Operating Instructions
APX 320X

Operating Instructions

Foreward
We are pleased to welcome you as a new Sophos APX Series customer.
Sophos APX Series access points are high performance wireless products using thelatest 802.11ac Wave 2 technology for a best-in-class user experience. The APX Seriesmodels can be easily managed in Sophos Central, our cloud-based security management
platform. All you need to do is set up a Sophos Central account and plug in the device
anywhere in your network. The access point will find the cloud-based controller
automatically and become operable within seconds.
These operating instructions will help you set up your Sophos Central account, installand configure your Sophos APX Series access point and also provide detailed technicalspecifications. In addition, please also see the following documents that contain useful
information on safety, regulatory compliance, and configuration options:Ì Sophos APX Series Safety Instructions and Regulatory Information
Ì Sophos APX 320X Quick Start Guide
The instructions must be read carefully prior to using the device and should be kept in asafe place. You can download all user manuals and additional documentation from theSophos Knowledgebase under www.sophos.com/en-us/support/knowledgebase.aspx orfrom www.sophos.com/get-started-ap.

Security symbols
The following symbol and its meaning appears in the Quick Start Guide, Safety
Instructions and in these Operating Instructions.
Caution and Important Note. If these notes are not correctly observed:
Ì This is dangerous to life and the environment
Ì The access point may be damaged
Ì The functions of the access point will be no longer guaranteedÌ Sophos shall not be liable for damages arising from afailure to comply with the Safety Instructions

Designed useThe access point must be installed pursuant to the current installation notes. Otherwise
failure-free and safe operation cannot be guaranteed. The EU declaration of conformity isavailable upon request from the following address:
Sophos Technology GmbH
Gustav-Stresemann-Ring 1
65189 Wiesbaden
Germany

APX 320X

1Operating Instructions

Operating elements and connections
N type connector for
2.4/5 GHz antenna(Radio 1)

N type connector for
2.4/5 GHz antenna(Radio 0)

Forge posts for
mounting plateconnection

Gorevent

N type connector for
2.4/5 GHz antenna(Radio 1)

N type connector for
2.4/5 GHz antenna(Radio 0)

Grounding wireconnector

RJ45LEDconnector/Reset button

Component descriptions

APX 320X

Component

Description

Status LED

Indicates the operational state of your access point such as boot status,
firmware updates and error states. For details, see table “LED Status” below.

Radio LED

Indicates the radio mode your access point is currently
operating in. For details, see table “LED Status” below.

Mesh LED

Indicates whether the access point has Mesh activated.

RJ45 connector

Primary Ethernet port to connect your access point to your network. This portneeds to be connected to a PoE capable source (PoE Injector or PoE switch)
to power your access point. There is no dedicated DC power source available.
Sophos offers suitable PoE injectors for purchase as an optional accessory.

Reset button

Allows you to reboot the device and reset its configuration to thefactory default. For details, please see section “Reboot & Reset”

Gore Vent

Prevents excessive heat build-up inside the productwhile still preventing moisture entry

Grounding Wire Connector

Used for permanently connecting the APX to earth ground to adequately
ground the chassis and protect the operator from electrical hazards.

N Type connector

Used for connecting the standard Omni- or optional Sector/Directional antennas

Forge posts

Used for connecting the mounting bracket.

2Operating Instructions

LEDs
Status

OffOff

AP is off or reboot started

Green

Solid

Normal operation

Flashing

AP is booting and connecting to wirelesscontroller or applying configuration*

Solid

AP has no connection to the wireless controller

Flashing

AP is not claimed by wireless controller

SolidError, no wireless controller found. AP will
reboot (if not yet claimed by a controller).
Check network connection if error persists.

Amber
Red

If reset button pressed: AP preparing
configuration reset
Flashing slowly

Configuration reset in progress*

Flashing fastFirmware update in progress
Note: Do not disconnect from power,
nor reboot or reset the device
When the device connects to Sophos Central orSophos Firewall for the first time, it might takemore than 15 minutes to update firmware.

RadioMeshGreenSolid

AP is operating in 2.4 and 5 GHz mode

Amber

Solid

AP is operating in dual 5 GHz mode

RedSolid

AP is operating 1 Radio mode 2.4 OR 5 GHzOffOffNo Mesh activatedGreenSolidMesh activated* Your AP should recover from this state after a maximum of 5 minutes.

