Ubiquiti makes some great equipment. I'm still loving my AP-AC-Lite that I installed 2.5 years ago. POE meant that I only had to worry about running one wire. No need to think about how to power it. I don't run a controller. I used the Android app to set up the SSID, channel, and Password. Currently have 12 wireless devices including two Rokus connected to it.
1:06 - 1:30 You don't "need" the software for the wifi or the AP to work. The software is only necessary to set up and configure the access point. You can also install it on a virtual machine running Ubuntu Server and manage it via the browser. This is how I manage it at home and at the office. The cloud key is very convenient, and I'm sure it would allow for faster deployment, but it's not necessary.
true but the key also gives you remote access to their app which I find handy.. that way if I wanna screw with a family member away from home I can :p lol
Chris, thanks for the review. I do use the HDs in my house. They are about 40-50Mbps faster than the pros and that is before link aggregation. We also use them in most conference rooms and class rooms we support.
with the use case of 2000+/- sqft homes more-or-less centrally placed on 1acre or less lots, folks that want zero deadspots in the home and minimal deadspots throughout the yard (being immediately opposite a closed metal garage door being the largest culprit), whom want to only install a single device, and where the competing neighbor wifi is ISP AIO boxes, I personally ONLY recommend the UAP-AC-LR units. I have for years, with 100% success. When you are dealing with consumer low-to-mid-grade handheld devices, the LR truly makes a difference in usable range when placed head to head against the lite or pro in this environment. I can real-world confirm that the LR is not hype, albeit a specific use-case, with results that may not be readily apparent when employing high-to-enthusiast-grade connected devices to test with. great video, the cloud key is under-promoted as a preventative measure for just the scenario as you outlined it.
Antennas work both ways; a higher performance antenna will improve both transmit and receive. The LR might also have a higher dynamic range front end and/or a higher power transmitter, both of these increasing the range but also costing more to manufacture.
The rule of reciprocity applies to antenna’s. A generally speaking, if an antenna transmits efficiently, it will also receive efficiently. Assuming the transmitter/receiver is close to the antenna, which it almost always is in WIFI applications, the best bang for the buck improvement in T/R is almost always a better antenna.
A "long range" antenna will typically mean it has a higher isotropic gain, which will mean a narrower coverage pattern. This may be why they don't just make them long range by default.
I agree with some of the other criticisms raised here. You were too quick to dismiss the ac-lr model as "Marketing fluff". The incremental cost comes from having 3, not 2 transmit/receive chains at 2.4 GHz. You missed the fact that 3x3 MIMO means that, when receiving, it uses 3 antennas. This is a big win for receive sensitivity. For 1 and 2 stream receive, those 3 antennas can be combined using a bit of radio magic called maximal ratio combining (MRC) which is the receiver version of "beamforming" used at the transmitter to focus energy in the direction of a receiver. In fact 2x3 MIMO with 3 antennas at each end provides a great balance of range and throughput. Having said that, I enjoyed the video, and value the practical experience you are sharing.
Thank you for this thorough review. I was on the fence as to what to purchase for a 4K sq ft home. Sticking with the ac pro. This video helped me make my decision. Great work.
This is extremely helpful and just what I was looking for, I'm in the planning stages for a Ubiquity home network, thanks so much for putting these videos together I'll be sure to use your Amazon affiliate purchase links when the time comes! 👍
Great Video! I am a novice in networking but I like Ubiquiti products. I want to upgrade my current wireless system, but don't like any of the mesh wireless systems out now, however, I get a little confused on what each of the Ubiquiti products do. I think a great suggestion would be to walk us through each unit as if you were setting up a home and how everything is connected and set up. For example, what is an edge router, cloud key, unifi swtich and why do we need all those devices. There is almost way too much info and I'm not good at sorting this stuff out. I think that type of video would be helpful for novices like me who have a larger home (I'm at about 4,000 sq ft). Thanks, I enjoy all your videos!
Just deployed a UAP-AC-Lite in an apartment. Used a old RaspberryPi as UniFi-Controller. Only got 5 devices connected, so it might be overkill... Man the WiFi is soo good! Superfast!
Hi Chris, nice synopsis. You don't mention the use of the IoS or Android app to manage an access point. For those with simple setup and without other Unifi devices (eg using an Edgerouter-x rather than USG), the app provides all that is needed. It also has a very useful throughput test which helps enormously in finding the best position for the AP. The app also integrates nicely with a controller should you have one and provides simple mobile control. Appreciate this is the "low rent" end of the usage spectrum but there are a lot us about!
The comment about the LR you made though I agree with you that many manufacturers have been overselling certain models however it is not always the case. If the LR device achieves greater distance as it claims, devices close by connecting to it would benefit if it is in mesh mode as the LR AP would take care of the long-distance transmission of those devices as it would work lik this: Low end wifi device > UAP-AC-LR > far away Mesh master/Other Mesh WAP This would effectively help devices with a shorter range to any device achieve greater distances granted the WAP they were connecting to was located close enough to them. This would be part of any heat map study and wifi floor plan design.
Great video. I have the LR deployed in an office environment although i think like you about the 2 way communication power issue, my users get amazing connectivity over a wide office space area. I suggest you testing one yourself.
I have UAP-AC-Lite and UAP-AC-LR I did not feel any difference in my office, but in my home in living room I had 90Mbits on Lite and 120Mbits on LR. Ap installed upstairs, that is the diference why I choose LR for my home. Mikrotik has better signal strenght but bandwith is always lower than Ubiquiti. Now I have Mikrotik as router with disabled wifi and UAP-AC_LR as an access point.
The LR is a high gain receive antenna which will raise the noise floor in an environment surrounded by other wireless networks. It is ideal for larger low density properties and it is outdoor rated iirc. You don't want that high gain in many situations hence the difference.
