Labthrift Labthrift Buy the boring upgrade. Skip the rest.

Notes / Cheap PoE + APs

Editorial, 22 Aug 2026. Specs from maker pages and recent street reports. We have not burned these units in. Affiliate tags are not live.

Flint 2 (GL-MT6000) in AP mode when the closet has no PoE yet

AX6000, Filogic 830, two 2.5G ports, official OpenWrt. 12 V / 4 A barrel. No PoE. Do not buy a splitter for it.

This is distinct from Cudy AP3000. Flint 2 is a desk or shelf router that also makes a better AP than a ceiling puck you cannot power. For a bench under the switch, or a house that still has no PoE run, that is the honest use. The moment you want a ceiling puck on 802.3at, buy the Cudy.

Maker specs: MediaTek quad-core 2.0 GHz, DDR4 1 GB / eMMC 8 GB, Wi-Fi 6 AX6000 (1148 + 4804), 1× 2.5G WAN, 1× 2.5G WAN/LAN, 4× 1G LAN, USB 3.0. Power input DC5521 12 V / 4 A. Consumption listed under 20 W. Official OpenWrt ToH exists. We have not burned a unit in.

The short list

BoxWhat it isStreet, 22 Aug 2026Buy if
GL-MT6000 (Flint 2)AX6000 router / AP. 2× 2.5G + 4× 1G. Official OpenWrt. 12 V / 4 A barrel. No PoE.GL.iNet US warehouse $169.99. Amazon B0CP7S3117 is live; we did not capture a clean US Amazon street this pass and will not invent one.Shelf or bench. You want OpenWrt and 2.5G copper before you pull PoE cable.
Cudy AP3000Ceiling AP, 2.5G PoE-in, 12 W, in-tree OpenWrt 24.10.x.Amazon $69.90.You already have PoE. Cudy note.

The 2.5G ports want a non-PoE 2.5G switch if the NAS is already there — that list is best 2.5G switch for a closet lab. When you later add ceiling APs, power them from a small PoE brick, not from this router. See cheap PoE for two APs.

Skip

Skip a PoE splitter. Skip calling this a ceiling AP. Skip paying a Wi-Fi 7 tax for a box you will sit next to a 1G ISP. Skip used Ruckus.

Sources

GL.iNet Flint 2 (US warehouse $169.99 this pass). Amazon B0CP7S3117. OpenWrt ToH GL-MT6000.

Also in this lane

8-port 2.5G PoE for two Lite APs: fanless 100–160 W, not a 24-port heaterFanless 100–160 W, not a 24-port heater. One injector, two injectors, or a 4-port PoE+ switchCount watts and ports. This is not the 5-port brick essay. af, at, bt: match the AP class before you buy the switchBudget the switch total, not eight ports times 30 W.