Ubiquiti Unifi AP AC PRO Alternative

[Augmentum]

Hello Everyone,

 

I was wondering if you can help me out.  I started using Ubiquiti Unifi products after the glowing review and praises I found from a number of websites and youtube channels of their speed and just overall how great they are.  But that's just it.  They're great for a year then they start giving me problems.  I have had two of these, the first one where I got the regular UAP which started giving me wireless performance issues after 10 months.  During this time I saw that they had released a second generation the UAP AC versions of which I bought the PRO version.  After a year again, the wifi  has started to show problems where it would be increasingly slow and giving ping spikes.  At this point I'm just done with UBIQUITI products.  There seems to be a big lack of quality in their products as they don't build them for longevity.  

 

So, If you've gotten this far, I thank you for reading my little rant.  I am looking for an alternative just like the title states.  It must be able to mountable and has an ethernet pass through.  

 

Thank You.

[Remix]

Ubiquiti is a great brand, I cannot relate. Being you've gone the prosumer/small business route for Access Points, I'll assume you don't intend on spending much more than what you did with Ubiquiti. While I could recommend you get some Cisco Meraki product and pay some expensive rate, you could look into something like Mikrotik. I know Linksys makes a business grade AP that is affordable.

 

If you don't mind, run this command via SSH on your Ubiquiti APs. This fixed many problems in earlier firmware with Ubiquiti. Also make sure they're up to date, this last update did something... but it improved speeds overall and roaming is much quicker. 

 

Via SSH, users can apply syswrapper.sh restore-default. The UAP should quickly reboot with factory default settings. 

 

That will reset it to factory, but something about it speeds up the APs. Update the FW, and you shouldn't have an issue.

[Guest]

What you get really depends on what you're using the AP's for and what you want out of them?

[Augmentum]

5 hours ago, Remix said:

Ubiquiti is a great brand, I cannot relate. Being you've gone the prosumer/small business route for Access Points, I'll assume you don't intend on spending much more than what you did with Ubiquiti. While I could recommend you get some Cisco Meraki product and pay some expensive rate, you could look into something like Mikrotik. I know Linksys makes a business grade AP that is affordable.

 

If you don't mind, run this command via SSH on your Ubiquiti APs. This fixed many problems in earlier firmware with Ubiquiti. Also make sure they're up to date, this last update did something... but it improved speeds overall and roaming is much quicker. 

 

Via SSH, users can apply syswrapper.sh restore-default. The UAP should quickly reboot with factory default settings. 

 

That will reset it to factory, but something about it speeds up the APs. Update the FW, and you shouldn't have an issue.

I ended up going ahead with an RMA and Ubiquiti is advance RMA-ing it.  I just like to plan ahead if something were to happen again because I just lost trust in the Ubiquiti Unifi products.  Since I don't have the AP anymore, I can't do much at the moment.  I did factory reset the AP before sending it in and updated to latest FW but the problem persisted.  Wifi was incredibly slow (tried different channels), internet connections would just suddenly drop with laptops and phones.  Wired connections are good while this is happening so I can only think of the AP is at fault.

4 hours ago, Windspeed36 said:

What you get really depends on what you're using the AP's for and what you want out of them?

Just general use that can accommodate a large number of people and remain consistent and durable, really, I'm not too picky.

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, Augmentum said:

Just general use that can accommodate a large number of people and remain consistent and durable, really, I'm not too picky.

Forgot to ask what budget you were looking at? Xirrus make some decent AP's (XR-630 is your UAP-AC-Pro equivalent). Haven't looked at the Netgear/DLink/TPLink alternatives however there should be some okay options from them.

 

It'll be interesting to hear what Ubnt say about your AP as I haven't seen that issue before (dealt with 200+ UAP's over the past few years)

[Augmentum]

20 hours ago, Windspeed36 said:

Forgot to ask what budget you were looking at? Xirrus make some decent AP's (XR-630 is your UAP-AC-Pro equivalent). Haven't looked at the Netgear/DLink/TPLink alternatives however there should be some okay options from them.