I have installed 5 AP on my 3 story concrete built home, I ended up having a cocktail of ubiquiti APs, including 1 long range, 1 ac lite , 1 ac pro, 1 AP nano, 1 mesh, test driving the hard way , I can tell you LR is the least reliable, even less than the mesh not used with WDS functionality yet, I will deploy that test later. I definitely think the best is the AC pro and AC lite seconds, as per quality and price, super reliable for home office and streaming use. I should have seen this video before doing my AP collage hehehe.
I'm looking at getting an HD for the kitchen at the fire company I volunteer at. It's common to see 15-20 people in the kitchen each with a cell phone, laptop and smart watch. so that one room could have 40-60 devices connecting to WiFi.
In Denmark the difference between the AC-LR and and AC-Lite is under 1 $ so the last couple of AP I have set up has been the LR. They also have 802.3af support. Also seen guys buying Lite who have has 802.3af support. Hopefully they are gonna update their website once the old stock has been sold.
9:10 i think the things you said about the LR model have some mistake, as far as i know (correct me if im wrong) larger antenna will also help with receiving sensitivity, i've done some test, i can scan a wifi around my house or even scan for wifi from my tower and couldnt detect any other wifi, but with my airMAX radio i can easily scan more than 30 wifi signals due to its 25dbi antenna gain, and placing my phone right in front of the dish of my airMAX device actually let my phone scan some more wifi network, so if you say an access point can send a signal far away i dont see why it cant receive even the weak signal from the phone, it should have higher antenna gain after all, but i wont talk about the speed i saw on youtube where someone send wifi 10km away with only arduino wifi module without an external antenna, only thing is they receive the signal using 24dbi grid antenna, then that antenna should be able to send a signal back
But, if the larger antenna has a longer range, then the signal gain should also be better than the model below that one. So technically it should have a better gain (in other words picks up weak signals better).
For home environments where a set-and-forget mentality is used, I think the cloud key is a bit overkill, certainly for the money. In business environments where management is needed, you could certainly opt for that or for cloud management if that floats your boat.
Excellent! I'm down here in Brazil. Even though, this video helped to take a decision on which device to by to my home office! Thank you! BTW, I chose the AP-AC-Lite.
I need stronger coverage. Dream Machine handles most of home. Making sure: a Dream Machine will drive an AP AC Lite, right? What cabling and adaptors may be needed? (off the shelf CAT5?) Making sure PoE is supported. Appreciate your investment to educate & inform non-IT folk.
One thing to noticec the UAP-AC-PRO do NOT have powerfeed on the secondary port. There is just data. As a nanostation can output 24v on the secondary port the uac-pro can not do this.
I have 3 in my house (2000 sq foot, probably overkill) and they're super stable. I have over a dozen security cameras and another couple dozen smart home devices.
As far as the range claims for the LR, It probably just has a higher-gain antenna which means (when mounted on a ceiling) you get greater horizontal coverage while sacrificing some vertical/off-axis coverage. So, if you are (nearly) in line with the horizontal plane of the AP, then coverage is better compared to the lower gain LITE. But if you get say 30° off axis and are 300 ft. out, the LITE may be better. This is just what my intuition and knowledge (gained from having a father that designs radar systems for a living) tells me.
Hello Chris, I have a fairly large house which I'm just finishing renovating to accommodate my daughter and her four kids. My daughter is a HS teacher and two of her kids are teenagers. To say we have a lot of devices is an understatement. In the renovation I've decided to add two access points: one on the 2nd floor and one in the basement with the xfinity router in the middle. While I'm no technophobe I'm also not some type of super techy kind of grandpa. I just want to provide good internet service around the house and out to the pool. Having watched your review I believe the UAP AC-Lite should be sufficient but I'm not sure what else I need. When I went on Amazon it showed two "frequently bought together" items: Unifi Switch 8 and the Ubiquity security Gateway. Knowing that I'm just trying to get good WiFi coverage, what do I need to buy? And is this equipment user friendly enough for a DIY install?
Antenna gain is bi-directional, so a better transmit antenna is also better for receiving. Your UAP-AC-LR discussion is consequently misleading from an RF standpoint. However, your overall point is valid in that better antennas in their area of higher than unity gain also receive more interference than a worse antenna, so the overall SNR or quality of the signal need not be better with a better antenna. Typically better antennas are always better if used properly, whereas sensitive radios can suffer from more interference, but that's just on average.
My experience with the LR was the same as Chris'. I had it set to high and my Nexus 5 could connect to it from a crazy long distance. So, even tho I was on wifi, I had zero connectivity. Under normal circumstances, the phone would've fallen back to cellular and I'd have internet. That's not to say that the LR can't actually receive from longer distances than other APs. But clearly, there's still a distance where the longer range is in fact a hinderance. So yeah, the only way an LR is useful at high power is if you have another one setup for a wireless link.
Hey Chris, First of, great and clear video, once again! If you don't mind I would like to give some points of feedback. - Both the AC Lite and LR are shipped with 802.3af support(though the 1-pack includes 24V injectors, they can do both). It's mentioned on the box and you can recognize the units by the same soft finish as the HD(less shiny logo). - On the LR: opposite to it's non-AC counterpart it has a more sensitive antenna. So the client upload traffic shouldn't be a problem, but I agree with it might being marketing. Still it's not a bad decision. It has more theoretical throughout on the 2.4 band and it at least won't perform worse than the lite. Speaking about Europe the difference between the Lite and the LR is only 20 euros. Bumping to the Pro would add another 40 to 45 euros(euros is only worth a little more than USD). The LR certainly has it's place if you ask me. - On the secondary port of the HD: the HD supports link aggregation, to create a 2Gbit duplex uplink. I'm not sure f the Pro can do this, but in HD deployments it should make a lot more sense. That's it, keep the good videos coming please! Cheers!
