Ubiquiti - UniFi Express 7

You can use the Express 7 as a tabletop AP very easily. I got 3 and run them like that.

Mine is a bit overkill for most situations, I have a cloud Gateway Ultra, u7 pro, 2 switch lite 8s, u6 extender, and an Ap-ac pro for an area that the others don't reach. I still run an opnsense firewall and a pihole as well for dns. BUT if you just need something simple an express gateway is enough for most people, and you can add additional ap's to it if needed as well. It is slow but for how little you have to actually log in and change settings after it is configured it doesn't matter. I set my parents up with an express and two additional ap's and they've had zero issues since as well.

That's a good discount. We'll you can surely give it a try. And it's amazon so if it doesn't works you can send back. But you never know the firmware might have been rectified. I never tried be98 so no idea I changed to ubiquiti Cheaper and way faster performance on u7

I got the u7pro and u7pro max

I'll say the following: 1. If your main router/wifi has "2.4GHz quality issues", why not consider replacing that with something that works right? Seems silly to have physically separate equipment and access points for 2.4GHz/IOT. 2. Wifi "range extenders" suck. Especially if you're planning on using 5GHz for the backhaul. 3. Bear in mind that even with the "most solid" 2.4GHz wifi, it's common for cheap IOT home devices to just be flaky and crappy. You will not eliminate 100% of that behavior even with the best wifi. 4. Others are recommending Ubiquiti, and I have a full Ubiquiti system at home as well, but keep in mind that Ubiquiti makes dozens of different access point models - some are KNOWN to have issues with 2.4GHz IOT devices. For example the U7 Pro. So you can't just go to Unifi and "buy the best" and expect that to be rock solid either. You'll have to do your research. But if you go with Ubi, one nice thing is you can have your main wifi SSID on all bands (2.4/5/6GHz), and additionally have your IOT SSID broadcasting from all the APs as well, but only on 2.4GHz if you choose. And as others have said, you can apply network rules such as not allowing devices on that SSID to connect out to the network if you want.

Yeah it’s mostly the U7 series I heard that there were issues with. Personally I didn’t have the issue with my U7 Pro but I also run nanoHDs which my 2.4ghz devices were connecting to for all I know. Also I know for a fact I had trouble with some WiFi HomeKit accessories not connecting to a mixed-frequency network. I think it was eufy or Meross only had 2.4ghz radios and would time out and fail to add unless I switched to a 2.4ghz-only network. So in my case I have a 2.4ghz hidden SSID for iot devices. I assume it was trying to connect to the same exact network as my phone which was connected to 5ghz. This could have been fixed with a HomeKit upgrade maybe?

First, mesh is bad without a wired backhaul ( [https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeNetworking/comments/189h7um/mesh\_wifi\_much\_slower\_than\_main\_router/](https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeNetworking/comments/189h7um/mesh_wifi_much_slower_than_main_router/) ). Just something to know going into it. You really should have all of your APs (access points, the things that send out the Wi-Fi) wired back to a central or "home" controller. If your home has coax or ethernet already run, then get non-mesh wired APs instead. If you're getting mesh, I would look at the Ubiquiti UX7. They are scalable, small, have Wi-Fi 7 at a reasonable-ish price, and can easily do all of the things you mentioned except custom firmware. Not sure what the need is for point 4 in your case.

I would personally do Express 7 since you dont have plans for Protect and other apps. See if it can handle the load in your household. DR7 and E7 has the same spec i think but DR7 allows you to use the unifi stack which you said you're not gonna use. If E7 not enough then you can buy UCG fiber and make the E7 as an AP.

If internet doesn't matter, any mesh system should work for you. Hopefully, you could also use the wired networks already in place in the hotels, to utilize wired connections wherever possible. If I were you, I wouldn't look at consumer mesh systems though, but something more in line with Ubiquity UniFi access points, which can mesh together if needed, and one of their Cloud gateways to serve as the router, main access point and the management console.

