After testing the EnGenius EWS356-FIT in my 2-story home for a month, I'm blown away by its raw performance but frustrated by some setup quirks. The dual-band AX3000 speeds are no joke - my iPhone 13 Pro hits 780Mbps standing right under the ceiling-mounted unit, a huge upgrade from my old router.

The metal-clad design stays surprisingly cool even during 4K streaming marathons. I particularly love how it handles 30+ devices simultaneously during family gatherings - no more 'why is the WiFi slow?' complaints from relatives!

However, the initial setup is needlessly complicated. Like other reviewers, I wasted an hour figuring out you need to click 'Changes' then 'Apply' instead of just 'Save'. The lack of included power adapter feels cheap for a $200+ device. Pro tip: Use PoE if possible - it makes placement so much cleaner.

Placement matters tremendously! Wall-mounting gave me inconsistent speeds until I moved it to the ceiling. The mesh performance is decent but not amazing - my backyard camera gets about 60Mbps through one mesh hop.

The web interface looks straight out of 2010 but is surprisingly powerful once you learn its quirks. Band steering works magically well, always pushing my devices to optimal frequencies without any manual intervention.

Would I buy again? For tech-savvy users wanting enterprise-grade reliability in a home package - absolutely. But casual users might want something with simpler setup. Just don't expect plug-and-play simplicity!