*** Official Ubiquiti Discussion Thread ***

[dbmzk1]

Out of interest, would it be ok to mount one of the Ubiquiti AP’s to the underside of a desk in an upstairs bedroom? I know they are supposed to be ceiling mounted and it perhaps wouldn’t be the best position on the underside, although it is just a 2m length of oak and some legs, so fairly open. I’ve currently got an Asus AC88u that’s in AP mode, that sits on top of the desk, as I’ve just set up a Pfsense router. Wifi is fine on the Asus so just considering at the moment.

https://help.ubnt.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005212927-UniFi-UAP-Antenna-Radiation-Patterns

The strongest signal will be from the top and side of the AP, kind of. So mounting it under a desk upstairs would give you a good signal in that room and below, but probably not quite as good in adjacent rooms upstairs. Mine sits on top of the back of my TV unit downstairs, so similar situation only reversed and I have no issues.

 

[DIABLO]

Out of interest, would it be ok to mount one of the Ubiquiti AP’s to the underside of a desk in an upstairs bedroom? I know they are supposed to be ceiling mounted and it perhaps wouldn’t be the best position on the underside, although it is just a 2m length of oak and some legs, so fairly open. I’ve currently got an Asus AC88u that’s in AP mode, that sits on top of the desk, as I’ve just set up a Pfsense router. Wifi is fine on the Asus so just considering at the moment.

Thats how mine is mounted, i used self adhesive Velcro.

 

[droyden]

I've not come across a better all-round AP than the AP-AC-LR. Most people look at the speed figures and buy the Pro and they actually get worse throughput than the LR because the mobile clients they are using can't see the access point as well. Yes, theoretically the Pro will go faster with the right client but how many of those 3x3 MIMO clients do you actually have? If you want/need better coverage, get another LR. A lite, as good as they are, would be a retrograde step.

If you want to borrow an LR to test, I'll happily lend you one.

Thanks for the offer and the advice, I have gone for the LR as most of the clients are mobile devices.

 

[Cavallino]

Folks. I have the Unifi AC Pro but don't have it mounted to the ceiling.
I have the top of the dome so to speak facing into a room (i.e. placing the AP on its side).

I guess this isn't great for home coverage?

Im getting around 60mbs/s speed even though I have a 200mbit internet connection.

 

[WJA96]

Folks. I have the Unifi AC Pro but don't have it mounted to the ceiling.
I have the top of the dome so to speak facing into a room (i.e. placing the AP on its side).

I guess this isn't great for home coverage?

Im getting around 60mbs/s speed even though I have a 200mbit internet connection.

That’s low. Is it on a proper CAT 5e/CAT 6 1GbE cable connection? Or does it show 100FDX in the controller?

 

[WJA96]

That’s low. Is it on a proper CAT 5e/CAT 6 1GbE cable connection? Or does it show 100FDX in the controller?

And I automatically assumed that was a 5GHz AC connection, not an N 2.4GHz connection? If it’s 2.4GHz then it’s probably about right.

 

[Cavallino]

That’s low. Is it on a proper CAT 5e/CAT 6 1GbE cable connection? Or does it show 100FDX in the controller?

Yep its on Cat 5e for sure.
I can see in the Uplink wired section it says:

Speed: 100
Duplex: Full Duplex

I guess this is what you are reefing to?

FYI what I didn't mention... this AP is connected to a Homeplug which in turn is connected to the router.

I am seeing the full 500mbps bandwidth out of the homeplug so I am 100% confident this isn't a bottleneck.

 

[Cavallino]

And I automatically assumed that was a 5GHz AC connection, not an N 2.4GHz connection? If it’s 2.4GHz then it’s probably about right.

Yes 5GHz for sure.
(I actually tried both... the difference is about 10-20mbps?) e.g. 60 Vs 80 or so...

 

[WJA96]

Yep its on Cat 5e for sure.
I can see in the Uplink wired section it says:

Speed: 100
Duplex: Full Duplex

I guess this is what you are reefing to?

FYI what I didn't mention... this AP is connected to a Homeplug which in turn is connected to the router.

I am seeing the full 500mbps bandwidth out of the homeplug so I am 100% confident this isn't a bottleneck.

Well, if it’s coming in at 200Mbps then you force it onto a 100Mbps connection you’ll never see more than 100Mbps from the connection. The homeplugs run a non-standard speed so their supposed 500Mbps is irrelevant to the access point. The access point can run at 1Gbps or 100Mbps. If you feed it 500Mbps it will default to 100Mbps full duplex (100FDX). That’s what’s killing your connection.

 

[WJA96]

Yes 5GHz for sure.
(I actually tried both... the difference is about 10-20mbps?) e.g. 60 Vs 80 or so...

