Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Reviews

The solution was deployed in five locations in The Netherlands. We are in K-12 education. Around 2000 students and 500 staff have used Meraki WiFi for the past seven years. 

Younger students have Apple iPads and older students use Microsoft Surface. Staff have a mixture of Dell laptops and Microsoft Surfaces, and can move between sites using the same SSID on all sites. 

Infrastructure is mostly Cisco Catalyst switches L2 and L3, with Sophos firewalls. The use of mobile devices is mainly internet browsing, with some local access to internal database applications.

Cisco Meraki is easy to set up and maintain, yet has issues with firmware updates breaking functions, and not being fixed for months - in one case more than one year. 

Roaming seems to be a function they break regularly with their updates, and then cannot find a solution for. They ask us to wait 18 months for a fix, whilst telling us to upgrade to fix other issues, and not fixing the roaming issue. 

If you don’t discover the problem within two weeks, they refuse to downgrade you to a working firmware version, leaving you with a non-working one. 

And putting the emphasis on you to prove you have a problem. We are a Microsoft school and don’t have Apple, and yet they asked us to find a personal Apple device to install packet capture software on, so they can troubleshoot their issues. It took more than a month to get them to admit there was a problem with their firmware and roll it back to a working version. All the time, students were having problems with roaming.

Licensing is obviously an issue with these devices. You need to buy a license to keep it working. If the license runs out you have no WiFi anymore.

For the last issue I reported, the response from the helpdesk was ‘use a less complex password’. Our password was ‘password’.

On the positive side, they will replace any broken hardware without question.

After five years we decided to replace our old Meraki APs, and Cisco gave a quote for 80 thousand euros, plus they wanted us to relocate every access point to a different position in the building. Another company gave us a quote for a quarter to this price, with no licenses needed and access points in every classroom. Needless to say, we ditched Meraki.

It is very handy to have a support number to call. They will replace the hardware the next day if you prove it is broken.

The dashboard has a lot of functions and is fast, and you can configure everything you need from the dashboard.

The app is handy - when it works and you can log in.

Firewall and traffic shaping are very useful. Also, application blocking is handy.

You can see exactly which clients are connected to which device and trace traffic going to that device.

Maps and floor plans are very useful to see where a client is connected.

The licensing model is a terrible idea. Don’t buy a license for seven years, you will be stuck with old hardware that doesn’t work properly anymore, and can’t be replaced and you are expected to pay yourself to replace in order to fix their issues. If they can't fix the issues anymore in 7-year-old hardware they should replace the hardware at their expense, however, all they say is you have to buy new hardware. A maximum of a five-year license is my recommendation. WiFi technology moves fast and seven-year-old hardware is no longer workable.

The limit of two weeks on rolling back a firmware update is ridiculous. If you report a problem that affects a whole location they should let you roll back the firmware after any amount of time, not limited to two weeks. Then you have to spend a month every day on the phone trying to persuade them that you have a serious issue with their firmware.

I've used the solution for seven years.

The stability is fine until you upgrade firmware and then discover something doesn't work. 

The solution is good and easy to scale if you keep the same settings everywhere.

The helpdesk is always available to help you, but their help is very limited sometimes. For example, if you have gone over the 2 weeks deadline with downgrades, they can refuse to downgrade you until you prove to them that your new firmware isn't working properly. So don't expect to have working WiFi for a few weeks, whilst you try and prove to the helpdesk you have a problem. Then after a month they finally admit there is an issue, and agree to downgrade you, and all the problems magically go away. Until the next time, you upgrade.

We used Cisco's traditional WiFi with hardware controllers on all sites - AIR-CAP and AIR-LAP

We switched due to the fact that the cloud dashboard to manage all sites seemed like a great idea, no more controllers on-site to maintain, and support was built in to the licensing.

The setup was done by a reseller, who said 'this is a standard install, nothing special' until we had 1,000 students all come into the school after the holiday and discovered it didn't work properly. 

Then when talking with Meraki, we discovered the reseller had set it up with default settings, hadn't accounted for high density, and didn't do the channel planning properly. After several re-visits, they did a channel plan and set it up manually, which did help.

Through a reseller. Level of expertise = nil. Meraki had to tell them how to setup the correct channels.

High capital expenditure and licensing costs make it an expensive option compared to other vendors in the market.

The cost of the hardware and licensing is extreme compared to other vendors. The Meraki model would be great for small/medium businesses with many locations to manage in one dashboard. However, it's not good for education, the roaming often doesn't work and the rollback is difficult, especially if Meraki decide they are not going to help you, and not fix their issues for 18 months.

