Radios (bands): 3 Wi-Fi radios (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) plus integrated Bluetooth 5.1 LE radio
Uplink Port Speed: 1x RJ-45 multigigabit port (100M / 1G / 2.5G)
Max Clients: Not published in the Cisco datasheet; unverified estimate of 200 per radio (about 600 per AP) based on the Catalyst 9800 client-limit guidance for non-9136 APs
PoE Requirement: 802.3bt (UPOE) for full functionality, 30.0 W max; 802.3at (PoE+) supported at 25.0 W max with USB disabled and 2.4 GHz at 2x2; 802.3af (14.0 W) for staging only with radios off
Ports (additional): 1x USB 2.0 (4.5 W), console port
Management: Cloud-managed (Meraki) or on-premises via Catalyst 9800 WLC / Cisco DNA Center
Form Factor: Indoor ceiling/wall-mount enterprise access point
Curation Review
✔ Pros:Tri-band Wi-Fi 6E with dedicated 6 GHz radio for less congested spectrum; 4x4 MU-MIMO on 5 GHz and 6 GHz for high client capacity; 2.5G multigigabit uplink supports higher wireless throughput than 1G APs; Integrated Bluetooth 5.1 LE radio for IoT and asset tracking without extra hardware; Supports both cloud (Meraki) and controller-based (Catalyst 9800) management; Lower-power 802.3at operation available when 802.3bt PoE is not present
✘ Cons:Full performance requires 802.3bt (UPOE) PoE, which many older switches do not provide; Only one wired uplink port, so no link aggregation or redundancy; Cisco does not publish max client count or aggregate throughput in the datasheet; Licensing is required in addition to hardware cost, raising total cost of ownership; 2.4 GHz radio is only 2x2, limiting legacy band performance; Indoor-only model, so unsuitable for outdoor or harsh environments
Est. Price:
$1,105 - $1,510
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
