Ubiquiti - UniFi E7

You’d be surprised how many people have been buying Ubiquiti E7 access points for their homes. And I’m one of them.

I never had issues personally but things have supposedly gotten better with the newer APs and firmware.

2100 SQ/FT house - 4 floors, U7 Pro Max not cutting it range wise - just ordered the E7 yesterday and should see it tomorrow. Going to put the U7 in the basement and mount the E7 on the top floor - this should cover everything. Contemplating putting the E7 one floor down and just using one, but the U7 has been solid except for range. Easy to adjust. For sure overkill - but the range and antenna design should help me keep connected while out on the property.

90% perfect - I think the E7 placement for my situation would be better on the 2nd floor versus the 3rd floor. Equipment wise - the E7 has been exceptional.

I got so tired of about a year of trying to get my Orbi 7 mesh to work properly, to not constantly drop my wife’s iPhone and mine, to not constantly have odd issues with things like smart TVs and treadmills not being able to connect consistently. I finally had it, and after some reading picked up a Ubiquiti Dream Router 7 along with a switch and two E7 access points. It’s a commercial grade system that should cost way more than I spent on the Orbi stuff, and yet it’s somehow cheaper. Like, a lot cheaper. Speeds are way better than with the Orbi. Coverage better. And so far, I am not seeing any annoying iPhone drops. And the smart TV and treadmill that kept disconnecting seem to be working great. I wish someone had grabbed me by the neck and forced me to do this a year ago. Lesson learned. Just wanted to share this here for others like me who dealt with nothing but headaches with the 970. Good luck to folks here. I’m out. 👍

I have Ethernet run to the APs. I didn’t even realize it was possible to run them in mesh wirelessly, but when I was setting up, I got the impression that you actually can. In any event, these E7 units are so amazing, I have one on each end of the house (one in the attic, and one in the basement), and I have the Dream Router in the other end of the basement, and I have 1G speeds on my iPhone sitting in my kitchen. Bonkers. By the way, the Unifi app is UNREAL. The amount of information, diagrams, control. There is so much you can see and do. That Orbi app is so amazingly awful in comparison. Still can’t quite believe the difference.

I have two E7 units (not U7) — right now one is laying on its back on a plastic shelf in the basement, the other is leaning against a wall in the attic. Probably I should properly mount them at some point and figure out what direction is best. But just laying there, they are fantastic.

Yup my E7s are wired with Ethernet. Frankly I don’t even know for sure if they do a wireless mesh.

My Orbo970 system was overpriced junk. Fast, but we all use iPhones in my house and it just doesn’t know how to deal with them. Recently switched to a UniFi system and no trouble at all with iPhone handoffs on their wifi7 APs. Best decision ever.

This is a solid write-up. Here’s my experience, especially for those with IoT devices: I recently upgraded to an E7 (with a Swiss Army Knife added for my unique use case). Previously, I used an ASUS AX11000 and AX-86U in a wired mesh setup. When the 2.4GHz radio on the AX11000 died, I decided to switch to UniFi. Since I couldn’t install multiple APs, I needed a single device with broad coverage. Strong 2.4GHz performance was essential, along with WiFi 7 support for future use. My home is about 1,600 sq. ft., built with standard American materials, and sits on a 1-acre lot, spaced decently from neighbors. I also have a significant number of IoT devices. Before setup, I scanned the area to select optimal channels and widths. # Settings: **SSIDs:** Three total—one for 2.4GHz, one for 5GHz, and one mixed (5GHz/6GHz). **Features:** IGMP and Multicast DNS enabled. **IPv6:** Configured locally since my provider doesn’t offer it, to support Matter smart home devices. # 2.4GHz: 20MHz, Channel 1, Custom Power: 14 dBm, Minimum RSSI: -70 Enhanced IoT Connectivity: Enabled # 5GHz: 80MHz, Channel Auto (nightly checks due to frequent channel hopping by nearby networks), Custom Power: 30 dBm # 6GHz (still tweaking): 160MHz, Channel Auto, Transmit Power: High, 6GHz Extended Range: Enabled **Testing:** Initially, I placed the E7 in my office at the front corner of the house. At the opposite diagonal corner (\~60 ft through multiple walls), the 2.4GHz signal dropped, while 5GHz performed better (tested with an iPhone 16 Pro). I moved it to the attic for a more central location, but ductwork and wiring appear to degrade the signal. It’s currently resting on insulation, but I plan to mount it to a joist. Performance (with the roof between me and the E7): 6GHz: \~1200 Mbps 5GHz: \~500 Mbps 2.4GHz: Painfully slow—5-20 Mbps **IoT Devices:** I have \~50 IoT devices, including ESP32 BLE Proxies, Apple TVs, HomePod Minis, and 2.4GHz smart bulbs. Apple TVs and HomePods connect via 5GHz with a 95-100% WiFi Experience rating. Most devices report an “Excellent” connection. Some 2.4GHz Sengled Matter Bulbs had issues, but that might be the bulbs’ fault. **Conclusion:** Overall, I like the E7. However, I’ve encountered a rare issue where it disconnects, restarts, and goes through the “Getting Ready” process—no idea why. I’m still learning UniFi’s system, particularly Airtime, Interference, and power level adjustments.

Unifi has nothing that compares to actual wireless mesh by the home router competitors. Their accessible products like the DR7 and UE7 don’t use 4x4 antennas, 6ghz or MLO for backhaul which significantly decreases bandwidth. They also don’t have any products with a band for dedicated backhaul, they have absolutely nothing that can compare to a full WiFi mesh from competitors like ASUS, Tplink, Eero or netgear.

Unifi is not the way for WiFI mesh and even if you don’t need mesh it’s not for the average joe either. They are expensive but the easiest setup and most feature rich for the average consumer is ASUS.

Ubiquity hands down. Their WiFi 7 gear is reasonably priced too

I think Eero would be the most plug and play option. I've used TP-Link and they're decent but unclear political situation / possible ban. Ubiquiti/Unifi if you want to tinker and manage their network remotely (expensive)

UniFi has a great designer tool that will help you figure coverage with the different devices.

If that’s the case get a ubiquiti Unifi system. Gateway plus access points. Best performance per dollar with a wired backhaul

UniFi is the most solid networking platform.