Ubiquiti - Dream Router 7

I bought it yesterday and it is arriving tomorrow.

Asus or Unifi. New Unifi dream router 7 is good. You can add more AP like u7-pro or u7-pro-xg if you need more coverage.

None of them. Get unifi Udr7 and probably u7 lite or a pair of Asus like xd6 or something similar.

I just upgraded from an eero 6e to a UDR7, it’s barely more money and so much better. Eero is pretty set it and forget it but if you want any advanced features at all, or maybe in the future, go with ubiquiti

I’d go with the UDR7 knowing how much better the UDR is over the Express in general.

I just bought a Unifi UDR 7 router. It’s awesome. Comes with built in VPN. You just send a link to the device you want to install it on and the router automatically becomes the exit node. Sooooo seamless. It has a lot of cool admin features too. If you setup wire guard via Nord then you can specify what traffic goes over that vpn. It’s slick.

Just go to UI.com and look at their new Dream Router with WiFi 7. That’s all you need. There is something called Teleport. You just share a link and it’s a one click install. You basically use your own router for a VPN. No matter where you are it just appears as if you’re on the same network as your home network. When I want to connect to home devices, or in your case Plex, then turn on the Teleport VPN and that’s it. Other option is to install Tailscale on the Plex computer or NAS and install Tailscale on the other devices and do the same thing, turn on Tailscale before accessing Plex.

You are correct about the UDR-7. All UniFi APs can mesh. None of the UniFi APs have a dedicated wireless backhaul to my knowledge, but wired APs are far better anyway. Do you want a rack mounted system? Or definitely not. That might influence you one way or another on core device choices.

UniFi is designed to work with other UniFi devices, but there’s no requirement to do so. You can use a Dream Router 7 as a standalone device. The whole point in UniFi is that you can make it modular. So you can have as much of the full Network/Protect/Access/Talk/Connect ecosystem as you want, and you can swap components out as better upgrades come along. The Dream Router 7 works well as a landing point for UniFi and, if you buy it, In a few years you might think it’s worth separating out the gateway/switch/AP functionality, and so it goes from there.

Unifi Dream Router 7 Thank me later.

you mean the UDM Base? Yes the UDR-7 shipped today.

If you're looking for an all in one and easy solution, go with a ubiquiti. Dream Router 7 is their newest and has wifi 7. it's not a modem, but it sounds like you're not looking for a modem. If you want a less expensive and *less* easy solution, GL.iNet has great routers as well. If you just want a switch a lot of them work good. Mikrotik is great, ubiquiti is great, Cisco, even one of brands have great switches. Depends on what you need.

Fan permanently spinning on mine. Updated to latest firmware, basically idle. Still investigating why.

UniFi. I just set up mine today. But I’ll tell you, WiFi 7 is amazing but the range sucks. You have to be really close to the AP to get speeds better than WiFi 6.

Unifi Dream Router 7 is under $300 and would be a big upgrade and future proof you to 2.5gb Internet connection.

Ubiquiti UDR 7, perfect for an apartment and has an SFP+ port so you can run your fiber connection directly to it if you get an SFP+ ONT on a stick like a WAS-110. Has 2.5Gbe switch, and a POE+ port if needed. https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/udr7

Spend the extra $150 and get a Ubiquiti UDR7, it has an SFP+ port, POE, and 2.5Gb across its switch. Will absolutely be a great kit for your situation, and depending on who your fiber provider is, you can bypass the ONT, and get an ONT on a SFP+ module and have a true all in one.

If you’re going to buy a router in the $300 range go with this, it is quite capable and easily expands. https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-cloud-gateways/products/udr7 Otherwise, some $70 BASIC router will work fine.

I’m not a big fan of WiFi integrated in the gateway, although it is cheaper. Usually, the place where I put my gateways isn’t ideal for WiFi reach so I put the AP elsewhere. It’s the raw features of the gateway that attract me, my favorites being the UCG-fiber and the DM Pro Max. If WiFi co-located with your gateway makes sense in your case, then the Dream Router 7 is a good option since it supports 10 Gbps WAN and multiple 2.5 Gbps LAN mixed with WiFi 7 with 6 GHz band support.

