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Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points vs. Cisco Mobility Express (discontinued)

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points

    Score8.9 out of 10
    N/ACisco's Meraki MR Series is a wireless LAN solution.N/A

    Cisco Mobility Express (discontinued)

    Score5 out of 10
    N/ACisco Mobility Express was a controllerless wi-fi solution, used by businesses to quickly deploy a wireless network without requiring substantial IT resources. The product is discontinued.N/A
    Pricing
    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access PointsCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access PointsCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access PointsCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    No answer on this topic
    Cisco
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    97%
    Would buy again
    158 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    145 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    99%
    Happy with the feature set
    161 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    97%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    140 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    99%
    Implementation went as expected
    153 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access PointsCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
    Small Businesses
    WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
    Score9.1 out of 10
    WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
    Score9.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access PointsCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.7
    (176 ratings)
    8.0
    (5 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.5
    (7 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.5
    (12 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Availability
    7.7
    (2 ratings)
    8.0
    (5 ratings)
    Performance
    8.2
    (2 ratings)
    7.9
    (5 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.9
    (28 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.2
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    7.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    7.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.9
    (112 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    7.7
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    7.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access PointsCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    There is no doubt that these access points are objectively some of the best in the industry. If you need reliability, stability, range, and something to "set and forget" these are an easy choice for those things alone. However, these are most appropriate in high demand, large environments where you can take advantage of the RF tuning, wireless stability, and overall robustness of the platform. Another important note is the SUPPORT as well. There are competitors that I won't mention that simply don't have the level of support and expertise for complex troubleshooting if you ever need it, and that alone counts as significant factor when considering the product too. Merak has that covered.
    To wrap up, the cost for large deployment makes far more sense than at a small operation where you need something like 5 APs in a small/medium office for basic Wi-Fi needs. That includes potential cost of time spent troubleshooting future network issues too by IT personnel.
    Read full review
    Cisco
    As it provides virtual WLC functionality, it has incredibly amazing built-in features that perfectly suit small to medium companies. It has the capability to manage the entire organization network seamlessly. It might be possible that it won't work smoothly and elegantly for large firms where there is a bulk amount of data bandwidth used.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Cisco
    • It's cloud based, so as long as we have an internet connection, we can access it. Whenever we push a change, it's one stop like a single pane of glass to manage all our equipment. And so that's what I liked about it.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    • Easy to setup
    • Less maintenance
    • Less disconnection
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cisco
    • Internet connection dependency for management. Management is cloud-based, requiring a strong internet connection. Local management is not possible in the event of network problems or internet outages.
    • Limited in-depth configuration options. Some more detailed configuration settings are missing or difficult to configure, such as RF tuning and QoS. These are available in some other Cisco products.
    • License costs: an active license must always be present in the environment, otherwise the product won't work. It's easy to purchase, but if you're going to be expanding regularly, the costs will add up considerably. Ultimately, it's wise to factor this into your purchase.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cisco
    • Honestly, I haven't found very many issues since we started using it, and I'm glad for that!
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Cisco
    It is a solution that works very well. It is almost like setup and forget, since the solution works. When issues occur, documentation is available with detailed steps on how to solve this problems you are facing, of course Technical Support is always ready to help. We have had instances where an Access Point fails and within 2 days we have the replacement
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Cisco
    To get basic functionality doesn't take long. Set up a new Meraki Dashboard activate the licenses and get internet connection for the APs and you are more or less done. The Dashboard will find your items and you're good to go.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Reliability and Availability
    Cisco
    We have been deploying Meraki since last 8 years and even the first one deployed seems to be working fine till now!
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    We are using it 24x7 and it never hangs or create problems in connectivity.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Cisco
    After initial configuration and fixing minor issues with the firmware, the system worked really well, without any downtime. We were also satisfied with the throughput and range.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Cisco
    We have not had any issues with the Meraki WiFi Access Point hardware but we did encounter a problem with a Meraki LAN switch that failed to power up. Upon a email into the Meraki Support, they promptly called back and we went over some quick tests to determine a power supply problem. A replacement LAN switch was sent to me the next day.
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    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Cisco
    There were documents that detailed how the WiFi Access Point was to be installed and mounted. The only issue was to cable the device, we use a third party for this type of work and typically has to be performed after normal business hours. Other than that, the installation was easy.
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    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    The Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points fare really well against HPE Aruba AP. The cost difference is minimal on the hardware although things get more expensive on support and subscription cost (on going cost). Speed and throughput seems to be better on Cisco Meraki (user feedback and experience not technically measured). User connectivity is better with HPE Aruba primarily because of the Clearpass solution on top of its generic software management.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    Cisco Mobility Express is far better than other products. It is a renowned brand in network products, and they are reliable and efficient as compared to other products that I have used so far. It is highly recommended.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Cisco
    As far as I know, it's 10. I mean, because like I said, I manage stuff in the south. I have coworkers that manage it in the north. And so the scalability of it to be able to be go in and see the configurations of the ones in the north as well as they can see in the south. So across the board, it works really well for how widespread out it is.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • Uptime has improved significantly. The dashboard automatically keeps devices up to date by scheduling upgrades at remote times (say 2am on a Sunday)
    • Swapping to Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points has reduced the management overhead. No more long controller software hardware upgrades and obviously no more need for beefy central controllers.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cisco
    • It has given our IT team time back from not having to fix issues everyday with the network.
    • It makes it easy for visibility of the network and allows those who are new to it to learn it quickly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points Screenshots

    Screenshot of MR57 Cisco Meraki Access Point