The brilliance of Unifi is that you can endlessly expand it (and give them your money). By now my fully smart home runs on a ridiculously over the top Unifi setup and in the same management console I also manage my daughter’s setup and that of my parents (yes, multi-site!). In total I’m managing 21 Unifi devices by my last count. I made the switch to Unifi a month before the outbreak of Covid-19 and I have never regretted it!
He is going down the home lab , home automation rabbit hole that I been going down the last 7 years lol. It's all good. It's a fun hobby and I love tinkering with my home lab just about every weekend.
Shane, welcome to the Unifi family! I don't think it can be stressed enough how important a solid network is the backbone of any smart home. Especially if you are using Apple products which rely so much on WiFi. I too have recently gone down the Home Assistant rabbit hole and it is just as frustrating and exhilarating as when I started with HomeKit and Unifi!
I like the conversation where you note that you could have gone with a different slightly different setup for 1/2 the price, but you know, color lights on the new switch. Whereas I totally agree, there’s a lot of confidence that the wife is not going to watch this video!
😅 Thanks for watching! FWIW, There are some other benefits in the Pro Max switch over the standard (i.e. higher downlink and uplink speed, PoE++, etc) that could be useful to me one day in the future. Maybe. At least that's what I'm telling myself.
@@ShaneCreates With the Pro/Pro Max you have 400W vs. 95W and POE++ that the much cheaper Standard 24 PoE switch does not have. As for the Pro vs. Pro Max, $100 more for the fancy Etherlighting (that also has informational value)...bc why not? hahaha
Ubiquity was started by a former apple employee. So it’s easy to see in the packaging, style and even some of the product names. You need to make a video on vlans and cameras for your home devices. Btw the stock of ubiquity has doubled this year 🎉
Been using UniFi for my home networking and security cameras for years, and very happy. However, I would hesitate to move to UniFi Protect cameras. While they are good, I don’t think the price to quality ratio is justified. Just posted a video last week on my UniFi Protect camera setup if helpful. Thanks for sharing your rack update!
Another great video. Thanks! I have been on the fence to re-do all my network infrastructure, your video pushed me over the edge. Last week, I went with UDM SE and couple of U6 Pro AP (since I don’t have any WiFi 7 devices anytime soon, not even any 6E devices😂). The setup will serve me for few years before any possible upgrade. The results couldn’t be any better!
Great video and love the importance of making sure your network is solid like the foundation of your home. Been using Unifi in my new house for the past year and half. Another cool thing you can do is assign your device to your APs to prevent them from hopping to another that might be further away. Plus HomeBridge has some great plugins like the Smart Pro PDU (you will need the Smart PDU of course) in which you can control individual POE ports on your switch and power cycle any device hooked up to it.
Basically the same system I’m installing in my new house once construction is complete only difference is I have a 3rd access point that is WiFi-6 long range. Bought everything except the gateway so far.
Thanks for the interesting video. I have a unifi 16 poe switch with the AR, but haven't figured out which app I need for reading the AR screen. Which app do you use for it? Thanks.
Finally you got a decent router, instead of suggesting some of those other routers. Unify makes a great home version for people as well $300, instead of those consumer versions that cost as much or more and don’t offer half the functionality
Great content. I have run Unifi for years, and I find it one of the best investments I've ever made. It is so nice to integrate the cameras into it, affordable and integrate into Apple HomeKit VERY well with Home Assistant! Well done!
Clean!! Did the same upgrade to UniFi, and am loving it! I love how I can turn my 5ghz network on and off as necessary for those IoT devices that don't play well with 5ghz.
When you create a separate IoT network, how do you make Homekit work correctly from your phone? When I tried having two networks, homekit would complain that I was connected in a different network from whatever homekit was configured
The UniFi culture is definitely a group of fan boys/girls similar to Apple. haha I didn't need DVR functionality, so I have the UCG Ultra with a basic UniFi PoE switch and three U6-Pro APs. I used the UniFi Design Center to determine exactly where I needed to put these for best coverage and to estimate how much ethernet cable I needed to buy for the APs and wall connections. When my daughter and her husband build house next year, I have recommend to them a similar setup to yours.
Awesome, thanks for sharing your setup! Also, great to mention the design center. It would be ideal to be able to think about all this during the build phase of a house BEFORE the walls are up. Your daughter is lucky to have your advice!
The other important thing worth mentioning about Unifi systems is that as new wireless networking standards are introduced, the only things that needs to be updated are the access points for $100 to $200 versus purchasing a whole new mesh setup.