I just bought the Dream Router 7 from Centre Com for $566. Can’t wait to try it out and get into the Unifi system! 

Dream router is a better choice but 35 wifi devices isn’t considered small to most people. IMO I’d be looking at a cloud gateway ultra / max and an AP

You don’t have to get a ceiling mounted AP necessarily, in fact a lot of people use expresses as just APs. The big advantage of something like a UCG-MAX or fiber is the expandability. You can slot in an ssd and use it as a NVR for cameras. The E7 won’t do any protect stuff, and the UDR7 is limited to microsd for storage, which is only really fine for 1 or 2 cameras.

Hello, I always recommend buying your own router. Highly recommend this one, you’ll pay it off pretty quick saving on the rent on a spectrum router. What’s cool, is if you move again, you just take this router to the next place, activate internet and everything will be the same: [Router](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-cloud-gateways/products/udr7)

Hello, I always recommend buying your own router. Highly recommend this one, you’ll pay it off pretty quick saving on the rent on a spectrum router. What’s cool, is if you move again, you just take this router to the next place, activate internet and everything will be the same: [Router](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-cloud-gateways/products/udr7)

Yes, exactly. I've been reading up on ubiquiti and I'm starting to lean towards a dream router 7 + a U7+ In Wall Access point. The dream router outputs PoE and has enough ports to where I don't need a switch and can directly send everything to the rooms. Then I'll use the U7+ In Wall to receive ethernet and transmit wifi in the living room while also allowing ethernet output. And then I get to access all the ubiquiti bells and whistles. This is also super future proof as i can just add more access points from ubiquiti when I move

Yes, exactly. I've been reading up on ubiquiti and I'm starting to lean towards a dream router 7 + a U7+ In Wall Access point. The dream router outputs PoE and has enough ports to where I don't need a switch and can directly send everything to the rooms. Then I'll use the U7+ In Wall to receive ethernet and transmit wifi in the living room while also allowing ethernet output. And then I get to access all the ubiquiti bells and whistles. This is also super future proof as i can just add more access points from ubiquiti when I move

I have a udr7 i like it but it is a little slow hardware wise. I have 5 plans a couple wifi and it thr active ad guard its a little slow speed wise. I have xfinit 2.1 and we see maybe 700 at many devices and 1200 from unifi speed test. Its a good small machine. If you need horsepower id advise you to look larger. But if you have a small home network with a couple protects (I dont have protect im in apartment) it should be perfect for you. All in one box good at all master of none kinda deal.

I just got mine in from a purchase and am still at work so am unable to speak to either at the moment - hope to get more testing in over the weekend but I live in a small apartment so range will be hard for me to test.

Yeah for now this is to replace my Orbi at home - with the option to scale out with a SFP-based switch in the future. I do a lot of video work and am looking towards a NAS in my future.

Was getting greater than gigabit when I went to fast.com on this setup! Will hope to do some more testing in the future but it seems it can do it!

Yes I've had it at my apartment for a while now, everything is on auto and it works great for me. My internet honestly isn't fast enough to take advantage, but in the future it might be. Ubiquiti sells a few SFP adapters, but it depends on what you need. Here is the SFP -> RJ45 adapter https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/accessories-modules-fiber/collections/accessories-pro-direct-attach-cables/products/uacc-cm-rj45-mg?variant=uacc-cm-rj45-mg

What console did you use? The new UDR7 is next level WiFi and throughput! wall construction plays a major role in signal level, any solid walls drop signal level but check your PHY speed, it may surprise you that speed your connecting at. Use wifiman app to verify. Unifi pro installer

The UDR7 is a wonderful device.

