Firewalla AP7 Ceiling Version (Status and Updates)
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The Firewalla AP7 Ceiling Version
Sale begins 4/15/2025, 9 AM PDT via https://firewalla.com/products/firewalla-ap7-ceiling
Guides:
Shipping:
- Everything shipped as of 5/2/2025
If you are not in the USA, please see this survey https://forms.gle/FeVYUSQXJksSEuUCA
Shipping Update 5/5
- All AP7C units shipped
- All new orders will be shipped 24 hours from payment
- All units should be shipped today. (including the t-bar brackets)
- On 5/5, we will be going to our standard shipping cycle. (shipping one day after order)
- We will be able to send out all AP7C orders on May 2nd
- 25% more units will be send out today
- next batch likely next week ... (hopefully)
Shipping Update 4/18
- Around 20% units will be send out 4/18 or 4/21 (pacific time)
- next batch time is unknown.
(shipping is not deterministic at the moment, so please be patient, we will do our best to update everyone as we have something)
FAQ:
What is the main difference between this ceiling unit and the desktop unit?
The ceiling unit antenna is optimized in one direction (downwards from the ceiling), while the desktop version has an antenna radiating in all directions. By having the AP mounted on the ceiling, you are going to get less interference and more focused power.
The ceiling unit is also powered by PoE+ via the 10Gbit interface, so you do not need to run another power line.
- Ceiling-mounted APs often avoid furniture and human body absorption, leading to cleaner signal propagation.
- Desktop APs may be affected by desks, walls, and objects, leading to signal obstructions and multipath interference.
- There is no power adapter included in the AP7C
Can I use the ceiling unit on the desktop?
It is fully possible, but we do not recommend it. You may get blind spots behind the unit.
Can I use the ceiling unit on the wall?
Yes, but behind the wall, signals may not be that good.
Can this unit be mounted over a 1 gang power box?
Yes, you have two screw holes that line up just for that. It also works nicely with a 2 gang power box with 4 holes.
Can I use these with WiFi backhaul?
Yes. You can power the unit either with a injector (with no ethernet) or a 12V barrel power cord. You can configure it work with WiFi backhaul from another AP7 ceiling or desktop unit.
Can I use this with the AP7 Desktop?
Yes.
What PoE Injector should I get?
PoE+ Injectors that can perform the speed you want. (2.5Gbit or 10Gbit)
Why is the AP7 Ceiling hot?
Wi-Fi 7 has many radios and it is very hot to operate. The AP7C is compact and the back side is a heatsink. A temperature of about 140F is normal for this unit.
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@Firewalla:
I don't currently have the AP7, but my current ceiling mounted APs have the following specs:
Antenna Type Internal Omni
Antenna Gain:
• 2.4 GHz: 4× 4 dBi
• 5 GHz: 4× 5.5 dBi
• 6 GHz: 4× 5 dBiTransmission Power:
<28 dBm (2.4 GHz)
<28 dBm (5G band 1&band 4)
<24 dBm (5G band 2&band 3)
<28 dBm (6 GHz)One AP is in my garage connecting via mesh to another in my office. The strongest 6GHz signal that I can get to the garage is -80bBm from my Office AP. This isn't good enough for a mesh connection. On 5GHz, I get -51dBm to this same location.
My assessment that the ceiling mounted AP7 won't be able to establish 6GHz mesh between my office AP and garage AP location isn't wrong, unless the AP7 ceiling has stronger radios with better gain. This is the reason I'm asking for that information.
But, because of the weaker propagation of 6GHz signals, it would help to give customers the ability to use either the 5 or 6GHz bands for mesh.
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Zero trust is a must have as for mesh I can see that as helpful but if not due to issues there’s always a failover to a wired connection for multi AP setups. WiFi security is a must have on my next purchase. I have wired connections throughout my home however I carry a laptop to any given room in my house that I need on my business VLan as for all the other connections they are simple connections for the rest of my family members although having an option for more then one VLan on WiFi would be nice
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FYI, the sale for the ceiling mount is likely to be on 4/1/2025. Shipping is expected 2 weeks from the order date. (We may revise this in two weeks)
- We are still waiting for the flat ceiling mount and some of key parts to arrive for the initial build. We may call this "early access", with just minor software in "beta" (drivers) everything else is production (shared with Desktop version)
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We added a "world version" AP7 survey, this will help us prioritize and talk to our ODM on how many units to build. (This survey is for people outside of the USA)
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We are all set for the AP7 Desktop sale on March 4, 2025, at 9 AM PST!
- We will send out an official confirmation email during the week of February 24, 2025.
- Those who signed up via the survey will receive a small coupon (enough for a few eggs at a Bay Area Trader Joe's). This is a pre-order discount, a small thank you for helping us with the survey!
- USA only
- Shipping will begin around March 11; it will be in three or four waves.
- We tried our best to order as many as we could based on the survey results. If people are shy about doing the survey, you may want to order early.
- We will have more coming after this wave as well.
- If you are wondering why we are not building enough ... the tariffs make pricing extremely difficult to predict. For a smaller company like us, we usually can't build up inventory when the pricing is fluctuating. The price may go up in the future.
- Ordering link is https://firewalla.com/ap7 (price is what's there)
Ceiling Mount Version (AP7 Ceiling)- USA only
- Sale will start April 2, 2025 (tentative)
- Shipping will begin two weeks after the sale
- Due to parts constraints, we may not be able to ship all orders in April (but we are doing our best).
- Pricing of this unit will be exactly the same as the AP7 Desktop.
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We are pretty close to the ceiling version being manufactured. Here is the "golden" unit. The only issue is the mounting bracket (the part attached to the wall) color may be a bit darker than the unit itself.
Here is our "unbox" of the golden unit: https://youtu.be/nsgDye_8mUg
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Can you show us any visuals with how it will mount to a ceiling with the bracket? Looks like there will be some distance and not flat.
I'm personally going to mount it to a single gang box but it was also mentioned that you could mount to a double gang as well or just anchor it to a ceiling with a hole for the data cable.
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