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Technical Specifications

• Wi-Fi Standard: 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7), backward compatible with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax; Wi-Fi Alliance Wi-Fi 7 (R1) certified
• Spatial Streams (MIMO): 4x4:4SS on each of the three serving radios (12 total); 2.4 GHz drops to 2x2 under 802.3at
• Aggregate Throughput: Up to 18 Gbps PHY rate (802.11be, 4x4 at 320 MHz on 6 GHz, 160 MHz on 5 GHz, 20 MHz on 2.4 GHz); not a sustained throughput figure. Per-band PHY maximums per Meraki datasheet: 6 GHz 11,520 Mbps, 5 GHz 5,700 Mbps, 2.4 GHz 688 Mbps. Some listings cite 23 Gbps, which Cisco's datasheet appears to have as a typo
• Radios (bands): Three 4x4 serving radios (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz); dedicated tri-band scanning radio (WIDS/WIPS, spectrum analysis); 2.4 GHz IoT radio; integrated BLE 5.3 (upgradable to BLE 6.0 in software); integrated GNSS/GPS and UWB
• Uplink Port Speed: 1x RJ-45 multigigabit (100M/1G/2.5G/5G/10G); 10G requires Cat6/Cat6A cabling; plus 1x USB 2.0 (9W) and 1x RJ-45 management console
• Max Clients: 1,200 total per Cisco scale (400 per radio); Cisco does not state a recommended practical client count
• PoE Requirement: 802.3bt Class 5 (UPOE), 39W max, required for 10G uplink, 4x4 on all bands and USB; 802.3at (25.5W) gives 2.5G uplink, 2x2 on 2.4 GHz and no USB; 802.3af (13.95W) for staging only with radios off. Cisco recommends CW-INJ-8 injector
• Antenna / Form Factor: Indoor, internal omnidirectional antennas (5 dBi 2.4 GHz, 6 dBi 5/6 GHz); directional variant is CW9176D1; 9.5 x 9.5 x 2.0 in (24 x 24 x 5.1 cm), 3.4 lb (1.56 kg)
• Management: Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller (on-premises) or Meraki cloud management, depending on SKU; Meraki requires a license
• Price Source: Single reseller only (Aztek Computers, CW9176I-CFG, new, $3,547.97 current, $4,789.76 struck-through reference). No Cisco list price found. Cisco directs buyers to its price list or a partner quote

Curation Review

• ✔ Pros: Tri-band Wi-Fi 7 with 4x4 on all three client radios, giving high per-client throughput on 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz; Dedicated tri-band scanning radio supports 24/7 WIDS/WIPS and spectrum analysis without taking a client radio out of service; Integrated BLE 5.3, GNSS and UWB radios support asset tracking and location services in one AP; 10G mGig uplink removes the 1G bottleneck for Wi-Fi 7 traffic when 802.3bt PoE is available; Flexible management: Catalyst 9800 controller or Meraki cloud, with 1,200-client scale per Cisco; Wi-Fi 7 (R1), WPA3 and Suite B certifications
• ✘ Cons: 10G uplink and full 4x4 radio operation need 802.3bt (39W) PoE; 802.3at drops to 2.5G, reduces the 2.4 GHz radio to 2x2 and disables USB, which can force switch upgrades; Advertised 18 to 23 Gbps figures are PHY rates, not real-world throughput, and vendor sources disagree on the 23 Gbps value; Only one 10G uplink port and no second uplink for redundancy; Indoor omnidirectional model only; the directional variant is a separate SKU (CW9176D1); Meraki-managed SKUs require an ongoing license; Pricing data is limited to one reseller, and no official Cisco list price was found; Spec sources conflict on PoE (Cisco says 39W, a Meraki document says 60W Class 6), so verify before purchase
• Est. Price: $3,548 - $4,790