I have a had an expansive home network running with UniFi for the last 6 years, having switched out hardware a few times to upgrade certain capabilities, which has been a surprisingly smooth ride. The network has been rock-solid and very convenient to manage thanks to the UniFi admin environment. Pricey, yes, and be warned that once you enter the UniFi ecosystem, the brand knows very well how to lure you in to buying all the things. It’s also less of a plug and play experience than “run of the mill” home routers, although still much less daunting than a PfSense or similar setup, while offering most or even all the options most people need. UniFi offers a lot of features and flexibility, but tends to work well out of the box. Regarding having 3 floors… this makes a solution like UniFi even more interesting, as even though they also offer amazing all-in-one routers (router + WiFi AP), where the brand really shines is in their wireless AP offerings, that can be run over PoE, making for a very clean installation that doesn’t require additional power cables for each AP, just an Ethernet cable. Offering stable WiFi connection in a house with multiple floors and brick walls, with just a single device is not very viable, although YMMV. I suggest looking in to a UDR7 and maybe adding a ceiling mounted AP on the other two floors. Expensive, yes, and requires running an ethernet cable to each unit, but definitely will yield a great experience, and makes it much more convenient to expand the network later if you start noticing certain parts of the house have poor reception. Using a mesh WiFi set, optionally with a PLC backhaul is also an option, but if you want a quality set that supports WiFi 6/7 it is going to get expensive fast, especially if you don’t want Chinese brands. Note TP-Link and some others you mention are actually Chinese. Add to this that stability and performance will depend on the electric cabling in your home.

I'm suprised no one has mentioned using the Unifi Designer app before purchasing to see what you can expect? I uploaded my floorplan, configured wall materials, and placed all kinds of devices to find where the signal will have trouble. Ordered according to that and it's all good. UDR7, AP6+. \~1900 sq ft home on a single level. I am having bandwidth issues as I haven't gotten rid of the ISP box yet. New SFP module coming in to get rid of ATT Garbage Nokia Router.

UniFi, hands down. I don't know what you consider "similar nonsense", - prosumer and a lot of business will use a controller that manages the configurations and statistics. The Cloud Key is a somewhat older implementation of the UniFi setup where it performed as the controller and an NVR for cameras. They've split that off - you can get gateways (router/controller) that does not have the video incorporated any longer. The "cloud" in some of their hardware doesn't mean it's run from the cloud or whatever, it's simply part of the model name. You can run it all standalone without being tied to their servers (though it's pretty convenient at times). Similarly, they have "mesh" in the name of some of their APs - but all of them can be wirelessly uplinked. It's a matter of them associating through marketing to the massive consumer "mesh" marketing. But it's still prosumer stuff and uses the same controller as the rest. My favorite feature is reliability. It's been rock solid for me through 6 years (I've moved through three upgrades and it's just stable. I love it. Look at the Dream Router 7, UniFi Express models, and Cloud Gateway models for some pretty darned good home solutions. The Dream Machines are great also, they are rack mount though and tilt towards having the video features. Should you choose one of the simpler offerings and want to go video later - there are standalone DVRs - including the Cloud Key+, which is still popular - that you can add. There is other prosumer gear, but Ubiquiti UniFi and TP-Link Omada are the only ones I know of with the unified management.

UniFi, hands down. I don't know what you consider "similar nonsense", - prosumer and a lot of business will use a controller that manages the configurations and statistics. The Cloud Key is a somewhat older implementation of the UniFi setup where it performed as the controller and an NVR for cameras. They've split that off - you can get gateways (router/controller) that does not have the video incorporated any longer. The "cloud" in some of their hardware doesn't mean it's run from the cloud or whatever, it's simply part of the model name. You can run it all standalone without being tied to their servers (though it's pretty convenient at times). Similarly, they have "mesh" in the name of some of their APs - but all of them can be wirelessly uplinked. It's a matter of them associating through marketing to the massive consumer "mesh" marketing. But it's still prosumer stuff and uses the same controller as the rest. My favorite feature is reliability. It's been rock solid for me through 6 years (I've moved through three upgrades and it's just stable. I love it. Look at the Dream Router 7, UniFi Express models, and Cloud Gateway models for some pretty darned good home solutions. The Dream Machines are great also, they are rack mount though and tilt towards having the video features. Should you choose one of the simpler offerings and want to go video later - there are standalone DVRs - including the Cloud Key+, which is still popular - that you can add. There is other prosumer gear, but Ubiquiti UniFi and TP-Link Omada are the only ones I know of with the unified management.

