Open-Mesh MR900 Professional 2.4Ghz & 5Ghz WiFi Hotspot Router

 MR900 Open-Mesh WiFi Router

In this post I am going to discuss the new MR900 WiFi router from Open-Mesh. If you have read any of my other posts you will know that I am a huge fan of Open-Mesh equipment as it makes the setting up of WiFi networks or hotspots super simple.


If you want to bring WiFi to your coffee shop, cafe, hostel/hotel, office, college, campsite or even start a WiFi hotspot business then I would highly recommend using Open-Mesh equipment.

Open-Mesh have been around for a few years now and have really shaken up the WiFi hotspot equipment industry.  Previously the market was dominated by brands such as Ubiquitous, Meraki & Engenius, don't get me wrong, they still produce really solid products but they can be expensive, even some with monthly fees on top of the equipment cost.

I discovered Open-Mesh a few years ago and have used and loved it ever since.  It is so simple to use, no coding or technical knowledge is needed and the Cloudtrax system you use to control your WiFi hotspot/network is, unlike many others, totally free.  All the revenue the hotspot generates is yours to keep (less the 3.4% Paypal fee for processing card payments).  Most other WiFi hotspot management systems either have a monthly fee or take a percentage of the revenue.

The flagship WiFi router from Open-mesh was the OM2P range which is still amazing, and at just $75 each makes setting up a WiFi business super cost effective.

But they have now introduced a new model to their range, the MR900 which I think has huge potential.  Firstly the design is great, non branded and plain white in colour it will work in any setting, school, hotel, coffee shop or office and is ideal for resellers or WiFi installers.  It looks just like a smoke alarm and can be wall or ceiling mounted anywhere to give maximum coverage.

Being Open-Mesh setup and installation is quick and easy, just add it to your Cloudtrax dashboard, connect it to an Internet connection and your done.

Now the specs are what make it really special.  It is designed for a high number of concurrent users, Open-Mesh claim up to 100 which is really impressive.  Of course it would depend on what users on the network are doing, 100 users would be fine for just web browsing, but everyone streaming HD video or gaming would mean you would have to revise those numbers down a little.

In addition to a faster internal processor, more RAM, 3x3 MIMO antennas, the MR900 supports both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz frequency.  Now most WiFi router and devices use the 2.4Ghz range, and it is getting congested which leads to poor performance and signal dropouts.  The 5Ghz range is much less used so performance is much better and more laptops and smartphones are being produced which will work on both the 2.4 and 5Ghz frequencies.  I expect the 5Ghz range will become more popular as it is subject to less interference and can transmit twice as much data as 2.4Ghz, ideal for streaming HD video over WiFi.  By investing in a dual 2.4 & 5Ghz WiFi router you will keep everyone happy and future proof yourself to some extent.
There is also an outdoor enclosure available for the MR900 so it is suitable for campsites, RV parks, sports grounds, parks and any outside area you want to bring WiFi to.

MR900 Specs

• 50 - 100 Concurrent Users

• 2.4GHz & 5Ghz Support

• 100mW Power

• Speed Upto 900Mbps

• Responsive AR9558 700mhz Processor

• 128MB DRAM

• 3 x 3 MIMO 

• Six Internal Antennas

• 1 Gigabit Ethernet Port

• 2.4/5Ghz/Power/Ethernet LEDs

• Power Over Ethernet (PoE)

• Indoor or Outdoor Installation (Outdoor Enclosure Required)

• Facebook WiFi

As well as all these new features it still has all the benefits of the Open-Mesh/Cloutrax systems.  Full meshing capabilities, including with OM2P units.  Centralised cloud based WiFi network management system, check and control your entire network from anywhere with a computer and Internet connection.  Built in customisable splash/landing pages, Paypal payment integration, real time network states, usage reports, outage alerts and more.  In fact Cloudtrax has just has a bit of a makeover with even more options added, but it is still free!

One new feature, which I mentioned was missing in one of my other posts, is a Facebook login function, know as 'Facebook WiFi' or 'Social WiFi'.

