Is the RV180 a good choice for home Personal / Business use?

[Howard-M787]

I am considering the RV180 as a wired router replacement to my current wireless and I can not find any user reviews, comments or ratings. I live in an area with a very poor wireless reception for our Sprint Cell phones (Still under contract) and I have a Sprint Airave which boosts the wireless signal for the cell phones. The Airave transmits on a 2.4Ghz band and it is stepping on my Internet wireless signal causing poor reception thought my 2-story house.

Due to this problem, I am considering installing a business class network with a router, PoE switch, and a strong Access Point. My house is pre-wired for with CAT5 wiring. I have looked at the EnGenuis EAP-350 Access Point (800Mw and 29dBm gain and PoE), The RV180 Gigabit Router, and the Cisco SD208P 8-port gigabit switch with 4 port PoE support for the Access Point. The switch will be located in a wall junction box so I need a switch with minimal ventilation requirements. Is the RV180 and SD208P the right choice to integrate in my network?

My experience with Linksys and Cisco products have been Great so I would like to stay with Cisco.

I have looked at a competitors router (Netgear FVS318G-100) but the user reviews were very poor. I am not sure if I need a managed switch or not, as I will have one primary laptop running during the day and up to 3 other computes(2 laptops & 1 desktop), a wireless tablet (android), and a Xbox (wired connection) for the family (of course not all running at the same time).

I am trying to stay under $400.

Any assistance is very appreciated.

[Mike Atkins]

Hey Howard-

I can't help 100% and you may not like everything I have to say, but...

I haven't played with a RV180, but I have installed a few RV042 in high traffic areas and they work flawlessly. I'm guessing the RV180 would work similarly.

I wouldn't to the EnGenius AP for several reasons. First, it is 2.4 as well, and interference is interference. I suppose it's pobbile that "better" equipment will work will with the Sprint box, but not likely. Try playing with channels 1, 6 and 11 and see if the interference goes away. If not, you should look at an AP that works on 5gz. Keep in mind your clients will need to support 5ghz too though to take advantage.

Secondly, notice the diagram for range on the EnGenius site. See how anything furhter out than 400 feet shows an "EnGenius Extended Range Client" device? That's because it doesn't matter how powerful your AP is; the client is only so strong and has a limited range on talking back to AP.

Third, for not much more you get a 1041 Cisco AP. I have also installed these and they are rock solid. Note that is a 2.4 only, you would need a 1042 to get 2.4/5. This AP alone would blow your budget would be worth it in my opinion.

You could save some money by skipping a PoE swtich and using an injector. Ironically, EnGenius makes some cheap PoE injectors. You could put the AP (and other devices) on the RV180 or RV042 depending on how many you have. Otherwise, go with a cheapy switch (since it is a home) or a non PoE Cisco SMB switch.

In the end, keep in mind that what is cheap today isn't cheap tomorrow. I have replaced many Linksys and other off brand APs. The Cisco SMB line has the limited lifetime warranty and includes some support. Typically with Cisco gear you buy it and not mess with it for a long time. (No, I don't work for them.)

Lastly, you simply may have to do multiple APs. Unfortunately, wireless is finicky and is a mixture of art and science. Perhaps you could do an injector, Cisco AP (1041 or 1042 depending on 2.4 or 2.4/5) and the RV180W (wireless version).

Good luck.