Firewalla AP7 Coverage
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First, there is no clear answer to this; The wireless signal strength depends on following.
- The material of your home/business (wood is much better than concrete). The difference can be huge between these materials.
- It depends on the shape of your house. If it is long (or wide), the distance between the two corners may require you to buy more units to cover. (as compared to a square house, and you can place a unit right in the middle)
- What is the speed you want? The requirement for 30 megabits is much different than that for 300 mbits. (2.4ghz vs 5/6ghz)
- Also, it depends on your neighbors fighting for the same frequency.
Some quick guidances
- If you already have a set of mesh units and you are happy with it, then buy the same number of firewalla AP7.
- If you live in a wooden house, roughly it may be 1 unit per 1000 to 1500 sqft, depending on the shape of your house.
- The best way is still to experiment, buy a couple, and if you need more, purchase them separately.
All Firewalla Apps include a wifi test utility; you can easily use this to map out the dead spots in your house. https://help.firewalla.com/hc/en-us/articles/360056875493-Speed-Tests-and-Speed-Optimization-with-Firewalla#h_01HCZC906P4M51HXW8E5AX1J3H
FAQ:
Where to place Firewalla AP7?
Firewalla AP7 Ceiling Version
- Best For: Open spaces, offices, conference rooms, warehouses.
- Why? Provides even coverage, avoids obstructions, and reduces interference from furniture or people.
If you mount AP7C (Ceiling) on a wall
- Best For: Narrow spaces, hallways, and residential setups.
- Why? Ensures good line of sight while keeping APs above common obstructions.
Firewalla AP7 Desktop
- Height: 3-4 feet (0.9-1.2 meters)
Additional Placement Considerations
- Avoid Corners & Walls: Placing APs too close to walls or corners can cause signal reflections and weak spots.
- Minimize Obstacles: Avoid metal surfaces, mirrors, and large appliances that can block or reflect signals.
What's the best way to test your Firewalla AP7?
Main App -> WiFi Test With the Firewalla AP7, you can easily map out which Access Point your phone is connecting to, the signal strength, and the speed.
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@Mike I actually prefer mine up high as I think it offers optimal coverage. If you think about it, humans are just largly water based meat sacks. Having it low will create extra variables that will block and reduce coverage (bodies, furniture, etc). By placing it 6ft or higher, your eliminating alot of excess variables that could cause signal degradation.
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I'm looking to plan ahead for my AP7 purchase, but stuck on how many I should grab. I live in a 2 story 3 bedroom 3 baths condo with 1330sqft with a detected garage about 20 ft away. Currently I have a 2 eero Pro 6 setup (1 downstairs, 1 upstairs) utilizing wireless backhaul and get pretty good coverage all over. The most basic answer would be to order 2 AP7 to place in the same locations, but I'm wondering if 1 AP7 can cover what the 2 eero Pro 6 currently cover? I'd love to minimize my setup, but not if it's going to cause issues.
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I have two AP7’s in a two story house with a basement. One AP7 on first floor and other AP7 diagonally on second floor. Each floor 1400 ft2. I get great coverage on the two primary floors. I get decent coverage in the basement areas opposite first floor unit. I actually get good signal in basement below 2nd floor unit. Great coverage is 400 Mbps to 900+ Mbps. Good coverage is 100 to 300 Mbps. OK coverage is 40 to 70 Mbps. My garage coverage is poor, believe it’s due to the insulated wall between house and garage zone. Typical US east coast construction. I’m transitioning from an Omada installation and have disabled all EAP’s except for an area in basement and to support garage area cameras with 2.4Ghz. My AP7’s exceed the Omada speed and reliability and they were significantly better than previous Orbi Pro 850’s and eero first three generations. I think two would work perfectly for your space except maybe garage coverage assuming attached. I plan on getting two ceiling mounts for garage and basement. I do have a few issues with some devices wanting to reattach to the two EAP’s, especially Amazon hardware, reserved addresses don’t seem to stick. Hopefully this helps.
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Does anyone have any suggestions for mapping wifi coverage on MacOS/iOS? I've used NetSpot before, but it's been so long I thought I might see if there is something new and better out there. I just got AP7 ceiling units. I want to map out my current coverage: I have 3 Netgear AX6000/WAX630 inside and one AX1800/WAX610Y outside. Then replace the APs inside with three AP7 ceilings and do the same mapping to see how they compare.
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