It has been quite some time since we fired up the networking test machine, with CPUs, Motherboards, and systems taking center stage over the last few months. With that, we did get several Access Points in from multiple vendors during that time, the first being the ECW336 from EnGenius.
EnGenius is largely known for its business solutions. These products include gateways, access points, and switches, among various networking accessories. Today's product in-house is the ECW336, a WiFi6e 4x4 Cloud Managed Access Point. Asu Cable
This box is built on the Qualcomm Networking Pro 1210 platform and features a tri-band radio arrangement that offers up to 1148Mbps on the 2.4GHz radio, 2400Mbps on the 5GHz radio, and 4800Mbps on the 6GHz radio. This model features 802.3at PoE+ while the LAN uplink supports Multi-Gig up to 5Gbe. EnGenius does offer a 12v 2a DC adapter for those who do not have PoE capability.
The MSRP of the ECW336 comes in at $795, though we did find it slightly cheaper at Amazon.
The ECW336 arrived to us in its factory packaging, which includes appropriate branding and model number bottom right.
Unboxing, we have the Access Point in a white colorway with a small gray logo on the top. Towards the edge, you will find LED indicators for each of its Wi-Fi radios and power inputs.
The bottom of the ECW336 includes the wall mounting near the model sticker. The I/O includes a reset button on the far left, followed by the 5Gbe RJ45 input and the barrel connector for those without PoE.
The setup is a bit different compared to the EWS377 which we reviewed in 2019. With this being a cloud-managed solution, EnGenius does have an app for iOS and Android along with the standard web interface.
We started with the EnGenius Cloud To-Go app for the initial setup of our gateway and switch, which EnGenius provided for this review. This requires you to create an account; from there, we can start adding our AP to the network by clicking the register button within the app.
EnGenius offers a QR code setup using the camera on your device and the code on the back of the AP.
The next step was to create our wireless network - first, the SSID and password, followed by any options below within the checkboxes.
After creating our Wi-Fi network, we will find the access point within our devices list. This should show the model number, MAC address, and connected Wi-Fi channels.
Further details of the ECW336 give us firmware and serial numbers next to the MAC address again, along with any SSIDs configured for the device. This is where we did notice some oddities. The official specifications note this device does not have 160MHz support for the 6GHz band, but our AP does say HT160 is enabled on channel 5.
Looking at connected devices, the list includes information such as the radio the device is connected to and its signal strength.
Our last image is the dashboard, which will offer insight into the operating health of your network at the top, followed by Gateway utilization and additional connected devices at the bottom.
2.4GHz performance for the ECW336 fell in line with much of our past devices. 95 Mbps down and 97 Mbps upstream.
5GHz offered up 649 Mbps downstream and 668 upstream, slightly lower than our results with the 377 a few years back.
6GHz performance, we don't have much for comparison as far as access Points go. The ECW336 managed to grab 954 MBps downstream and 962 Mbps upstream.
The EnGenius ECW336 has some initial caveats, which come from the Cloud Managed capability of this AP. First, it cannot be used as a standalone access point and does require the EnGenius Cloud To-Go app for setup and functionality. Further, this means that while it has a web interface, it is mostly limited to firmware updates. That said, once you have set up an account with EnGenius and your AP is up and running, you can manage your network from anywhere in the world, which we recognize is the direction the market is heading.
Outside of that, we ran the ECW336 as our main home/office AP for the last three months without issue. I don't believe we have had a single dropped connection, no buffering issues with devices streaming content wirelessly, all while getting legit gigabit speeds to our desktop PC with the 6GHz band. Looking at our charts, the ECW336 was on par with every other AP within the 2.4GHz band. 5GHz separated devices a bit; the EnGenius 336 was quite good, offering ~650 Mbps down and upstream. This was a bit lower than the 377 but on par with the Aruba AP22 we tested a few years back.
With 6GHz performance, the ECW336 is our first AP to be tested with our newly revamped setup. This gave us ~950 up and downstream for the access point, which is quite good but not the best we have seen. It is worth mentioning here that we did test with the Intel BE200, which is a 2x2 Wi-Fi client. While this AP does support 4x4, we likely left a bit of performance on the table.
Wrapping this one up, the EnGenius ECW336 is an all-around solid performer with rock-solid stability. That said, it's damned expensive at $795 MSRP, especially if you compare it to market competition like the Unifi U6 Enterprise at $279.
The ECW336 is a fantastic access point for those looking for speed and reliability with the ability for cloud Management, but the downside is these are extremely expensive in a very dense market.
Tyler joined the TweakTown team in 2013 and has since reviewed 100s of new techy items. Growing up in a small farm town, tech wasn't around, unless it was in a tractor. At an early age, Tyler's parents brought home their first PC. Tyler was hooked and learned what it meant to format a HDD, spending many nights reinstalling Windows 95. Tyler's love and enthusiast nature always kept his PC nearby. Eager to get deeper into tech, he started reviewing.
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