Which one would you recommend for that that also has a good reach?
Ubiquity UniFi AP's are rated for 400ft, The LR and Pro range are rated for 600ft. Super impressive for the price. Looking
here at the generations and clients supported, and
here to confirm which AP is on which generation (UniFi AP and LR are Gen 1, UniFi AP AC Lite, LR and Pro is Gen 2. That being said, the $60 UAP's are rated for 50+ users (50/channel), which I've seen close to 40/AP before in deployments. The newer AP AC-series is good for 125+ users (125/channel) and I have zero doubts, these things are beasts. I've seen many home-grade routers struggle to maintain 20 independent connected clients over WiFi, some can handle more though...but you'll pay for it...and the value might not be there when compared to other solutions.
The
Asus AC68U that I use as an AP at home (got it when T-Mobil was welling em for $60) has a claimed by
Asus to cover a large home, or T-Mobil as being good for
3000sq. ft. I would say it has good coverage, but not THAT good. I wouldn't pin it any better than the UniFi AP's. The AP LR and AP Pro's have better coverage in my experience.
There are home-grade routers with more and more powerful antennas that could provide coverage though..frankly I think at that point looking into some better gear is a good idea. Especially in a business environment...
My budget is probably no more than $250/300. But I'm not sure if that's too low?
I rather not run any wires or pay anyone to. Right now there's a modem and router set up in the back room already. But the router strength seems too weak as the internet keeps cutting off if you are standing by the front of the store (where the POS systems are).
How important is your network, its security and reliability for you? Use those to have in impact on your network budget for your business. If it's not as big of a deal, $250 should be okay... if you want solid stability, great signal, consistency, and more security features, then spend a bit more...$300-400, maybe a little more...depending on how much you want good coverage and speed.
Your issue is from the signal dropping out could be resolved with a wire run and wireless access point installation. Even if you used a home-grade router in that situation (as I use at home, but mine is in AP mode, I have a dedicated router), getting it to where the best front area signal coverage can be provided will make things a lot easier to deal with. As I detailed in my last post 2 AP's would cover the front area and back area, providing you great coverage instead of what you have now. You might get a quote on running the wire or look into it...would really make a difference here if its possible to accomplish.
Edit: Also agreed above, you need a dedicated network for your POS systems. Even if they go to a cloud CMS. Many cloud-based iPad solutions I deal with for restaurants usually push for a dedicated SSID and VLAN, with restricted access. The Ubiqutiy stuff above should be able to get that done for you if that becomes a requirement.