HPE does not publish a number that says “this AP handles forty guests.” Nobody does. What follows is a straight answer about which one fits, based on what actually decides it — PoE and how HPE itself positions the tiers — not a catalogue of specifications you don’t need to size a network.
HPE renamed the range from “Aruba Instant On” to “HPE Networking Instant On” — same product line, same no-subscription setup in the Instant On app, just a different name on newer boxes and documentation. Most of the web, including this site’s own equipment pages, still calls it Aruba Instant On, so we do too below and note the current name where it matters.
The access points ask us about each guest directly, so any router holding the private link to us works underneath them — HPE’s own Secure Gateway range is an option, not a requirement. Details and limits for both further down this page.
HPE’s own current Instant On tiers, restricted to the ones a café or restaurant would realistically buy.
HPE’s own entry point for small-to-medium hospitality spaces, on standard PoE. The straightforward pick for one room.
More radios, needs PoE+, positioned by HPE for growing demand — boutique hotels and similar. The step up for a busier room.
HPE’s newest tier, with the extra 6 GHz band switched on. Explicitly marketed by HPE for hotel lobbies and large restaurants — the one to pick when the room is genuinely busy.
Worth knowing: there is also an AP22D — the same radio as the AP22, plus a small built-in switch. Only worth the difference if you need a couple of wired ports near the access point for a till or a printer; otherwise it is not a separate capacity tier.
Not a full spec sheet — we don’t sell this hardware, so it isn’t our catalogue to keep. Just the things that decide which one fits: what it needs to power it, and how HPE itself tiers the capacity.
| Model | PoE | HPE’s own positioning |
|---|---|---|
| AP22 | Standard (802.3af) | Small to medium spaces, hospitality |
| AP25 | PoE+ (802.3at) | Medium spaces with growing demand |
| AP32 | PoE+ or better — check before ordering | High-density: hotel lobbies, large restaurants |
Worth knowing: HPE rates the AP22 at “up to 75 max active devices,” and that figure is a ceiling, not a comfortable-service number — installers report a genuinely good experience at a good deal fewer concurrent devices than that. Treat the table above as relative positioning between the three models, not as a guest count.
On Instant On, the access points ask us about each guest directly — not a gateway, and not a controller. Any router capable of holding the private link to us works underneath these access points. HPE’s own Secure Gateway range is worth it if you want one HPE account covering the whole site, not because our integration needs it specifically.
| Model | What it’s for | PoE budget |
|---|---|---|
| SG1004 | Internet lines up to around 1 Gbps | Gigabit ports only, no PoE-out |
| SG2505P | Faster lines, over 1 Gbps — a 2.3 Gbps firewall throughput ceiling | 2.5GbE WAN, PoE+ out for powering access points directly |
For a single room, almost any of these three will cope with the internet line most small venues actually have. What actually decides the outcome is whether the room is fully covered, and whether your switch or injector can deliver the PoE class the model needs — the AP25 and AP32 both need PoE+, which not every existing switch supplies.
The other half of sizing is the internet line itself, which is the same arithmetic regardless of which access point you choose. We work through it properly, with a worked example, in how much Wi-Fi does a venue actually need — the same maths applies to a restaurant, just at a smaller scale than the hotel example there.
This is a buying decision, not a settings problem: Instant On has no way to be told to end a session that is already running. At checkout we stop the guest signing in again, and the session they already hold runs to its time limit.
Set sessions in hours rather than days and this rarely matters for a café visit. A property that specifically needs an immediate cut-off needs different equipment — see the Aruba Instant On setup page for the full detail.
Ranges, not exact figures — nobody, HPE included, can tell you a precise number without knowing what your guests actually do. These follow the same method as our hotel guide: a per-guest speed cap, enforced by the equipment, and a contention ratio that assumes not everyone is pulling hard at once. A café or restaurant runs busier concurrently than a hotel room overnight, so the ratio here is tighter than the hotel example.
| Simultaneous guests | Minimum | Preferred |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 10 | 30 Mbps | 50 Mbps |
| Up to 20 | 50 Mbps | 100 Mbps |
| Up to 30 | 75 Mbps | 100–150 Mbps |
| Up to 40 | 100 Mbps | 150 Mbps |
| Up to 50 | 150 Mbps | 200 Mbps |
| Up to 60 | 200 Mbps | 250–300 Mbps |
| Up to 80 | 300 Mbps | 400 Mbps |
| Up to 100 | 400 Mbps | 500 Mbps |
This is independent of which access point you pick. The line is what you’re provisioning here, not the box broadcasting it. Past 100 simultaneous guests, or once you’re past a single room, this is exactly the point to get a site survey done rather than extrapolate the table further.
Standard PoE from almost any switch or injector, an internet line under 300 Mbps.
Same radio as the AP22, plus a small built-in switch for a till or printer close by.
PoE+ needed — check your switch or injector supports it before ordering.
HPE’s own pick for large restaurants and hotel lobbies. Confirm the PoE class your switch needs before ordering.
HPE’s published “max active devices” figure is a ceiling, not a comfortable-service number. Coverage, PoE budget and the internet line matter far more than which of these three is broadcasting the signal.
Officially it is now HPE Networking Instant On, but the older Aruba name is still in wide use, including on this site’s own equipment pages, and the product itself hasn’t changed.
No. Instant On runs from the free app or web portal with no licensing cost — that has not changed with the rename.
No, and this is a hardware limitation rather than a setting to change. A session already running is left to reach its own time limit at checkout. Keep sessions to a few hours for a café and this rarely matters in practice.
No — the access points ask us about each guest directly, so any router capable of holding the private link works underneath them. The Secure Gateway is worth it if you want one HPE account covering the whole site: SG1004 for lines up to around 1 Gbps, SG2505P above that.
Not for a single room — the guidance above is enough. Anything bigger, and walls, materials and where people actually sit decide the access point count and placement far more than which model you buy. Get that surveyed properly before ordering hardware.
Tell us the room, the line speed and how many access points you are planning, and we will tell you which of these fits — and quote for the hardware if you want us to supply it.