 

It'll be interesting to hear what Ubnt say about your AP as I haven't seen that issue before (dealt with 200+ UAP's over the past few years)

I'm looking within the same price range as the UAP-AC-PRO, so like in the 150 USD price range.  

 

As for what they say about my AP, I'll update you guys once they receive my AP.

[beavo451]

23 hours ago, Windspeed36 said:

Forgot to ask what budget you were looking at? Xirrus make some decent AP's (XR-630 is your UAP-AC-Pro equivalent). Haven't looked at the Netgear/DLink/TPLink alternatives however there should be some okay options from them.

 

It'll be interesting to hear what Ubnt say about your AP as I haven't seen that issue before (dealt with 200+ UAP's over the past few years)

A quick Google shows that the XR630 is $1,000? That's your suggestion for a UAP alternative?

[legopc]

Well if you want a good reliable product and you dont have a small budget then get yourself a Cisco Aironet 1830 ap. 

[harry4742]

Take a look at HPs M330

[skywake]

There's one thing nobody has considered here. Network performance issues can be pretty hard to pin down and the causes aren't always the most obvious. Not that I think it's the case here but as more and more stuff gets plugged into your network problems become harder to pinpoint. Sometimes your first conclusion isn't the right one.

 

For example I had an issue with my setup a while ago where my wireless devices would lose connectivity. It'd still be on WiFi but they'd just be slow when loading web pages and so on. My first thought was to blame my access points because it was just wireless devices at this stage. My suspicions were strengthened when I went to the Ubiquiti statistics page and noticed that one of my APs was behaving normally and the other one looked a bit strange. It was locked on the same amount of traffic every hour. So unplugged it.

 

But then about a day or so later I go to my desktop and it's also having connectivity issues. And not just internet but local devices also. It's at this point I notice that on some of my switches the activity LEDs are going bananas. Something's up. So I start unplugging things, swapping out switches, rebooting the router and so on. Then I unplug my printer and... the problem stops. The printer one day decided it wanted to flood the network. My router was apparently detecting the issue and so my other AP wasn't impacted. Solution? Turn it off when I'm not using it.

 

Something worth considering, it might be your setup and not the APs themselves. Especially given that this has happened to you twice

[Augmentum]

On 1/1/2017 at 0:19 AM, skywake said:

There's one thing nobody has considered here. Network performance issues can be pretty hard to pin down and the causes aren't always the most obvious. Not that I think it's the case here but as more and more stuff gets plugged into your network problems become harder to pinpoint. Sometimes your first conclusion isn't the right one.

 

For example I had an issue with my setup a while ago where my wireless devices would lose connectivity. It'd still be on WiFi but they'd just be slow when loading web pages and so on. My first thought was to blame my access points because it was just wireless devices at this stage. My suspicions were strengthened when I went to the Ubiquiti statistics page and noticed that one of my APs was behaving normally and the other one looked a bit strange. It was locked on the same amount of traffic every hour. So unplugged it.

 

But then about a day or so later I go to my desktop and it's also having connectivity issues. And not just internet but local devices also. It's at this point I notice that on some of my switches the activity LEDs are going bananas. Something's up. So I start unplugging things, swapping out switches, rebooting the router and so on. Then I unplug my printer and... the problem stops. The printer one day decided it wanted to flood the network. My router was apparently detecting the issue and so my other AP wasn't impacted. Solution? Turn it off when I'm not using it.

 

Something worth considering, it might be your setup and not the APs themselves. Especially given that this has happened to you twice

So I've tried unplugging everything else from the network so that the only thing that was connected was the UAP but same results.  I've also made sure the controller and the firmware are the latest and the correct POE adapter is the correct one for the model.  I've checked with plugging a computer straight into the router and the speed is consistent. I even switched radio channels from 1, 6, 11, and played with the power from low, medium, high, and auto.  Same results.  I've factory reset the UAP, same results.  I did this before sending it in to RMA.  Also, when I was taking the UAP down from its mount on the ceiling, it was unusually hot.  Could that be a factor in this?  Maybe it was just a bad UAP?  I remember ordering them right away as they were released.  So maybe something with the first batch of them possibly? Any other ideas?