Better routers are not going to overcome "lots of concrete and walls". You would be better served by working on a plan to get some ethernet run around and access points connected with it. "I'd really like to avoid..." says to me that you *could*, you just don't want to. The effort and expense would be worth it, your wifi experience would be so much better by using access points connected via ethernet. Mesh is just wifi via wifi, so the same signal issues getting to clients also applies to getting signal from router to mesh points. Placement will be key - the mesh point needs to be in a spot where it receives good signal from the router *and* is able to provide good signal to the clients you want to serve. The UniFi Express is more of an entry level device. The Dream Router 7 is meant to compete with the consumer all-in-one devices. The DR7 is *probably* going to do a better job with wifi. Nobody can predict how wifi will work in any house, but since you mentioned lots of concrete and walls, that makes wifi a challenge. What I will say is that UniFi will likely be more reliable and it's definitely more expandable with a wide range of APs and switches.

Do you have wifi 7 clients? If not, wifi 6 is cheaper. Do you have a ton of devices? If not, triband is not really necessary - most average consumer routers will handle a reasonable amount of clients. (Triband usually just adds a second 5 GHz radio, making a total of three.) I'd suggest you consider UniFi - for a single unit (combo router) the UniFi Dream Router 7 ( yes, if has wifi 7, but you get a lot of bang for the buck with the device and you'll get a bit of future proofing.) If you need more coverage, you can easily add another access point that would be managed within the same ecosystem. UniFi access points can be wirelessly uplinked (that's all mesh is) if desired. The UniFi Express (or Express 7) may be a budget-friendly choice as well. [https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-cloud-gateways](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-cloud-gateways)

The Express devices are more entry level/minimalist, and they also offer easy meshing for people want to do that. The DR7 is more competent and can do IDS/IPS and DPI which the Express devices don't. I don't think there is going to be a lot of difference in range but the performance is going to be better overall with the UDR7 (the IDS/IPS/DPI requires more horsepower). UniFi doesn't strive for huge range but instead the model for them is better coverage by using multiple access points. Trying to cover a whole house with a single AP is stretching wifi.

* I would go with PoE as much as possible. You would spare the PoE adapters in your setup, you would have less clutter around your AP's and you can power cycle them through the switch (although I'm pretty sure you can restart them via the console anyway.) * I would go with 2,5G for future-proofing. I guess it mostly makes sense if you have servers or stream in-house when your external connection isn't faster. It is the newer gear and would futureproof you * Have you considered the UDR7 instead of the Express7? That gives you 1 PoE port and 4 normal ports - all 2.5G. It depends on the size of your house of course, but I have a UDR7 in the basement covering the basement and the ground floor - That could spare you at least 1 switch and 1 AP (The UDR7 as I understand is basically a U7 Pro in regards to the WiFi capabilities - but it is transmitting up and around). * Depending on the build materials of your house 1 U7 Pro on the second floor could potentially cover both the 2nd and 1st. floor of your house. You can always buy an extra U7 Lite if the coverage isn't good enough. * If you get your Wi-Fi up and running consistently and with good throughput, it shouldn't be necessary to wire all those computers - why arent they connecting via WiFi? If that could work for you you could basically scale the shopping list down to: * A Uni Express 7 or UDR7 for the basement * An 8 ports 2.5G PoE switch (Maybe a bigger switch or another small one if going with the express) for the ground floor * 1 U7 Pro for the second floor

Like many others have mentioned, I think it is a real problem that the UDR7 can’t support an additional Ubiquiti WiFi7 AP out of the box using its PoE port. One PoE+ port would have made this product exponentially better.

UDR7 or Cloud Gateway Fiber for the better option Also you do not need 2gig. Most people can't even saturate 1gig but it's your money....

I run 100% UniFi equipment at home. My 6+ years experience with these products vs normal consumer grade networking equipment is as follows. It just works. I’ve had my UDM-PRO since they first went on sale, she’s a bit older these days but I’ve had less issues with it in 5ish years then most users will with a “high end” consumer product. I will be replacing a friends Asus high end router in the next few weeks with a UDR7 as the asus is getting to the point where it needs rebooted daily to function as intended, its two years old…