Nice looking setup you did go for top of the line UniFi equipment. As a new user I went with the USG Max, USW Lite 8 PoE switch, and U6 LR. I think the USG Max is more than enough for most home users. I must say for a new user and one that knows very little about networking it's a little to a lot over whelming to setup. One big problem is all the videos you watch can be a few months old and due to an update things have been changed. Now the hunt begins to find where did it move to are it got renamed etc. At least your setup is up to date with OS 4.06 and Network 8.4.62 it looks like mine. Would love to see you do a video on your setup process networks, vlans, security rules, etc. You do a great job with your videos and make smart home products easy to setup. Thanks!!
Thanks for watching. I appreciate your comment. I agree, it can be a little overwhelming if you're not super comfortable with networking. I think that's where having a group of people to bounce ideas off and get advice is helpful. I'm not sure if I'll ever do a deep dive video into the networking configuration, rules, etc. as it's not necessarily my expertise. I'm still figuring out much of it myself. There is still a lot more that I want to do and figure out in terms of rules, etc. All a part of the journey!
Why did you get the UniFi LR if I may ask? You would have been better buying to lite models instead. Ever heard of something called the megaphone effect ?
@@rb5235 essentially what that means is you have the UnifiLR (the megaphone screaming) strong signals but your device(Shitty radios on most IoT devices) not able to scream back. so it sees strong signal but the AP can't hear its response. results in poor quality of service. The LR is ideal for halls and big open spaces with multiple cellphones and laptop with higher quality radios. For your home, get the Unifi Lite instead and have multiple of them around the house
Hi thank you for this video, just i want to say that You got dream machine pro max with belt in nvr with 2 hard drive you don’t need anther nvr you can save more power and space + you don’t need modem its already gateway router am i correct? Thanks again
Just booted mine up for the first time. Another month or so and new house will be ready to spend hours troubleshooting how to get all the smart shit up and running 😂
Could you do a video on an IoT network setup for all the homekit devices for Unifi? I have the UDM PRO SE and I really want to separate out the IoT Devices from the primary home devices.
If you like the idea of Unifi in your house but don't like the price check MicroTik or used Unifi locally as companies off load their gear when they upgrade. For most homeowners MicroTik, mesh systems, or TP Link Omada gets you great performance at a much better price point. Even hardwiring to a basic switch will give you performance better than wifi can ever hope to achieve.
I’m curious if …… you have a separate Vlan for IOT and for Security (cameras) (do you use any ubiquiti cameras) and if so if you allow communication between the two so you can run automations that use info from ubiquiti to IOT devices
I don't use Ubiquiti cameras at the moment. Maybe in the future (I mentioned this towards the end of the video). So far I haven't set up a separate Vlan just for cameras but it's something I might do in the future. I should be easy enough to configure.
@@ShaneCreates Thanks for the reply. If you and when you decide to do a ubiquiti camera it'd be interesting to understand your setup with a different vlan for IOT and Security (cameras) and if and how you go about running automations using IOT devices with the camera
Question: If I have my rack in a room far from light switches, for example on the basement, how do the smart hubs connect via WiFi so far away? Doesn't it make sense to have Unifi access points at home and then the hubs can't reach their signal?
Did you completely abandon Hubitat for Home Assistant because of the non-Aqara integration or testing Home Assistant for other reasons, thank you! Love your selection of UniFi equipment, virtually the same in my rack!
Nice! Seems like everyone is moving to UniFi lately, including myself. Why are you using double NAT? It’s easy enough to configure it so you can get rid of the ISP router
do you have matter working? I have UniFi equipment as well and haven’t been able to get matter devices to work. I think it’s related to ipv6 support, which I’ve enabled, but my ISP doesn’t support it so I’m not sure that I have correctly configured it.
Hey Shane. Do you have any issues with your hubs being in the closet all together like that. Example hue lights no response or other hubs with similar issues?
This was the first thing I thought of. Does he not have HomePods at all? I had to move all Apple devices to my main vlan due to this issue. A lot of other home devices do work fine on IoT vlan.
@@onac3079 ya he does have HomePods and Apple TVs. Another issue you run into with this set up is for airplay. Not sure what the workaround is for that.
I have nearly that same setup. 24 port Pro Max switch but have 3 of the U7s. Couldn’t bring myself to go Pro Max on the APs …maybe one day. Question: did you increase your plan with your ISP as well? Like to 2 or 5 gb speeds?
Hi Shane. Love your videos. With going to WiFi 7 are you also changing out all your locks, shades, lights, etc....... I know it's backward compatible but, seems like a waste of money.
@@ShaneCreates Thanks Shane. I've had Unifi AP and Gateway for the last 8 years or so. Just upgraded to Gateway Ultra, Switch Ultra, and a Switch Lite 8 POE. I was wondering how do you get your phone to hit those speeds. I have Fiber to the house and get 500Mbps wired but, phones no where near that and I am sitting a foot from the AP. Just received our iPhone 16 and clocked about the same speed as my old 10. Do you think I should upgrade the AP also???
