*** Official Ubiquiti Discussion Thread ***
- Thread starter RoyMi6
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Deleted member 138126
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Deleted member 138126
I upgraded to 1.9.1.1 the other day. Fine. It's really only a minor security update.
Hi All, I currently run two Meraki MR26 access points - their licensing cost is becoming too much so I'm looking to replace them with UniFi HD APs. How do UniFi compare to Meraki? Its been a while since I last looked at UniFi stuff - my main query is how they handle band steering and zero handoff? Cheers, Phil.
I'm guessing this is for a high density business deployment as a HD would be kind of over kill for anything else. They can get near Gigabit speed with compatible clients. Band steering works fine as far as i can tell but that sort of thing can be client dependant on how well it works. And Zero Handoff is something that is generally not what people recommended to use.
What features do you use from the Meraki units at the moment? The MR26 APs are fairly old now so don't have the dedicated security radios, but on the off-chance that you use the automatic rogue AP scanning and containment features that the Meraki products have then you should know that that doesn't exist on the Ubiquiti range. Neither does NATing of guest clients, AD integrated portal logins, on-device packet capture, application of different policies based on RADIUS attributes returned for the client authentication etc. Band steering is supported, but ultimately the clients will decide what radio they want to connect to, and this is the same with roaming. UniFi APs do not support 802.11r/k/v.
Is there a reason you have chosen the HD APs?
Is there a reason you have chosen the HD APs?
Nope, just for use at home. I just picked those with the highest specs hoping they'll futureproof my requirements for the next ~5 years.
I don't use any of the features you've listed really. I have a couple of SSIDs - one connects to the 192 network and the other connects to a guest network. Access to either is controlled by a password (not AD/portal etc).
Deleted member 138126
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Deleted member 138126
Why do you want to do that? It should naturally go to 5GHz if it is in range, but remember that 5GHz is far worse at going through walls, so if you force it to only use 5GHz, you are effectively giving yourself far worse signal the moment you step out of the room where the AP is. Much better to let the phone decide (it should naturally go to 5GHz if the signal quality is better).
I don't really have signal issues. I can get 5ghz in the garden.
My S6edge is in the bedroom connected at 5ghz. My new S8 is about 3 ft away from the AP and is connected at 2.4ghz. (the cloud controller has a green leaf next to it (S8) signifying power saving)
I was just hoping for quicker downloads of updates etc on the new phone.
Deleted member 138126
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Deleted member 138126
Just for an experiment, try creating a new SSID on just 5GHz and make the S8 forget the existing SSID and join the new one. See how you go with that. My guess is you won't notice a single difference in speed, and you will notice a big difference in signal quality around the house (unless you have a studio apartment with walls made out of paper, and even then 5GHz isn't fantastic).
Have you tried Band Steering setting in the unifi controller?
Indeed. It's a phone, let it make its own decisions on what band to use.
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Why on earth would you go from one of the best ISPs to one of the worst?
Cost. Can't say I've had an issue at all with plusnet. The only difference I notice is an extra £20 odd in my bank account every month.
I think the energy saving is a feature of the phone. On our Apple devices, they show as connected but power saving unless they are actually transmitting or receiving data. I definitely think its more likely a phone issue than an AP issue. A 5G-only SSID will force the phone connect at 5G however I would probably side with the people who asking what the benefit is forcing the phone onto 5GHz unless you are seeing an issue with stuttering video streaming or something like that.
As someone who has ordered HDs (I'm hoping after being let down by my suppliers a couple of times they finally arrive on the 19th) to replace LRs I'm going to disagree.
All the previous access point models in the AP-AC range had weaknesses. Pro was theoretically fastest and could handle more clients but LR was better with listening for mobile devices and Lite was cheapest but needed 24v Passive PoE and was compromised on speed.
The HD has better transmission and reception antennae, a higher transmission power and a more sophisticated method for handling simultaneous connections. Other than the cost there is no downside to specifying the HD over any other model in the Unifi range. If cost isn't an issue then the HD is clearly the way to go.
I specified LRs previously because of the better receive antenna sensitivity but the HD is better again with handheld devices. The HDs are expensive, but for most people the biggest frustration with WiFi is the inability to connect followed by the perception that a connection is slow. Our current dashboard shows 24 mobile devices and 38 wired connections. A BT HomeHub 6 was handling it all with a 48 port TP-Link switch but everyone says the Unifi system is faster and we're able to have multiple people on EE WiFi Calling all with perfect signal quality. To give you an example of how the LRs have altered people's expectations, someone was walking here and complained that they were unable to pick up the WiFi until they were physically able to see the building, roughly 500m away. 500m! When I pointed out that most people would be happy to get WiFi when they came into the building, I was met with "But this is proper WiFi". People's expectations shift with each improvement in what they have.
Whether the HD will be appreciably better than the LRs is anyone's guess but as the notional IT support person in the building I will be able to look people in the eye and say we have the best equipment available.
I just feel that once UniFi starts getting expensive it's playing in a market dominated by other vendors. They may feel that their products are at a certain level now where they can introduce higher specced options at prices inline with the vendors they initially set out to "disrupt", but it can be brutal. Once you're at £300 per AP you open up a lot of options.