What’s the test client? A phone? Do you know what the AC standard on the phone is? 2x2 Mimo?

 

[Cavallino]

Well, if it’s coming in at 200Mbps then you force it onto a 100Mbps connection you’ll never see more than 100Mbps from the connection. The homeplugs run a non-standard speed so their supposed 500Mbps is irrelevant to the access point. The access point can run at 1Gbps or 100Mbps. If you feed it 500Mbps it will default to 100Mbps full duplex (100FDX). That’s what’s killing your connection.

Right gotcha… so what do I need to do exactly? Are you saying that the homeplugs running at 500mbps will auto downgrade the AP to 100mbs? Is there any to force it?

 

[Cavallino]

What’s the test client? A phone? Do you know what the AC standard on the phone is? 2x2 Mimo?

Um I just physically set two wifi access points. One at 2.4GHz and the other at 5GHz and I connect to the 5GHz one...
The phone I am using is an One Plus 5T.
I am also using an iPhone 6S plus and a Ipad 2....

 

[Orcvader]

Right gotcha… so what do I need to do exactly? Are you saying that the homeplugs running at 500mbps will auto downgrade the AP to 100mbs? Is there any to force it?

Which homeplugs are they? Big chance the LAN ports on the homeplugs themselves is only 100mb and not 1gb.

 

[WJA96]

Right gotcha… so what do I need to do exactly? Are you saying that the homeplugs running at 500mbps will auto downgrade the AP to 100mbs? Is there any to force it?

No. To get the access point to run at 1Gbps you need to give it a 1Gbps connection. Is the RJ45 on the homeplug a 1GbE or a 100Mbps? The Access Point has obviously negotiated 100Mbps FDX with the homeplug so it will never run faster than that.

 

[Cavallino]

Which homeplugs are they? Big chance the LAN ports on the homeplugs themselves is only 100mb and not 1gb.

Theyre deveolo dLAN 500AV, so surely should be 1gbp?
Unless you are saying that the wire connected between my router and the homeplug as well as the homeplug and the Unifi AP could be limited due to some factor?

 

[WJA96]

Um I just physically set two wifi access points. One at 2.4GHz and the other at 5GHz and I connect to the 5GHz one...
The phone I am using is an One Plus 5T.
I am also using an iPhone 6S plus and a Ipad 2....

So you have two AP-AC-Pro’s? Or just one with two sets of transmissions?

All the clients you have listed are 2x2 MIMO devices so they can’t use the full capability of the AP-AC-Pro which needs a 3x3 MIMO client to achieve full speed. Also bear in mind that the AP can only connect to one client at a time so if you have all the clients switched on in the room simultaneously they will all talk to the Access Point one after the other and you won’t see the true top speed any one is capable of.

 

[WJA96]

Theyre deveolo dLAN 500AV, so surely should be 1gbp?
Unless you are saying that the wire connected between my router and the homeplug as well as the homeplug and the Unifi AP could be limited due to some factor?

From a quick look at the Devolo website, it says “fast Ethernet” which usually means 100Mbps. So that’s your lot if that’s the case.

 

[Cavallino]

All the clients you have listed are 2x2 MIMO devices so they can’t use the full capability of the AP-AC-Pro which needs a 3x3 MIMO client to achieve full speed.

I see, didn't know this.
But surely those devices should be capable of more than 60mbit?

Also bear in mind that the AP can only connect to one client at a time so if you have all the clients switched on in the room simultaneously they will all talk to the Access Point one after the other and you won’t see the true top speed any one is capable of.

Ok that's logical I guess, but assuming that I am just using ONE device only, in theory I should be able to access my full broadband speed all things being correctly installed?

 

[Cavallino]

From a quick look at the Devolo website, it says “fast Ethernet” which usually means 100Mbps. So that’s your lot if that’s the case.

Hmm I think you could be right...

Transmission speeds Ethernet 10/100 (mbps) Powerline 200/500 (mbps) Wi-Fi 150 (mbps, 1x1 SISO)

So am I reading this correct? that the theortical maximum speed out of any one homplug is only going to be 100mbit based on the limitations of the port?

But whats the point of labelling it as a 500mbit port then? Am I missing something here? Wont it be limited up to 100mbit based on the above?

And also assuming the above is true, shouldn't I be getting 100mbit maximum instead of say 60mbit?

 

[Orcvader]

Home plugs on average syncs at 20% of their advertised speed due to varying quality over home electrical wiring, so they usually cheap out on the ethernet connection to 100mb as 1gb is usually wasted. I'm assuming you did use the Devolo software to check the true sync speed? Even when they're on the same extension I don't usually see them syncing at the max advertised speed.

If your homeplugs really are syncing at over 100mb+ though, then you should see roughly 80mb, give or take due to overhead.