Using the AC HD as a hub for the mesh AP's would be heck of a lot more interesting if the AC Mesh products would also be 802.11ac Wave 2 and dual 5Ghz radio. Dedicated 5Ghz uplink to the HD with the second radio serving just clients while the mesh AP's would be smart enough to split that 4x4 MU-MIMO from the HD intelligently between themselves.
I will say I have a 350 MB connection and with the AC Pro, I could only get 220mb. I went to the UNIFI forum and they had me try a bunch of different settings, power levels, and channel adjustments but I simply couldn't get over 220mb with my 2016 MBP. I picked up the UAP AC HD and boom 350mb very consistently. I'm sure I don't need over 220mb on my laptop but it bothered me that I couldn't get the speed I'm paying for. I still have 2 UAP AC Pros at the ends of the house and they work great.
The pros are solid APs. I have one by itself and it covers the house great. These also support vlans and even support guest portal for authentication leases and link speed control. Worth the money for them. Only thing might be that it does take a little know-how to configure, but hey thats what google is for, right?
With the number of WiFi connected devices the MU-MIMO is absolutely necessary in homes. Think connected home, every family member has one or more mobile devices, etc.
Sorry, but you should look up 'reciprocity'. Only one device 'needs' a better antenna to improve the link. The reason is while the better antenna will result in a higher received signal strength at the endpoint device, the returning transmission to the AP will ALSO be 'stronger' since the better antenna lets the AP 'hear' better. Now, whether the LR ACTUALLY improves things I can't say, but a better antenna on one device WILL improve quality and range.
Lime the video but the only thing I have to disagree is that the cloudkey is not limited to POE switch. It can be powered with micro USB charger. It does not need to be POE only
@crosstalk solutions If you look at the slide located at 7:43 in the video it will explain to you that it is not marketing fluff and that it has the capability to talk both ways with their LR unlike a simple high powered AP.
I had the AC-LITE in my home for a long long time - I ended up upgrading to the Pro just because I changed out a switch that only did 802.3af (and my UAP-AC-LITE is the older 24V passive PoE version).
Great video on the APs, already spent a lot more time on that figuring out what does what and which would be best for my situation (Pros btw), you explained it al in under 20mins. But I'm curious how to best make measurements on best placement of the APs for best coverage. I've played around with some software that does this a few years back, but that was mostly troubleshooting why the wifi was so bad (conclusion: Expensive Netgear APs suck and their support is the worst!), not measuring best placement.
A site survey is critical to knowing you have good signal strength in all areas. You should temporarily place APs and then use AirMagnet or similar solutions to measure the signal strength in various areas of the property. You could even use android apps to get a signal strength reading. For optimal performance each area should be close to -45dbi or higher.
It is not true that the limitation is the phone when it comes to transmission. The access point can better input gain on the receiving end so even if the phone transmit at low power, the access point can make for it with better amplification.
The LR has more sensitive antennas. .It can transmit further (or more walls) and can listen better as well. So it does not depend on say a phone having a better antenna, etc. In the RF world, different chips do different things and having a more sensitive RF module will cost a little more, etc. Thus, there is a real use case for a LR product if you don't mind it be slightly larger. But just blanket saying "it's marketing fluff" and "useless" is kind of silly and just a lack of understanding how RF devices work. I mean no disrespect but it's better to say "I don't understand" than to make stuff up on a whim. It would be good to do a tear down of both, and I'm willing to bet you'll find higher quality / longer range RF module in the LR version.
Brilliant walkthrough - thank you! I wonder if you might be able to point me in the right direction. My scenario is for home office/prosumer (UK). I have Cat 6 cabling throughout my home, but WiFi coverage is poor. Watched your video about mesh, learned that I don't actually need that given my Cat 6 spread. My ISP (British Telecom) gives a poor modem/router. They also gave 3 discs to spread around, terrible (probably not mesh, so I also tried connecting them with ethernet but things are no better). I need to buy my own kit, but I want it to be plug and play because I don't want to tinker with the settings regularly. Set and forget, but happy to buy Ubiquity's products. Was thinking: AmpliFi Alien + 1 x U6-Pro (to avoid the high cost of the AmpliFi satellite/meshpoint). But I don't know if these will work together. Open to suggestions if you can help :-)
Your understanding of antenna behavior is wrong. If an antenna can transmit further it also can "listen" further. Your phone can have a weaker signal and a long range antenna will be able to listen just fine. It's about geometry symmetry, if you need a more detailed explanation, please let me know.
Nope, its not the same, even if a radio can talk and receive equally because it has the same gain in both directions, small client devices as phones dont have the same tx gain antenna as the AP so the signal is not symetrical in both sides. A phone can sense a big signal and still unable to communicate, why? because its low gain antenna cant equal the AP gain to reach it with same level . It doesnt matter if you have a high gain antenna at the AP, there is a critical distance point where phones signal cant communicate well and still sense several bars of signal. Been there and know what im talking about.
IsaacBG84 that is not how antennas work. The theorem of antenna reciprocity is very clear and if you say it's not true then most any antenna design in the world would be built on false premises. Keep in mind this doesn't mean the "LR" model is nothing but marketing, or the opposite,, and that a higher gain also means higher directivity so it is not always good
I correct myself but only partially. Antennas do Tx/Rx equally at the same gain, yes its the same Rx signal from the phone side and the AP side BUT because the phone doesnt have the same Tx power than the AP the communication still NOT symetrical and never will be.
Thanks for the great overview! Helps to understand their products. One of the reasons I'm interested in them is multiple SSIDs, so I have have one SSID+VLAN for my main computers, and other for my many cheap IOT devices (some of which are older). If I have some 802.11b devices or 802.11g devices that behave badly will they impact my main network? Or should I get two access points to truly isolate them?
