1815 - Pick your Weapon
October 12, 2020

1815 - Pick your Weapon

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 4 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Modules Used

  • 1815t

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points

I thought of this model specifically (1815T) since in our campus we have two parts, the research part (Enterprise) and residential (Houses for faculty, students, employees, etc.) due to having extra ports, table top design and personal SSID feature. The most important feature was the personal SSID, as I could extend my enterprise networks plus the personal one to the residential area of my campus.
  • Extra switch ports.
  • Power.
  • Table top design.
  • Design in general.
  • Traffic is always encrypted by HW (degrades throughput to 60%).
  • Non PoE if required.
  • No CDP neighbors by design.
  • The extra ports are not as flexible as I thought.
  • More users on my network.
  • More visibility.
  • Device management.
  • Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points
I returned back the 1815T and replaced them with 1815M, it was a difficult journey to do so, as I have to do some tweaks on the device to get it similar to the design of 1815T.

Do you think Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued) delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)'s feature set?

No

Did Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued) live up to sales and marketing promises?

No

Did implementation of Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued) go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued) again?

Yes

If you are able to identify the problem initially, you would be able to explain it to the TAC. In order for the TAC to understand it, the TAC engineer must be competent enough to understand it, and have the devices already in lab to test with. Each bug I encountered the TAC was able to help. And I was able to file at least 3 bugs on the 1815T and M.
Pretty straightforward guide, which was built since OEAP600 AP's and never improved, this is a good thing for user to tackle when they configure the personal SSID, but does not reflect how it should be in 2020, where everything is mobile compatible and app ready. Cisco are going to have an app for this, but it comes with greater cost.
They are well suited for teleworkers only, they cannot be used at houses (1815T), no other AP of that family has the same design as this one, which is a huge drawback when I selected it.

Cisco Aironet Additional Questions

  • Design.
  • Features.
  • Personal SSID.
  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
  • Existing Relationship with the Vendor
Product feature, give me features that work so I would be able to sell to the management. Previously the 1810 was all in one device, it went EoL, and Cisco brought 4 AP's of the 1815 to do that job...it was complicated at the beginning, but worth it as now I am in the PoC of testing the 1815M.
Yes, the process flow is too large to explain here, but starts with unboxing, configuring, labeling, testing, boxing and delivery.
We are a Cisco shop, Cisco has been always supporting us in the product samples for testing, on wireless, I get to have the latest releases when they are out, so I can test and fit in our network.
Whenever I have a problem or a feedback, AM team makes sure that my voice is heard, I am always engaged with the product managers to get the latest updates and roadmaps, this is very helpful and shows the ownership from Cisco towards its customers.

Using Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points

8000 - Home Residents.
2 - 
CCNA Wireless.
WLC Experience.
  • Personal SSID for each home.
  • Enterprise SSID in each home.
  • AutoSmart Port to configure the AP ports.
  • BLE Gateway.
  • Sensor.
  • Location tracking.
If Cisco keeps innovating the feature sets on the next 1800 models, I would definitely try it out to improve the experience of my users and to keep them on the latest technologies.