Basically this means that when people want to use your free WiFi they just use their Facebook login details to get access, this is probably more suited for coffee shops/cafes where people are in a hurry.  Every time someone uses your cafe's WiFi and logs in with Facebook they must 'Check in' to your cafe on Facebook, this will be shown on their Facebook profile and to all their friends, essentially giving a recommendation to your cafe to all their friends.  They will also be presented with the option to 'Like' your cafe's Facebook page, as I mentioned in this post, even if you hate Facebook/social media you can't ignore its free advertising potential for your business and you won't have to go and make a super personnel Facebook profile for yourself to benefit from it either.

So the MR900 seems to tick all the boxes, supports up to 100 simultaneous users, high power, high speed, dual 2.4 & 5Ghz support, Supports Facebook WiFi, Cloud controlled, PoE support and more.  Everything looks great but a few weeks or months of real world testing will be needed to get a good idea of performance, but based on Open-Mesh's past products I can't foresee any major issues.

You can see a few more details and price on Amazon.

What Is Social WiFi?

Social WiFi

Social WiFi is basically a WiFi hotspot which requires users to use their social media accounts to login to the free WiFi hotspot, although sometimes referred to as Facebook WiFi, users can usually login with most of the major social networks like Twitter, Linkedin and Google+

The main benefit Social WiFi Hotspots is that customers will be required to 'Like' your business's Facebook page in order to access the free WiFi.  Just in case you having been living in a cave for the past decade or don't use social media here is a quick explanation of the benefits of social media and social media marketing.

The average Facebook user has 338 friends, every time they share a picture, a post or link, all of their 338 friends will see it.  Every time a customers visits and logs in to your WiFi Hotspot with their social media account, Likes your business's Facebook Page to get access, that Like/recommendation will be shared with all of their 338 friends.  Just 10 people using your free WiFi will result in 3380 people basically seeing an advert for your business, for free.

I understand many people are reluctant to open a personal Facebook account for a number of reasons but you can just create an extremely basic profile, use a pseudonym, include virtually no information, no picture and use this profile to create a Facebook page. (Facebook Profiles are for people, Facebook Pages are for Businesses, Bands, Celebrities, Community Groups etc.).  There are loads of simple guides online and on Youtube videos showing you how to set up a Facebook page for your business or you could ask a social media savvy friend to set one up for you.



The other main benefit of 'Social WiFi' is that you will begin to start building a powerful customer database for marketing and access to customer information such as age, sex, relationship status, employment status and more which will help you to target customers more effectively.  You can use your Facebook Page to promote your business by offering discounts to those Fans who share your offers, which will encourage engagement on social media and grow your fan base.  Facebook advertising is a far more effective method than delivering flyers to every house in every street as all your Facebook Page fans will be customers already, it will be targeted advertising, and again, all for free.  If you want to see a good example of social networking advertising check out Coca Cola's Facebook page, you will see they have 85,000,000 'Likes/Fans'.

In a recent study by Purple WiFi (a Social WiFi hotspot provider) found that 78% of respondents actually seek free WiFi when out in public places, however they also found that 66% of respondents where unsure of how to use a free WiFi hotspot.  Social WiFi aims to make it easier, customers just connect to your Hotspot, Like your Facebook Page and are online.    

Personally, I don't like using my social media account to login to websites and other services as I feel they will have access to more personal information than I am comfortable with.  I am, however, in a minority and most people, in the age of the Selfie, are more than happy to use their social media accounts and share personal information to get free WiFi access.

So as you can see adding a Social WiFi hotspot to your business will have multiple benefits, firstly it will attract customers seeking free WiFi into your place of business, secondly it will equip you with a powerful (and free) marketing tool (Facebook) and thirdly, it will help you to reach potential customers.

There are lots of companies who provide Social WiFi Hotspot software and equipment, usually with a basic free package and a monthly fee for more features.  I have not tested any of these yet but will do soon and post a review of the best ones.