MR33 v MR30H

[RumorConsumer]

Hello! It seems these devices share the same basic hardware footprint. If they are set up as gateways simply serving wireless to clients is it safe to say they will perform nearly identically? Maybe advantage to MR33 given the larger face and thus more spacious antenna design?

MR30H:
Dual-band, 802.11ac Wave 2 2x2:2 Wall Switch Access Point with dedicated security and RF management radio as well as an integrated Bluetooth Low Energy beacon and scanning radio

MR33: 
Dual-band, 802.11ac Wave 2 2x2:2 MU-MIMO Access Point with dedicated security and RF management radio as well as integrated Bluetooth Low Energy beacon and scanning radio

this article seems to indicate as such:
https://info.hummingbirdnetworks.com/blog/meraki-mr33-and-mr30h-review-putting-the-h-in-hospitality

[NolanHerring]

Antenna pattern is a little different, and I can't say for certain but its possible the hardware (CPU/RAM) are more powerful in the MR33 since it is more than likely more capable.

Pretty sure the MR30H is also meant to be wall mounted and the antenna pattern should reflect that.

https://meraki.cisco.com/lib/pdf/meraki_datasheet_MR33.pdf
Integrated omni-directional antennas (3.8 dBi gain at 2.4 GHz, 3.9 dBi gain at 5 GHz)

https://meraki.cisco.com/lib/pdf/meraki_datasheet_MR30H.pdf
Integrated omni-directional antennas (3.7 dBi gain at 2.4 GHz, 4.8 dBi gain at 5 GHz)

MR33 should be better since its meant to be mounted on the ceiling as far as coverage goes, where as the MR30H is meant for hotel rooms, with the idea of keeping cell sizes small etc.

[RumorConsumer]

So... these are meant to be mounted on the ceiling facing down??

[PhilipDAth]

The MR33 is usually mounted on a roof pointing down.  The MR30H is usually mounted on a wall.

I would personally take the MR33 if I wanted coverage.

The MR30H does have an integrated switch in it - but the ports are very different to configure.  You have to create port profiles.

[RumorConsumer]

Mr33 style devices like the 42 and 52... if wall mounted up high like 9ft... am i losing lateral signal power? My exp has been wall mounting has provided pretty good results.

[NolanHerring]

9 feet isn't high, thats normal. I've gone as high as 30 feet with those (although I wouldn't recommend personally going above that, or really like 20/25 feet, but it had to be done). Didn't have any issues really.

Wall mounting WILL work, but with an AP like the MR33, most of your signal is now going up/down instead of left/right (where you want).

[RumorConsumer]

So this MR52 is wall mounted. I’m losing most of my signal? I thought I’d looked at the pattern and seen it was mostly a front to back deal. I’ll have to look again

[NolanHerring]

No your not losing 'most' of your signal. Its' simply that the antenna pattern radiation is 'designed' so that its mounted on the ceiling. You CAN mount it just like you have it on the wall like that though, no real issues will become apparent.

However, if your putting this inside your rooms, I personally feel you'd be better off with the MR30H if its per-room, at least from a price point perspective and what the clients are doing. MR52 is meant for like heavy application use in a busy office environment etc.

[RumorConsumer]

Yeah this is a multipurpose room which needs to have a high threshold for 30-40 clients potentially. For all the big common areas that’s what I’m using as we have 100 person large retreats and it’s working out well. Also as repeaters they seem to fare better than any other model ie enough horsepower and resources to “walk and chew gum” ie backhaul and serve clients without impediment. For the actual cabin rooms and things they’re overkill for sure hence the thread. Why the 30H over the 33 in this case? I have one 30H deployed in a staff bunk room as a gateway and it performs admirably.

[NolanHerring]

30H is just 'designed' for the hospitality market is all. So with switch ports built in you can say connect a phone or something else, which is neat. MR33 would work fine as well.

[RodrigoC]

Hey All!

If you are curious about what differentiates the MR33 with the MR30H, I would encourage you to start with the data sheets (linked below).

MR30H & MR33

the TL;DR is that the MR33 has longer range and no client ports and the MR30H has a bit shorter range but includes client ports. As a wireless nerd, I would always recommend the MR33 unless you have specific plans to us the MR30H's ethernet ports.

Now, for the more in-depth look...

If you open up both devices' data sheets, the answers you are looking for are on pages 3-6, on the Tx / Rx tables and the antenna radiation charts. Starting with the Tx / Rx tables you will note that both devices are capable of the same data rates, but the MR33 has more transmit power and more receive sensitivity meaning more range.

As for the radiation patterns, both devices have very similar patterns (since they both have omnidirectional antennas) and should get great coverage all around them. That being said, if you want to know what directions the AP radiates the furthest that would be:

MR33 - Directly in front of it as well as to the left and right of the AP

MR30H - Directly in front of it as well as to upwards or to the right of the AP

With the absolute "best" areas of coverage being any region within 3 dB of the max peak of the radiation chart. So wall mounting or ceiling mounting is better for different environments.

BIG DISCLAIMER: Looking at omnidirectional antenna radiation patterns is mostly pointless. It is much better to plan AP placement by using a wireless scanning app and/or a site survey to determine optimal locations. Radiation patterns are most useful when looking at directional/semi-directional antennas to determine the beamwidth. If you are trying to squeeze a couple of extra mW of power by rotating your omnidirectional AP 90 degrees, your cell sizes are already too big -- seek to add more APs to your environment.

Generally, the MR30H was designed for smaller spaces benefit from having additional ethernet access like hotel rooms or small conference rooms with VoIP phones, etc. The MR33 is just a great all-around AP for most wireless needs. That being said, each environment is unique and you should deploy what fits your needs best! 😃