I am very curious about the U7 wifi hubs (?) - I use a mesh system and my wifi speed is a fraction of what is coming out of the router in the areas that are far from the mesh points. I was wondering if you could answer as to how well your internet speeds maybe improved over your prior mesh system if at all.
There has been a slight speed improvement since switching to Unifi. But I honestly already had pretty good wifi speeds when using those other mesh systems .It depends on what you are currently using, your speeds from the ISP, etc. I was previously using top-of-th-line mesh wifi 7 systems, so I didn't expect a whole lot of change in that regard.
Have you had any issues with your HomePods on the iot network? I tried setting mine up this way and my iPhone kept giving me a notification to move the HomePods to the same network as the phone.
Abode: geni.us/AbodeIota1 (affiliate link) However if interested, I would wait a couple days for Amazon's Prime Fall Day Event in case it goes on sale 😉
@@ShaneCreates I guess once you get rid of the reolink n go to Unifi Protect interface then you’ll have more then enough space. 4 bay only uses 1U. I’d still recommend a bigger rack for cooling and all that. Also one you can lock as of someone disconnects it all then you’re in trouble 😅
Bare bones 1Gb UniFi: cloud gateway ultra $129, cloud key+ $199, US-8-150W 8xPOE switch $199, U6 long range access point $179. For ~$700 you have the full control of the UniFi system, and have 1TB local storage and the Protect app, and a switch with 8 POE ports. You are ready to add camera(s) and or access points by running cat6 to them. You are ready to add 4 port local switches for $30 that are POE powered. You are ready to add u6 lite $99 access points, or $179 u6 mesh extender if you can’t run cat6 to your access points.
For those asking about matter and HomeKit, I have 9 hubs (Apple TV & HomePods) and a lot of matter devices (thread and WiFi) that work fine. Matter does seem to like a nearby hub, iOS 18 preferred hub is a godsend since 1 of the 9 hubs is the only one that all matter devices like to work with.
Not Shane but UniFi and Apple user here, few iPhones, few iPads, few macs, apples tvs, HomePods, Apple Watches. Zero problems between them, but I’ve heard anecdotally that Apple devices can be quite aggressive when switching between access points, so maybe something to bear in mind when designing and fine tuning your network.
I soon will be starting from scratch in a new home when I sell my current smart home that all started 20+ years ago with Insteon. I now run indigo software with my iMac 24/7 utilizing plugins to all the Insteon network of devices to work with Apple Home. I use an Eero base station with 3 wired satellites and 3 wireless satellites. My network coverage is quite good. But here is my big question for you, why is WiFi so important if you are utilizing matter over thread, which doesn’t use WiFi? My Insteon devices utilize dual band, the neutral wire of the house and I believe 908mhz RF and work perfectly wit out internet. However if I understand it correctly I need WiFi for the apple home part to function, at least until I complete my matter over thread new smart home. I also noticed that you use REOLINK cameras. How do you integrate that into the apple home?
While I do utilize Matter over Thread products, I also have a lot of wifi connected products... both homekit and matter over wifi. Plus, homekit hubs require wifi. Sure, in a perfect setup, everything will run locally without internet. That said, life will be much easier with a solid network as your foundation. I am using Scripted to integrate my Reolink cameras into HomeKit.
Shane. For the love of Pete. I have all them hubs also. I hate it. I usta have a wink. We all know how that ended. Any chance you got a way to get all the hubs combined into one simple solution? I refuse to buy anything that requires a new hub.
You could look at things like Home Assistant or Homey Pro and might be able to eliminate some hubs. I don't think hubs are always a bad thing. Some of my most reliable/favorite products use a hub.
Why is your ipad on IoT vlan? Is that the kids iPad or something? I have 3 vlans, mine (allocate more bandwidth and security to this one), kids (setup bandwidth throttling and firewalled it from accessing rest of network) and the IoT network (made sure they can't access anything). Plus I setup a honeypot for the hackers that auto adds them to firewall ban list. I have a schedule to turn off kids wifi at 10pm and back on at 7am, 11pm on weekends, but I'm looking for a way to setup automations so I can make them do chores before internet gets turned back on for their vlan. I am one of those Unifi fanboys btw lol
Yeah but you don't get half the features that you get not even a quarter of the features do or we have that unifi has Plus you have the upgrades they're always updating their software plus you have a real firewall which no other consumer grade router really has and the upgrade path Wi-Fi 8 comes out guess what All you got to do is replace your access points for $100 a piece or you can spend a little more but you have the choice instead of having to buy a whole new router system
You’ve gone way out there bro. Reel…….. It back in for us real people still here on middle Earth. Long time sub here just being real. But…….seriously NO.
Please explain. What are you saying “NO” to? I’m just showing my setup and journey as I always have. I also provided lots of alternative options throughout the entire video and tried to explain who this setup is for and who it is not for.
