Finally upgraded my home wifi to something that works - managed wifi review

[benyl]

So I just upgraded the controller or the key and the controller tanked. Was googling what to do and it all said, reset and restore.

I decided to try the chat on unifi.ubnt.com. SSH'd into the cloud key. 2 commands later and I was up and running. The Chat help at 11:30pm on Saturday is actually useful.

[Strider]

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Weird, my unifi setup is all under one SSID. Everything seamlessly roams between the frequencies.

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I much prefer single SSID personally.

Is there a way to force devices to preferentially connect to 5ghz with single SSID?
When I had single SSID on my TP-link mesh, 19/21 devices connected to 2.4.

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

You can use band steering, but from what I've read, a lot of people recommend against it.

[Mitsu3000gt]

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Is there a way to force devices to preferentially connect to 5ghz with single SSID?
When I had single SSID on my TP-link mesh, 19/21 devices connected to 2.4.

Lots of smart home devices do not play nice with single SSID routers/mesh setups and it is unfortunately a well documented issue. Asus' new mesh system actually allows for two simultaneous discrete SSIDs like a traditional single router which should be a big help for people wanting mesh and have lots of smart devices. The problem lies with the device manufacturer rather than the router manufacturer, but since 99% of people don't have mesh setups, they don't bother making them more compatible.

[Strider]

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Lots of smart home devices do not play nice with single SSID routers/mesh setups and it is unfortunately a well documented issue. Asus' new mesh system actually allows for two simultaneous discrete SSIDs like a traditional single router which should be a big help for people wanting mesh and have lots of smart devices. The problem lies with the device manufacturer rather than the router manufacturer, but since 99% of people don't have mesh setups, they don't bother making them more compatible.

I didn't experience any connectivity issues with smart devices when I did single SSID, but having all the clients lazily connect to 2.4 wasn't optimal. I ended up creating a separate 2.4ghz only SSID for the smart home devices (all mine only seem to support 2.4 anyways), and changed my main SSID over to 5ghz only... I may split off more as the need arises, but just curious how others are handling it.

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

That's how I previously handled it as well.
I finally re-vamped my entire network (again) to the chagrin of my wife, and it's reduced issues, but I still have a few.

Primary network (single SSID for both), this has all my phones/tablets/computers/NAS port 1
IoT Network (single SSID), this has my "smart devices", like my chromecasts, google homes, and Nest thermostats. It's a separate VLAN as well.
Cam network (single SSID), this has my Wyze cams and ring cam on it. Separate VLAN. It's also NAS port 2, as my NAS wouldn't pull RTSP cross LAN without doing "bond loading" that I couldn't quite figure out.

This seemed to have cleaned up my network performance, but one issue I'm still having is that I can't seem to cast from my phone (primary network) to my smart tv (IoT network) anymore. It worked for a day, and then stopped. I can cast to anything else without issue. As a workaround, I moved the TV back to the primary network.

[benyl]

Wait, are your APs setup as mesh? or are they setup using the physical lan port? Mine are all physical. That could be the difference?

I do not have band steering on.

[Strider]

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Wait, are your APs setup as mesh? or are they setup using the physical lan port? Mine are all physical. That could be the difference?

I do not have band steering on.

APs are physically connected...
I'll try single SSID with band steering if I feel like going through the agony of reconnecting all my smart devices again one day.

[phreezee]

Got a RT-AX88U over the weekend to add Wifi 6 support, and still use my two RT-AC86Us as AIMesh nodes (physically connected).
It handled 41 clients just fine and Ookla tests were 260-330Mbps range (Telus 300) throughout the house.
Bonus is I can ask Alexa to start/stop my Guest Network when I have company over now.

[killramos]

Well after all of 10 minutes with this base model TELUS router my wifi snob ness is showing lmao

Need to get a new Unifi setup put in ASAP

[adam c]

Not sure if I posted but I picked up the Google Nest Wifi during boxing day sale, so far so good

[killramos]

^Thats a great system for set and forget wifi that’s for sure.

[ExtraSlow]

I feel like we are back to the conversation we were having two months ago.

[Buster]

ugh with Ubiquiti and their stock situation.

[killramos]

You should be able to get your switch from elsewhere no?

Or are you set on the new gen switches with the augmented reality app haha.

[rage2]

Thought you were talking about stock price lol.

I'm slowly switching to unifi AC-Lites. Picked up one unit to test, pretty robust interface, shit is buried in the weirdest places for more advanced setups. I will miss the access anywhere over a webpage config with open mesh, and open mesh's guest network behind a NAT that you can't do on unifi without the USG.

Have no choice moving away from open mesh now that they've sold out. Can't get new hardware without recurring fees. Their hardware isn't exactly the best at heat dissipation. I had one die on me which I got warranty for years ago, when the second one died, I had to move it to the basement in a cooler area. I suspect a 3rd is about to go because of heat. It's the one that gets the most clients and usage with 3 cameras connected at all times, and sitting in the living room where most people are through the day.

Was hoping to wait for wifi 6 and the new channels to open up, but open mesh hardware won't let me wait that long. Gotta be proactive in fixing this shit if WFH is going to go any longer.

[killramos]

You can access the config anywhere on unifi? Cloud key makes it easier but not mandatory.

I do it all the time, I always do my firmware updates when I’m somewhere else lol.

You definitely need a USG, it’s an awesome part of the setup. Honestly what you need is the UDM Pro buster just picked up which will handle everything.

[Buster]

I don't think Wifi6 is on the immediate horizon for ubiquiti. I'm not in a rush to upgrade.

And yes, the cloudkey is basically necessary. The udm pro has a cloudkey gen2+ in it, so that will be nice. Also, my current edge router doesn't show up in my unifi interface, which tweaks me a bit.

[benyl]

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I don't think Wifi6 is on the immediate horizon for ubiquiti. I'm not in a rush to upgrade.

And yes, the cloudkey is basically necessary. The udm pro has a cloudkey gen2+ in it, so that will be nice. Also, my current edge router doesn't show up in my unifi interface, which tweaks me a bit.

I had purchased an Edgerouter before I knew it didn't work with the Unifi ecosystem. Returned it promptly. I'm using a couple unmanaged switches for now until I can bring myself to buy Unifi switches.

@S, you already know this. Run the network controller on a server: https://www.ui.com/download/unifi (under software).

[Buster]

I want the new unifi switch so I can run my APs and camera on POE all within the unifi ecosystem