Hi Chris, can we get an update on this video with ALL the different wireless APs from UI incl the plug in wall ones? I have a few of the AC variants from Lite to HD but would like to see how the new ones compare, esp things like the AC-HD vs the U6-LR incl things like 160Mhz support/speed. On the AC-HD for example with link aggregation and 160Mhz I was able to get over 1.2Gbps aggregated throughput using iPerf.
I have a Ubiquiti Unifi AP AC Pro (access point) and I use a phone app to manage it. Here is a weird quirk, when the access point loses connectivity with it's gateway, the wireless radio shuts off. I am trying to understand this behavior and their support keeps asking for statistics they don't need to answer a simple question about why the access point is configured to do this. I am doing testing and losing connectivity just because the gateway goes down is very frustrating. I need to support these APs remotely and this is a huge fail for being able to do this. So the default gateway is connected to the access point on it's wired ethernet port, if the AP can't reach the gateway it immediately turns off the wifi radio and the blue light blinks instead of being on steady. I like the access point but this is a show stopper for me. So if there is a server on the same subnet as the default gateway and say the internet goes down . . you can't reach the server via the access point because it turned off the radio! The entire office is down because the internet gateway rebooted or whatever might be the case. Why???
I just did an install using a three pack of UAP-AC-LR and if you pull the foam that holds the three AP, you just mite find some PoE injectors hiding underneath.
Right...had to be said.Got usg,70 aps/pro’s,lr’s and latest a cloud key...every update fuc* things up,cloud key is dropping like a fly in the heat...screw ubiquiti and your channel Chris :)
Hi Chris, got to know Ubiquity thanks to your work here! Having said that, in case of a mesh network deploying one main UAP AC PRO plus three UAP AC-M to cover a garden and an adjacent house will one of the three UAP AC M also distribute the signal via ethernet cable? (in addition to the wireless distribution). This way I may be able to carry the signal indoor to the adjacent house plus covering the entire outdoor garden. Thanks a lot!
@9:10 You don't understand how antennas work. A long range antenna increases gain for tx and rx so it will improve both directional throughput to the same smartphone antenna.
Great video, helps me a lot! For a basic home setup do I really need a CK (prices here in Brazil are too high)? What happens if I set it all up with the iPhone app and then my phone is lost/stollen or if I change to a new iPhone?
Update on the lite access point. They have been updated to run on passive or active 802.3af. The updated versions have marked boxes in the corner saying that.
Question about the signal pattern on the UAP-AC-LITE... If I were to mount this on the ceiling of my basement, would I get acceptable coverage on floor above it? It would save me significant wiring headaches if I could do this but I'm not sure how directional the antennas in the unit are. Thanks for the awesome video!
LR is horizintally, rest are more or less spot. LR = One ceiling tit in low noice with a wide spread which could be prefect on upper floor to cover a whole wooden house. Large horizontal antennas are useless in noisy areas as they recieve a lot of noice. High output power is kind of always bad, cause devices cant shout back as loud anyway - if you dont have a huge antenna, and recieve lots of noice. I currently have an ac pro in the roof in the middle of my apartment and its pretty useless because of no horizontal spread. Waiting for a 6 LR.
Quick question, why not use the UAP-AC-LR or UAP-AC-HD for home or office use due to its longer range and compare to the Linksys Business AC2600 WiFi Cloud Managed Access Point
Have you ever done a real world test to see the max clients to a UAP AC Pro? I met a tech installer that said Unifi's claims of 250+ clients is not possible as they experienced a max of 30 clients.
I think they're fine...I haven't tested the latest version of the in-wall, but they definitely have their place, and I wouldn't hesitate to use them if I had a customer who needed them.
We have definitively solved signal issues by swapping a UAP AC PRO with a UAP AC LR. The difference is big (and real). Thank you for your videos.
2:28 UAP-AC-LITE
6:36 UAP-AC-LR
10:31 UAP-AC-PRO
14:21 UAP-AC-HD
HapaInc thanks
is this a list of units, that failed/sucks? in real-time?
You sir, are a gentleman 😂👍👍. ✅
Ubiquiti makes some great equipment. I'm still loving my AP-AC-Lite that I installed 2.5 years ago. POE meant that I only had to worry about running one wire. No need to think about how to power it. I don't run a controller. I used the Android app to set up the SSID, channel, and Password. Currently have 12 wireless devices including two Rokus connected to it.
1:06 - 1:30
You don't "need" the software for the wifi or the AP to work. The software is only necessary to set up and configure the access point.
You can also install it on a virtual machine running Ubuntu Server and manage it via the browser. This is how I manage it at home and at the office.
The cloud key is very convenient, and I'm sure it would allow for faster deployment, but it's not necessary.
true but the key also gives you remote access to their app which I find handy.. that way if I wanna screw with a family member away from home I can :p lol
Chris, thanks for the review. I do use the HDs in my house. They are about 40-50Mbps faster than the pros and that is before link aggregation. We also use them in most conference rooms and class rooms we support.
with the use case of 2000+/- sqft homes more-or-less centrally placed on 1acre or less lots, folks that want zero deadspots in the home and minimal deadspots throughout the yard (being immediately opposite a closed metal garage door being the largest culprit), whom want to only install a single device, and where the competing neighbor wifi is ISP AIO boxes, I personally ONLY recommend the UAP-AC-LR units. I have for years, with 100% success. When you are dealing with consumer low-to-mid-grade handheld devices, the LR truly makes a difference in usable range when placed head to head against the lite or pro in this environment. I can real-world confirm that the LR is not hype, albeit a specific use-case, with results that may not be readily apparent when employing high-to-enthusiast-grade connected devices to test with. great video, the cloud key is under-promoted as a preventative measure for just the scenario as you outlined it.
Antennas work both ways; a higher performance antenna will improve both transmit and receive. The LR might also have a higher dynamic range front end and/or a higher power transmitter, both of these increasing the range but also costing more to manufacture.
