LCWA’s New Recommended Router: airCube ISP

As you probably know, the box that plugs into your outdoor LCWA radio and provides Wi-Fi in your house is called a router. And from time to time we update the brand and model of the router that we recommend in our LCWA installations. Our latest choice is this: the Ubiquiti airCube ISP.

So, if for some reason you need to buy a new router, this is the one we currently recommend for most users.

Why do we recommend it?

The main advantage is that the airCube ISP enables LCWA staff to do remote diagnostics on your inside-house connection should you report troubles to us. Since LCWA does not have enough volunteers to send people to your house if things in your house are not working (we will refer you to 3rd party paid tech staff), this gets you a solution quicker and cheaper.

And there are lots of other reasons that we recommend the airCube:

• It’s inexpensive, only about $33. (Be sure to get the ISP model)
• It’s simple to set up and configure.
• It has no 5GHz radio. You see, LCWA only wants you to use the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio built into all routers. But most new routers ship these days ship with an additional 5GHz radio turned on by default, and that radio interferes with our rooftop radios which also run at 5GHz. The airCube ISP has no such interfering radio. (However note that the airCube AC model does have a 5Ghz radio, so don’t get that model; get the ISP model).
• The airCube is secure. Unfortunately, security problems have been found in many of the routers on the market today, like many of the Linksys and Netgear routers. Admittedly it is very rare such security issues ever come up here in our well-protected LCWA network, but it is good to know that no such problems exist with the airCube router.
• The airCube shares the power supply with the LCWA outdoor radio. This saves you a wall plug, it saves you money, and it means that there is only one plug to pull when you cycle the power to fix an outage (see this article for more information about that).

So for all these reasons, the airCube ISP is the router we are currently recommending when members need a new router.

Are there any disadvantages compared with other routers?

Well, there are a few:

• Many other routers have the ability to set parental controls to limit household access to nasty internet sites. The airCube has no such settings (but note, there can be other ways to do that).
• Many other routers have four or five open Ethernet ports in the back that are useful in case you have many network devices that wire directly to your router. This router only has two open ports (but note that you can add what’s called an Ethernet switch to expand that if needed, at a bit of an extra cost).
• If you are currently using one of those large multi-antenna routers, the airCube’s Wi-Fi may not reach quite as far in your home. But those routers can cause other problems. Better, if you have a large house, is to use the airCube in conjunction with our approved mesh system (TP-Link M5). See more here: https://lcwireless.net/setting-up-a-tp-link-deco-m5-whole-home-mesh-wi-fi/

So for most of us, this router is the right choice, and if for some reason you need a new router, we recommend this.

How Do I Get One? Let LCWA Prep and Provide One For You

If you are an existing members and want to upgrade to this router, a volunteer will configure one for you to match your account, and then tell you how you can come pick it up. The cost (about $33) will be added to your next invoice. To arrange this, send an email to tech.support@lcwireless.net clearly showing your account information and indicating what Wi-Fi password you’d like us to insert.

By the way, all NEW LCWA members will have this router configured and delivered as part of their new installation.

How Do I Plug it In?

AirCubes plug in a little differently than most routers because they normally share the POE power supply with your rooftop radio. So, once you pick it up, plug it in using the instruction sheet here: https://lcwireless.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/how-to-plug-in-airCube-v5.pdf

And we have a video for how to swap in an airCube to replace you current router here https://lcwireless.net/how-to-swap-in-an-aircube/.

There is, however, a special situation. If you are one of our Access Point hosts, or if your radio POE power supply must be located a long way from your router, use these instructions: https://lcwireless.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/how-to-plug-in-aircube-with-usb-power-supply.pdf.

So that’s it, please get this router from us if you want to upgrade your router.