Can the hAP ac be used as a router/AP combo or can it only function as an AP? From my reading, it appears it can do the router/AP combo but I want to make sure. My home connection is a Spectrum cable connection with a 60Mbps download and a 5Mbps upload.

Great all-in-one device (including router)! Are you looking for a new router or do you already own it?

Hi,
I would grab a hAP ac2 or hAP ac3 (more RAM/Flash, better antennae) instead. They have more CPU power (4 cores vs single core) and cost less. Except if you need an SFP slot. Only hAP ac has that.

BR

Woland

2 more things: everything RouterOS can do the same, so there are no differences between the hAPs in the SW provided functions.
The hAP ac has 200.000h MTBF vs. the hAP ac2 and ac3, which only have the halve. Still quality looks to be quite high and I have been using both of them without an issue.
BR
W

A typical year has about 8760 hours ... 100k hours MTBF translates to slightly more than 11 years ... which in telecommunications is eternity. So I don't think that 100k hours MTBF is realistically much worse than 200k hours MTBF. At least not for a sub-100€ device.

Now it'd be something if it would be clear what exactly that MTBF period actually means and how it translates to reality ...

That's a theoretical value, which can be estimated. That probably means, that Mikrotik has some design goals and then they choose the components accordingly. Cheaper components, lower MTBF. Most critical are the electrolytic capacitors and the cooling. (Aluminum cooling profiles are expensive to mount and use, so are the fans.) As hAPs are devices for home users, even if they die, there are normally no costs associated with expensive service staff traveling to site...
That being said, they still have probably much better life expectancy than some other cheap vendors APs.
Btw.
R (t) = e^ - (t/MTBF)

2.718^(-8760*5/100000)=0.645 in 5 years you will have roughly 65% of your hAP ac2 and ac3 s up and running
2.718^(-8760*5/200000)=0.800 in 5 years you will have roughly 80% of your hAP acs up and running

And that is for the specified temperature 25C. At 60C you will have approximately 12 times more failed units, so keep them cool!

That much for the numbers...

Woland

Hi,
I would grab a hAP ac2 or hAP ac3 (more RAM/Flash, better antennae) instead. They have more CPU power (4 cores vs single core) and cost less. Except if you need an SFP slot. Only hAP ac has that.

BR

Woland

Don't forget the PoE out is missing on the hAP AC 2 (which has kept me bying the gen1 units) being rated for a higher AC1750 speed for whatever that's worth as well, personally I like the self contained antennas for some road kits i've made as well, less room to damage it.
https://mikrotik.com/products/compare/R ... -5HacD2HnD

I don't think hAP ac has CPU nearly powerful enough for those 3x3 AC speeds. RB951G (albeit slower CPU but MIPSBE as well) can hardly sustain 2x2 n speed.

In addition, 3 chains only make a difference if client supports 3 (or more) chains. 3 chains is not very common number for usual clients, devices supporting 4 (or more) are rare. APs support 4 chains, but it's mostly useful for MU-MIMO (beam forming). So in reality most of tine hAP ac will perform at the same wireless speeds as hAP ac2 or hAP ac3 (if not even worse due to weak CPU). And when wave2 drivers will hit mainstream (for supported devices), I guess hAP ac3 will outperform hands down all the mentioned "cousins".

2 more things: everything RouterOS can do the same, so there are no differences between the hAPs in the SW provided functions.
...

Actually, it's not true in ROS 7.x. hAP AC2/3 is ARM and have more optional packages (zerotier, docker) then MIPSBE in hAP AC. But base functionality are same.