I just found this thread, and it looks you have your answer OP, but I figured I'd add my 2 cents. I deployed a UDR7 at my house over the weekend, and I'm quite disappointed with the coverage. I've been using a TP-Llink Archer C4000 (I think that's considered a WiFi5 router) for the last 5+ years, which covered my whole house (2000 sq/ft, probably split \~3/4 first floor, \~1/4 2nd floor; built \~1950, with various additions over the years). The TP-Link has been ROCK SOLID (wish there was a way I could emphasize this even more) in the time I've had it. I do a lot of music streaming using Squeezebox Touch devices which are no longer being made and can only connect via 802.11g (2.4 GHz). I stream FLAC (CD quality or higher) and frequently to 2 or more devices simultaneously. As I said above, the TP-Link has been rock solid--I could literally play music all day long without a single hiccup; it's as if the devices were wired. My experience with the UDR7 has been pretty horrible from that respect. I've placed it in the exact same spot as the TP-Link, which is right in the center of the house. I think the main issue is that the kitchen Squeezebox (which gets the most use) is located in such a way that the signal has to traverse 4 walls at a pretty oblique angle, which I know is not ideal, but as I said, the TP-Link had no issues with it. I think the main issue is that the TP-Link has an array of 6 external antennas and is a 3x3 MU-MIMO router, whereas the UDR7 is only 2x2 and has no external antennas. I love the interface, the feature set, and plethora of configuration and extension possibilities of the UDR, but if I don't have rock-solid WiFi, none of it matters. Right now, I'm leaning towards returning it (I'm still within the 14-day window), eating the restocking fee, and going back to the TP-Link.

Got mine today, I really like the piece of kit, with that said I have put my old router back in it's place as the fan on the UDR7 makes a horrible buzzing noise and with it being in the living room I'm not prepared to put up with it, to say im disappointed is an understatement.

Mam od 2 tygodni i porownoje z Asus bt10, i wentylatora nie słychać, chyba że ucho do obudowy , soft 10/10 , zasięg dziwny no na lapku AC , bt10 lepsze ale na Pixel 7 udr 7 lepiej  , na pc z dongle ax od to linka, Asus by 10 szybszy 940mb a udr7 jakieś 800, w grach bt10 ping obu taki sam

I bought one and but its slower than my Asus ax6000 😢

So I purchased the Dream Router 7 on the day it released after spending quite a while researching components to switch over to UniFi for my internet needs. The router arrived a couple days ago and I swapped out my Linksys mesh system I had been using for the last 4 years and let me just say, wow! This router completely obliterated my old Linksys mesh system in stability, device management, network control and basically everything. I already ordered some UniFi switches to replace my TP link switches and look forward to how robust and expandable this is. Should have switched a while ago.

Why? And where did you get that it will smoke it? What good is 4x4 for his test if his laptop is 2x2?

Apparently not when tested in benchmarks, so like I said how is it smoking it if it's only 2x2? The op is testing one device, so your comment makes no sense.

You gave a blanket statement that is not accurate. He gave the exact scenario that he was testing with one laptop. All I see is abysmal performance by amazon reviews so that why I was asking how it's going to smoke it. Using more than one device isn't going to make a difference in 2x2 or 4x4 if the hardware and software are bad in the first place, which is the point.

I mistyped. I meant to type amazon eero reviews. Meaning amazon owns eero not specifically reviews of it at amazon. rtings is not a network expert in anything. Lets look at 5Ghz, along with known privacy issues where they are collecting your info. [https://dongknows.com/amazon-eero-max-7-wi-fi-7-mesh-router-review/](https://dongknows.com/amazon-eero-max-7-wi-fi-7-mesh-router-review/) Again, point is 4x4 doesn't mean it's going to be faster. If your client isn't 4x4 (which almost all clients aren't), then you aren't going to see faster speeds.

You are circling around again and avoiding the fact that your statement was false from the beginning under your own presumptions. You keep changing the goal posts there bud. And no, 4x4 does not instantly mean it will handle more 2x2 client better. You don't know your hardware, nor have you ever used the eero to even confirm. In general, yes a 4x4 can be better. In practice on actual released hardware, you do not know. And we will go back to the beginning. No it will not smoke the Ubiquiti.

From owning one and getting rid of it. Also the exact review I pointed you above where it's 4x4 performance was crap. I've been IT Admin for 25 years. We deploy wireless access points at work and I can definitely tell you 4x4 is not a silver bullet.