Compare Against

Select Comparison Hardware... Aruba AP-515 Aruba AP-535 Aruba (HPE) 7030 Aruba (HPE) AP-735 Aruba (HPE) Aruba AP-655 Aruba (HPE) Aruba AP-755 Aruba (HPE) Instant On AP33 Aruba (HPE) Instant On AP45 Cisco Catalyst 9120AX Cisco Catalyst 9136 Cisco Catalyst 9136I Cisco Catalyst 9164 (CW9164I) Cisco Catalyst 9166 Cisco Catalyst 9166 Series (CW9166) Cisco Catalyst 9176I (CW9176I) Cisco Catalyst 9176I (CW9176I-CFG) Cisco Catalyst 9178i Cisco Catalyst CW9164 Cisco Catalyst CW9166 Cisco Catalyst CW9166I Cisco Catalyst CW9171 Cisco Catalyst CW9172I Cisco Catalyst CW9174 Cisco Catalyst CW9176 Cisco Catalyst CW9176I Cisco Catalyst CW9178I Cisco Catalyst CW9179F Cisco Cisco Catalyst 9166I Cisco Cisco Wireless 9178I (CW9178I) Cisco CW9176 Fortinet FortiAP 231G Fortinet FortiAP 231K Fortinet FortiAP 241K Fortinet FortiAP 431G Fortinet FortiAP 441K Juniper Networks AP34 Juniper Networks AP36 Juniper Networks AP37 Juniper Networks AP45 Juniper Networks AP47 Juniper Networks AP66 Juniper Networks Mist AP33 Juniper Networks Mist AP37 Juniper Networks Mist AP43 Ubiquiti U6 Pro Ubiquiti U6-Enterprise Ubiquiti U6-Pro Ubiquiti U7 Pro Ubiquiti U7 Pro Max Ubiquiti U7 Pro Outdoor Ubiquiti UniFi Enterprise 7 Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro Max Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro Outdoor Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro Wall Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro XGS Ubiquiti UniFi6 Mesh (U6 Mesh)

Technical Specifications

• Wi-Fi Standard: Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), tri-band; also supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac clients
• Spatial Streams (MIMO): 4x4:4 on each of the three Wi-Fi radios (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz); 12 spatial streams for MU-MIMO
• Aggregate Throughput: Up to 7.78 Gbps PHY (4x4 160 MHz on 6 GHz, 4x4 80 MHz on 5 GHz, 4x4 20 MHz on 2.4 GHz); Cisco does not publish a single aggregate figure
• Radios (bands): Five radios: 4x4 2.4 GHz; 4x4 5 GHz; 4x4 XOR radio assignable to 5 GHz or 6 GHz; tri-band CleanAir Pro scanning radio; 2.4 GHz BLE IoT radio (Bluetooth 5.1 LE)
• Uplink Port Speed: 1x Multigigabit Ethernet RJ-45 at 100M/1G/2.5G/5G (no 10G port); 1x USB 2.0 (4.5 W); console port
• Max Clients: Not stated in the Cisco Catalyst 9166 Series datasheet (not verified)
• PoE Requirement: 802.3bt (UPOE) 30.5 W for full operation; 802.3at 25.5 W; 802.3af 14.0 W for configuration staging only with radios off; DC 54 V power jack option
• Layer: Wireless access point (managed via Catalyst 9800 WLC or Meraki cloud SKU CW9166I-MR)
• Form Factor: Indoor, internal antennas; 241.3 x 241.3 x 56.9 mm (9.5 x 9.5 x 2.2 in); 1.60 kg (3.54 lb); operating temperature 0 to 50 C
• Datasheet Date: Cisco datasheet updated 1 Sep 2026 (per Cisco listing)

Curation Review

• ✔ Pros: Tri-band Wi-Fi 6E with three 4x4 radios and a dedicated XOR radio that can serve 5 GHz or 6 GHz; Dedicated CleanAir Pro scanning radio for RF monitoring and security; Integrated Bluetooth Low Energy 5.1 radio for IoT, location tracking and wayfinding; Multigigabit uplink up to 5 Gbps, which suits 2.5G/5G wired backhaul; Managed on-premises by Catalyst 9800 controllers or cloud-managed via the Meraki SKU; Single 802.3bt PoE connection with no separate power brick needed
• ✘ Cons: Needs 802.3bt UPOE (30.5 W) for full radio operation; 802.3at or lower limits functionality; Single multigigabit uplink caps wired throughput at 5 Gbps and offers no 10G option; Cisco does not publish a maximum client count in its datasheet; Indoor-only design; Higher cost than Wi-Fi 6 APs and than mid-range Wi-Fi 6E models, with pricing varying widely between resellers (about $1,110 to $3,300 list)
• Est. Price: $1,110 - $2,694