 

On 12/31/2016 at 7:12 PM, harry4742 said:

Take a look at HPs M330

That's a bit expensive for my budget.  Thank you though 

 

On 12/31/2016 at 4:46 PM, legopc said:

Well if you want a good reliable product and you dont have a small budget then get yourself a Cisco Aironet 1830 ap. 

Alas, I have a small budget  

[skywake]

Yeah, usually the thing that breaks is the thing that's giving you issues. But with networks it's not always that simple. I guess for your issue it probably is if you've gone through all that. Food for thought anyways. Sometimes you just have a run of bad luck. Hopefully their customer service handles it well.

[Guest]

On 31/12/2016 at 2:44 PM, beavo451 said:

A quick Google shows that the XR630 is $1,000? That's your suggestion for a UAP alternative?

I've seen them a hell of a lot cheaper than that. Otherwise try searching for the XR620 or X2

[Augmentum]

Hey guys, so I received my new AP, and it's been working flawlessly so far with everything plugged in and a lot of people simultaneously using it.  I think I just keep getting unlucky with my previous APs but it's fine now

[Erkel]

The bigger question is what band are you using?  2.4GHz or 5GHz,

2.4GHz in the urban setting has turned to shit as everyone has a high power 2.4GHz AP these days vomitting over the spectrum, you sure it an't just that, that is the problem?

 

The only saving grace is 5GHz which is still usable in urban environments, and the its save grace looking forward is its attenuation through walls etc, which means less of the neighbours vomit getting through.

[leadeater]

On 2/14/2017 at 8:36 AM, Augmentum said:

Hey guys, so I received my new AP, and it's been working flawlessly so far with everything plugged in and a lot of people simultaneously using it.  I think I just keep getting unlucky with my previous APs but it's fine now

If you end up having problems again have a look on ebay for used enterprise access points. I'm a big fan of Aruba and you can get used AP-225/AP-215/AP-135 units in the price range you are looking at. You'll be able to find similar priced Ruckus equipment too.

 

I know suggesting used is rather odd considering the price of new Ubnt, but once you look at the new prices of Aruba equipment you'll understand these are good and designed to last. Company I used to work for installed and configured wireless systems in to schools ranging from 5 APs to over 200 APs, Ruckus we used for the smaller deployments and Aruba for the larger.

 

As with all used equipment buyer beware, try and solve any issues with the Ubnt equipment first under standard warranty and support.

[Augmentum]

10 hours ago, Erkel said:

The bigger question is what band are you using?  2.4GHz or 5GHz,

2.4GHz in the urban setting has turned to shit as everyone has a high power 2.4GHz AP these days vomitting over the spectrum, you sure it an't just that, that is the problem?

 

The only saving grace is 5GHz which is still usable in urban environments, and the its save grace looking forward is its attenuation through walls etc, which means less of the neighbours vomit getting through.

I tested out both 2.4 and 5GHz and they were putting out the same results, that's why i sent it back to Ubiquiti.  

 

9 hours ago, leadeater said:

If you end up having problems again have a look on ebay for used enterprise access points. I'm a big fan of Aruba and you can get used AP-225/AP-215/AP-135 units in the price range you are looking at. You'll be able to find similar priced Ruckus equipment too.

 

I know suggesting used is rather odd considering the price of new Ubnt, but once you look at the new prices of Aruba equipment you'll understand these are good and designed to last. Company I used to work for installed and configured wireless systems in to schools ranging from 5 APs to over 200 APs, Ruckus we used for the smaller deployments and Aruba for the larger.

 

As with all used equipment buyer beware, try and solve any issues with the Ubnt equipment first under standard warranty and support.

Alright I'll keep that in mind.  

[Austinkastner]

Build an Mikrotik AP 

 

My build is an RB433AH with 15Dbi Omni entenna

 

 

 

Range of AP is 3,000ft