Connection and configuration
Your access point can be managed by a wireless controller located in Sophos Central.
The initial connection of your access point to your network and the wireless controller is
described in the APX Quick Start Guide which was shipped with your device or is available
under www.sophos.com/get-started-ap.
For the access point to communicate with Sophos Central servers the following ports willneed to be open on your firewall:Ì 443 (HTTPS)
Ì 80 (HTTP)
Ì 123 (NTP)
After successful connection you can start your initial configuration.

Setting up your access point in Sophos Central
You will need a Sophos Central account to manage your access points from Sophos
Central. Please go to https://central.sophos.com to sign in under your account or create anew account.
After signing in select Wireless from the popup screen or click on Wireless in the left
navigation to get started.
Follow the Onboarding Wizard to register your access point.
For more information, please see the Sophos Central Admin Help.

Setting up your access point in XG Firewall
Please note: APX 320X is not supported on XG or XGS Firewalls.

APX 320X

3Operating Instructions

Reboot and reset
Your access point can be rebooted with the installed configuration or reset to the factory
default configuration depending on how long you press and hold the reset button.

Reboot with current image and configuration
1. Press reset button.
2. Release reset button.
3. AP reboots (LED will go off, then will turn to solid green).

Reboot with current image and clear configuration
1. Press and hold reset button.
2. AP reboots (LED will go off and then switch to green briefly).
3. LED will turn solid red for 5 sec. You can still cancel the configuration clearance
process by releasing the reset button before the LED starts blinking.
4. LED will blink red (configuration will be cleared).
5. Release reset button.
6. AP reboots with factory default settings.
Reset Button

Released

RebootReboot clear config
5 Sec

Pressed
Status LEDOff

APX 320X

SolidSolidBlinking

4Operating Instructions

Technical specifications
APX 320X
Environment
Power consumption

18.9 W (max.)

Power over Ethernet(PoE) requirements

802.3atOperating temperature-40° to 55° CStorage temperature-40° to 80° C

Humidity

10-95% non-condensing

Hazardous substances

RoHS-2 and REACH compliant

Physical specification
I/O ports

1x RJ45 10/100/1000 Ethernet w/PoE (802.3at)
1x Reset button

Memory512 MByte DDR3L
512 Mbyte NAND Flash16 Mbyte SPI NOR FlashMounting

Wall-mount hang
Pole mountDimensions(Width x Depth x Height)

260.5 x 180 x 87 mm (10.26 x 7.09 x 3.43 inches)

Weight1.42 kg (3.13 lbs)

Wireless specification
Radios

1x 2.4 GHz/5 GHz dual-band
1x 5 GHz single band

Antennas

4x omni-directional external dual-band antennas for Radio-0 and Radio-1

Antenna Peak Gain

3.2 dBi at 2.4 GHz, 6.0 dBi at 5 GHz

MIMO capabilities

2x2:2

Supported WLAN standards

IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wave 2 (Wi-Fi 5)

SSIDs

8 per radio, 16 in total (with dual radios active)

Max. Throughput

Dual 5 GHz Mode*: up to 867 Mbps (5 GHz) + 867 Mbps (5 GHz)
Dual-band Mode*: up to 300 Mbps (2.4 GHz) + 867 Mbps (5 GHz)
Single 5 GHz Mode**: up to 867 Mbps

* Not available in the countries listed here: https://support.sophos.com/support/s/article/KB-000039850** For the countries listed here: https://support.sophos.com/support/s/article/KB-000039850

Performance
Band/Mode

Data RateTX Power
Maximum EIRP (dBm)

RX Sensitivity(dBm)

2.412–2.472 GHz(11b)

1 Mbps

24-93

2 Mbps24-90

5.5 Mbps

24-86

11 Mbps

24-82

6 Mbps

24-89

9 Mbps

24-88

12 Mbps23-86

18 Mbps

23-84

24 Mbps22-81

36 Mbps22-77

48 Mbps21-73

54 Mbps21-72

2.412–2.472 GHz(11g)

APX 320X

5Operating Instructions

Performance
2.412–2.472 GHz(11n HT20)

5.180–5.825 GHz(11a)5.180–5.825 GHz(11ac VHT20)

5.180–5.825 GHz(11ac VHT40)

5.180–5.825 GHz(11ac VHT80)

