Meraki-managed Wi-Fi from Wi-Fi 6 indoor units to outdoor and Wi-Fi 7

This family covers two ranges that share one management model. The MR series is the established Meraki access point line, and the Catalyst CW series is the newer Cisco hardware that can be run in Meraki cloud mode. Both are administered from the Meraki dashboard, so for a buyer the question is generation and physical fit rather than which product family to commit to.

On the MR side, the MR28, MR36, MR44, and MR46 are indoor Wi-Fi 6 access points at increasing radio capacity, the MR36H is the wall-plate form for hotel rooms, dorms, and offices where a ceiling mount is not available and a wired passthrough port is useful, and the MR46E adds external antenna connectors for warehouses and high ceilings where a directional antenna beats an omni. The MR57 is Wi-Fi 6E, adding the 6 GHz band. The MR76, MR78, and MR86 are the outdoor-rated models. On the Catalyst side, the CW9162I, CW9164I, and CW9166I are indoor Wi-Fi 6E units, the CW9166D1 is the directional variant, the CW9163E is outdoor with external antennas, and the CW9172I is Wi-Fi 7. The family also carries the CW antenna and mounting accessories that those units depend on, including omni and directional antennas and GPS antennas for models that use them.

Access point count is not a coverage calculation alone. Client density, the applications running over the link, ceiling height, construction materials, and the switch PoE budget behind the deployment all change the answer, and a 6 GHz or Wi-Fi 7 access point only pays for itself if the client estate can use those bands. HTS sizes from a site survey or floor plan rather than from area, confirms the PoE and uplink budget on the switch that will feed the access points, confirms the intended management mode for CW models, and confirms licence alignment with your existing Meraki organisation.