We might have looked at Ruckus and Aruba, however, Meraki seemed like the best option for us. It was also recommended by Oxford University at an education event.

Make sure it's the right solution for your business. Don't buy a seven-year license as seven years is too long in the WiFi space. 

Get a good reseller who will give you good support, not just say "contact Meraki" every time you have a problem.

We are transitioning away from Meraki to another vendor, with four sites down and one to go. There are no regrets so far.

EDIT: 7 years later, our new wifi vendor so much better. Cheaper, stable and much easier to manage.

We use it for our office's wireless solution, allowing employees to connect to Wi-Fi within the office environment.

The most valuable features include key elements like creating SSIDs, networking configurations, and the ability to manage all devices through a single console.

The pricing structure could be improved.

We have been using it for approximately two years.

If my internet connection experiences disruptions, the Meraki registration on the internet goes offline, causing the device to also go offline. I would rate the stability nine out of ten.

It's highly scalable, receiving a perfect rating of ten out of ten. It is extensively used by over ten thousand users.

The technical support is prompt, knowledgeable, and customer-friendly.

The initial setup is straightforward.

The deployment is quick and straightforward, requiring minimal time and effort. We simply need to configure the IP and default gateway. The implementation strategy depends on our business needs and the modifications or deployments we undertake, whether it's for production or office use. 
Seven individuals are responsible for managing all the information.

The license is based on an annual subscription. It is a relatively expensive solution compared to traditional network alternatives.

Overall, I would rate it nine out of ten.

The cloud management feature is a great feature of the solution.

Since we have no complaints in our company using the product so far, it looks like we are using a great product.

The solution cannot be looked upon for one year or short term because you will pay back all the discounts they offer the next time you pay for renewal. So, the aforementioned details can be considered under the solution's room for improvement.

We have been using Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN for a couple of years in our company. Information related to the version is something that we can obtain from the portal because it's available there. My company has a partnership with Cisco Meraki.

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a seven out of ten. Less than 50 people in my company use the solution.

We didn't need to contact technical support.

The solution's initial setup process was straightforward. In a couple of days, the deployment process was done.

Our in-house team did the implementation.

The box itself is very cheap. The question here is about the subscription because this is what you will pay every year. In the initial year, for purchasing, Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN gives you an attractive price. While during renewal, we are not given much discount.

I would recommend others to use it and urge them to pay the subscription upfront so that they can have the best value and discount.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Our project's primary use case for Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is within the education sector, encompassing approximately 5,000 schools. The deployment involves the installation of 20 to 30 access points per school, establishing a robust LAN infrastructure. This network is the backbone for various communication tools, particularly integrated with Google Workspace, facilitating collaborative activities. With a deployment of around 55,000 Cisco Meraki access points, it supports diverse educational activities across multiple sites.

The product's pricing needs improvement. 

We have been using Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN for five years.

I rate the platform's stability an eight out of ten.

The product is easy to scale. However, the extension might be expensive compared to other vendors. I rate the scalability an eight out of ten.

Cisco has good support services.

Positive

The initial setup is straightforward. It may take a week to complete the deployment. We have 40 engineers working on the implementation process. We have a dedicated maintenance team as well.

The platform is more expensive than other solutions.

The product's cloud availability feature is the most valuable for network management. It provides simple mobility and configuration options to create a new wireless network for new site access.

The reliable speed with Cisco Meraki has been impressive, particularly in our data center, where we leverage high-speed technologies. It is crucial for facilitating collaborative work involving tablets and computers on the Wi-Fi network, especially for tasks like design, computing, and image rendering.

The use of a portal for gate access adds an extra layer of security for corporate IT and access management. Authentication through dot1x PAP (Password Authentication Protocol) and 3P (3rd Party) for enhanced security access.

I rate it a nine out of ten.

The product's cloud controller is easy to use. 

The product's features for network analysis need improvement. It lags a bit in providing reports for Wi-Fi performance. Additionally, they should offer a higher-end firewall.

We have been using Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN for more than seven years.

I rate Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN's stability a seven out of ten.

We have 800 Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN users in our organization. I rate its scalability an eight out of ten.

We have used Cisco Aironet and Ruckus products before. Later, we switched to Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN as we wanted more control of remote office administration. We are a small company that administers switches, configuration, and backup remotely. In comparison, the traditional Cisco switches need upgrading firmware.