Unifi does have QoS and SmartQueues to handle bufferbloat from maxing your upload. I have similar buffer issues if I don't handle it this way The Express 7 devices are their equivalent product to mesh packs like the google wifi. You can use one as the router/gateway and additional as aps. That would be the easiest.

[Express 7](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-cloud-gateways/products/ux7)

If you don't want to spend time learning everything, the Express 7 devices are their equivalent to consumer mesh packs. You can use one as the router and add more as AP's.

I took delivery of a UX7 last week, unplugged all other APs and just have the UX7 and a few dumb switches connected. 40 Wi-Fi clients and 10 wired. Three VLANs. I did have issues the first day with IoT devices dropping off Wi-Fi and one Sonos speaker connected via Ethernet showed as Wi-Fi. After reconnecting them I have had zero issues. I have a symmetric 1000 Mbps line, this syncs at 950Mbps Up and 970Mbps down, all previous Routers could never match that. Using DHCP and not PPPoE. 1400 sq ft two story house, furthest room from the UX7 if the iPad drops to 2.4Ghz I get at least 60Mbps, if it latches back onto 5Ghz then over 200Mbps. Close to the Router an Wi-Fi 5 iPad gets 700Mbps down.

I do have 2.4GHz dropping similar to my RMA'd U7 Pro. E7 is amazing but I'm very annoyed that IOT is still an issue. (For reference, one SSID for 2.4ghz with no meshing and only IOT devices in that network.). I paid almost £500 for this. I don't know what to try now.

They don't reconnect as my 2.4GHz SSID is entirely down. 5 and 6GHz on a diff SSID and non IOT network still work blazingly fast. i.e. 890 on a 910mbps. I have to power recycle my 16port Pro Max port which feeds E7. In the last 10 days I had E7, I have had 6 WiFi disconnects for entire IOT network. I returned U7 Pro to get same shit but more expensive 🤷🏻‍♂️

If they're serving your needs run them into the ground. Once that's through go to Ubiquiti. My UDR7 covers the area my 4 puck system did. The express 7 performs the same in wireless and is only $200. if you don't need the extra features the dream router has I would go with that.

Buy the appropriate Unifi Cloud Gateway based on incoming bandwidth and if you also want to use Protect for cameras. Buy the appropriate APs. U7 Lite or U7 In-Walls or U7 Pro/XG depending on mounting locations and if you want 6Ghz radios or not. Power the APs with a PoE switch or PoE Injectors. UDR7 is fine also, I wouldn't do the UX7 for this case.

I dropped off my orbi 970 at UPS today to be returned in favor of my new UniFi stack. It’s no comparison.

Had Netgear 6 for about 3 years. Going with Unifi 7

This is my current setup. Three WAPs(Ubiquity unifi) 3 years ago, have already replaced 2 switches and now all my access points are constantly failing. I have a Verizon router that my Apps are hardwired to for each floor. I was only using the WiFi from my APs before it started acting up, I’m currently using the WiFi from the router as a backup for a stable connection. My question is, is the SSID from the router interfering with the APs? If so, how can I resolve this. I’m only using the WiFi for my IoT devices.

I’ll really need your help. I’ve had this issue for the past three years now. A company installed 3 Ubiquiti WAPs for me that are now out of warranty. Have replaced 2 switches that just died and now all of my WAPs are not connecting to the network.

Oh man, this money can get you solid unify setup: [Gateway Max](https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/uxg-max?variant=uxg-max) 2 or 3 [U6 Access Ponits](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-wifi/products/u6-pro) Or maybe something [in wall](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-wifi/products/u6-iw)? Edit: formatting

I had 5 eeros around the house and my pain was that devices took their time switching from AP to AP , getting poor signal even when I was standing next to another hard wired router. You had almost 0 information that's going on on your network. Even with paid subscription, you got a message threat detected, but that's it. No details at all. So I bought Synology router and leave eeros in bridge mode for WiFi only. 6 months later, I got rid of all eeros and got another Synology router. All issues with WiFi coverage were gone. Then I had some extra money and got unify.

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)

You don’t really need mesh if you are doing wired backhaul. Go unifi, the extra money is worth the overall system.