We have covered many of the products from Zyxel over the years, and most recently have been diving into the company’s selection of Wi-Fi 7 solutions. These solutions have mostly been limited to small to mid-size businesses when it comes to capabilities and pricing. However, we did say that it wouldn’t be long before it trickled its way down to more affordable solutions, and that time has come.
We have been testing out the Zyxel BE6500 4-Stream WiFi 7 Dual-Radio NebulaFlex Access Point (NWA90BEPRO), which is one of several options the company now has to offer. It is conveniently priced at $99.99, and the other models work their way down to $79.99 depending on bandwidth needs.
Although these models are also designed with small to mid-size businesses in mind, they also serve as a great opportunity for consumers looking to deploy a more complex network at home. These access points can accomplish so much when paired with a firewall or even a consumer router (although you’d likely want to disable the router’s Wi-Fi output and let the access points do all the work, as the router simply acts as the DHCP central hub for everything).
Unlike the more expensive (and more redundant/powerful) models that Zyxel has offered until now, these new APs offer a more familiar footprint. The company has squeezed everything into just less than 6″ x 6″ of space. Allowing you to install these up high all over without them sticking out like a sore thumb (their other models can take up around 2x the space, if not slightly more).
This is a simple AP, yet it still packs quite a punch in terms of functionality and throughput. It comes with nothing more than just a small power adapter, a mounting plate that it slides into when installing it to walls/ceilings, and some mounting accessories (ie, anchors, screws). There isn’t anything else needed beyond this.
Mounting it is as easy as mounting the plate with a few screws and then sliding the backside of the AP to the plate. You can see in the above image where the plate slides into place. It clicks in to secure it so that nothing can be bumped out of place, making for a secure installation.
The bottom side of the AP offers a console connection, a single 1/2.5GbE LAN connection that is used as your uplink (or WAN) connection, and a DC power connection.
The uplink connection is what you’d run your Ethernet from your network source (router, switch, firewall, etc) to. This is how it acquires connectivity to the rest of your internet (it is an access point, not a repeater, so it does need to be wired in). From there, it acquires its connection and can broadcast it over Wi-Fi.
Since this is a more affordable option, you’d think that there could be a chance that the company may leave out PoE support, but that isn’t the case. Zyxel wants to be competitive, and not just affordable. There are a lot of players to stand out against. So this model also offers support for PoE+ and PoE++ connectivity if your network supports it, allowing you to ditch the DC adapter and use Ethernet for both connectivity and power.
This small AP is capable of managing a lot of traffic for its size. In that, it is capable of up to 688Mbps via the 2.4GHz band, up to 4,324 Mbps via the 5GHz, and up to 5,764 Mbps via the 6GHz. The latter is what is used for Wi-Fi 7 connectivity for devices that support it (ie, Wi-Fi 6, 6E, and 7 connectivity).
With this much throughput, you can take comfort that any home with a few of these set up will have more than it needs to manage all of the devices you have, taking that load off your router or firewall so that it can focus on routing, rules, and other concerns.
If you are running a small to mid-size business, you can spread these around the network so that you can maximize your coverage throughout the building you are located in. Of course, if you maintain a heavy amount of wireless traffic at your business, you may want to lean toward the company’s more robust options, like the Zyxel BE11000 WiFi 7 Triple-Radio NebulaFlex Access Points, or even the Zyxel BE22000 Wi-Fi 7 Triple-Radio NebulaFlex Pro Access Points if things get really crazy. But if you only have a handful of employees in the building and limited guests that visit, then the new series we are covering today is more than enough.
These are mesh-compatible (WDS, ZyMesh, Smart Mesh, and Industry’s Open Mesh), and should work fantastically paired with each other. They can be managed both locally (aka, standalone mode) or via the cloud (Zyxel’s own Nebula cloud), with it all coming down to user preference.
Setting it up in standalone mode means that you have to manage everything locally. You don’t have any cloud reliance for features, monitoring, etc. Some might consider this to be more secure if they aren’t fans of the cloud and exposing certain elements to the web. However, if you opt to go with cloud management via the Nebula cloud services, you gain a lot of control via both the app and any browser.
In our use of Zyxel’s products, we have become big fans of its cloud features and stability, and highly recommend making use of the cloud. It also makes it a whole lot easier to deploy things, like these APs. You log into your cloud account, scan the QR code on the back of the AP, and it gets added to your account and the “site” you have everything running at. You can then copy/clone settings between them all so they can immediately start working. Or, you can control each one individually and have each one broadcasting its own SSIDs if you prefer. Via the cloud, you can actively monitor for firmware status/updates and more.
Best of all, Nebula is free for those who need a simple setup. This is an excellent way for the company to maintain its competitiveness against other companies. Even though it is free, it still offers everything you need for home or even basic business needs. If you need more commercial/enterprise-level solutions, you can upgrade to a paid tier.
The cloud is powerful, friendly, and quick. You can keep tabs on your network when you are away and manage everything remotely. The only reason you wouldn’t use it is if, again, you have trust issues with cloud solutions, or you are mixing this AP with a bunch of other gear from other companies for whatever reason. In the latter case, you might as well go standalone. But if you’re pairing this up with other Zyxel products, the cloud will rock your world.
When it comes to performance, this little AP can take a lot. We do most of our testing via transfers and other tests between systems/devices on the network. This is because using the internet as a test would limit you to the overall capabilities of your internet connection. Since fiber is slowly growing across the nation, many users are still limited to 1gbps or slower. So, unless you have multi-gigabit fiber, you aren’t going to tax this AP much at all.