I rate the initial setup process an eight out of ten. It takes 30 minutes to configure it and around two hours to complete the installation. We connect the switch to the LAN, which is already connected to the Internet. Once the device is seen on the Meraki portal, we configure it from there.

The product generates a return on investment for us.

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is expensive. I rate its pricing an eight out of ten.

I rate Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN a seven out of ten. I advise others to configure the product and then utilize the plug-and-play functionality.

It has limitations for pricing and supply of material. It takes around four months to be delivered. It is very time-consuming.

My company deals with Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN since it provides better visibility, from my point of view, making it easier to manage. With Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN, you don't need to create something else to create controllers. You can just enter in your internet browser to deploy and manage it from there. L7 firewall is also a very good sync option available with Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN.

The most valuable feature of the solution is the simplicity of operating it, which is its biggest asset. The product also has similar, if not better, capabilities than traditional wireless access points.

As a daily user of the solution, I haven't found anything that needs improvement. The solution's mobile application and management of dashboards are areas with shortcomings that need improvement.

Though there are a few features that I would like to see in future releases of the product, they cannot be made possible.

I have been using Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN for a year. I am an integrator and not an end-user of the solution. I don't remember the product version I use.

It is a very stable solution. Besides a few outages from my power supply, I had no problems with the solution.

It is a scalable solution, though I never tried to use its scalability option. I don't even know how many devices you can add to the product.

I have, unfortunately, never interacted with the technical support team of the product. Based on the opinions of others, I came to know that the product's technical support team is very good.

I don't have any experience with other solutions at a business level. I work with Huawei and TP-Link at home, though I find Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN comparatively superior. Huawei and TP-Link's costs are very low, while Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is more reliable from both hardware and security point of view.

The initial setup of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN was very easy.

Though, I don't remember the steps involved in the deployment process of the solution since it was done a year ago. The deployment process was very simple because I only had to make a few clicks to create an account on the device to complete the deployment process. In the last stage of the deployment process, you need to put your license into the product and configure your SSID.

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is not a reasonably priced product for home use. Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is a reasonably priced product for enterprise-sized businesses.

Apart from the firmware upgrades, no other processes are followed to maintain the solution.

I wouldn't recommend the product to those planning to use it at their home. I recommend the product to those planning to use it commercially in a certain industry or market.

I rate the overall product an eight out of ten.

We primarily use the solution for wireless connectivity for our wireless network.

The connectivity is very good. 

It's a robust, stable solution. We haven't had any issues at all.

The graphic user interface is very nice. It makes using it very easy.

The product is simple to manage. 

It is not too expensive. 

The setup is easy.

It is stable.

The solution can scale. 

I don't really need any changes to be made. 

It may be expensive for smaller setups.

We'd like to have better mapping to showcase low-coverage areas. 

This is a recent installation. We did this installation towards the end of last year. We've used it for less than one year.

The solution is stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn't crash or freeze. I'd rate the stability ten out of ten. 

The solution can scale. That said, I've never reached the limit of our deployment. We haven't tested the scalability too much. 

We have about 100 users in our office.

We do not have plans to increase usage. We may decrease the number. 

We've never contacted technical support. 

We previously upgraded from Cisco's 2500 series. 

The initial setup is straightforward. However, it is a global configuration and handled by another unit. I did not set it up myself. We got it out of the box and just needed to put it up. My understanding is that it would be relatively easy to set up. 

While it is on-premises, it does have some cloud reporting features. 

We received the solution partially configured. Therefore, I cannot speak of the setup process from end to end. 

We have four members in IT in our office and are supported by a bigger team at our company's headquarters. 

The cost isn't too high for an enterprise setup. 

We pay a license for three years for support and maintenance. 

While I would recommend ht eh solution to others, it does depend on the environment and usage. If it is a small setup, there are other options that are less expensive. Meraki works well in an enterprise environment. 

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

We use the solution for our 100-plus access points.

Cloud management, wireless infrastructure, and implementation are all valuable features.

The wireless infrastructure scalability has room for improvement.

We have been using the solution for seven years.

I give the stability an eight out of ten.

Our ability to scale is determined by our licensing and can be easily managed through cloud consoles. However, the wireless component of our end users poses some scalability challenges.

The initial setup is straightforward. The deployment was completed by the system integrators and engineers which took less than one week.

The implementation was completed in-house.

There are multiple licensing options including three months, six months, and one year.

I give the solution an eight out of ten.

We have around 120 access points which support around 70 users at a time for a total of around 7,000 users.