Aruba 503 Series Indoor Access Points
Affordable Wi-Fi 6 APs – ideal for low-to-medium density enterprise environments.
Affordable Wi-Fi 6 coverage
With 1.49 Gbps maximum real-world speed and support for 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6), the 503 Series delivers affordable yet comprehensive coverage.
1.49 Gbps maximum real-world speed
Delivers speed and reliability with HE80/HE20 channels for K-12 schools, branch offices, and retail stores.
Dynamic segmentation
Automatically enforces policies for users, devices, and applications across wired and wireless networks.
Wi-Fi optimization
Aruba ClientMatch uses AI to steer traffic to the best AP while Aruba AirMatch dynamically allocates RF resources to improve coverage and eliminate gaps.
Application assurance
Aruba Air Slice dynamically allocates and tunes radio resources to ensure application service levels and optimize the user experience.
Flexible deployment
The 503 Series APs can be deployed in campus, branch, and remote locations and with cloud-based or on-prem management.
Details and specifications for the Aruba 503 Series APs
Specifications
Hardware variants - AP-503: Campus AP platform, integrated antennas
Wi-Fi radio specifications - AP type: Indoor, dual-radio, 2.4GHz and 5GHz (dual concurrent) 802.11ax 2x2 MIMO
- 2.4GHz radio: Two spatial stream Single User (SU) MIMO for up to 574Mbps wireless data rate with 2SS HE40 802.11ax client devices (287Mbps for HE20)
- 5GHz radio: Two spatial stream Single User (SU) MIMO for up to 1.2Gbps wireless data rate with 2SS HE80 802.11ax client devices
- Up to 256 associated client devices per radio, and up to 16 BSSIDs per radio
- Supported frequency bands (country-specific restrictions apply):
- 2.400 to 2.4835GHz ISM
- 5.150 to 5.250GHz U-NII-1
- 5.250 to 5.350GHz U-NII-2A
- 5.470 to 5.725GHz U-NII-2C
- 5.725 to 5.850GHz U-NII-3/ISM
- 5.850 to 5.895GHz U-NII-4
- Available bands and channels: Dependent on configured regulatory domain (country)
- Dynamic frequency selection (DFS) optimizes the use of available RF spectrum in the 5GHz band
- Supported radio technologies:
- 802.11b: Direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS)
- 802.11a/g/n/ac: Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM)
- 802.11ax: Orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) with up to 8 resource units
- Supported modulation types:
- 802.11b: BPSK, QPSK, CCK
- 802.11a/g/n: BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM and 256-QAM (proprietary extension)
- 802.11ac: BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM and 1024-QAM (proprietary extension)
- 802.11ax: BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM and 1024-QAM
- 802.11n high-throughput (HT) support: HT20/40
- 802.11ac very high throughput (VHT) support: VHT20/40/80
- 802.11ax high efficiency (HE) support: HE20/40/80
- Supported data rates (Mbps):
- 802.11b: 1, 2, 5.5, 11
- 802.11a/g: 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54
- 802.11n: 6.5 to 300 (MCS0 to MCS15, HT20 to HT40), 400 with 256-QAM (proprietary extension)
- 802.11ac: 6.5 to 867 (MCS0 to MCS9, NSS = 1 to 2, VHT20 to VHT80); 1,083 with 1024-QAM (MCS10 and MCS11, proprietary extension)
- 802.11ax (2.4GHz): 3.6 to 574 (MCS0 to MCS11, NSS = 1 to 2, HE20 to HE40)
- 802.11ax (5GHz): 3.6 to 1,201 (MCS0 to MCS11, NSS = 1 to 2, HE20 to HE80)
- 802.11n/ac packet aggregation: A-MPDU, A-MSDU
- Transmit power: Configurable in increments of 0.5 dBm
- Maximum (aggregate, conducted total) transmit power (limited by local regulatory requirements):
- Per radio (2.4GHz / 5GHz): +21 dBm (18dBm per chain)
- Note: conducted transmit power levels exclude antenna gain. For total (EIRP) transmit power, add antenna gain.
- Advanced Cellular Coexistence (ACC) minimizes the impact of interference from cellular networks
- Maximum ratio combining (MRC) for improved receiver performance
- Cyclic delay/shift diversity (CDD/CSD) for improved downlink RF performance
- Space-time block coding (STBC) for increased range and improved reception
- Low-density parity check (LDPC) for high-efficiency error correction and increased throughput
- Transmit beam-forming (TxBF) for increased signal reliability and range
- 802.11ax Target Wait Time (TWT) to support low-power client devices
Wi-Fi antennas - AP-503: Integrated downtilt omni-directional antennas for 2x2 MIMO with peak antenna gain of 1.7dBi in 2.4GHz and 4.8dBi in 5GHz. Built-in antennas are optimized for horizontal ceiling mounted orientation of the AP. The downtilt angle for maximum gain is roughly 30 degrees.
