U7 Pro XGS

One of my access points can handle 500 clients. https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/u7-pro-xgs This one handles over 1,000 https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/wifi-enterprise/collections/pro-e7-campus/products/e7-campus-u I'd start moving away from wifi smart home devices. They arent as stable, most are connected to the cloud vs local and they're competing for your wifi bandwidth.

Happy to share. Just so you know, those access points need other equipment to work. Worth checking out /r/unifi if you want to go that way to ask for recommendations. Just dont believe the regular posts are representative of a typical setup. Call me a skeptic, but I do not believe most 1200 sqft homes need $3k in networking gear for a "first rack".

Wifi devices are power hogs, noisy, and not the most secure mechanism. There are other radios people often use for home automation. The rub is you need a hub to control them. Zwave, Zigbee, and Thread being popular ones. I use home assistant for home automation running on an old mini pc. I have radios for all three. - Zwave: Great for security and distance. Its where I got started in home automation - Zigbee: large ecosystem with lots of sensors, light bulbs (hue uses zigbee for alot of things) and all sorts of others - Thread: The new hotness. Some brands like ikea are going all in on thread

Thread and matter havent fully matured yet. Still more flash than bang. That said it's quickly changing with more companies switching to thread. For now Zigbee has broader device options and more stability. The win is having a device that lets you use any radio you want. I have zwave devices that are 12 years old. No need to get rid of them, but I can run wifi, BLE, zigbee, and thread too. For now I'm mostly focused on the best device vs being on one standard.

Unifi is just for your wifi. There are mesh routers like eero that are also thread border routers. However, many Amazon devices also have thread border routers (three of my Alexa's do as an example). If you have an alexa, Google home, apple tv or home pod the you likely already have some initial potential to connect and automate your wifi and other devices. It's worth checking those out to see if you like them and it meets your needs. For me, I went to home assistant because I wanted it to not only do more, but behave exactly as I desire with alot of nuance, custom dashboard and more.

Second this. Switched from Orbi mesh which was giving me heaps of issues to this exact UniFi setup and all my Sonos gear works flawlessly now.

Every topology has its weaknesses. Many people may think that mesh is the golden goose, but that is not the case. The biggest weakness is the backhaul. If it is too weak or the AP-to-AP section has poor reception, the mesh will also perform poorly. Since many people tend to push 3-4 Wi-Fi networks onto the transmitter, there is often a problem with beaconing on light consoles, as these only have 4-6 max streams. Therefore, it makes sense to use a good AP instead of a light one. For example, two xgs can be placed further apart because their reception strength is 30dBm and more instead of a u7Lite. Then there are Wi-Fi-specific issues: a backhaul that is too weak can cause the MLO on the end devices to not function properly in Wi-Fi 7, for example. Individual AP cells still deliver the best quality.

Ubiquity mesh can be very powerful. Basically, there are general requirements to consider, such as the distance to the nearest mesh point should not exceed -63dBm. Specifically for Ubiquity, the maximum stream rate is reduced by half for all UI products, so I would generally be cautious with more than three Wi-Fi configurations. Specifically, it depends on the product mix. All Generation 7 models use the Qualcomm N7 base chip. However, if you compare the XG to the XGS, the XGS is up to 50% better because it is not a blind AP. It is also worth mentioning that UI builds the mesh on 5GHz. With 4x4 designs, you'll be a lot faster and more stable than many other mesh products on the market. So my answer is yes, but only with XGS, u7 pro max, or the E7 series is it really worth it. Otherwise, I would be better off with an Asus or other consumer mesh product

Not wired. But I have wireless mesh with another U7 PRO and U7 Long Range. Works great

switch to unifi from google mesh. Much happier

Yep I'll second the U7 Pro. I actually only have one as it covers my 1800sq ft split level great.

U7 Pro works great

Ubiquiti's UniFi system is difficult to recommend without running some ethernet cable. Even the Eero, Orbi and TP-Link mesh routers I cannot recommend without wired backhaul. Some of the U7 access points are capable of doing mesh but the ethernet backhaul to a PoE switch is crucial. Being that your current house is a ranch, do you have access to the attic? All you'll really need to do is run maybe about 1 or 2 ethernet cables (2 if you use the UCG Fiber which I recommend getting or 1 in the case of the Dream Router 7) in the attic which you could theoretically take with you when you move. I've shopped around for mesh routers as my dad has a Lorex Wifi Flood Light camera above the garage that our current router can't reach and the best combination I've seen so far is the UCG Fiber and any of the U7 access Points. I've priced everything and the Eero Max 7, Orbi 970 & TP-Link's equivalent came out to over $100 more than any UniFi equipment combination that I need.