Ubiquiti - U6 Mesh Pro

I second this suggestion - the UCG Ultra with U6 Pro ACs is brilliant - more expensive but you get a quality setup

I use a couple Unfi Pro 6 APs and a cloud key + controller. Works great!

If you have Ethernet access in every room and assuming they all lead back to a central point where your BGW 320 is, you could have a main switch connect everything. Edit: Also assuming cabling is good/will support Gbit speeds. And/Or wireless AP(s). I like the UniFi Pro 6 with a CloudKey+ and POE switch.

Initial setup was just simply using my phone with their app to Bluetooth setup the cloud key. Then you just go through the app or web interface to adopt the AP’s and whatever else you may have. Firmware updates are automatic which is nice. WiFi has been stable. I did check the channels to find the least busy one and turned off auto optimize since it seems to put you back on the busiest channels. I recently added another AP after we moved. Roaming between the two is pretty seamless. Logs are nice.

I have a similar setup at home. I have a U6 Mesh connected to a USW Flex that is housed in a Flex Utility enclosure. I needed several ethernet ports for the devices i have in an outside gazebo and this worked great. The Flex Utility is waterproof and supplies power to the Flex. The Flex has PoE to power the U6 Mesh. The U6 meshes over 5ghz to another U6 Mesh i have in the house about 50 ft away. I get about 150Mbps to the devices connected to the Flex which is more than enough for what i needed. If i was doing it now, i'd probably go with U7 Outdoor but still use the USW Flex to power it and leverage for more ethernet ports.

I'm not sure how I could move the router higher in the cabinet without having to rewire the whole cabinet or have 5 Ethernet cables running up to the router at the top which would be messy. Is it likely that moving the router up higher would have a big impact (still in enclosed cupboard)? The router downstairs is also in an enclosed cupboard under the TV, but I could potentially put a U6 Mesh on top of the TV unit as it doesn't look too offensive. I bought a U6 Mesh but didn't install it as I assumed I would return it given the UDR7 didn't have better range than the Asus.

I use 2 U6 Meshes specifically for their tabletop form factor and the number of 5GHz spatial streams. When I first set them up, they were both meshed and everything was fine. Interference was a bit high. I've got one wired now and it happens to do most of the heavy lifting in my house. The second one is meshed to the first and performs well but typically there are less than 10 devices connected to it. FYI the U6 Mesh APs do get hot to the touch.

Oh, I mean they operated completely fine as meshed units. I have been very happy with them. I have plans to run POE to the second one but haven't had the time and the priority is low since they operate just fine for home networking as mesh units. To be clear, any of Unifi's APs can work as a meshed device as long as you are getting power to it using a POE AC Adapter. 20/20 hindsight, it was super easy to run POE for the one on my first floor and I wish I had gone with a U6 In-Wall because I now have a need for additional ports.

It’s not that UniFi is a bad mesh system. It’s that if you’re already resorting to mesh instead of wired backhaul, IMO there are better solutions that are easier to use and cost less. Eero is widely known as basically a completely bulletproof mesh system. High throughput, excellent range, incredibly easy setup. There’s a reason a lot of fiber ISPs are starting to provide Eeros - they’re great and continue to be great even above the 1Gbps WAN mark. The advantage of Ubiquiti systems is that they perform extremely well, even better than Eero because there’s less latency and no bandwidth loss per hop, but that advantage comes only when wired. Once you go mesh, you get all the downsides of a typical mesh connection but you also have the increased complexity of the UI interface versus something like Eero or Orbi. And also increased cost - a UDR7 plus two U6 Mesh’s, for example, is $740 plus you need PoE injectors for the Mesh’s, so make that $750 at a minimum. And that’s an extremely basic mesh network designed for every single mesh node to be placed literally anywhere just like an Eero or Orbi system - no wall mount APs with weird rear facing dead zones or APs that require a ceiling mount so you might as well have run Ethernet in the first place. You can get three Eero Pro 7’s that blow that UI setup out of the water performance wise for $549, and you get dual 5GbE ports on each endpoint to support probably as fast a connection as anyone using mesh Wi-Fi will want for the next few years at least. UniFi is great. But if you’re using it in mesh, you’re giving up a lot of its advantages compared to simpler and more proven mesh-first systems.

Okay, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I've set up both UI mesh systems and Eero systems and what you're saying is just not accurate. Ubiquiti is absolutely NOT plug-and-play. There's a lot of settings that are preconfigured by Eero (like channels, bandwidth, security, etc) that you have to manually configure on a UI system or you won't get the same performance. In addition, the Ubiquiti interface locks some settings behind the desktop interface and won't let you adjust them in the mobile app. Eero is a mobile app-first UI - it's simpler, but also doesn't ever require you to go out to desktop. On top of all that, any Eero can be the base router node, which is not the case for Ubiquiti unless you're using all UX7's. But if you're using three UX7's, then if you take a look at the [Rtings testing for the UX7 versus the (now $50 cheaper) Eero Pro 7](https://www.rtings.com/router/tools/compare/eero-pro-7-vs-unifi-express-7/94825/96633), you'll notice the UX7 absolutely eats beans compared to the Eero on range so you might as well buy the Eero for best performance.

Disagree. It is well supported and works with the same caveats as any wireless mesh system. There are products e.g. U6-Mesh that are designed specifically with wireless mesh in mind.

It has "Mesh" right in the name :) Seriously though, IMO the antenna radiation pattern is more favorable for mesh Wifi than ceiling-mounted access points and the 4x4 MIMO on the 5GHz band allows some degree of beam forming to provide better connection the other access point. I have tried using both a U6-LR and a U6-Mesh in a wireless backhaul mode and the U6-Mesh performed remarkably better. I was a bit surprised by this. YMMV

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.

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.