Hahaha - I hear what you are saying but it is true that you get what you pay for. I struggled for years with my wife working from home using the home modem/router setup (which were not cheap either) and it was never stable. Bit the bullet about a month ago and am fully UniFi. Not one issue since.
Realistically, its actually fairly comparable to standard setups price wise. You can grab a UDM Pro for $379, and their cheapest POE switch for $199, and then grab a couple wifi 6 access points for $159. All in, just under $900, which is absolutely expensive don't get me wrong. But you get so much value out of it, room to expand for practically half your life, you won't need to change anything accept the access points when new versions of wifi are introduced, and it makes it really easy to troubleshoot problems. Now, let's compare a wifi 6 mesh network from Netgear, the cheapest comparable unit to the Unifi products would be the AX4200 or the AX6000, which are $599 and $799 respectively (though there are models well over $1,500 for just 3 mesh units). They offer relatively similar app experiences and performance, but drastically different form factors and upgrade paths. The netgear solution is certainly easier to set up and better for most people, but it's just a router with 2 wireless access points. This doesn't leave room to expand your home security, or use other POE devices, and makes you upgrade the entire system if you decide to move on to a newer wifi technology. I don't think either are a wrong choice, just different products to fit the needs of various people. From a price and value perspective, I think Ubiquiti is doing pretty well. They make great products, their software is fantastic, and it leaves room to expand and grow over time.
This is so past the basic homeowner just trying to make a simple smart home. This is not even relatable. Most people can’t afford all this bs that you’re just getting sent for free
A large focus of the video was tailored to “who is this for” while providing options for different types of users. P.S. I paid for all of that networking gear on my own.
Sounds like you’re the exact type of person he referenced repeatedly that this type of setup is not for… just get a netgear mesh system and call it a day, you’ll be fine.
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The brilliance of Unifi is that you can endlessly expand it (and give them your money). By now my fully smart home runs on a ridiculously over the top Unifi setup and in the same management console I also manage my daughter’s setup and that of my parents (yes, multi-site!). In total I’m managing 21 Unifi devices by my last count.
I made the switch to Unifi a month before the outbreak of Covid-19 and I have never regretted it!
He is going down the home lab , home automation rabbit hole that I been going down the last 7 years lol. It's all good. It's a fun hobby and I love tinkering with my home lab just about every weekend.
Shane, welcome to the Unifi family! I don't think it can be stressed enough how important a solid network is the backbone of any smart home. Especially if you are using Apple products which rely so much on WiFi. I too have recently gone down the Home Assistant rabbit hole and it is just as frustrating and exhilarating as when I started with HomeKit and Unifi!
I like the conversation where you note that you could have gone with a different slightly different setup for 1/2 the price, but you know, color lights on the new switch. Whereas I totally agree, there’s a lot of confidence that the wife is not going to watch this video!
😅 Thanks for watching! FWIW, There are some other benefits in the Pro Max switch over the standard (i.e. higher downlink and uplink speed, PoE++, etc) that could be useful to me one day in the future. Maybe. At least that's what I'm telling myself.
@@ShaneCreates With the Pro/Pro Max you have 400W vs. 95W and POE++ that the much cheaper Standard 24 PoE switch does not have.
As for the Pro vs. Pro Max, $100 more for the fancy Etherlighting (that also has informational value)...bc why not? hahaha
Ubiquity was started by a former apple employee. So it’s easy to see in the packaging, style and even some of the product names. You need to make a video on vlans and cameras for your home devices. Btw the stock of ubiquity has doubled this year 🎉
All of us: “I’m buying it to future proof”
2 years later
All of us: “I’m buying it to future proof”
I started my Unifi journey last year and am glad I did. Homekit has been rock solid since my move. One downside is that it's addicting and costly.
Been using UniFi for my home networking and security cameras for years, and very happy. However, I would hesitate to move to UniFi Protect cameras. While they are good, I don’t think the price to quality ratio is justified. Just posted a video last week on my UniFi Protect camera setup if helpful. Thanks for sharing your rack update!
Thanks Michael!
Time for me to upgrade my setup again 😂😂😂. I’m going to switch from my floor rack to a wall mount.
Could you make a video going over the creation of your IoT network?
Another great video. Thanks! I have been on the fence to re-do all my network infrastructure, your video pushed me over the edge. Last week, I went with UDM SE and couple of U6 Pro AP (since I don’t have any WiFi 7 devices anytime soon, not even any 6E devices😂). The setup will serve me for few years before any possible upgrade. The results couldn’t be any better!
Awesome! Glad the video was helpful and great to hear you are happy with the results from your upgrade!
Awesome video, Shane! I can’t wait to upgrade my Wi-Fi setup as well. Having a proper Wi-Fi configuration is crucial for a reliable smart home.
Great video and love the importance of making sure your network is solid like the foundation of your home.
Been using Unifi in my new house for the past year and half. Another cool thing you can do is assign your device to your APs to prevent them from hopping to another that might be further away.
