AP7 ceiling mounting tip for a better install

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vitate

• August 18, 2026 02:32
• Edited

If any of y'all try to mount the AP7 using the 1 gang instructions, you may find that the inside of the junction box is visible from one side due to the required offset of the mounting plate. I suspect this would be even worse with the 2 gang mounting since you'd have even more junction box to see. Here is what it looked like when I did a 1 gang mount.

After posting on reddit for ideas, I came up with the following:

1. Drill the top and bottom of the mounting plate to fit the wall plate screws (not the device screws). I used a 7/64" drill bit and measured very carefully

2. Cut some #6-32 machine screws to ~1cm (need to be longer than usual to both support the added depth of the AP mounting plate and give better support for the weight of the AP). I used the screw cutting hole on my wire cutters.

3. Mount the plate with a keystone strap with NO keystone inserted, but instead using it to pass through your patch cable

Afterwards, you have a center-mounted AP7, and you cannot see inside the junction box.

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  FirewallaSupportDesk

  • August 18, 2026 00:14

  Looks nice!

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  John Harrold

  • August 18, 2026 00:41
  • Edited

  I'm using 2 gang mounting for mine and I can see the hole pretty easily from the side. Here are 2 different AP7s. It would be cool if Firewalla would sell a plate of some kind. I'd be happy to pay $5 a piece for them. 
  
  

  

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  vitate

  • August 18, 2026 01:50
  • Edited

  Indeed, it's tragic. I understand that they're white-labeling existing hardware[1], which includes the mounting plate, but it would be pretty sweet if Firewalla found it in their hearts to design their own, better mounting solution to hide the hole. I'd probably pay a lot more than $5 for it. 😄

  For your 2 gang mount, if it bothers you like it bothered me, I bet you could do a modified version of what I did with something like a "Leviton 2-Gang 1-Blank 1-Decora Wallplate" or "Eaton 2-Gang Midsize Size White Polycarbonate Indoor Round Wall Plate", etc.

   

  [1] I think the model they are white labelling is advertised for industrial use and hospitals, so I wonder if the t-bar mounting method is more common, and the gang mounting method is a bit of an afterthought. I feel like the Unifi mounting plates are much better-suited for residential installations.

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  John Harrold

  • August 18, 2026 04:44

  Does this look like it has the screw holes in the correct position?
  
  https://www.amazon.com/Arlington-CESP2-Gang-Split-Plate/dp/B0DRZ3S42T/ref=sr_1_38?crid=12O9SEH83GJRY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.eORiXtnmlRjrbwxc8_i1yRo2txCrW9Md6Le9gHuNsj_ZTLUcfiJncohtFOEvvq11iv-BfNZQMl7irNgZQMBWZIQiIMBYaLBJtTxLFFyefV2AVPlIAIwvHZAlVD6iZOzXS6rsrF9jpRIsO8umyadSg7WzDSLdW_zrE0RD3DgXD_IaSv1bdvLiAJCw3bZtCjo8PUG8yHe62JUILUv00XxbyXmWfQhzcJCTTtivrIdxiColw1lik1s9lI6HzgqaA_QzVvqTNKOURal2MKTTEmSOE20gMyOgT4j8CkkbsCIKdCQ.x-STUhE-OZJ9LdtT0NpKqjDotUkRl4g-YT47p8JK1sY&dib_tag=se&keywords=2+-Gang+White+Polycarbonate+Indoor+Round+hole&qid=1787028157&sprefix=2+-gang+white+polycarbonate+indoor+round+hole%2Caps%2C177&sr=8-38

   

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  Firewalla

  • August 18, 2026 04:54

  Have you tried this little thing? https://www.reddit.com/r/firewalla/comments/1kwznip/we_designed_a_cover_for_the_ap7_ceiling_cable/

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  John Harrold

  • August 18, 2026 05:07

  I don't have access to a 3d printer. But more importantly, you can see the space from the other sides. The first photo shows a side that is different from the one with the notch. 

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