Ubiquiti - AmpliFi Alien Wifi Router

What is your budget for such a device? I am currently running the Amplifi Alien (which is Ubiquiti's high-ish end consumer router), but was planning on replacing it with a Protectli Vault. I actually bought a V1210 (2x 2.5G ports, Intel CPU/NIC, ~$240), and installed OPNSense on it, I just haven't switched it out with the Alien yet. Or, you can use an old desktop PC that you may already own. Probably not the best from a power draw standpoint, but you could load OPNSense on that, toss an Intel-based multi-port NIC on there, and see what it means to really run your own router. You could do the same hardware-wise, and just install Proxmox and then OpenWRT on it as a virtual machine. There's more fiddling involved with getting the nic(s) passed through, but it allows you to test with hardware you likely already own or can purchase second-hand for cheap.

Are you talking modem or router? Your provider should have a list on their website of supported third party modems. Just about any router is better than the providers. I have Comcast, I'm using an Arris Surfboard SB6190 modem and Amplifi Alien router. I've had 0 issues for 7 years, but am ready to upgrade to a racked Unifi setup.

I run all my stuff through Ubiquity AMPLIFI Alien mesh (3 nodes) everything works great. I figured it was a good solution since they sell them on the store app.

Ubiquiti Dream Router (all round and expandable) or Amplifi Alien (Dedicated gaming/streaming.)

I really like the alien AMPLIFI 200 bucks covers my whole house 2000 sq ft 2 story’s I use 500 speed game do it all security system no issues

I like the alien don’t have any issues and it’s on sale u can get the mesh duplicate for 300 great ping I have no range issues

Everyone's saying go Ubiquiti so I just want to point out that OP's Alien Amplifi is made by Ubiquiti. Mine's been fantastically rock-solid like OP's.

So, most of us know HomeKit can be extremely reliable but the quality very much comes down to your choice of router. I've been using the Amplifi Alien for years now with excellent results. Unfortunately, I realized it's been almost a year since it's gotten any updates. I'm not fond of running network equipment that appears to have stopped getting security updates so I'm on the hunt. I'd like to get feedback from the community not just for myself, but for future reference for others. If I could help it, no one should suffer from "No Response" in HomeKit. lol 1. What router are you using. 2. How large is your HomeKit setup? How many devices? 3. Has your experience been trouble free?

AmpliFi Alien is a good choice, it’s what I have. The best thing you can do regardless of your router choice is to wire an Ethernet backhaul between your mesh nodes and also put every device on Ethernet that can possibly be wired, especially high bandwidth devices like an Apple TV.

The Alien seems to have been abandoned by its manufacturer. I'd go with a Flint2 router by GLinet. I have spectrum and use an Arris S34 modem connected to the flint 2. I also use a Netgear EX8000 as an extender cause the 5g flint 2 range was a bit short to stream multiple 4K streams. Goodluck!

yes, I've heard good things overall about the alien, just the con being that it no longer receives support/updates. I did get an Alien myself, but it arrived DOA, so returned it and got the Flint 2.

Amplifi is on sale. It is a mesh network for home by Ubiquiti. Includes a router and two wireless AP’s. I have installed dozens of these and they work great. It is on sale for around $170.00. Usually it is $350.00. I just did one a few weeks ago. Now their whole house has no issues with wifi.

I'd trust Beelink (along with the other mini PC makers; I love my Protectli and GMKtec gear) more than I would trust many of the no-name cheap PC makers on Amazon / Temu / etc. I have a Protectli mini PC with 4 ethernet ports running OPNsense as my home firewall. I split my traffic off into separate networks for my main gear (phones, desktops, laptops, etc) and my IoT or "smart" gear (security system, cameras, home automation, etc). I have a Ubiquiti Amplifi for my main LAN wifi router, and a TP-Link Archer A6 for my IoT wifi router. Both of these are plugged into the LAN ports on the Protectli. I turned off all of the advanced features (like DHCP or remote VPN) on the routers, and use the OPNsense for those functions instead. So the short answer to your question is yes, buy a mini PC to serve as a firewall and then buy a wireless router (ideally running OpenWRT) if you want maximum security and flexibility. Just keep in mind this comes with an increase in complexity and required troubleshooting skills. The line between "wireless router" and "wireless access point" can get a little fuzzy at times, because a typical home wifi router is actually a router coupled with an access point in the same box. For most people most of the time, that difference is meaningless; they just want to add wifi.

Amplifi Mesh. I’ve had the router for many years, and run 20+ Meross devices, Tailwind, ONVIS, 3 Apple TVs, 5 HomePods, and 4 computers. Never had a single hiccup with the router connectivity. —fingers crossed—