APX 320X

MCS 024-88

MCS 124-85

MCS 223-83

MCS 323-80

MCS 422-76

MCS 522-72

MCS 621-71

MCS 721-70

MCS 820-69

6 Mbps

26-83

9 Mbps

26-82

12 Mbps25-81

18 Mbps25-77

24 Mbps24-73

36 Mbps24-69

48 Mbps23-68

54 Mbps

23-66

MCS026-82

MCS126-78

MCS225-75

MCS325-74

MCS424-71

MCS524-67

MCS623-66

MCS723-65

MCS817-62

MCS026-80

MCS126-76

MCS225-73

MCS325-72

MCS424-69

MCS524-65

MCS623-64

MCS723-63

MCS822-59

MCS922-57

MCS026-76

MCS126-74

MCS225-71

MCS325-70

MCS424-67

MCS524-63

MCS623-62

MCS723-61

MCS822-56

MCS922-546

Operating Instructions

Radiation patterns
2.4 GHz Band
H-planeV-plane—2400 (MHz) —2450 (MHz) —2500 (MHz)5 GHz Band
H-planeV-plane—4900 (MHz) —5150 (MHz) —5350 (MHz) —5475 (MHz) —5725 (MHz) —5875 (MHz)APX 320X

7Operating Instructions

Optional Sector / Directional Antennas

Technical specifications
Optional Sector / Directional Antennas
120° Sector Antenna
Frequency range

2400~2500 MHz

5150~5850 MHz

Port

V-pol. / H-pol.

V-pol. / H-pol.

Antenna Gain

10.6~10.8 dBi) / 10.0~11.4 dBi

12.5~13.1 dBi / 11.6~12.9 dBi

HPBW / Horizontal

76~77 deg / 63~66 deg

40~61 deg / 52~76 deg

HPBW / Vertical

24~25 deg / 26~28 deg

11~13 deg / 11~13 deg

Isolation

20 dB

Impedance

50 OhmsConnector

N JackDimensions(Height x Width x Depth)

320 x 200 x 20.5 mm (12.6 x 7.87 x 0.81 inches)

30° Directional Antenna

APX 320X

Frequency range

2400~2500 MHz

5150~5850 MHzPortV-pol. / H-pol.

V-pol. / H-pol.

Antenna Gain

11.6~11.8 dBi) / 11.6~12.0 dBi

10.6~11.0 dBi / 10.4~11.5 dBi

HPBW / Horizontal

36~37 deg / 35~36 deg

33~35 deg / 26~36 deg

HPBW / Vertical

34~35 deg / 36~38 deg

32~39 deg / 30~41 deg

Isolation

20 dB

Impedance

50 Ohms

Connector

N JackDimensions(Height x Width x Depth)

320 x 200 x 20.5 mm (12.6 x 7.87 x 0.81 inches)8Operating Instructions

Radiation patterns Sector Antenna – Horizontal Polarization
2.4 GHz Band
H-planeV-plane—2400 (MHz) —2450 (MHz) —2500 (MHz)5 GHz Band
H-planeV-plane—4900 (MHz) —5150 (MHz) —5350 (MHz) —5475 (MHz) —5725 (MHz) —5875 (MHz)APX 320X

9Operating Instructions

Radiation patterns Sector Antenna – Vertical Polarization
2.4 GHz Band
H-planeV-plane—2400 (MHz) —2450 (MHz) —2500 (MHz)5 GHz Band
H-planeV-plane—4900 (MHz) —5150 (MHz) —5350 (MHz) —5475 (MHz) —5725 (MHz) —5875 (MHz)APX 320X

10Operating Instructions

Radiation patterns Directional Antenna – Horizontal Polarization
2.4 GHz Band
H-planeV-plane—2400 (MHz) —2450 (MHz) —2500 (MHz)5 GHz Band
H-planeV-plane—4900 (MHz) —5150 (MHz) —5350 (MHz) —5475 (MHz) —5725 (MHz) —5875 (MHz)APX 320X

11Operating Instructions

Radiation patterns Directional Antenna – Vertical Polarization
2.4 GHz Band
H-planeV-plane—2400 (MHz) —2450 (MHz) —2500 (MHz)5 GHz Band
H-planeV-plane—4900 (MHz) —5150 (MHz) —5350 (MHz) —5475 (MHz) —5725 (MHz) —5875 (MHz)APX 320X

12Operating Instructions

Mounting instructions
There are various mounting options available allowing you to hang your access point on
the wall or mount it on a pole. Both options require the use of the mounting bracket whichis shipped with your access point. The following sections provide detailed instructions oneach of these options.

