Spatial Streams (MIMO): 4x4:4 MU-MIMO on both radios with 802.3at/bt PoE; reduced to 1x1 on both radios, or 2x2 on one, under 802.3af
Aggregate Throughput: Up to 5.38 Gbps PHY rate (5 GHz at 160 MHz, 2.4 GHz at 20 MHz); dual 5 GHz mode up to 5.2 Gbps (2 x 2.6 Gbps)
Radios (bands): 2 main radios: 1 flexible 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz radio, plus 1 dedicated 5 GHz radio. Dual 5 GHz mode is supported. Some variants add a BLE/802.15.4 radio.
Uplink Port Speed: 1 x multigigabit RJ-45 port (100/1000/2500 Mbps, IEEE 802.3bz); 2.5 Gbps requires Cat 5e or better. 1 Gbps uplink under 802.3af.
Max Clients: Not published in Cisco datasheet
PoE Requirement: 802.3at (PoE+) or 802.3bt (UPOE/UPOE+) for full capability, 25.5 W max draw; 802.3af supported at 13.4 W max draw with reduced radio and uplink capability
Curation Review
✔ Pros:Full 4x4:4 on both radios with 802.3at/bt PoE; Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with OFDMA and MU-MIMO for dense client environments; Multigigabit 2.5 Gbps uplink avoids the 1 Gbps bottleneck; Model choice for internal (AXI), external antenna (AXE), or professional external antenna (AXP) deployments; Optional embedded wireless controller (-EWC) variants for small deployments; Dual 5 GHz mode for higher 5 GHz capacity; Supports Cisco power injectors for 802.3af or 802.3at environments
✘ Cons:Full performance needs 802.3at/bt PoE; 802.3af drops radios to 1x1 or 2x2 and the uplink to 1 Gbps; No 5 Gbps or 10 Gbps uplink on the base model; Max client count not published by Cisco; Higher price than many Wi-Fi 6 APs from competing vendors; Some older listings show Wi-Fi 6E or older variants, so confirm the exact part number before purchase; Prices vary widely across resellers and regions and may not reflect current Cisco list pricing
Est. Price:
$1,550 - $2,863
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