And 6Ghz is supposed to be advantageous, but isn't always. If you do any deployments you will realize that 4x4 does not automatically equal better performance. Beamforming is not a magic bullet. There are too many settings and way too many differences in equipment and software to make a blanket statement that 4x4 will smoke 2x2, like op said. Even in another review it is shown that the eero max 4x4 on 5Ghz band is just about the worst out of every router out there. That of course is only one example. Why can a 2x2 router beat it then? The point is, there are too many variables. And the original op above was measuring 300Mbs on wifi7. I haven't seen that reported by anyone on Ubiquiti's just released wifi7 hardware. Which means he has bad hardware, bad software, or bad configuration, or any combination. Especially when op said he used one laptop sitting next to ap. It isn't because the eero max has 4x4 that he is seeing that much difference.

I’d get the dream router 7 and then add an AP later if you need it. The dream router can support all the other applications if you want to expand your UI footprint later with cameras or such.

The Max is serving me well but I had the older UDR and I liked it very much. Having the controller hosted on it is just easier. I had it on a Windows server before. Now with the UDR7, if this covers most of your house, it would be a nice way to go.No problems at all running your VLANs.

Replaced my Asus 86U with UDR7 it’s on par on the range, and throughput is crazy.

I would get this if I were you and if you're wanting to stay within budget then consider selling off one of the U6 AP assuming the UDR7 can be placed or handled wifi area served by the U6 AP.

UDR7 does have POE and it’s plugged into the far corner of my basement. The range alone is about as good as my UDMB + Beacon HD was. You can also buy a U6 extender if needed, it takes an entire outlet though I wouldn’t get cybersecure for now, though. It’s great for business and enterprise use, but regular IDS/IPS covers enough signatures and block enough for the average home user.

Should I buy a dream router 7 to replace my ucg max + u7 pro. I like the smaller Integrated form factor, and I think I could sell the ucg max and u7 pro for more than 300 on the marketplace. I only have a basic wifi setup without any additional unifi camera. My ISP is below 1G. One good thing is that the UDR 7 seems to have better gain on the antenna compared to u7 pro

I also got UDR7 few days ago, and it has this buzz. So it might be the way it it is. It's my first Ubiquiti product, can't compare.

Ubiquiti UDR7 would be my recommendation. Not super cheap but is feature filled and is the ideal gateway drug into the Unifi ecosystem. Really great prosumer router with 4x 2.5GbE (one is POE) ports, 10GbE port (SFP+). You can also really add in additional Access Point’s via wired poe or mesh if necessary. https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-cloud-gateways/products/udr7

Mine has turned up. Yay! Have got it setup pretty quickly. I had an issue with wifi being third of the speed at about 300Mbs instead of about 700Mbs on my phone. I had to turn off the 6ghz setting on the 5ghz wifi I had setup. Did you find this aswell? I do need to get another access point, losing signal downstairs as it’s on the middle floor.

Nobody has mentioned, but the UDR7 has very very limited camera capacity. This is why I invested in a UX7 and a CloudKey G2 Plus which can be had very cheap on the second hand market. See below: "The UniFi Dream Router 7 (UDR7) can support a limited number of UniFi Protect cameras. It can manage a maximum of 5x HD cameras, OR 2x 2K cameras, OR 1x 4K camera."

I was between the Cloud gateway ultra plus an access point, dream router 7, or express 7. I narrowed down to DR7 or EXP7 based on the built in access point having better coverage than most dedicated ubiquiti access points. Then I narrowed to DR7 based on the thought it might save me a bit of money in the future when I inevitably decide I want to add a few cameras. Time will tell if I actually save any money but I'm happy with the DR7 so far!

As others have noted... Ubiquiti Unifi is the way to go. Their stuff is crazy powerful and can scale from a small home to enterprise level installations. Their Dream Router 7 is an all in one device that would be perfect for a small home or apartment. I recently put in a UCG-Ultra, Lite 16-POE switch, and a couple U7 Lite Access points all for the same cost as two high end consumer routers/APs and it gives WAY more control than the consumer stuff would do. I now have all my IoT devices on their own VLAN for privacy and everything works great. (Edited to correct the incorrect autocorrect spelling of Unifi)

Highly disappointed its only got 1 POE port

That's why it's best to separate the router from the access point, these two functions usually need different placement. The router can be hidden, access points should be out in the open. I'd swap the UDR7 for a UCG-Ultra and a small PoE switch (used US-8-60W will do fine), then get two access points and wire them to the PoE-switch. Place them on the ceiling in central locations.

