Why I bought Ubiquiti Unifi for home Wi-Fi

Here's what I got from Ubiquiti:

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CHAPTERS:
00:00 Good Wi-Fi and Eero
00:23 Why I left Eero
00:50 About Ubiquiti
01:00 Why I payed the premium cost
02:00 What makes Ubiquiti reliable
02:35 Advanced Customization
03:03 Ubiquiti Software
03:41 Where you can save money
04:29 Downsides and remedies
06:06 More resources

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This video and all of Eric Welander's channel is a production of E. Welander, LLC

[LosFerrer]

I previously invested in a reputable mesh router with two stations ant it was a continuous trouble. Once I went the Ubiquity route I can not look back… it is so good. Recommended 100%.

[seanpalmer]

I redid my parents' home network ~6 years ago with Unifi APs, switches and a router with the controller running on their NAS. It was definitely worth it just for the stability. Outside of occasional firmware updates, none of the devices have needed to be rebooted. It does basically everything they need. It's also helpful for me as my family's IT specialist that I can manage everything remotely and not have to travel there every time I want to tweak something.

For me personally, while I do still like Ubiquiti's switches and APs, the Unifi routers leave something to be desired. Don't get me wrong; I still would recommend Unifi routers for simpler networks. But as soon as you want to do something that isn't readily doable through the web GUI, it gets much harder, more complicated, and a lot easier to to mess things up. I find pfSense to be much better for more complicated networks.

[deonh]

Great video Eric - welcome to the Ubiquiti family - took you long enough 🤪. It has been my go to for many years now, and although it also has its limitations it’s granular control is second to none. The ability to control your IoT network separately and define which access points your devices can and can’t connect to is great. We will be starting building our next home soon and I will be using a Dream Machine SE, and also some cameras this time around so looking forward to that. P.s. the unifi APs are mesh capable and can be used in Mesh mode in certain scenarios. Please keep us posted on your journey 👍🏼.

[MajorTendonitis]

Ubiquiti user here . I went with them because there was no monthly fee for their surveillance cameras, and because the G4 pro was getting pretty decent reviews for it’s night time performance. I’m using the Dream machine pro and their 24 port switch in the primary rack in the basement, and their 8 port 150 switch in the garage .
It’s been up and running for approximately 7 months and no complaints. Absolutely love their AP Pro’s, and have one mounted in the living room and one in the garage . It’s pretty cool sitting on my deck now, and being able to access my network drive with my iPad and stream music from the garage network receiver on the overhead speakers .
I removed all my RG6 coax with the exception of the feed going to my cable modem, and ran approx 1000’ of Cat6 . I’m not a fan of wireless other than my iPad, and have cat6 running directly to my cable portals, even though they have wireless capability.
When my office is complete I’ll be running cat6 directly to my laser jet printer also, as it seems as though if I leave it for extended periods of time that has no wifi connection. Getting tired of always needing to get a connection again every time I want a simple print out of something, so a hardwired connection will be welcome .
I’m in my 60’s and although I’ve been in the communications industry for decades, I’m no network specialist. I went to the Ubiquiti’s forum when I got stumped, and resolved most issues that way .
My only gripe is I’m waiting for unifi to design a doorbell camera with a ethernet connection, as I don’t want to use it wirelessly . Hope their listening lol

[jig]

So I’ve been using Unifi products for about 4 years now. I’m overall very pleased with the experience. . It has not been perfect and totally hands off but over the years with tinkering and tweaking it running as good as expected. I have 2 8-port PEO switches, 3 mini flex switches, 3 access points, and a Security Gateway. Doing some good quick back of the napkin math I’m close to $900 into my solution. The nice thing is I did not spend all this money up front. I started with USG and 1 access point and added to it over the years. I also run the controller in a docker container. Think of upgrading to a dream machine pro but honestly I really don’t have a use for it. I have 83 clients on my network and it running like a champ. This solution is not for everyone but for people that are into IOT and likes tinkering and learning I think this is definitely a great choice for that crowd. Also really nice video.

[joegolike]

I love my Ubiquiti setup in my 100yr old house. The brick exterior and lathe and plaster walls are a Wi-Fi killer, and being able to put up APs where I needed them for coverage works great. Also I discovered you can get the Unifi software for free to run on a local computer, or in my case, raspberry pi. I’ll probably eventually upgrade to a dream machine pro, but for now a few APs plus the 8-port POE switch are doing the job.

[tedleer]

Best purchase i have ever done, for my small home the normal dream machine is enough. I have it for 2 years now and i never had any issues.

[MarcelDarvas]

Glad to see you Eric joining the Ubiquiti family! Some notes I wanted to leave:
- You can run the Unifi software on almost any hardware (like a Raspberry Pi 4), so you can get started with about $150 (No UI Protect)
- If I'd be buying the Dream Machine again today, I would go with the UDM Pro SE, which has PoE ports
- Older Ubiquiti Access Points come with PoE Injectors so you can have them plugged into an outlet (or you can buy them separate)
- For Wifi Signal troubleshooting you have AR apps like the Ubiquiti Wifiman
- Yes, people complain a lot about Unifi software updates, with the previous major version they packed too many features with resulted in many bugs, since then they have improved a lot!
- For the 2nd connection failover, you could add their LTE modem
- You can set up easy to use VPN connections to your home if you ever need to troubleshoot something remotely
- You have excellent guides out there for configuring your firewall for secure IoT device usage

[dr.victorstrange]

I'm on my second upgrade of Unifi hardware and I couldnt be happier. I used to have 5 UniFi WAPs and now thanks to their new U6 Pros I can now run my entire home and all smart devices (approx 55) off just 2 WAPs. The Dream Machine Pro is worth every penny as well as their switches. Unifi is the Apple of networking, integrating smart hardware with smart software for the home to pro user. Its certainly not for your grandparents but its rock solid if you want reliable WIFI with some hard wire connections in between. Im also utilizing their camera and VOIP systems as well and so far they have proven very reliable. Great overview video!!!