Plus HomeBridge has some great plugins like the Smart Pro PDU (you will need the Smart PDU of course) in which you can control individual POE ports on your switch and power cycle any device hooked up to it.
Very cool! Thanks for sharing!
Basically the same system I’m installing in my new house once construction is complete only difference is I have a 3rd access point that is WiFi-6 long range. Bought everything except the gateway so far.
Thanks for the interesting video. I have a unifi 16 poe switch with the AR, but haven't figured out which app I need for reading the AR screen. Which app do you use for it? Thanks.
Finally you got a decent router, instead of suggesting some of those other routers. Unify makes a great home version for people as well $300, instead of those consumer versions that cost as much or more and don’t offer half the functionality
There is nothing wrong with the other mesh systems. I would still recommend them (as I did in the video) for majority of your average homeowners.
Shaney Mac Shanerson! You went ALL IN! Now get some SSDs in that UDM ... Fav quote "... we're talking about routers here..." 😂😂😂
Great content. I have run Unifi for years, and I find it one of the best investments I've ever made. It is so nice to integrate the cameras into it, affordable and integrate into Apple HomeKit VERY well with Home Assistant! Well done!
Great to hear! Thanks for watching!
Ubiquiti FTW ! The rack looks sick 🔥 also so excited for Protect 5.0 for the ONVIF support
Clean!! Did the same upgrade to UniFi, and am loving it! I love how I can turn my 5ghz network on and off as necessary for those IoT devices that don't play well with 5ghz.
Thanks Aaron! What you think about that HA Yellow in the rack? 😉
@@ShaneCreates looks great! Looking forward to some Home Assistant content! We got Jimmy Hawkins hooked, now you 😁
@@makeitworktech I blame you two for this deep, dark rabbit hole I've fallen down! 😅
@@ShaneCreates 🤣
Great video Shane. Thanks for sharing your current setup! 👍
Thanks Jeff!
Have you configured your firewalls and security? Would love to see a video of your set up.
When you create a separate IoT network, how do you make Homekit work correctly from your phone? When I tried having two networks, homekit would complain that I was connected in a different network from whatever homekit was configured
Great video would you do a video on your setup of the VLAN
Yes please
Very nice, Shane!
The UniFi culture is definitely a group of fan boys/girls similar to Apple. haha
I didn't need DVR functionality, so I have the UCG Ultra with a basic UniFi PoE switch and three U6-Pro APs. I used the UniFi Design Center to determine exactly where I needed to put these for best coverage and to estimate how much ethernet cable I needed to buy for the APs and wall connections.
When my daughter and her husband build house next year, I have recommend to them a similar setup to yours.
Awesome, thanks for sharing your setup! Also, great to mention the design center. It would be ideal to be able to think about all this during the build phase of a house BEFORE the walls are up. Your daughter is lucky to have your advice!
The new addiction has only just begun for you Shane!
haha I get that feeling...
I also upgraded to unifi but didn’t do the pro max, I’ve been very happy with it so far
Nice, thanks for sharing Brandon!
The other important thing worth mentioning about Unifi systems is that as new wireless networking standards are introduced, the only things that needs to be updated are the access points for $100 to $200 versus purchasing a whole new mesh setup.
Great point. Thanks for sharing!
Nice looking setup you did go for top of the line UniFi equipment. As a new user I went with the USG Max, USW Lite 8 PoE switch, and U6 LR. I think the USG Max is more than enough for most home users. I must say for a new user and one that knows very little about networking it's a little to a lot over whelming to setup. One big problem is all the videos you watch can be a few months old and due to an update things have been changed. Now the hunt begins to find where did it move to are it got renamed etc. At least your setup is up to date with OS 4.06 and Network 8.4.62 it looks like mine. Would love to see you do a video on your setup process networks, vlans, security rules, etc. You do a great job with your videos and make smart home products easy to setup. Thanks!!
Thanks for watching. I appreciate your comment. I agree, it can be a little overwhelming if you're not super comfortable with networking. I think that's where having a group of people to bounce ideas off and get advice is helpful. I'm not sure if I'll ever do a deep dive video into the networking configuration, rules, etc. as it's not necessarily my expertise. I'm still figuring out much of it myself. There is still a lot more that I want to do and figure out in terms of rules, etc. All a part of the journey!
Why did you get the UniFi LR if I may ask? You would have been better buying to lite models instead. Ever heard of something called the megaphone effect ?
@@TyDaSpace mostly the lack of knowledge. I was hoping being LR it would cover my house. I have not heard of the megaphone effect.
