Fortinet FortiAP S421E
802.11ac Wave 2 Access Point with Dual 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Radios

Fortinet FortiAP S421E

Notice: FortiAP S421E Discontinued

The FortiAP S421E is a discontinued model. For optimal security and long-term support, explore Fortinet’s latest wireless access points or save with the Fortinet Trade-Up Program.

Fortinet Trade-Up Program

Get a significant discount on a new Fortinet unit when you upgrade a competitive or legacy firewall.

FortiAP S421E License and Renewal Options

Technical support, firmware updates/upgrades, and hardware replacement will not be available after EoS on July 30, 2024 .

View FortiAP S421E License & Renewal Options

FortiAP Access Points Solutions

The FortiAP wireless access points offer the most secure wireless offering in the industry by integrating with our Next Generation Firewall.

AI-powered Security Assistant

FortiAI uses GenAI to assist security teams to make better decisions, rapidly respond to threats, and save time on even the most complex tasks.

Overview:

The FAP-S421E is our high-density 802.11ac Wave 2 access point. This enterprise class access point is ideal for large high-density environments such as a large office or classroom. The S421E supports MU-MiMO giving excellent performance throughput of up to 1.733 Gbps and the ability to support multiple simultaneous devices.

802.11ac Wave 2
Dual Radio 2.4 and 5 GHz
8 Internal Antennas
Up to 800 + 1,733 Mbps

Cloud or FortiOS-managed Smart Access Points

The FortiAP-S Series are the first Access Points of their kind to have UTM services built in. They are equipped with extra memory and a powerful processor that enables them to perform real-time security processing on the AP, providing complete protection against all manner of WiFi and cyber-threats at the network edge. With Fortinet’s award-winning security technology, the FortiAP-S series provides the most compact solution for complete content and application security in a WiFi architecture.

Remote Management
Combines the low CAPEX and convenience of remote management via a central FortiGate or FortiCloud, with on site, locally applied threat protection, delivered through regular FortiGuard updates.

Advanced Security Protection
On-board IPS, antivirus scanning, web-filtering and application control, protects all users and devices from the latest security threats.

Built-in WiFi Security
Protects the network from advanced wireless threats to satisfy PCI DSS compliance. PCI-DSS compliance reports available through FortiCloud or FortiAnalyzer.

Deployment:

Showing both Cloud-managed and FortiGate-managed FAP-S series at remote sites

Fortinet approach to secure remote-managed WiFi

Antenna Radiation Patterns:

Antenna Radiation Patterns

RF RX/TX Performance Table:

	FortiAP S421E				FortiAP S423E
	Radio 1 - 2.4 GHz		Radio 2 - 5 GHz		Radio 1 - 2.4 GHz		Radio 2 - 5 GHz
802.11 a/g	Tx Power (dBm)	Rx Sensitivity (dBm)	Tx Power (dBm)	Rx Sensitivity (dBm)	Tx Power (dBm)	Rx Sensitivity (dBm)	Tx Power (dBm)	Rx Sensitivity (dBm)
6 Mbps	22	-94	20	-91	22	-94	20	-91
9 Mbps	22	-92	20	-89	22	-92	20	-89
12 Mbps	22	-89	20	-86	22	-89	20	-86
18 Mbps	22	-88	20	-85	22	-88	20	-85
24 Mbps	22	-83	20	-80	22	-83	20	-80
36 Mbps	22	-78	19	-75	22	-78	19	-75
48 Mbps	22	-77	19	-74	22	-77	19	-74
54 Mbps	19	-76	19	-73	19	-76	18	-73
802.11n HT20
MCS 0/8/16 (BPSK)	22	-90	21	-92	22	-91	20	-89
MCS 1/9/17 (QPSK)	21	-87	21	-89	21	-89	19	-87
MCS 2/10/18 (QPSK)	20	-85	21	-86	20	-86	19	-84
MCS 3/11/19 (16-QAM)	19	-83	21	-82	19	-85	18	-83
MCS 4/12/20 (16-QAM)	19	-79	21	-78	19	-80	17	-78
MCS 5/13/21 (64-QAM)	18	-74	21	-74	18	-75	17	-73
MCS 6/14/22 (64-QAM)	18	-73	20	-73	18	-74	17	-72
MCS 7/15/23 (64-QAM)	18	-72	18	-72	18	-73	17	-71
802.11n HT40
MCS 0/8/16 (BPSK)	21	-89	20	-86	21	-89	20	-86
MCS 1/9/17 (QPSK)	20	-87	19	-84	20	-87	19	-84
MCS 2/10/18 (QPSK)	20	-84	19	-81	20	-84	19	-81
MCS 3/11/19 (16-QAM)	19	-83	18	-80	19	-83	18	-80
MCS 4/12/20 (16-QAM)	19	-78	18	-75	19	-78	18	-75
MCS 5/13/21 (64-QAM)	18	-73	17	-70	18	-73	17	-70
MCS 6/14/22 (64-QAM)	18	-72	17	-69	18	-72	17	-69
MCS 7/15/23 (64-QAM)	18	-71	17	-68	18	-71	17	-68
MCS 8/16/24 (256-QAM)	15	-66	14	-65	15	-66	14	-65
MCS 9/17/25 (256-QAM)	15	-65	14	-63	15	-65	14	-63
802.11 HT80
MCS 0 (BPSK)			18	-83			18	-83
MCS 1 (QPSK)			17	-80			17	-80
MCS 2 (QPSK)			17	-78			17	-78
MCS 3 (16-QAM)			16	-75			16	-75
MCS 4 (16-QAM)			16	-73			16	-73
MCS 5 (64-QAM)			15	-72			15	-72
MCS 6 (64-QAM)			15	-70			15	-70
MCS 7 (64-QAM)			15	-69			15	-69
MCS 8 (256-QAM)			15	-65			15	-65
MCS 9 (256-QAM)			15	-59			15	-59

