Ubiquiti - Access Point U6 Mesh

Unifi sounds like a good option in this case. Being able to pull out your phone anywhere and see everything that is going on down to the individual port and connected device level is worth the price of admission, even though hardware would be overkill for what they need. The consumer grade mesh systems available simply don't give you that kind of control and visibility. Wired is always better, but for their simple needs, you probably wouldn't notice the difference being on WiFi mesh. Cloud gateway ultra and maybe consider U6- mesh? They have lots of mounting options and work well inside and outside if needed.

Here's the thing, people forget or don't know in the first place that it's not just about how strong your access point is.. The signal coming from your phone or whatever wireless device you're using has to be strong enough to penetrate through walls or whatever and get back to the access point. In other words, a phone can hear a Wi-Fi signal from really far away.. but whatever is generating that signal might not be able to hear the phone. It would be like two people on opposite hilltops.. one has a megaphone and one doesn't. The person without the megaphone can hear the person with the megaphone just fine. However, the person with the megaphone might not be able to hear the person without the megaphone at all. I only need one u6 mesh access point in my house. It's a smaller two bedroom house. Even though my phone can hear the access point out in the yard.. the access point can't hear the phone. Which is why I have a second u6 mesh access point mounted outdoors but the power doesn't need to be nearly as high. I think it's turned down to maybe 30%. I don't really want or need any of the indoor Wi-Fi devices trying to communicate with the outdoor access point. The outdoor access point doesn't have any walls to blast through so it doesn't need nearly as much power to get to the phone and the phone doesn't have any walls to blast through outside so the access point can hear it just fine. Ubiquiti isn't the only company that has hardware like this but it's also very useful in some situations to be able to bind certain devices to certain access points. All my outdoor cameras that aren't wired, are bound to the outdoor access point. That way I don't even have to worry about them occasionally stupidly connecting to the indoor access point and having a weak signal. Kind of went on a FYI rant there lol.. I guess what I originally should have just said was, I do suggest mesh but it needs to be configured properly and the right equipment needs to be installed for the right location. If you have any questions you think I can answer, feel free to ask..

If you can get by with the regular Google Wi-Fi, TP-Link, erro, orbi, ECT.. systems. Great! There reasonably priced and reasonably fast.. Heck, there's nothing wrong with using equipment supplied by your ISP as long as the rental fee is reasonable and it works reliably. In some cases, that's free and there isn't a rental fee. True, someone at the ISP has access to your router if you go with their equipment but I'm honestly never come across that being an issue and over 30 years. It either works and people use it or it doesn't and they get their own equipment. If what they're selling in the big box stores is not going to cut it for you, a pretty reliable alternative would be ubiquiti/unifi. Slightly more complicated to set up but in my experience much more reliable, flexible, powerful, works with a broader range of older devices and newer devices, and you don't need to rely on the cloud unless you really want to. Plenty of YouTube videos and help groups as well. If you want something more complicated or expensive.. I don't think you'd be here posting this in the first place and would already have the answers you're seeking lol.

You can use this to extend your network coverage but you can’t use it as you’re hoping to. You would need to run a cable from the router or switch to an injector (unless your switch is POE) and a cable to the radio, then configure it to AP mode via unifi software. They work fairly well but I would’ve bought a U6/U6 LR/U6 pro instead. In order for this to work as a mesh node, you’d need another unifi device to mesh to, that device would need a cabled connection to SL.

I'm a bit of a network geek, so what I did may be more than you want. I have AT&T 1GB fiber, great service, reliable, fast. I have the BGW320, which is common in these installs. I have a [Unifi Cloud Gateway Max](https://techspecs.ui.com/unifi/cloud-gateways/ucg-max?subcategory=all-cloud-gateways) router sitting behind the 320, which is in IP Passthrough mode. This assigns the public IP address to my router, where I control all security and other configurations. (Including using the DNS servers I prefer over the AT&T servers which are locked in on the 320). I have two [Unifi U6 mesh devices](https://techspecs.ui.com/unifi/wifi/u6-mesh) that provide my wifi. Due to the IP passthrough, I don't use the wifi on the AT&T gateway. I have one U6 connected to the network with Ethernet, and it shares the mesh with a second U6 across the house. My 320 is also located in a corner of my house, so it was worth the effort to run the Ethernet between two Unifi switches and connect the U6 to one. The problem with extenders or repeaters is that they don't share the network bandwidth and provide a constant signal among device, as a mesh setup will. The extenders rebroadcast the incoming signal, and in doing so, they have to use some of the incoming signal power to rebroadcast - similar to creating a second network - which weakens the signal available to devices from the extender. There are a number of affordable mesh systems you could add to your network to improve things. I've heard good things about Google's Nest Mesh system, so that's one thing to look at. The setup I have (gateway, two switches, two mesh devices) is pricier, but not outrageous. The flexibility and the management tools make it worthwhile.

