CONCLUSION

   Access points may not offer the wealth of available features most high-end modem/routers do but at the end of the day they don’t have to. Instead they have but two primary goals to offer superior signal strength and security to people using it. Now as you can see from our tests the LAPAC2600 did extremely well especially if you take into account that we place it on the exact same location we place modem/routers so since access points are usually locate don ceilings and walls they can actually be much closer to people than a modem/router (thus they can offer even better wireless performance). On the other hand in terms of security both thanks to all the available network encryption standards, the captive portal feature and the 802.1x / RADIUS support it should have even the most demanding users covered for a long time. PoE+ support is also a great feature since it reduces the number of wires and time needed to install the LAPAC2600 but to do so you will need a compatible PoE(+) switch (or a PoE injector) something which most offices, cafeterias and corporations probably already have. Power consumption was also very low and although Linksys reports a maximum of 24W by using up to 4 devices with the LAPAC2600 we never crossed the 10W mark (with 20 or more the number provided by Linksys could be right on the spot). We do feel however that the LAPAC2600 lacks two features we’d like to see and those are support for external antennas and availability in other colors such as black. External antennas is not something we see used often but they can increase wireless range (and improve signal strength) while availability in different colors (although not really a con) would make it easier for any interested party to use the LAPAC2600 (not all building interiors are painted white).

   Business class products offer improved performance, superior quality and far better product support compared to consumer ones so naturally an serious gap in price between the two is always expected. With that in mind the current price tag of USD330 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 375Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) Linksys asks for the LAPAC2600 is somewhat justified especially since you will have a really hard time finding an equally good ceiling/wall mounted access point. Now of course a business class device doesn’t belong in most households but if you happen to be looking for one regardless of the where you want to use it and performance is among your top priorities then you can’t go wrong with the LAPAC2600 Access Point by Linksys an that’s why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Wireless Performance
- AC2600 Technology (Concurrent 802.11n & 802.11ac)
- Features (Beamforming, MU-MIMO, Clustering, Captive Portal, 802.1x)
- 4 High Gain Antennas
- Plethora Of Settings
- Dual RJ45 Ethernet Ports (Support Link Aggregation)
- PoE+ Compatible

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Lacks Support For External Antennas