Absolutely the best source for Ubiquiti devices. Thank you!
The rule of reciprocity applies to antenna’s. A generally speaking, if an antenna transmits efficiently, it will also receive efficiently. Assuming the transmitter/receiver is close to the antenna, which it almost always is in WIFI applications, the best bang for the buck improvement in T/R is almost always a better antenna.
Multiple HDs work great in my friends home. 8000sq ft with many devices and the high speed is maintained throughout.
A "long range" antenna will typically mean it has a higher isotropic gain, which will mean a narrower coverage pattern. This may be why they don't just make them long range by default.
I got the PRO for my double storey home. Has worked flawlessly over three years.
Very educational video. Thank you. I got the Pro form my house...easy to deploy and manage...now I have wireless throughout my house...😊
Finally, a definitive explanation on this product line.
Very clear language. Purchasing via the link in gratitude. AC-PRO is for me
I agree with some of the other criticisms raised here. You were too quick to dismiss the ac-lr model as "Marketing fluff". The incremental cost comes from having 3, not 2 transmit/receive chains at 2.4 GHz. You missed the fact that 3x3 MIMO means that, when receiving, it uses 3 antennas. This is a big win for receive sensitivity. For 1 and 2 stream receive, those 3 antennas can be combined using a bit of radio magic called maximal ratio combining (MRC) which is the receiver version of "beamforming" used at the transmitter to focus energy in the direction of a receiver. In fact 2x3 MIMO with 3 antennas at each end provides a great balance of range and throughput.
Having said that, I enjoyed the video, and value the practical experience you are sharing.
Thank you for this thorough review. I was on the fence as to what to purchase for a 4K sq ft home. Sticking with the ac pro. This video helped me make my decision. Great work.
One of the best and professional reviews I have seen on the net, WELL DONE !
This is extremely helpful and just what I was looking for, I'm in the planning stages for a Ubiquity home network, thanks so much for putting these videos together I'll be sure to use your Amazon affiliate purchase links when the time comes! 👍
It is time to do a 2020 version of this video! :)
add some bees.
You mean with masks? :) But I agree. An update would be nice, maybe even including the in-wall HD AP's and BeaconHD.
@Sawyer Valentin lol - WARMING UP THE ACCOUNT IP THROUGH A PROXY
Yes agreed and see the aps are mesh capable
We need the 2021 version where you can’t buy most of these because they are sitting in a shipping container on a ship off the coast of LA.
Great Video! I am a novice in networking but I like Ubiquiti products. I want to upgrade my current wireless system, but don't like any of the mesh wireless systems out now, however, I get a little confused on what each of the Ubiquiti products do. I think a great suggestion would be to walk us through each unit as if you were setting up a home and how everything is connected and set up. For example, what is an edge router, cloud key, unifi swtich and why do we need all those devices. There is almost way too much info and I'm not good at sorting this stuff out. I think that type of video would be helpful for novices like me who have a larger home (I'm at about 4,000 sq ft). Thanks, I enjoy all your videos!
If you go back through my video history, you'll find a lot of what you suggested - I've done a ton of Ubiquiti videos!
Just deployed a UAP-AC-Lite in an apartment. Used a old RaspberryPi as UniFi-Controller. Only got 5 devices connected, so it might be overkill... Man the WiFi is soo good! Superfast!
Hi Chris, nice synopsis. You don't mention the use of the IoS or Android app to manage an access point. For those with simple setup and without other Unifi devices (eg using an Edgerouter-x rather than USG), the app provides all that is needed. It also has a very useful throughput test which helps enormously in finding the best position for the AP. The app also integrates nicely with a controller should you have one and provides simple mobile control. Appreciate this is the "low rent" end of the usage spectrum but there are a lot us about!
The comment about the LR you made though I agree with you that many manufacturers have been overselling certain models however it is not always the case. If the LR device achieves greater distance as it claims, devices close by connecting to it would benefit if it is in mesh mode as the LR AP would take care of the long-distance transmission of those devices as it would work lik this:
Low end wifi device > UAP-AC-LR > far away Mesh master/Other Mesh WAP
This would effectively help devices with a shorter range to any device achieve greater distances granted the WAP they were connecting to was located close enough to them. This would be part of any heat map study and wifi floor plan design.
keep going clear explanation for those who are not specialized in networks
+thamer h Cheers...thanks!
LR antenna not only boosts range for transmit but also has bigger "Ears" to receive weak signals from smartphones.
this is a very big mistake in video!
Great video. I have the LR deployed in an office environment although i think like you about the 2 way communication power issue, my users get amazing connectivity over a wide office space area. I suggest you testing one yourself.
I have UAP-AC-Lite and UAP-AC-LR I did not feel any difference in my office, but in my home in living room I had 90Mbits on Lite and 120Mbits on LR. Ap installed upstairs, that is the diference why I choose LR for my home. Mikrotik has better signal strenght but bandwith is always lower than Ubiquiti. Now I have Mikrotik as router with disabled wifi and UAP-AC_LR as an access point.
The LR is a high gain receive antenna which will raise the noise floor in an environment surrounded by other wireless networks. It is ideal for larger low density properties and it is outdoor rated iirc. You don't want that high gain in many situations hence the difference.
Another informative presentation. Thank you. Q: Ubiquiti UniFi AC in-wall access point wasn't covered. Where does it 'fit' with these?
You don't need poe for the cloudkey i use a micro-usb phone charger to power the device👌🏽
USB Type-C on the last two I installed
I have installed 5 AP on my 3 story concrete built home, I ended up having a cocktail of ubiquiti APs, including 1 long range, 1 ac lite , 1 ac pro, 1 AP nano, 1 mesh, test driving the hard way , I can tell you LR is the least reliable, even less than the mesh not used with WDS functionality yet, I will deploy that test later. I definitely think the best is the AC pro and AC lite seconds, as per quality and price, super reliable for home office and streaming use. I should have seen this video before doing my AP collage hehehe.
