Guidance Needed – Renewal or Replacement for MR42 APs (27 units)

[Shubh3738]

Hello Community, In our organization, we currently have around 27 MR42 Access Points. The licenses for these devices are going to expire in the next 2–3 months.

While we are planning for renewal, we noticed that: End-of-Sale Date: July 14, 2022 End-of-Support Date: July 21, 2026

We are a bit confused about the best practice here: Should we proceed with license renewal for the MR42 units since support is still available until 2026?

Or would it be better to plan a gradual hardware replacement? If replacement is recommended, what is the correct process to follow for multiple units?

Should we raise a support case with Meraki to get migration/replacement guidance?

Would appreciate advice from the community and best practices followed by others in similar situations.

Thanks in advance!

[RWelch]

> Should we proceed with license renewal for the MR42 units since support is still available until 2026?

I would suggest the hardware replacement option since the MR42s are already limited (restricted) to any future firmware updates.

Product Firmware Version Restrictions 

Additionally, due to the MR42 EoS/EoL date, you might find yourself rolling the dice on RMA situations should that become a factor in the equation.  

The newer hardware approach would cover both (a possible) RMA situation and the opportunity to receive future firmware updates/upgrades.

[Shubh3738]

Thank you for the reply. Instead of renewing licenses, we would prefer to move ahead with bulk replacement of the MR42 units. Could you please share the process for device replacement in bulk?

[RWelch]

Not sure if this is going to suffice your question but you can check out:

Using the Bulk Network Creation Tool 

Your best approach might be to discuss in depth the bulk replacement process with your Meraki partner or Meraki Solutions Engineers. 

Wishing you all the best in your project ahead.

[cmr]

@Shubh3738 from a licensing point of view all APs are the same*.  Therefore you can renew the licenses now and replace the APs when you want to.  You may get a better price for licenses bought with APs, depending on how many and what model you buy.  The MR42 direct replacements are the MR44/46, CW9164 and a mythical CW9174 (there is a CW9172 that is for lower density areas and a CW9176 that is for higher density areas, but no CW9174 as of now).

The MRs support Wi-Fi6, the CW916x Wi-Fi6e and the CW917x Wi-Fi7 standards.

*There is an alternate license for the CW917x models, but LIC-ENT-xYR also works.

[rhbirkelund]

Besides what @cmr mentions, we usually also go by the rule of thumb to not mix technology generations. E.g. we tend to avoid mixing WiFi 6E and WiFi 7, in order to avoid odd roaming scenarios.