[awparker]

Just discovered your channel and it feels like I’m totally following your playbook. New house, mesh problems in the past, Ubiquiti now + HomeKit. Love the channel!

[joshuaychung]

We rewired our church with a Ubiquiti system. PoE for the wifi access points were the main selling point. It seems to work really well so far, and seeing that I never want to climb back up to the 40 ft ceiling of our church ever again, I hope it works well for a long time. As for my own house, I invested too heavily on the google wifi mesh. With 5 wired routers and 2 wireless routers, I'm still having issues in random spots, and my house really isn't that big. After working with Ubiquiti at our church, I really wish that I didn't spend so much money with google mesh.

[NewHomeTech]

I already invested in Unfi to be placed in my new house being built. I went with the UDM Pro SE, 48 POE Pro Switch, 1x U6 Pro AP, 2x U6 L/R AP, and U6 Lite. I also grab some of their 4k Cameras and trying to get my hands on their G4 Doorbell. I preach network all day especially when it comes to a smart home and is key with Apple Homekit.

[uniqueflh]

Great video Eric. For what it may be worth, I'll co-sign on the good words about UniFi/Ubiquity. After trying several different Router Systems - I finally grabbed the Unify Dream Machine (UDM, not the Pro) along with a couple of their Beacon AP units.
It's far and away better than any other system I have used.

[peterbystrom]

I've been using UniFi for over a year now and the stability is absolute awesome. Well done! I'm looking forward to videos with separate VLAN for IoT and other stuff in the future! ;)

[smabacon]

I moved all of my network gear over to Ubiquiti last year and never looked back. Love their gear, the UI, upgradability and ease of use. Have got all my Unifi cameras running into Homekit too using Homebridge and all works perfectly. Next upgrade is to get their G4 Pro Doorbell once it's back in stock!

[Kaotix_music]

I just invested into the Unifi system...ngl - love it. I didnt want to get their expensive UDR or UDM for gateways, but when they dropped the UCG Ultra and Max? I went in. Got 2x 8 port POE switches, "acquired" a UI AP from work and set it all up. I LOVE being able to see literally everything happening on my network. What ports have a connection, whats connected to each port, what are those connections doing, setting up VLANs, each AP being able to have multiple SSIDs and assign VLANs to them. The downside to all of it - its expensive. 1 AP is 120 dollars and thats their lowest end AP and in a 1 story home, youre going to want MINIMUM 2x APs. 1 AP isnt that much for me with the powers set to max. But its an eco system i felt worth diving into. I have full control over my network, their UI in the gateway makes it SO EASY to set things up so...no more command line stuff like my old UI Edge Router X and I love being able to see network activity with the app on my phone. Next, I might replace all my ring equipment with their security cameras aswell (once i figure out my attic access issue lol) but overall - the UI eco system is simply just amazing

[ChaJ]

I think it is important to point out that you don't need all of their hardware. Actually, I don't use the routers at all. It is just the more you use, the more integration you get. You at least really want their switches and WiFi APs. You may find other router / firewall solutions are a lot more capable than what Ubiquity provides if you decide you need such functionality. For their switches and APs though, you get a whole lot of bang for your buck.

If you have ever tried to do true mesh WiFi with most any product, it tends to suck and you will be spending a lot on a solution with any sort of performance. Wired in APs almost always work a whole lot better.

Something many people can do but don't realize is to use MoCA (Media over Coax Alliance) Ethernet adapters to move Ethernet signals over the coax plant in their house / apartment. It is possible that the coax plant in your place sucks, but often times it is plenty good for the job. Most of the time you don't need that many APs in order to have good coverage. An apartment is generally 1 - 2 APs with a small apartment you may need to turn down signal strength in order to not be rude to your neighbors. An average sized newer town home is generally 2 - 3 APs with one of them outdoor mounted. An older home / large home can be 3 or more APs with the problem with the older homes is the chicken wire and plaster in the walls absorb a lot of signal, forcing a more room by room approach to get good signal strength. Outer walls almost always absorb a lot of signal, which is why outdoor APs come in real handy when you have yards. It just may be wise to have the proper grounding and electrical isolation so you don't see your fancy computer setup go up in literal smoke during an electrical storm.

VLANs are so very useful. Having a guest network with more than one AP, VLANs are a must. With work it can be very handy to have better network isolation. You probably have some IoT devices that are not the most secure and can live fine on their own VLAN. Security cameras tend to not have the greatest security and you want to have a dedicated NVR / video server anyway, so again VLANs come in handy here. I like to have a simple dumb PoE switch for my security cameras stuffed away in a closet or under the house or something.

[Waterbottle]

Nice video Eric! I invested in Unifi whenever I moved into my new house, and while it hasn't been completely stress free, it's been pretty great overall.

1 x UDM Pro
1 x Switch Pro 24 PoE
2 x U6 Lite
2 x AP Mesh
2 x Nano HD
1 x U6 Mesh (The can looking one)
1 x G4 Doorbell
1 x Flex Mini

Waiting to get a Switch Flex and 3 x G4 Pro Cameras whenever everything is back in stock.

[Neo]

6:21 great video. I just purchased a 16 port switch and U6 Pro APs. The Dream router is not here yet but will get everything ready for the arrival and cut over to it when it comes. My entire setup cost about $1200 not including cable and labor.

[ThunderChasers]

I just bought an older house. It has no ethernet. But, soon the whole house will be wired up. Running a Dream Machine SE and eventually add the 16 port switch. Their stuff is great and easy to use.