You make great videos man !!! Keep up the good work.
Great video, very thorough and answered all my questions about the different AP’s.
I have 2 upacl as they were cheaper and costed about the same as a pro (bit more expensive), totally worth it.
thank you so much i really like your videos, its clear, complete and very instructive
I'm looking at getting an HD for the kitchen at the fire company I volunteer at. It's common to see 15-20 people in the kitchen each with a cell phone, laptop and smart watch. so that one room could have 40-60 devices connecting to WiFi.
In Denmark the difference between the AC-LR and and AC-Lite is under 1 $ so the last couple of AP I have set up has been the LR.
They also have 802.3af support. Also seen guys buying Lite who have has 802.3af support. Hopefully they are gonna update their website once the old stock has been sold.
Thank you for very clear explanation. Will you be doing the same for their In-Wall devices?
9:10 i think the things you said about the LR model have some mistake, as far as i know (correct me if im wrong) larger antenna will also help with receiving sensitivity, i've done some test, i can scan a wifi around my house or even scan for wifi from my tower and couldnt detect any other wifi, but with my airMAX radio i can easily scan more than 30 wifi signals due to its 25dbi antenna gain, and placing my phone right in front of the dish of my airMAX device actually let my phone scan some more wifi network, so if you say an access point can send a signal far away i dont see why it cant receive even the weak signal from the phone, it should have higher antenna gain after all, but i wont talk about the speed
i saw on youtube where someone send wifi 10km away with only arduino wifi module without an external antenna, only thing is they receive the signal using 24dbi grid antenna, then that antenna should be able to send a signal back
Receive and transmit have the same gain numbers. therefore they have equal gain on transmit and receive.
But, if the larger antenna has a longer range, then the signal gain should also be better than the model below that one. So technically it should have a better gain (in other words picks up weak signals better).
For home environments where a set-and-forget mentality is used, I think the cloud key is a bit overkill, certainly for the money. In business environments where management is needed, you could certainly opt for that or for cloud management if that floats your boat.
Excellent! I'm down here in Brazil. Even though, this video helped to take a decision on which device to by to my home office! Thank you! BTW, I chose the AP-AC-Lite.
I need stronger coverage. Dream Machine handles most of home. Making sure: a Dream Machine will drive an AP AC Lite, right? What cabling and adaptors may be needed? (off the shelf CAT5?) Making sure PoE is supported. Appreciate your investment to educate & inform non-IT folk.
One thing to noticec the UAP-AC-PRO do NOT have powerfeed on the secondary port. There is just data. As a nanostation can output 24v on the secondary port the uac-pro can not do this.
A little of topic, but could you someday do a video on what bell/intercom/broadcast you would recommend?
Like always nice video with lots of good information. Thanks
I have 3 in my house (2000 sq foot, probably overkill) and they're super stable. I have over a dozen security cameras and another couple dozen smart home devices.
Thanks for the video, it helped me to pick the right model for my needs.
As far as the range claims for the LR, It probably just has a higher-gain antenna which means (when mounted on a ceiling) you get greater horizontal coverage while sacrificing some vertical/off-axis coverage. So, if you are (nearly) in line with the horizontal plane of the AP, then coverage is better compared to the lower gain LITE. But if you get say 30° off axis and are 300 ft. out, the LITE may be better. This is just what my intuition and knowledge (gained from having a father that designs radar systems for a living) tells me.
They claim specifically that it is NOT a higher gain antenna, and that the extra range is purely from antenna design.
Hello Chris, I have a fairly large house which I'm just finishing renovating to accommodate my daughter and her four kids. My daughter is a HS teacher and two of her kids are teenagers. To say we have a lot of devices is an understatement. In the renovation I've decided to add two access points: one on the 2nd floor and one in the basement with the xfinity router in the middle. While I'm no technophobe I'm also not some type of super techy kind of grandpa. I just want to provide good internet service around the house and out to the pool. Having watched your review I believe the UAP AC-Lite should be sufficient but I'm not sure what else I need. When I went on Amazon it showed two "frequently bought together" items: Unifi Switch 8 and the Ubiquity security Gateway. Knowing that I'm just trying to get good WiFi coverage, what do I need to buy? And is this equipment user friendly enough for a DIY install?
I have 2 of the UAP-AC-Lites at my home and they work fine without a controller. I'm pretty sure they can be set up for either mode.
Antenna gain is bi-directional, so a better transmit antenna is also better for receiving. Your UAP-AC-LR discussion is consequently misleading from an RF standpoint. However, your overall point is valid in that better antennas in their area of higher than unity gain also receive more interference than a worse antenna, so the overall SNR or quality of the signal need not be better with a better antenna. Typically better antennas are always better if used properly, whereas sensitive radios can suffer from more interference, but that's just on average.
Hi Chris, what’s your new favourite AP now given the PRO is now end of life?.
Cheers, really enjoy your videos
My experience with the LR was the same as Chris'. I had it set to high and my Nexus 5 could connect to it from a crazy long distance. So, even tho I was on wifi, I had zero connectivity. Under normal circumstances, the phone would've fallen back to cellular and I'd have internet. That's not to say that the LR can't actually receive from longer distances than other APs. But clearly, there's still a distance where the longer range is in fact a hinderance. So yeah, the only way an LR is useful at high power is if you have another one setup for a wireless link.
Step by step and informative. Thank you for this video!!!
Hey Chris,
First of, great and clear video, once again!
If you don't mind I would like to give some points of feedback.
- Both the AC Lite and LR are shipped with 802.3af support(though the 1-pack includes 24V injectors, they can do both). It's mentioned on the box and you can recognize the units by the same soft finish as the HD(less shiny logo).