- Combining the patterns of each of the antennas of the MIMO radios, the peak gain of the combined, average pattern is 1.5dBi in 2.4GHz and 3.9dBi in 5GHz.
Other interfaces - E0: Ethernet wired network port (RJ-45)
- Auto-sensing link speed (10/100/1000BASE-T) and MDI/MDX
- POE-PD: 48Vdc (nominal) 802.3af POE (class 3 or higher)
- 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE)
- USB 2.0 host interface (Type A connector)
- Capable of sourcing up to 100mA / 500mW to an attached device
- Built-in Trusted Platform Module (TPM) for enhanced security and anti-counterfeiting
- Visual indicators (two multi-color LEDs): for System and Radio status
- Reset button: factory reset, LED mode control (normal/off)
- Serial console interface (proprietary, micro-B USB physical jack)
- Automatic thermal shutdown and recovery function
Power sources and power consumption - The AP supports Power over Ethernet (POE) on port E0
- Power sources are sold separately; see the 503 Series Ordering Guide for details
- Maximum (worst-case) power consumption: 10.9W
- Maximum (worst-case) power consumption in idle mode: 4.7W
- Both numbers assume no power is drawn from the USB interface
- Drawing 0.5W from the USB interface increases max AP power consumption by up to 0.7W
Mounting details - A generic mount bracket to attach the AP-503 to suspended ceiling rails ships with the AP. Alternate or spare brackets can be ordered separately; see the 503 Series Ordering Guide for details.
Mechanical specifications - Dimensions/weight (AP-503; unit with mount bracket):
- 145mm (W) x 145mm (D) x 51mm (H)
- 270g
- Dimensions/weight (AP-503; unit without mount bracket):
- 145mm (W) x 145mm (D) x 35mm (H)
- 255g
- Dimensions/weight (AP-503; shipping):
- 196mm (W) x 183mm (D) x 67mm (H)
- 515g
Environmental specifications - Operating conditions
- Temperature: 0°C to +40°C / +32°F to +104°F
- Relative humidity: 5% to 95%
- ETS 300 019 class 3.2 environments
- AP is plenum rated for use in air-handling spaces
- Storage conditions
- Temperature: -25°C to +55°C / -13°F to +131°F
- Relative humidity: 10% to 100%
- ETS 300 019 class 1.2 environments
- Transportation conditions
- Temperature: -40°C to +70°C / -40°F to +158°F
- Relative humidity: up to 95%
- ETS 300 019 class 2.3 environments
Reliability - Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF): 930khrs (106yrs) at +25C operating temperature.
Regulatory compliance - FCC/ISED
- CE Marked
- RED Directive 2014/53/EU
- EMC Directive 2014/30/EU
- Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU
- UL/IEC/EN 60950
- IEC/EN 62368-1
- For more country-specific regulatory information and approvals, please see your Aruba representative.
Regulatory model numbers - AP-503 (all models): APIN0503
Certifications - UL2043 plenum rating
- Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA):
- Wi-Fi CERTIFIED a, b, g, n, ac
- Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6
- WPA, WPA2 and WPA3 – Enterprise with CNSA option, Personal (SAE), Enhanced Open (OWE)
- WMM, WMM-PS, Wi-Fi Agile Multiband
- Passpoint (release 2)
- Ethernet Alliance (POE, PD device, class 3)
Warranty Minimum operating system software versions - ArubaOS and Aruba InstantOS 8.11.1.0
- ArubaOS 10.5.0.0
Related products
Find information on Aruba products that complement the 503 Series Indoor APs or another solution that might better suit your needs.
500 Series APs
- Entry-level Wi-Fi 6 indoor access point
- Full feature support with 802.3af PoE
- Bluetooth and Zigbee IoT support
510 Series APs
- Mid-range Wi-Fi 6 campus access point
- 5 Gbps Smart rate port
- Ideal for campus deployments
610 Series APs
- Compact, affordable Wi-Fi 6E access point
- Dual radio, tri-band architecture
- Up to 3.6 Gbps combined peak data rate (when operating in 5 GHz and 6 GHz)
