I've decided I need to do something about my WiFi as it's getting frustrating. I'm in the UK and have a 80/20 VDSL connection which is very reliable up to and including the modem.
Beyond that I've tried lots of different options but haven't found anything reliable yet. I'm in a 4 bed brick built semi and with the ISP supplied router I get good coverage, moderate speeds but frequent dropouts. I've also tried a Asus AC56U but coverage is not as good. I've also tried using 3 Tenda Nova MW6 mesh access points which work ok but sometimes randomly slow right down to 5Mbps even on a wired connection and need restarting. For now I'm just using an old BT hub 5 flashed with OpenWRT on its own which seems to be the best balance of speed, coverage and reliability.
However I am still not happy with it so would like to change to something better. I've been looking at the HAP AC2 which seems like a good starting point as a direct replacement for my existing router which would give me the option to add additional APs in the future if required - my house isn't wired for Ethernet so I can't easily add APs so would like a one box solution if at all possible.
Is the AC2 a good option in 2020 for a standard home setup? I've also considered starting with just adding an AP to the existing router instead, either the CAP AC or unifi AC-Pro.
I've read a lot on here about the AC2 and it seems that the wireless performance is ok, but still not sure how it would compare to ISP supplied kit, or the Unifi AC-Pro so would appreciate any advice.
Thanks in advance.

For big houses, reach 80Mbps with only one AP on all areas, I think that is not possible. You need a excellent coverage on 5Ghz to reach these speeds. The best option that I know for indoors is cAP AC, but most probably you will need more than one. I know that cAP AC can reach more than 100Mbps only on 5Ghz, and I suppose that hAP AC2 also (I never used it), but for better help, you can provide a schema or house plan to get better idea for distribution.

Regards.

Standalone hAP AC2 is not the best solution. Take a look at RB4011. Or use CRS or hEX PoE + some cAP AC spaced buildings.

RB4011 for 80/20 VDSL connection? Maybe only if in the coming months it switches to fiber optics and 500-1000 Mbps connection. But I don't think it will happen in the next few years in the UK.

Thanks for the replies. For a bit more context, I'm not too fussed about having the 80Mbps available throughout the whole house. I'm much more after a stable, consistent connection. Don't do any gaming or 4K so the most I need is a stable connection for streaming HD on phones and tablets etc so the 2.4ghz is probably sufficient. At the moment I get acceptable coverage and speed grom my BT Homehub 5, but it does need to be power cycled fairly frequently.
So the question I guess is would the hap ac2 generally more stable and have at least as good WiFi coverage than an ISP supplied router?

Well, even having no idea, what is that router, that your ISP gave you, I can say for sure, that hAP ac2 doesn't need to be power cycled to work.

Here is a real example: As you can see, the uptime is over 36 days, being a client's router.
If you use stable versions of RouteOS you will not have stability problems and you will not need to restart the router. At least not in the home setup.

The router can support up to 1000 Mbps between WAN and LAN (wired) with a decent number of rules in the firewall and connection speeds are up to 300 Mbps for 2.4 GHz and up to 867 Mbps on 5 GHz.
Last night I did a real test in my network using a cAP AC that has similar hardware and I got 312 Mbps download and 310 Mbps upload on 5 GHz on Ookla. I have a 1000 Mbps subscription.
Mikrotik equipment complies with the rules regarding the emission power which is limited according to the legislation of each country. I have a 3-level brick house and I need equipment on each floor to have a decent signal.
If you put several wireless devices, the connection between them must be wired if you want it to work perfectly. If you use equipment as a wireless repeater you must keep in mind that half of the bandwidth will be lost.

RB4011 for 80/20 VDSL connection? Maybe only if in the coming months it switches to fiber optics and 500-1000 Mbps connection. But I don't think it will happen in the next few years in the UK.

I advised RB4011 because it have more powerful Wi-Fi transmitter and more sensitive antennas, so you could cover more area of the building with one device. Or in England a prison term is supposed to use more WiFi power?

I had the same concern, I have a fiber 200mbit symetric, waiting for the hAP ac^2 to arrive, I will keep you updated one i will recieve it and make some tests.

I had the same concern, I have a fiber 200mbit symetric, waiting for the hAP ac^2 to arrive, I will keep you updated one i will recieve it and make some tests.

Hi, any update on the AC2 please? Thanks.

I have hEX s (CAPsMAN) with ac^2 (ap)
Doing some speed tests lately have some unstable situation..but not sure what is the root cause.

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Performance is very dependent on where the access point, or router in this case, is placed. The worst placement is the most common unfortunally - On some shelf/bench with the TV with other equipment.

I have a hEX at home and two wAP AC. One placed on the kitchen and the other one in the corridor next to the livingroom. Full speeds everywhere. No mandatory reboots either :)

My wireless is faster than wired when using HAP AC2. I easily get 250mbps (my broadband connection max speed) on wireless.

The ac2 is a very powerful router but it doesn't has the fastest WiFi, for 80mbps should be good but you need more than a single unit unless you have a small area to cover