After Engenius released its debut in wifi-6 access point products, and then followed by Netgear, today TP-link released its debut in wifi-6 access point products: Omada eap660 and Omada eap620.
TP-link Omada wifi-6 Access Point
Compared to the previous TP-link wifi ac-based series such as the popular Omada Eap225 v3 which is designed with rectangular flat model with curves, the Omada series based on wifi-6 are designed with a different model, white flat round with ceiling or wall mounted like most indoor business class AP products in general.
Two series
There are two series that TP-link has released to the market, Omada eap660 and Omada eap620. Both series are designed for high density indoor wifi networks such as for business offices, hotels, schools etc. What distinguishes these two series is the total aggregated bandwidth of each series. Omada eap660 works on ax3300 network segment while Omada eap620 works on ax1800 network segment. We’ll focus on eap660 and compare it with both Engenius and Netgear.
Engenius also releases two models of wifi-6 AP devices; Engenius ews377 and ews357, ews377 is ax3300 AP and ews357 is ax1800 same as Omada series, while Netgear releases Netgear wax610ap mesh AP which is based on ax1800.
Multiple SSIDs
Business class wireless access point products are mostly designed to support multiple SSIDs, you can separate the network names based on your business needs such as separation based on finance, marketing, production, process plant departments etc. with these Omada series you can create up to 8 SSIDs (network names) each band as needed. If you compare it with Engenius ews377 series and Netgear wax610 both of these models also support multiple SSIDs up to 8 SSIDs each band.
Seamless roaming
In a large office wifi network that may be divided into several rooms or separate buildings, your wifi network may require tens or even hundreds of AP devices scattered throughout the whole wifi network zones. And of course your mobile devices connection will switch connecting from one AP to another AP connection when you move from one place / room to another place or room. Omada series supports seamless roaming when you move from one location to another even when you are streaming video or having video calls. Both Engenius and Netgear support seamless roaming too.
This seamless roaming feature has become a necessity feature for business wifi networks consisting of multiple AP devices, even the mesh wifi network for homes also supports seamless roaming such as eero-6 Pro or Orbi and Deco.
Multi Gig Ethernet
To support large data throughput for dense connection needs, the Omada eap660 is equipped with a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port which also POE supports and you need to connect to multigigabit POE Switch such as TL-SG3210XHP-M2 8-port 2.5Gbps base-T managed switch. Both ews377 and Netgear wax610 feature 2.5Gbps Ethernet port too.
Mesh capable?
Among these three products, Netgear wax610 supports mesh network when combined with other netgear products such as wax610y outdoor, wac540 series or wc564. And this is an advantage if there is a constraint in running network cable from AP device location to the POE switch. With a mesh network, data throughput will not be optimal because there is a share of bandwidth that is used for backhaul links between nodes as in a mesh wifi network in general. Engenius and Omada do not support mesh feature.
Technically all the three products have the same feature except Netgear wax610 is designed with ax1800 instead of ax3300 applied to Omada eap660 and Engenius ews377. Netgear wax610 is comparable with Engenius ews357 and Omada eap620.
Network management
What makes Omada business class wireless access point is different than home wifi network in general is the easy to manage either locally or multi remote sites centrally through the cloud with its Omada app weather using Omada controller software or hardware controller. Engenius also comes with ezmaster software for network management. Unlike both Omada and Engenius, Netgear wax610 requires Netgear Insight subscription for cloud manage network.
Comparison table
To make it easier to see the comparison between the two products, the easiest way is to compare the specs and features between the two mesh wifi-6 products.
Take a look at the following spec comparison table, table 1 shows you spec comparison for Omada vs Engenius, while table 2 shows spec comparison table for Omada vs Netgear.
Omada eap660 vs Engenius
Take a look at table 1 below that technically the hardware of the two products is practically the same, including 2.5Gbps Ethernet port, antennas, and the difference is network management as discussed above. The price difference is not too much either.
Table 1 Omada eap660 vs Engenius
| Model | TP-link Omada eap660 | Engenius ews377ap |
| Wifi technology | Simultaneous dual band ax3300 | Simultaneous dual band wifi-6 ax3300 with 4×4 MU-MIMO |
| Wifi speeds | 1148Mbps @2.4GHz 2402Mbps @5GHz | 1148Mbps @2.4GHz 2402Mbps @5GHz |
| Antennas | 2.4 GHz: 4x 4 dBi 5 GHz: 4x 5 dBi | 4 x 2.4 GHz: 3 dBi 4 x 5 GHz: 3 dBi Integrated Omni-Directional Antenna |
| Ethernet Port | 2.5Gbps Ethernet Port | 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet PoE port |
| Power | POE 802.3at / 12VDC Power consumption 21.5W | Power-over-Ethernet: 802.3at Input 12VDC /2A Power Adapter |
| SSIDs | 8 SSIDs each band (16 SSIDs) | 8 SSIDs for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz radios. |
| Network management | Omada app with Omada software controller or Omada hardware controller Support multi-site management | Local and remote management over EWS management switches & ezMaster without fees |
| Cloud access | Yes with Omada app | Yes, with ezmaster |
| Guest support | Yes, SMS/Facebook Wi-Fi/ Voucher | Yes |
| Price (Sep 2022) | $179.99 | $199.99 |
Omada eap660 vs Netgear
Table 2 provides the difference between the Omada eap660 and the Netgear wax610. See that wifi technology is different in network segments, the number of SSIDs that can be created, and difference in Netgear Insight cloud network management services hat you need to subscribe. And the price difference between Omada and Netgear is quite much
Table 2 Omada eap660 vs Netgear
| Model | TP-link Omada eap660 | Netgear wax610 |
| Wifi technology | Simultaneous dual band ax3300 | Simultaneous dual band wifi-6 ax1800 with 2×2 MU-MIMO |
| Wifi speeds | 1148Mbps @2.4GHz 2402Mbps @5GHz | 600Mbps @2.4GHz 1200Mbps @5GHz |
| Antennas | 2.4 GHz: 4x 4 dBi 5 GHz: 4x 5 dBi | 2.4GHz: 3.8dBi 4.5dBi @5GHz |
| Ethernet Port | 2.5Gbps | One 10/100/1000/2.5GBASE-T Gigabit with Auto Uplink (Auto MDI-X) |
| Power | POE 802.3at / 12VDC Power consumption 21.5W | 802.3af or 802.3at PoE |
| SSIDs | 8 SSIDs each band (16 SSIDs) | 8 separate wireless networks (SSIDs) |
| Network management | Omada app with Omada software controller or Omada hardware controller Support multi-site management | Netgear insight app management for setup, monitoring and management |
| Cloud access | Yes with Omada app | Includes 1 year FREE Insight subscription for remote management from anywhere, |
| Guest support | Yes, SMS/Facebook Wi-Fi/ Voucher | Yes, guest with VLAN |
| Price (Sep 2022) | $179.99 | $129.99 |
With nearly the same technical specs between Omada eap660 and Engenius ews377, Omada offers lower price than Engenius and Netgear. Click the link below to shop the products in Amazon (#ads).
Related products
For homes that prefer mesh wifi network, you may consider Asus Zenwifi mini XD4 ax1800, or you may also consider wireless gaming router offered by Netgear – Netgear xr1000 wifi-6 gaming router. And for high bandwidth internet plan, you may consider upgrading your cable modem with new Nighthawk cm2000 DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem up to 2.5Gbps internet speed.