@@rb5235 essentially what that means is you have the UnifiLR (the megaphone screaming) strong signals but your device(Shitty radios on most IoT devices) not able to scream back. so it sees strong signal but the AP can't hear its response. results in poor quality of service. The LR is ideal for halls and big open spaces with multiple cellphones and laptop with higher quality radios. For your home, get the Unifi Lite instead and have multiple of them around the house
Shane, really nice setup. You went a little overboard on this, but you should be future proofed for a little while.
Hi thank you for this video, just i want to say that
You got dream machine pro max with belt in nvr with 2 hard drive you don’t need anther nvr you can save more power and space + you don’t need modem its already gateway router am i correct?
Thanks again
So on the dream machine router, I noticed there is 2 hard drive bays, can that replace the Synology NAS, or what would they be used for?
Just booted mine up for the first time. Another month or so and new house will be ready to spend hours troubleshooting how to get all the smart shit up and running 😂
Could you do a video on an IoT network setup for all the homekit devices for Unifi? I have the UDM PRO SE and I really want to separate out the IoT Devices from the primary home devices.
If you like the idea of Unifi in your house but don't like the price check MicroTik or used Unifi locally as companies off load their gear when they upgrade. For most homeowners MicroTik, mesh systems, or TP Link Omada gets you great performance at a much better price point. Even hardwiring to a basic switch will give you performance better than wifi can ever hope to achieve.
I’m curious if …… you have a separate Vlan for IOT and for Security (cameras) (do you use any ubiquiti cameras) and if so if you allow communication between the two so you can run automations that use info from ubiquiti to IOT devices
I don't use Ubiquiti cameras at the moment. Maybe in the future (I mentioned this towards the end of the video). So far I haven't set up a separate Vlan just for cameras but it's something I might do in the future. I should be easy enough to configure.
@@ShaneCreates Thanks for the reply. If you and when you decide to do a ubiquiti camera it'd be interesting to understand your setup with a different vlan for IOT and Security (cameras) and if and how you go about running automations using IOT devices with the camera
Question: If I have my rack in a room far from light switches, for example on the basement, how do the smart hubs connect via WiFi so far away? Doesn't it make sense to have Unifi access points at home and then the hubs can't reach their signal?
Did you completely abandon Hubitat for Home Assistant because of the non-Aqara integration or testing Home Assistant for other reasons, thank you! Love your selection of UniFi equipment, virtually the same in my rack!
Please make a video of adding sfp+ to your synology NAS and connecting to the Ubiquiti USW-Aggregation
Omg I so wish that I had more dollars than I do. Awesome setup and thanks 🙏 heaps for sharing. Very jealous here.
Thanks for watching!
Nice! Seems like everyone is moving to UniFi lately, including myself. Why are you using double NAT? It’s easy enough to configure it so you can get rid of the ISP router
do you have matter working? I have UniFi equipment as well and haven’t been able to get matter devices to work. I think it’s related to ipv6 support, which I’ve enabled, but my ISP doesn’t support it so I’m not sure that I have correctly configured it.
Yes I have many matter devices in my home. Matter should just require iPV6 to be enabled on you LAN. I don't think it's necessary from the ISP
Hey Shane. Do you have any issues with your hubs being in the closet all together like that. Example hue lights no response or other hubs with similar issues?
How do you avoid the HomePod network mismatched error when keeping your iPhone on the main vlan but all of your hubs on the IoT vlan
This was the first thing I thought of. Does he not have HomePods at all? I had to move all Apple devices to my main vlan due to this issue. A lot of other home devices do work fine on IoT vlan.
@@onac3079 ya he does have HomePods and Apple TVs. Another issue you run into with this set up is for airplay. Not sure what the workaround is for that.
Actually been sitting with some Unifi stuff in my cart ...
I have nearly that same setup. 24 port Pro Max switch but have 3 of the U7s. Couldn’t bring myself to go Pro Max on the APs …maybe one day.
Question: did you increase your plan with your ISP as well? Like to 2 or 5 gb speeds?
I currently have the 1GB plan
You forgot to mention your NAS! I want to hear all about that thing! I guess it wasn't technically on your network rack but still lol.
It's briefly mentioned at 10:45.
What happened to the Switchbot on the Synology? :D
I does seem like my 2 U6 pros have better range than my U6 LR might have to just get a third U6 Pro instead
WOW, NICE RACK! 😜
What is the power of the cyber power UPS?
Hi Shane. Love your videos. With going to WiFi 7 are you also changing out all your locks, shades, lights, etc....... I know it's backward compatible but, seems like a waste of money.
Hey thanks for watching! No I am not changing things out because of wifi. Most smart wifi products can only connect to the 2.4Ghz band anyways.
@@ShaneCreates Thanks Shane. I've had Unifi AP and Gateway for the last 8 years or so. Just upgraded to Gateway Ultra, Switch Ultra, and a Switch Lite 8 POE. I was wondering how do you get your phone to hit those speeds. I have Fiber to the house and get 500Mbps wired but, phones no where near that and I am sitting a foot from the AP. Just received our iPhone 16 and clocked about the same speed as my old 10. Do you think I should upgrade the AP also???
