End of Sale – AP Series Indoor Access Points Retire
Sophos is retiring the AP Series indoor access points. This announcement does not come as a surprise to us. It was already discussed in episode eleven of our podcast. At the latest when UTM version 9.7 with support for APX access points was released at the end of 2019, it no longer really made sense for UTM customers to order the old AP models.
End of Sale – 31 March 2020
It is now official: the AP Series can only be ordered until 31 March 2020. Below is an overview of all AP Series indoor access points – including the APX model that Sophos recommends as a replacement in each case:
– Sophos AP15 and AP15C > Sophos APX 120
– Sophos AP55 and AP55C > Sophos APX 320
– Sophos AP100 and AP100C > Sophos APX 530 or Sophos APX 740
End of Sale also for Central Wireless licences
If you manage your AP Series access points via Central Wireless, you will no longer be able to purchase additional licences from 31 March 2020 – with the exception of the AP 100X (outdoor access point). No new features will be introduced for the remaining models in Central. Only critical security patches and bug fixes will be provided – and only until 31 March 2021 (end of support).
End of Support – 31 March 2021
Sophos defines the “End of Support” status as follows:
- RMAs will still be processed, provided a valid warranty or support licence is in place.
- No technical support will be provided. Calls to the hotline will only be accepted for processing RMAs.
- No further software updates or bug fixes will be released for the affected AP models.
- The APs can continue to run on the last supported firmware version.
End of Life – 31 March 2023
On 31 March 2023, support will finally come to an end: from that date, the affected AP models can no longer be operated in Sophos Central, on an XG Firewall (SFOS), or on the SG UTM.
30% price increase
Anyone migrating from the AP Series to APX access points must reckon with a price increase of around 30%. While the AP15 access point currently (January 2020) costs 107.25 CHF / 97.50 € net, the smaller APX 120 is already priced at 140.25 CHF / 127.50 €.
From our perspective, this would be acceptable if the devices reflected the latest state of the art. However, the APX Series is currently not based on the latest Wi‑Fi 6 standard IEEE 802.11ax, but still on Wi‑Fi 5 (IEEE 802.11ac).
Anyone considering replacing all APs with APX models may therefore want to hold off for a while. It is quite possible that Sophos will introduce new access points with the latest Wi‑Fi standard at a later stage. Sophos is well aware that access points typically remain in use for many years – accordingly, the warranty has been extended for the APX Series: the AP Series came with a 1‑year warranty, whereas the APX models now include a 5‑year warranty. This is certainly one factor behind the higher price.
Outdoor access point AP100X not affected
According to the official statement from Sophos, only the indoor access points are affected. The AP100X is currently the only outdoor access point from Sophos and will therefore remain in the portfolio for the time being. From what we know, however, a successor is likely to appear in the foreseeable future. Over the coming months, we expect Sophos to introduce the first outdoor access point in the APX Series (APX 320X).
