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.

Skip the $190 Wi-Fi 7 puck until the WAN is faster than the AP

~$80–$110 buys a dual-band AP that saturates gigabit ISP and a closet NAS. ~$190 buys 6 GHz and a 10G uplink a house with one 1G WAN cannot use.

B&H still sells EAP773 and U7 Pro at $189–$200 next to EAP653 at $80 and U7 Lite at $99. EAP773 wants 802.3bt for full 6 GHz; 802.3at derates 6 GHz (Newegg sheet). A closet with two phones cannot spend that delta. Name the tax. Do not pretend a 10G AP is a lab requirement.

If you already have a 2.5G PoE switch and no Wi-Fi 7 clients, the last Omada stop before 772/773 is EAP670 (AX5400, 2.5G, 802.3at). That is still Wi-Fi 6. The religion fork — Omada vs UniFi — is EAP653 vs U7 Lite.

The short list

SKURadiosUplink / PoEStreet / list, 22 Aug 2026
Omada EAP653Wi-Fi 6, 2×2 + 2×2 (AX3000: 2402 + 574)1G. 802.3at / 48 V passive / 12 V DC. Max 15.5 W.B&H $79.99. Amazon B0B5JRXDG4 live.
UniFi U7 LiteWi-Fi 7 dual-band only, no 6 GHz. 4 streams (688 + 4300 class)2.5G. 802.3af. UI sheet ~13 W.UI store $99. B&H $99–$104. review.
Omada EAP723Wi-Fi 7 dual-band BE3600 (2882 + 688)2.5G. 802.3at. Max 16.8 W PoE.Omada Store MSRP $89.99. US Amazon listing not confirmed this pass (UK ASIN B0DTQDBNPX).
Omada EAP772Wi-Fi 7 tri-band, 2.5GStay Omada without 10G.B&H $169.99.
Omada EAP773Wi-Fi 7 tri-band BE11000 (5760 + 2880 + 574)10G. 802.3bt full / 802.3at with 6 GHz derate.B&H / Newegg $189.99.
UniFi U7 ProWi-Fi 7 tri-band2.5G. PoE+. ~21 W (third-party tables).B&H $189–$200. UI store list in the same band.

Skip

A 1G WAN and two phones still start at cheap PoE for two APs, not a 10G puck. Skip EAP773 and U7 Pro until a single client and the WAN can use 6 GHz or 10G. Skip buying a noisy 150 W gigabit “MP” switch just to feed a 21 W Pro — the fan is the product; see SG2210MP vs fanless. Skip used Ruckus.

Sources

B&H compare U7 Lite / U7 Pro / EAP773 / EAP772. Newegg EAP773. Omada Wi-Fi 7 buying guide. iFeeltech U6-in-2026. Street figures move.

Also in this lane

Aruba Instant On AP21 vs AP22 for a house that refuses a controller VMApp plus web. No license. Skip the AP25 density tax. Grandstream GWN7660: a 9-watt Wi-Fi 6 AP that hosts its own controller9 W max. Third religion. Lowest draw on this list. Cudy AP3000: AX3000, 2.5G PoE, and a real OpenWrt targetAX3000, 2.5G PoE, and a real OpenWrt target.