PC World Evaluation Team Review

Aruba Instant On AP11D

Aruba Instant On AP11D

Reviewed by Pedro Peixoto

Gamer

2.00

Set up is effortless.

The modern home user needs a network connectivity solution that can deliver three things. Firstly, it needs to be easy to set-up, and ideally plug-in-play, so it doesn’t require technical expertise to bring a network across the household. Secondly, the home network needs to be fast for the purposes of high-definition films, and deliver low levels of latency, because nothing ruins an intense gaming session quite like latency. Finally, the network needs to be able to handle a lot of devices on it simultaneously, as the typical household now has dozens of devices active at any one time. The Aruba Instant On AP11D does all of that, and looks great while it does it.

This sleek, discrete device can be placed anywhere in the household, and won’t mess with the aesthetics of the space. It’s compact and can be either mounted on a wall, or positioned on a desk. Most home users will likely opt to set it up on the same desk as a computer, but it will sit just as comfortably next to the television or game console.

Setup is effortless. Out of the box it will take just ten minutes to run through the user-friendly and clear instructions, with the Aruba Instant On Mobile app helping to facilitate the process in a secure and seamless manner. Such is the flexibility of the device that, for areas where a wired connection isn’t possible, the AP11D can be used in a wireless mesh capability, with a stronger rebroadcast than what the typical range extender can offer.

Once you’re up and running, the AP11D will do everything that you need it to. With a speed test on a residential NBN connect the AP11D was able to deliver speeds of 200 Mbps, which is more than sufficient for even the most demanding video streaming and gaming applications. For those that have faster connections, the AP11D has been rated to 1167 Mbps.

Of equal importance, especially for gaming, is the latency. Connected to the AP11D, high-intensity games such as FIFA, Rocket League, and Overwatch, ran without disruption. Because the AP11D has such a small footprint, it’s easy to place a unit near to the game console to minimise the distance to the console and achieve the best possible connection quality and latency.

Finally, the AP11D’s four Gigabit Ethernet ports (one in, three out), make it enormously useful for forming the basis of the entire home environment. You’ll be able to connect up to 50 devices at once, and leveraging those Ethernet ports, you’ll be able to run your home IP security cameras and phone systems off it, too.

The AP11D is designed around the idea of a device for every room in the building. Moving from room to room maintain a smooth, consistent signal. The signal quality can degrade by moving too far away from the device (and behind walls and doors), but here, too, the AP11D offers results superior to what a range extender can deliver.

With a network of AP11Ds spaced around the house, the entire family can enjoy fast, latency-free Internet across their entire range of devices. The flexible design and wireless connectivity of the device will save you the need to hide metres of wiring, and the ease of setup makes this an ideal option for bringing a mesh network experience to the home.

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