing my home’s WiFi. It sounds like it’ll be a limited run, so if I don’t order the correct number off the bat it may mean subpar performance with no way to address in the short term. That’s not a good spot to be in!
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@john, do you have a sense on what kind of performance you are looking for? That usually dictates the number of AP's you need. For example, I am fortunate enough to have 3 Firewalla AP's running and I place them so I can get a minimum 50mbit at the worst spot in the house + at least 20mbit in the yard.
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