- On the LR: opposite to it's non-AC counterpart it has a more sensitive antenna. So the client upload traffic shouldn't be a problem, but I agree with it might being marketing. Still it's not a bad decision. It has more theoretical throughout on the 2.4 band and it at least won't perform worse than the lite. Speaking about Europe the difference between the Lite and the LR is only 20 euros. Bumping to the Pro would add another 40 to 45 euros(euros is only worth a little more than USD). The LR certainly has it's place if you ask me.
- On the secondary port of the HD: the HD supports link aggregation, to create a 2Gbit duplex uplink. I'm not sure f the Pro can do this, but in HD deployments it should make a lot more sense.
That's it, keep the good videos coming please!
Cheers!
Great feedback - thanks!
Using the AC HD as a hub for the mesh AP's would be heck of a lot more interesting if the AC Mesh products would also be 802.11ac Wave 2 and dual 5Ghz radio.
Dedicated 5Ghz uplink to the HD with the second radio serving just clients while the mesh AP's would be smart enough to split that 4x4 MU-MIMO from the HD intelligently between themselves.
I will say I have a 350 MB connection and with the AC Pro, I could only get 220mb. I went to the UNIFI forum and they had me try a bunch of different settings, power levels, and channel adjustments but I simply couldn't get over 220mb with my 2016 MBP. I picked up the UAP AC HD and boom 350mb very consistently. I'm sure I don't need over 220mb on my laptop but it bothered me that I couldn't get the speed I'm paying for. I still have 2 UAP AC Pros at the ends of the house and they work great.
The pros are solid APs. I have one by itself and it covers the house great. These also support vlans and even support guest portal for authentication leases and link speed control. Worth the money for them. Only thing might be that it does take a little know-how to configure, but hey thats what google is for, right?
With the number of WiFi connected devices the MU-MIMO is absolutely necessary in homes. Think connected home, every family member has one or more mobile devices, etc.
Sorry, but you should look up 'reciprocity'. Only one device 'needs' a better antenna to improve the link. The reason is while the better antenna will result in a higher received signal strength at the endpoint device, the returning transmission to the AP will ALSO be 'stronger' since the better antenna lets the AP 'hear' better.
Now, whether the LR ACTUALLY improves things I can't say, but a better antenna on one device WILL improve quality and range.
Lime the video but the only thing I have to disagree is that the cloudkey is not limited to POE switch. It can be powered with micro USB charger. It does not need to be POE only
Loving your videos dude. Keep it up!
@crosstalk solutions If you look at the slide located at 7:43 in the video it will explain to you that it is not marketing fluff and that it has the capability to talk both ways with their LR unlike a simple high powered AP.
Thx Chris for this really great ap comparison. I think for my home use the AC-Lite should be enough .. but i would go for the AC-Pro ... :)
I had the AC-LITE in my home for a long long time - I ended up upgrading to the Pro just because I changed out a switch that only did 802.3af (and my UAP-AC-LITE is the older 24V passive PoE version).
As always - great video and very informative. Thanks!
Great video on the APs, already spent a lot more time on that figuring out what does what and which would be best for my situation (Pros btw), you explained it al in under 20mins. But I'm curious how to best make measurements on best placement of the APs for best coverage. I've played around with some software that does this a few years back, but that was mostly troubleshooting why the wifi was so bad (conclusion: Expensive Netgear APs suck and their support is the worst!), not measuring best placement.
Think of each AP as a light bulb with light shining off of it in all directions. Place it in a location that gives you the most light coverage.
A site survey is critical to knowing you have good signal strength in all areas. You should temporarily place APs and then use AirMagnet or similar solutions to measure the signal strength in various areas of the property. You could even use android apps to get a signal strength reading. For optimal performance each area should be close to -45dbi or higher.
It is not true that the limitation is the phone when it comes to transmission. The access point can better input gain on the receiving end so even if the phone transmit at low power, the access point can make for it with better amplification.
those Zoom recorders are legit!
The LR has more sensitive antennas. .It can transmit further (or more walls) and can listen better as well. So it does not depend on say a phone having a better antenna, etc. In the RF world, different chips do different things and having a more sensitive RF module will cost a little more, etc. Thus, there is a real use case for a LR product if you don't mind it be slightly larger. But just blanket saying "it's marketing fluff" and "useless" is kind of silly and just a lack of understanding how RF devices work. I mean no disrespect but it's better to say "I don't understand" than to make stuff up on a whim. It would be good to do a tear down of both, and I'm willing to bet you'll find higher quality / longer range RF module in the LR version.
I installed two UA-AC pros in my house 2 years ago and I wouldn't go back to single all in one router ever again!!
Brilliant walkthrough - thank you! I wonder if you might be able to point me in the right direction. My scenario is for home office/prosumer (UK). I have Cat 6 cabling throughout my home, but WiFi coverage is poor. Watched your video about mesh, learned that I don't actually need that given my Cat 6 spread. My ISP (British Telecom) gives a poor modem/router. They also gave 3 discs to spread around, terrible (probably not mesh, so I also tried connecting them with ethernet but things are no better). I need to buy my own kit, but I want it to be plug and play because I don't want to tinker with the settings regularly. Set and forget, but happy to buy Ubiquity's products. Was thinking: AmpliFi Alien + 1 x U6-Pro (to avoid the high cost of the AmpliFi satellite/meshpoint). But I don't know if these will work together. Open to suggestions if you can help :-)
You make great videos. Keep up the good work.
Your understanding of antenna behavior is wrong. If an antenna can transmit further it also can "listen" further. Your phone can have a weaker signal and a long range antenna will be able to listen just fine. It's about geometry symmetry, if you need a more detailed explanation, please let me know.
I agree, great video, but he is lacking basic RF knowledge.
So do receivers and transmitters always (well at least in these devices) use the same antenna?