I am very curious about the U7 wifi hubs (?) - I use a mesh system and my wifi speed is a fraction of what is coming out of the router in the areas that are far from the mesh points. I was wondering if you could answer as to how well your internet speeds maybe improved over your prior mesh system if at all.
There has been a slight speed improvement since switching to Unifi. But I honestly already had pretty good wifi speeds when using those other mesh systems .It depends on what you are currently using, your speeds from the ISP, etc. I was previously using top-of-th-line mesh wifi 7 systems, so I didn't expect a whole lot of change in that regard.
How do you switch networks in Apple home, tried switching it through my HomePods and EVERYTHING shows no response
Have you had any issues with your HomePods on the iot network? I tried setting mine up this way and my iPhone kept giving me a notification to move the HomePods to the same network as the phone.
*me being disappointed while reading comments* “fine, I’ll do it myself”
Nice rack!
😁 I've been waiting. Thanks for taking the lead on this! 🤣
Hey Shane, what's the security thing that you use? I tried to search for it but...
Abode: geni.us/AbodeIota1
(affiliate link)
However if interested, I would wait a couple days for Amazon's Prime Fall Day Event in case it goes on sale 😉
shane, what is the patch panel's model?
Is power free in the USA ;-) Or do you use solarcpanels?
Idea for a future upgrade. Synology do some nice rack mount NASs
I've already been looking at some of them... 😏. However there is not much room left in my rack at this point.
@@ShaneCreates New rack! Haha.
@@ShaneCreates I guess once you get rid of the reolink n go to Unifi Protect interface then you’ll have more then enough space. 4 bay only uses 1U. I’d still recommend a bigger rack for cooling and all that. Also one you can lock as of someone disconnects it all then you’re in trouble 😅
What do you do with alllll these devices you don’t use? Do you sell them?
Yes I will often sell them or give them to family and friends.
Does scripted work with Lorex cameras?
I’m surprised at how small your ISP modem/router is.
Bare bones 1Gb UniFi: cloud gateway ultra $129, cloud key+ $199, US-8-150W 8xPOE switch $199, U6 long range access point $179.
For ~$700 you have the full control of the UniFi system, and have 1TB local storage and the Protect app, and a switch with 8 POE ports.
You are ready to add camera(s) and or access points by running cat6 to them.
You are ready to add 4 port local switches for $30 that are POE powered.
You are ready to add u6 lite $99 access points, or $179 u6 mesh extender if you can’t run cat6 to your access points.
For those asking about matter and HomeKit, I have 9 hubs (Apple TV & HomePods) and a lot of matter devices (thread and WiFi) that work fine. Matter does seem to like a nearby hub, iOS 18 preferred hub is a godsend since 1 of the 9 hubs is the only one that all matter devices like to work with.
90% of that is Christmas / birthday gifts… the best way to do home automation!
Hey Shane I’m considering going to unifi in a new build. Did you have any issues between unifi and Apple?
Not Shane but UniFi and Apple user here, few iPhones, few iPads, few macs, apples tvs, HomePods, Apple Watches.
Zero problems between them, but I’ve heard anecdotally that Apple devices can be quite aggressive when switching between access points, so maybe something to bear in mind when designing and fine tuning your network.
No, I have not had any issues between unifi and Apple products.
I soon will be starting from scratch in a new home when I sell my current smart home that all started 20+ years ago with Insteon. I now run indigo software with my iMac 24/7 utilizing plugins to all the Insteon network of devices to work with Apple Home. I use an Eero base station with 3 wired satellites and 3 wireless satellites. My network coverage is quite good. But here is my big question for you, why is WiFi so important if you are utilizing matter over thread, which doesn’t use WiFi? My Insteon devices utilize dual band, the neutral wire of the house and I believe 908mhz RF and work perfectly wit out internet. However if I understand it correctly I need WiFi for the apple home part to function, at least until I complete my matter over thread new smart home. I also noticed that you use REOLINK cameras. How do you integrate that into the apple home?
While I do utilize Matter over Thread products, I also have a lot of wifi connected products... both homekit and matter over wifi. Plus, homekit hubs require wifi. Sure, in a perfect setup, everything will run locally without internet. That said, life will be much easier with a solid network as your foundation. I am using Scripted to integrate my Reolink cameras into HomeKit.
@@ShaneCreates thanks. I will have to look up “scripted” not sure what that is.
Do you have a video on how you set up your REOLINK cameras with Scripted?
Yes it is one of the videos linked at the end of this video here
Ubiquiti is considered commercial grade not consumer or prosumer.
Shane.
For the love of Pete. I have all them hubs also. I hate it. I usta have a wink. We all know how that ended. Any chance you got a way to get all the hubs combined into one simple solution? I refuse to buy anything that requires a new hub.