I'd go Unifi if you're willing to pay for a nice user experience but if you don't want ceiling mounted AP's, the only wifi7 options are the UX7 or the U7 Pro Wall with the table stand. Wifi 6 options have the U6 Mesh but there isn't a U7 mesh yet. An example setup: * Gateway: UCG Fiber * Switch: Flex 2.5G PoE or Non POE depending * APs: UX7 or U7 Pro Wall with Stand

Unifi AP's can all do mesh with each other, but they only mesh over 5ghz currently. If you want to provide the most bandwidth over mesh, you'd want an AP with 4x4 antennas/streams on the 5ghz band, like the U6 pro or U6 mesh. Or the U7 Pro XGS if you want to go crazy. U6 line is wifi 6, basically one generation old but still fine. U7 AP's are their newest wifi 7 devices and still releasing models. It sounds like you'll be fine without it, but the U7 outdoor AP's have a directional antenna if you need more range. Lastly, if you're not familiar with POE (Power over ethernet) that is the normal way to power most of their AP's, so you'll either need POE Switches or POE Injectors.

That's definitely a thing and usually called "Passive POE". But any normal POE switches will only output power to devices that need it. As long as you don't search for and specifically buy a passive POE switch, it'll be fine. Also, some of the AP's will come with a poe injector in the box, like the U6 mesh. Edit: I should also mention there are power tiers with POE. POE, POE+, POE++, etc. Each + indicates a doubling of power. But basically if a device requires POE+, you need a POE+ switch or higher.

Sorry, but why not Ubiquiti with Cloud management? You're already familiar with the platform and the logging available to you. Get him a Cloud Gateway Ultra and a U6 Lite or U6+ with a PoE Injector, enable cloud management, and that's all you need. You don't even need a switch, just use one of the CGU's Ethernet ports. You can use "Wireless Uplink" (what Ubiquiti calls it's meshing function) if you need to mesh Ubiquiti APs together too. I doubt your dad will complain much about halving speeds in doing so because it'll still be more than enough for a single user. Mesh units for the home are mostly designed for ease of use and management. They don't really target someone who wants extensive logging. Eero can get you there with "eero+" service, but that's a monthly fee for that service. For $250-$350, you can get that Ubiquiti setup and just fold it into your own home setup for multi site management.

Unifi with a bunch of U6 Mesh or other AP that have 4x4 radios.

I have Unifi for this.

I bet it is fine for people that aren't doing much with their wifi. Having each AP wired is a giant improvement so you're doing people big service.

If you have to do mesh at least get AP with 4x4 on 5ghz. The system will essentially dedicate a 2x2 5ghz to the mesh connection. I have a u7 pro xg with a u6 mesh child. Everything that connects to the u7 pro xg on 5ghz, usually older wifi5 devices, have connection issues because of this I believe. I am just guessing based on observations not pro expertise. My S25 will only connect to 2.4ghz and 6ghz when I have MLO enabled too.

Number of streams. U7 lite is a 2x2 on 2.4Ghz, and 2x2 on 5Ghz. The U6 Mesh is 2x2 on 2.4Ghz, but is 4x4 on 5Ghz.

Yes, this ! know many people will freak out at this, but I have this: U6 Mesh <-wireless-> U6 Mesh <-wireless-> U6 Mesh => unifi switch Ok so at the far end the max I get is about 250Mbps but that's PLENTY for the 2 bedrooms that are down that end. Sure, wired backhaul would be great, but I couldn't do that in my place for various reasons. It's very reliable and way better than any Netgear Orbi or Synology mesh systems that I have used previously. I know wireless meshing isn't the best option, but if you don't have a choice then i'd pick Unifi for it over any other system

Yep sorry good point. I just got the U6 mesh as they were compact and easier for me to move around slightly to get the best signal for meshing.

Unifi router that fits your needs and can manage all your devices and then go with bunch of their APs/Meshes that fits your needs. You most don't need the Wifi7 stuff. I have U6 Pro APs and U6 Mesh and they work great ony my 1Gbit internet.

I had phone jacks and was able to convert enough of them to Ethernet to get a great Ubiquiti system set up. One u6 in wall, one u6 pro ceiling mounted in a utility closet, and one u6 mesh outdoors. The phone wiring was daisy chained and only some were cat5. But I got 2 working jacks out of it, plus mounted one AP outdoors. And 3 APs is plenty for a ~1800 sq ft house even with old construction and suboptimal AP placement. It’s also possible to fish wires through walls but may be difficult depending on your house. If your basement is unfinished or you have an attic might be easier. If you do have to go mesh without wired backhaul I’d probably just get eero or one of those