Mounting bracket
Mounting holes

Mounting
attachment slots

Horizontal orientation
mounting clamp slots

Vertical orientation
mounting clamp slots
Mount plateattachment screw

Wall mount
1. Use the mounting bracket to mark the screw mounting positions on the wall.
2. Attach the access point to the bracket by hanging the 4 forge posts
into the attachment slots of the bracket and pressing it down.
3. Tighten the attachment screw to fix the access point to the bracket.

1.

2.

APX 320X

3.

Tighten theattachment
screw

13

Operating Instructions

Pole mount
1. Attach the two metal clamps to the back of the mounting bracket using thevertical or horizontal mounting slots (according to the desired orientation).
2. Hold the bracket against the pole and tighten the metal clamps.
3. Attach the access point to the bracket by hanging the 4 forge posts
into the attachment slots of the bracket and pressing it down.
4. Tighten the attachment screw to fix the access point to the bracket

1.

3.

APX 320X

2.

4.

Tighten theattachment
screw

14

Operating Instructions

Sector / Directional Antenna Mounting Instructions
1. Attach the articulating mount to the back of the Sector /Directional antenna using four of the supplied M6 nuts.
2. Fix the T-form bracket to the pole by using the two supplied stainless steel hose
clamps.
Please note: The clamps can be used for poles of 35-80 mm (1.5-3 inches) diameter.
3. Fix the articulating mount to the T-form bracket by using thesupplied M8x40 bolts, nut, spring washer and washer.
4. Direct the antenna upward or downward (max. angle is 27°) and fix it into place.

1.

2.

M8x40 ScrewBolts

T-formBracketWasher
Spring Washer
M8 Nut

3.

27°

27°

Use a No. 12
hexagonal
wrench to lockthe M8 nut.

4.

APX 320X

15Operating Instructions

Connect the Sector / Directional Antenna to the Access Point
Connect the antenna to your APX 320X access point by using the supplied cables. You
can use your sector/directional antenna either in combination with the standard omnidirectional antennas or with another sector/ directional antenna.
Choose the appropriate connection for the scenario which best fits your use case - asshown in the table below.
Scenario

Radio 0 (2.4/5 GHz High Band)

Radio 1 (5 GHz Low Band)a

Sector/Directional (Top/Bottom)

Sector/Directional (Top/Bottom)bSector/Directional (Top/Bottom)

Omni (Top/Bottom)cOmni (Top/Bottom)

Sector/Directional (Top/Bottom)

NOTE: If you use the sector/directional antenna with the APX 320X in some countries,
the use of Radio-1 may not be possible. Regulatory restrictions in some countries prohibit
the use of low band 5 GHz channels which do not support DFS in outdoor environments.
Therefore, Radio-1 cannot be configured when used in the countries listed here: https://support.sophos.com/support/s/article/KB-000039850. In those countries, this model
will function as a single radio device (2.4 OR 5 GHz), your antennas should be connected
to Radio-0 only, and concurrent use of the sector/directional and omni-directional
antennas is not possible.

a.

b.

c.

Configure Sector / Directional Antenna Software SettingsOnce the external antenna is connected, please select the corresponding antennasettings in your Sophos Central Wireless admin account. Once selected and theconfiguration synched, the AP reboots and the correct power values will be set.
WARNING: Failure to configure the correct antenna settings may place the AP outsideof regulatory limits. The administrator is responsible for ensuring this configuration iscorrect.

APX 320X

16Operating Instructions APX 320X

United Kingdom and Worldwide Sales
Tel: +44 (0)8447 671131
Email: sales@sophos.com

North American Sales
Toll Free: 1-866-866-2802
Email: nasales@sophos.com© Copyright 2020-22. Sophos Ltd. All rights reserved.
Registered in England and Wales No. 2096520, The Pentagon, Abingdon Science Park, Abingdon, OX14 3YP, UKSophos is the registered trademark of Sophos Ltd. All other product and company names mentioned aretrademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
22-11-04 EN (DD)

Australia and New Zealand Sales
Tel: +61 2 9409 9100
Email: sales@sophos.com.au

Asia Sales
Tel: +65 62244168
Email: salesasia@sophos.com