Maximum capability of the Hardware provided (Exenculding antenna gain)

Specifications:

	FortiAP-S421E	FortiAP-S423E
Hardware
Hardware Type	Indoor Smart AP	Indoor Smart AP
Number of Radios	2	2
Number of Antennas	8 Internal	8 RP-SMA External
Peak Antenna Gain	4 dBi for 2.4 GHz, 5 dBi for 5 GHz	3 dBi for 2.4 GHz, 3 dBi for 5 GHz
Frequency Bands (GHz) *	2.400–2.4835, 5.150–5.250, 5.250–5.350, 5.470–5.725, 5.725–5.850	2.400–2.4835, 5.150–5.250, 5.250–5.350, 5.470–5.725, 5.725–5.851
Frequency of Radio 1	2.4 GHz b/g/n (4x4:4 stream), 20/40 Mhz (256 QAM)	2.4 GHz b/g/n (4x4:4 stream), 20/40 Mhz (256 QAM)
Frequency of Radio 2	5 GHz a/n/ac (4x4:4 stream), 20/40/80 Mhz (256 QAM), MU-MIMO 3 simultanous devices	5 GHz a/n/ac (4x4:4 stream), 20/40/80 Mhz (256 QAM), MU-MIMO 3 simultanous devices
Throughput	Radio 1: up to 800 Mbps, Radio 2: up to 1.733 Gbps	Radio 1: up to 800 Mbps, Radio 2: up to 1.733 Gbps
Ethernet Ports	2x GE RJ45	2x GE RJ45
USB Port	1x Type A	1x Type A
Serial Console Port	1 RS-232 x RJ45	1 RS-232 x RJ45
Power over Ethernet (PoE)	Dual redundant PoE power ports with support for IEEE 802.3at (25.5 W)	Dual redundant PoE power ports with support for IEEE 802.3at (25.5 W)
WME Multimedia Extensions	Yes (4 priority queues for voice, video, data and background traffic)
Simultaneous SSIDs	16 (14 if background scanning enabled)
EAP Type(s)	EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS/MSCHAPv2, EAPv0/EAP-MSCHAPv2, PEAPv1/EAP-GTC EAP-SIM, EAP-AKA, EAP-FAST
User/Device Authentication	WPA and WPA2 with 802.1X or Preshared key, WEP and Web Captive Portal, MAC blacklist & whitelist
Maximum Tx Power	19 dBm (80 mW)*	19 dBm (80 mW)*
Physical Security	Kensington Lock	Kensington Lock
Mean Time Between Failures	>30 Years	>30 Years
IEEE Specifications	802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11d, 802.11e, 802.11g, 802.11h, 802.11i, 802.11j, 802.11n, 802.1x, 802.11ac, 802.3af, 802.3at, 802.3az
Mounting Options	Ceiling, T-Rail and wall	Ceiling, T-Rail and wall
Included Accessories	Ceiling, T-Rail and wall mount kit (AC power adapter sold separately	Ceiling, T-Rail and wall mount kit and 8 dipole antennas (AC power adaptor sold separately)
FortiPresence Capable	Yes	Yes
Wireless Mesh Capable	Yes	Yes
Modes of Operation	FortiGate or FortiCloud management	FortiGate or FortiCloud management
SSID Types Supported	Local-Bridge, Tunnel & Mesh (when managed by FortiGate)	Local-Bridge, Tunnel & Mesh (when managed by FortiGate)
FortiDeploy and FortiCloud Key	Yes	Yes
Concurrent Clients Per Radio (Maximum / Recommended)	512 / 128	512 / 128
LED Off Mode	Yes	Yes