Yes it's a good choice for a router even if you don't have other Ubiquiti equipment. Their access points can also be used without other Ubiquiti equipment. The reason behind the ecosystem is the management of your home network devices. This is why I went with it and your use case may not be the same. I must warn you though, you get one item and then you're wanting more. The device integrations just work well. I had Ring and Reolink cameras at home and was using 2 apps to view and also Ring cameras kept missing people at my door and driveway. I went with Ubiquiti cameras and I am able to see the Reolink cameras in their application so I got rid of Ring. Like I said this my not be the same for you. You can definitely use the router on its own.

UniFi, maybe the UDR7 or the UX7

I'm in a fairly similar situation, upgrading my 9 year old Google mesh Wi-Fi system. I was originally going to go with the UCG-max but decided to go with the dream router 7. My two story house is currently covered by two mesh APs, one being the main router and the other totally wireless. So being that one of my current APs is the router location, the dream router 7 or express 7 seemed to make the most sense. I choose the dream router 7 for two reasons, one it has multiple LAN ports and I have a couple wired devices at the current router and then a switch I'm keeping for now in another location. Second, it has the sd card slot and I've been thinking about replacing my nest cameras. Even with a large sd, that probably won't be enough space for full recording but I can get a dedicated video device down the road if I like the protect system after some live testing. Same with adding another AP if the one isn't enough, etc.

+1 Check out UIs latest line. I just got the UDR7 and it's amazing.

It’ll be a great stand alone router, but in the modern world most people want more than one WiFi access point. The dream router can be paired with stuff that you’re probably more familiar with from an office environment (eg wall or ceiling mounted access points) but it can also be paired with a more traditional looking unit (express 7). Coming from an eero, the UDR7 is just brilliant. All the information, data and options I used to have on prior routers that were taken away when you move to eero and it’s overly simplified one size fits all approach are now available again.

/r/ubiquiti is what you should be looking at. It's not cheap but it's all easy to work with hardware that will give you an enterprise grade experience. Here's what I'd recommend you start with Dream machine Special Edition - $500 https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-cloud-gateways/products/udm-se This gives you an option of a 2.5Gbps or 10Gbps port for your internet and 8 PoE ports to connect your wifi to. You can also throw a hard drive in it an run a DVR as well. Just keep in mind you've got 8 PoE ports before you need to upgrade. U7 Pro WAP - $190 For your wifi, get 2 of the U7 Pro WAPs and run CAT6a to each of them. These will use the PoE+ ports https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-wifi/products/u7-pro U7 Long Range WAP - $160 If you need more WAPs to get the coverage you desire, get the U7 Long-Range as those can use the PoE ports. These don't have 6Ghz but it's really not necessary anyways. Or you can stick with the U7 Pro and use PoE injectors to get the power you need. https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-wifi/products/u7-lr U7 Pro Outdoor - $280 If you want wifi outside, get the U7 Pro Outdoor. These also use PoE+ so you may need to use the PoE injectors to get the power you need unless you add a switch with PoE+. https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-wifi/products/u7-pro-outdoor-us This will give you your tri band Wifi 7, dynamic dns, dhcp reservations, and let you run up to 24 HD cameras or 8 4k cameras. It also has some other nice features such as deep packet inspection and intrusion detection. If you want to add more cameras or more PoE devices you'll want to add a switch that varies wildly on price based on your needs. That'll run you $200-$1000+ depending your needs. An "extreme" setup to me means layer 3 switch with a 10Gbps uplink to the core router. That's $700-$1000 for 24 ports. None of this is in your budget but this is what you are asking for. If you want something similar with a much tighter budget: Dream router 7 - $279 https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-cloud-gateways/products/udr7 This has all your bits and wifi integrated and can sit on your desk or on a shelf. U7 Pro WAP - $190 Same as previous recommendation. You will need to use the PoE injectors. This is for getting wifi to other places beyond where the dream router is U7 Pro Outdoor - $280 Same as previous recommendation. You will need to use the Poe injectors. This is for getting wifi outside. This will support up to 5 HD or 1 4k camera and uses a microSD slot instead of a hard drive bay. You'll need a switch if you want to connect more than 3 wired devices which would be wifi and cameras. The quality of that switch will determine how much of a bottleneck it is.