You could look at things like Home Assistant or Homey Pro and might be able to eliminate some hubs. I don't think hubs are always a bad thing. Some of my most reliable/favorite products use a hub.
so you are using just two access points for your entire home?
Yep! My home is not too big so this has worked just fine for me so far.
Does your gear ever overheat being in a closet?
Nope I haven’t had any issues with that so far.
Thanks!
Thank you for the super thanks!! 🙏
Three how much do you pay for for it?
you need pi-hole on your network. that ad on the speedtest was ugly!
Couldn't you just run home assistant on your NAS?
Why do you put your home hubs on your IOT VLAN? it’s more of a trusted device in that it needs internet access and should see other devices, no?
9:55 to 14:01 ....
No firewall?????
Ubiquiti (Unifi) was started by an ex Apple Engineer.
Why is your ipad on IoT vlan? Is that the kids iPad or something? I have 3 vlans, mine (allocate more bandwidth and security to this one), kids (setup bandwidth throttling and firewalled it from accessing rest of network) and the IoT network (made sure they can't access anything). Plus I setup a honeypot for the hackers that auto adds them to firewall ban list. I have a schedule to turn off kids wifi at 10pm and back on at 7am, 11pm on weekends, but I'm looking for a way to setup automations so I can make them do chores before internet gets turned back on for their vlan. I am one of those Unifi fanboys btw lol
Great setup, thanks for sharing!
I have one iPad that is a wall-mounted iPad used just for smart home stuff.
Yeah but you don't get half the features that you get not even a quarter of the features do or we have that unifi has Plus you have the upgrades they're always updating their software plus you have a real firewall which no other consumer grade router really has and the upgrade path Wi-Fi 8 comes out guess what All you got to do is replace your access points for $100 a piece or you can spend a little more but you have the choice instead of having to buy a whole new router system
You’ve gone way out there bro. Reel…….. It back in for us real people still here on middle Earth. Long time sub here just being real. But…….seriously NO.
Please explain. What are you saying “NO” to? I’m just showing my setup and journey as I always have. I also provided lots of alternative options throughout the entire video and tried to explain who this setup is for and who it is not for.
Agree. HomeKit enthusiasts is already small enough only to scare people away with this setup.
We need HomeKit videos for the rest of us.
Natalia Forest
I feel like the day I finally jump into this will be the day Apple releases a dedicated HomeKit mesh Airport router. 😂
I hope so
When you act like you know the benefits of unifi but don't know the benefits 😂😂
After watching these video i think all smart shit are waste of money
He said “1800$” and I stopped watching 😂.
Paid content … totally useless
Hahaha - I hear what you are saying but it is true that you get what you pay for. I struggled for years with my wife working from home using the home modem/router setup (which were not cheap either) and it was never stable. Bit the bullet about a month ago and am fully UniFi. Not one issue since.
@@Chary-nd7yq Except I paid for all the Unif equipment myself.
Realistically, its actually fairly comparable to standard setups price wise. You can grab a UDM Pro for $379, and their cheapest POE switch for $199, and then grab a couple wifi 6 access points for $159. All in, just under $900, which is absolutely expensive don't get me wrong. But you get so much value out of it, room to expand for practically half your life, you won't need to change anything accept the access points when new versions of wifi are introduced, and it makes it really easy to troubleshoot problems.
Now, let's compare a wifi 6 mesh network from Netgear, the cheapest comparable unit to the Unifi products would be the AX4200 or the AX6000, which are $599 and $799 respectively (though there are models well over $1,500 for just 3 mesh units). They offer relatively similar app experiences and performance, but drastically different form factors and upgrade paths. The netgear solution is certainly easier to set up and better for most people, but it's just a router with 2 wireless access points. This doesn't leave room to expand your home security, or use other POE devices, and makes you upgrade the entire system if you decide to move on to a newer wifi technology.
I don't think either are a wrong choice, just different products to fit the needs of various people. From a price and value perspective, I think Ubiquiti is doing pretty well. They make great products, their software is fantastic, and it leaves room to expand and grow over time.
This channel slowly drifting away from showing “easy & affordable smart home” videos to something off-putting for the newcomers 😢
This is so past the basic homeowner just trying to make a simple smart home. This is not even relatable. Most people can’t afford all this bs that you’re just getting sent for free
He was pretty clear that it’s not for everyone and most people would be fine with a normal mesh set up.
A large focus of the video was tailored to “who is this for” while providing options for different types of users.
P.S. I paid for all of that networking gear on my own.
Sounds like you’re the exact type of person he referenced repeatedly that this type of setup is not for… just get a netgear mesh system and call it a day, you’ll be fine.
@@ShaneCreatesdon’t apologize for being successful , I think this is a great video even though I don’t think I would go this route.
What was the power of the cyber power ups ?