However, most of our systems/laptops are equipped with things like Thunderbolt 5, Wi-Fi 7, and 2.5 to 10 Gbps network ports. So we can push a great deal of bandwidth between systems around the office. Thus, we were able to push this AP decently hard, and it lived up to everything we expected from it. We have only had it for a few weeks (so far), but we have had to reboot multiple units in the years from various companies when we overwhelm them with connected devices or throughput that is outside of the normal traffic expectations. So it is always nice when we aren’t able to choke a device like this (outside of hitting its max throughput, of course).
That last part is something to focus on since your total throughput needs will determine what kind of APs you need if you are using these in a business environment. If you have a lot of employees or customers trying to transfer things between devices around the office, you may hit its total throughput easily. For example, our average data transfers between two machines capable of transferring up to 14Gbps via their NVMe drives (PCIe Gen-5) over Wi-Fi 7 were around 600-700MB/s (max). This was maxing out the Wi-Fi 7 band of the AP. In this scenario, both machines were connected to it via Wi-Fi 7 connectivity.
Keeping in mind, its LAN port, which it connects to the network with, is 2.5Gbps. So if you are transferring between one device on your wired network to a wireless device that is connected to your hub, that would be your choke point, and you’ll see those speeds drop down to around 250-300MB/s (likely) since you’d be maxing out the Ethernet connection. When you need more throughput all over, this is where those fancier AP models come into play.
Thankfully, for more homes or small businesses, most people aren’t going to be transferring huge amounts of traffic all day long through your network. You likely need something to give people access for their browsers, text messaging, and other similar tasks. In which case, this AP will kill at the job.
So our stress tests are only for when you do need to transfer large amounts of data. It gives you an idea of where your choke points are, so you know what to buy if you immediately feel like you are going to need more.
Our Conclusion
We found the Zyxel BE6500 4-Stream WiFi 7 Dual-Radio NebulaFlex Access Point (NWA90BEPRO) to be a formidable player when considering other options within the $99 range. It is incredibly easy to deploy and manage, the cloud features are useful and friendly, and the AP is more than capable of handling calm traffic throughout a network.
This is a great option for those looking for a simple AP that simply deploys and gets the job done when it comes to extending the network that is already, adding Wi-Fi to a network that didn’t have it, or upgrading a network’s Wi-Fi capabilities so that it can support all the way up to the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard.
Its other models within this range span from everything from simple internet needs to options with guest network access pages (portals) for places like cafes and other businesses that typically cater to their customers with guest access.
Additional Images:
Specifications:
- Wireless Standard: IEEE802.11 be/ax/ac/n/g/b/a
- MIMO: MU-MIMO
- Wireless speed
- 2.4GHz: 688Mbps
- 5GHz: 4324Mbps
- 6GHz: 5764Mbps
- Frequency band
- 2.4GHz: USA (FCC): 2.412 to 2.462 GHz, Europe (ETSI): 2.412 to 2.472 GHz
- 5GHz: USA (FCC): 5.15 to 5.35 GHz; 5.470 to 5.850 GHz, European (ETSI): 5.15 to 5.35 GHz; 5.470 to 5.725 GHz
- 6GHz: USA (FCC): 5.925 to 6.425 GHz; 6.525 to 7.125 GHz, European (ETSI): 5.925 to 6.425 GHz
- Bandwidth: 20-, 40- ,80-, 160-,240- and 320-MHz
- Antenna type: Internal Antenna
- Antenna gain
- 2.4GHz: 2 dBi, 2×2:2SS
- 5GHz: 3 dBi, 2×2:2SS
- 6GHz: 3 dBi, 2×2:2SS
- Minimum receive sensitivity: Min. Rx sensitivity up to -99 dBm
- Band steering: Yes
- WDS/Mesh: Yes (WDS, ZyMesh, Smart Mesh, and Industry’s Open Mesh, Easy Mesh are different mesh systems that do not work with one another)
- Fast roaming: Pre-authentication, PMK caching, and 802.11r/k/v
- DCS: Yes
- Load balancing: No
- Advanced cellular coexistence: Yes
- Encryption: WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPA3
- Authentication: IEEE 802.1X/ RADIUS authentication
- Access management: L2-isolation, MAC filtering, Rogue AP detection
- IPv6 Support: Yes
- VLANs: Yes
- WMM: Yes
- U-APSD: Yes
- Operating mode: Cloud managed, Standalone
- ZON Utility:
- Discovery of Zyxel switches, APs, and gateways
- Centralized and batch configurations
- IP configuration
- IP renew
- Device reboot
- Device locating
- Web GUI access
- Firmware upgrade
- Password configuration
- Web UI/CLI: Yes
- SNMP: No
- Dimensions (WxDxH)(mm/in.): 150 x 150 x 35 / 5.91 x 5.91 x 1.38
- Weight (g/lb.): 412 / 0.91
- Included accessories
- Power adapter
- Mount plate
- Mounting screws
- MTBF (hr): 870,551
- Ethernet ports: 1 x 1/2.5GbE LAN
- Power
- Adapter: AC100 – 240V – 50/60Hz 0.3A, Output: DC +12V 1.5A
- PoE (802.3at): power draw 16W
- PoE modes
- IEEE 802.3af: Not supported
- IEEE 802.3at: Unrestricted
- IEEE 802.3bt: Unrestricted
Are you a manufacturer or distributor that would like us to test something out for review? Contact us and we can let you know where to send the product and we will try it out.