Nope, its not the same, even if a radio can talk and receive equally because it has the same gain in both directions, small client devices as phones dont have the same tx gain antenna as the AP so the signal is not symetrical in both sides. A phone can sense a big signal and still unable to communicate, why? because its low gain antenna cant equal the AP gain to reach it with same level . It doesnt matter if you have a high gain antenna at the AP, there is a critical distance point where phones signal cant communicate well and still sense several bars of signal. Been there and know what im talking about.
IsaacBG84 that is not how antennas work. The theorem of antenna reciprocity is very clear and if you say it's not true then most any antenna design in the world would be built on false premises.
Keep in mind this doesn't mean the "LR" model is nothing but marketing, or the opposite,, and that a higher gain also means higher directivity so it is not always good
I correct myself but only partially. Antennas do Tx/Rx equally at the same gain, yes its the same Rx signal from the phone side and the AP side BUT because the phone doesnt have the same Tx power than the AP the communication still NOT symetrical and never will be.
I also am NOT a fan of the LR but they are surprisingly popular.
Its time to update this video to a 2021 version. Thanks.
I will do an update once more of the WiFi 6 AP's are GA - no reason to do it before then.
datasheet table comparison would be nice
Thanks for the great overview! Helps to understand their products. One of the reasons I'm interested in them is multiple SSIDs, so I have have one SSID+VLAN for my main computers, and other for my many cheap IOT devices (some of which are older). If I have some 802.11b devices or 802.11g devices that behave badly will they impact my main network? Or should I get two access points to truly isolate them?
Hi Chris, can we get an update on this video with ALL the different wireless APs from UI incl the plug in wall ones? I have a few of the AC variants from Lite to HD but would like to see how the new ones compare, esp things like the AC-HD vs the U6-LR incl things like 160Mhz support/speed. On the AC-HD for example with link aggregation and 160Mhz I was able to get over 1.2Gbps aggregated throughput using iPerf.
I can’t stop staring at how many phones this guy has in the background
Great and simple review! Thanks!
Assuming range.... have read reports of users find the range of the range of the HD is less than the Pro.
would have been interesting to know how to determine the number of APs needed to cover a certain area
Thank you for this video. I live in a house that is 242 sq m. Would you recommend a lite or pro?
I have a Ubiquiti Unifi AP AC Pro (access point) and I use a phone app to manage it. Here is a weird quirk, when the access point loses connectivity with it's gateway, the wireless radio shuts off. I am trying to understand this behavior and their support keeps asking for statistics they don't need to answer a simple question about why the access point is configured to do this. I am doing testing and losing connectivity just because the gateway goes down is very frustrating. I need to support these APs remotely and this is a huge fail for being able to do this. So the default gateway is connected to the access point on it's wired ethernet port, if the AP can't reach the gateway it immediately turns off the wifi radio and the blue light blinks instead of being on steady. I like the access point but this is a show stopper for me. So if there is a server on the same subnet as the default gateway and say the internet goes down . . you can't reach the server via the access point because it turned off the radio! The entire office is down because the internet gateway rebooted or whatever might be the case. Why???
I just did an install using a three pack of UAP-AC-LR and if you pull the foam that holds the three AP, you just mite find some PoE injectors hiding underneath.
Right...had to be said.Got usg,70 aps/pro’s,lr’s and latest a cloud key...every update fuc* things up,cloud key is dropping like a fly in the heat...screw ubiquiti and your channel Chris :)
Hi Chris,
got to know Ubiquity thanks to your work here!
Having said that, in case of a mesh network deploying one main UAP AC PRO plus three UAP AC-M to cover a garden and an adjacent house will one of the three UAP AC M also distribute the signal via ethernet cable? (in addition to the wireless distribution).
This way I may be able to carry the signal indoor to the adjacent house plus covering the entire outdoor garden.
Thanks a lot!
Can I use the Secondary Ethernet port on the pro and hardwire it to my network receiver? This is a temporary solution till I purchase a switch
@9:10 You don't understand how antennas work. A long range antenna increases gain for tx and rx so it will improve both directional throughput to the same smartphone antenna.
Great video, helps me a lot! For a basic home setup do I really need a CK (prices here in Brazil are too high)? What happens if I set it all up with the iPhone app and then my phone is lost/stollen or if I change to a new iPhone?
Update on the lite access point. They have been updated to run on passive or active 802.3af. The updated versions have marked boxes in the corner saying that.
Thanks for your videos Chris. Have you tried the UAPnanoHD or UAP-IW-HD yet?
Question about the signal pattern on the UAP-AC-LITE... If I were to mount this on the ceiling of my basement, would I get acceptable coverage on floor above it? It would save me significant wiring headaches if I could do this but I'm not sure how directional the antennas in the unit are. Thanks for the awesome video!
Buy a cloud key or build a home server, if you already have a server, like in a small business environment, just install it on that.
LR is horizintally, rest are more or less spot.
LR = One ceiling tit in low noice with a wide spread which could be prefect on upper floor to cover a whole wooden house.
Large horizontal antennas are useless in noisy areas as they recieve a lot of noice. High output power is kind of always bad, cause devices cant shout back as loud anyway - if you dont have a huge antenna, and recieve lots of noice.
I currently have an ac pro in the roof in the middle of my apartment and its pretty useless because of no horizontal spread.
Waiting for a 6 LR.
Quick question, why not use the UAP-AC-LR
or UAP-AC-HD for home or office use due to its longer range and compare to the Linksys Business AC2600 WiFi Cloud Managed Access Point
Have you ever done a real world test to see the max clients to a UAP AC Pro? I met a tech installer that said Unifi's claims of 250+ clients is not possible as they experienced a max of 30 clients.
Thank you for the teaching!
Hi Chris great vid as usual just wondering on your thoughts of the in wall units thanks.
I think they're fine...I haven't tested the latest version of the in-wall, but they definitely have their place, and I wouldn't hesitate to use them if I had a customer who needed them.