Onboard Security Features when Managed from FortiCloud
Application Control	Yes	Yes
Block Botnet	Yes	Yes
Antivirus	Yes	Yes
Intrusion Prevention	Yes	Yes
URL Filtering	Yes	Yes
FortiGuard Security Feed	Subscription available through FortiCloud	Subscription available through FortiCloud
Advanced 802.11 Features
802.11ac Wave2 MU-MIMO	Yes	Yes
Transmit Beam Forming (TxBF)	Yes	Yes
Low-Density Parity Check (LDPC) Encoding	Yes	Yes
Maximum Likelihood Demodulation (MLD)	Yes	Yes
Maximum Ratio Combining (MRC)	Yes	Yes
A-MPDU and A-MSDU Packet Aggregation	Yes	Yes
MIMO Power Save	Yes	Yes
Short Guard Interva	Yes	Yes
Wireless Monitoring Capabilities
Frequencies scanned	2.4 and 5 GHz	2.4 and 5 GHz
Background scan with client access on2.4 and 5 GHz	Yes	Yes
Full-time scan as dedicated monitor	Yes	Yes
Full-time scan with client access	No	No
Packet sniffer mode	Yes	Yes
Spectrum analyzer	Yes	Yes
Dimensions
Length x Width x Height	8.46 x 8.46 x 2.2 inches (21.5 x 21.5 x 5.6 cm)	8.46 x 8.46 x 2.2 inches (21.5 x 21.5 x 5.6 cm)
Weight	3.31 lb (1.5 kg)	3.35 lb (1.52 kg)
Package (shipping) Weight	5.09 lb (2.31 kg)	5.31 lb (2.41 kg)
Environment
Power Supply	Adapter input:100–240V, 50/60Hz,0.9A, Max output: 12V DC, 3A	Adapter input:100–240V, 50/60Hz,0.9A, Max output: 12V DC, 3A
Power Consumption (Average / Maximum)	22.87 W / 24 W	22.87 W / 24 W
Humidity	5–90% non condensing	5–90% non condensing
Operating Temperature	-4–122x°F (-20–50°C)	-4–122x°F (-20–50°C)
Storage Temperature	-40–158°F (-40–70°C)	-40–158°F (-40–70°C)
Directives	Low Voltage Directive • RoHS	Low Voltage Directive • RoHS
UL2043 Plenum Material	Yes	Yes
IP Rating	—	—
Certifications
WiFi Alliance Certified	Yes	Yes
DFS Certified	In Process	In Process
Warranty
Limited Lifetime Warranty	Yes	Yes

* Frequency selection and power may be restricted to abide by regional regulatory compliance laws.

Documentation:

Download the Fortinet FortiAP Smart Series Access Points Datasheet (PDF).

Pricing Notes:

FortiCare Premium Support
FortiCare Premium Ticket Handling, Advanced Hardware Replacement (NBD), Firmware and General Upgrades
FortiCare Elite Support
FortiCare Premium Support with FortiCare Elite Ticket Handling.
Prices are for one year of Premium RMA support. Usual discounts can be applied.
Annual contracts only. No multi-year SKUs are available for these services.
Contact Fortinet Renewals team for upgrade quotations for existing FortiCare contracts.
Pricing and product availability subject to change without notice.

Fortinet FortiAP S421E 802.11ac Wave 2 Access Point with Dual 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Radios