Wi-Fi Standard: Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be); also supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax
Spatial Streams (MIMO): 2x2 MU-MIMO on each serving radio (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) plus one dedicated tri-band scanning radio
Aggregate Throughput: ~10.77 Gbps (10,777 Mb/s per one retailer; another lists 11,000 Mb/s total). Per-band figures vary by source and are unverified
Radios (bands): 3 serving radios (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) + 1 dedicated tri-band scanning radio + BLE/Zigbee radio
Uplink Port Speed: 1x 100M/1G/2.5G/5G/10GbE RJ-45 (multigigabit); 1x 1GbE auxiliary RJ-45 (per one retailer)
Max Clients: UNVERIFIED: one source cites 1536+ concurrent clients; another cites up to 512 clients per radio. Official Fortinet figure not retrieved
PoE Requirement: UNVERIFIED: 802.3bt per a Fortinet listing cited by a reseller; other sources state 802.3at or 802.3bt (PoE++). Max power draw listed as 26.1 W
Form Factor: Indoor ceiling/wall-mount access point (mount kits included per one retailer)
Other Ports/Interfaces: Bluetooth/BLE, USB Type-A, RS-232 serial console (per one retailer)
Management: Managed by FortiGate, FortiEdge Cloud, or FortiManager/SASE-managed deployments
Operating Temperature: 0u00b0C to 50u00b0C (per one retailer)
Note on 6 GHz: 6 GHz availability is subject to regional regulatory approval
Curation Review
✔ Pros:Tri-band Wi-Fi 7 with a dedicated scanning radio for continuous RF monitoring and security; 10GbE multigigabit uplink supports high-throughput wired backhaul; Integrated BLE and Zigbee radios support IoT/device-management use cases; Centrally managed through FortiGate, FortiEdge Cloud, or SASE, with unified policy and security across the Fortinet ecosystem; Multiple PoE options listed by sources reduce switch-port constraints when PoE-budget planning is done carefully
✘ Cons:Power standard is inconsistent across sources (802.3at, 802.3bt, PoE++), so PoE budget must be confirmed against Fortinet's official datasheet before deployment; Max client capacity is conflicting across sources (512 per radio vs. 1536+ total) and unverified; 6 GHz operation depends on regional regulatory approval; Only 2x2 streams per radio limits per-client peak throughput compared with 4x4 or higher Wi-Fi 7 APs; Best value depends on a Fortinet controller or subscription (FortiCare support is sold separately); Indoor-only form factor, so it is not suitable for outdoor or harsh environments; Street prices differ widely by region and reseller (eBay third-party listing excluded as an outlier)
Est. Price:
$826 - $1,068
Compare Against
Cisco Catalyst 9178i
★ 4.3 Value Score
Technical Specifications
Wi-Fi Standard: Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
Spatial Streams (MIMO): 4x4 MU-MIMO per client-serving radio (4 spatial streams per radio)
Radios (bands): 4 client-serving radios: tri-band 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz / 6 GHz with a 4th radio (quad-radio design)
Uplink Port Speed: 2x 10 Gbps mGig ports (multi-gigabit Ethernet)
Max Clients: 1200 (400 per radio)
PoE Requirement: 802.3bt (PoE++) required for full operation; 802.3at/af supports reduced functionality; draws approx. 30-52 W
Curation Review
✔ Pros:Wi-Fi 7 with tri-band 2.4/5/6 GHz and 4x4 MU-MIMO on every radio; 24 Gbps aggregate throughput for high-density environments; dual 10 Gbps mGig uplinks avoid a 1 Gbps bottleneck; rated for up to 1200 clients; supports 802.3bt PoE on the mGig ports with at/af fallback; manageable from Catalyst 9800 WLC/Catalyst Center or Meraki cloud depending on SKU
✘ Cons:Requires 802.3bt PoE for full functionality, which raises switch and injector cost; needs Catalyst 9800 controller running IOS XE 17.15.2 or later for the Catalyst SKU; Wi-Fi 7 benefits need Wi-Fi 7 clients to be realized; list pricing varies widely by reseller and SKU (CFG vs Global vs RTG), and reseller spec figures differ in places; cloud-managed (Meraki) deployment requires separate licensing; premium cost compared with Wi-Fi 6E alternatives