Currently using one. Has the same coverage of an Asus 88U Pro in my opinion. I have a UDR7 installed upstairs on one end of my home and have complete coverage upstairs and downstairs. It replaced two U6 Mesh. I had a UCG Max and two U6 Mesh and replaced them with one UDR7. And as a test, fired up the Asus I had and it’s the same coverage, for me that is. When I had the Asus running and switched to UniFi, one U6 Mesh wasn’t enough, so I had to have two of them to get the same coverage as the Asus. Now with the UDR7, I don’t need anything else. My home is roughly 2800 square feet and one UDR7 is providing complete coverage.

No I do not. You could use a Dream Router 7, $279 direct with UniFi. I think that’s the UDM replacement.

It would depend on how much coverage you need. For me, a UDR7 covers my entire home.

What are you using for RADIUS? I'd go with a Unifi Dream Router 7 or if you have additional requirements, one of their other models. https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-cloud-gateways/products/udr7 If you need WiFi-as WAN and are stuck with RADIUS...I don't think you're going to get very far.

UDR7 is fine, but so is the UX7 for less.  Some report the fan in the UDR7 is too loud for them.  The nice thing about the UX7 is that it can also be switched to an AP, as its the same hardware as a u7 pro xg but with an extra 2.5 port, different form factor, and power supply included.

well I had a UDR7 and sent it back and got a UCG-Max and U7 lite. I would not touch a UDR7 from personal experience. They are buggy and mine kept on locking up or not servicing internet to clients, the inbuilt wifi is really bad on range as it would not service the house and the inbuilt fan has a very distinct high pitch whine. Just search this group and you will see lots of people with the same issues. With the UCG-Max and U7 lite it gives the whole house wifi and just sits there nice and quite doing its job.

the only thing I would say is that the UDR7 wifi signal strength is a lot weaker then most high end consumer routers. I sent mine back as my Asus router served the whole house without issues. The UDR7 was struggling to give the same results on wifi compared to the Asus. Once I can afford to get some switches and access points I will possible invest into the echo system. Asus RX-AX86U Pro

I feel it's quite audible. I'm running it on PPPoE - perhaps that's why. The sound annoys me as it is louder than my PC fans and it's a fridge style humming noise

That's wrong. The UDR7 can cope with multi gig connections. I get full 1gig speeds even on PPPoE

Not great. Considering returning it. It's a quiet but very annoying sound. Like a very quiet fridge.

I've connectivity issues on the UDR7 - some apps like Instagram, YouTube and Google Home video feeds aren't loading properly. Also issues with video call software. very odd.

I'm on Quantum 1 gigabit. I installed a UDR7 plus some wired access points last month. I set it up double NAT just to get started, expecting to put the smart NID in bridge mode shortly after that. But everything works just fine, so it's still in NAT mode. Work VPN, telephony, gaming – all work normally. No plans to change it at this point.

Interesting. That’s not what I’m finding with mine at all. Any special settings that you used? Channel widths, etc?

Reçu hier en remplacement de mon UDR, et très content pour le moment 😃 ! L’upgrade c’est bien passé via la restauration d’une sauvegarde de l’UDR vers l’UDR 7 ! J’attends maintenant l’upgrade de ma fibre demain qui passera de 1gb/s à 8gb/s 🤩 J’avoue ne pas trop comprendre tout ces commentaires négatif à son propos ! Si on veut du POE+ ou du matériel avec plus d’options il y a d’autres gamme prévu à cet effet … Mais le rapport qualité/prix matériel et logiciel que propose Ubiquiti est top pour le particulier (et même pour les pro je pense). Avant j’avais les Orbi de Netgeat et j’étais assez déçu au regard du prix que j’avais payé et des rares options disponible, c’est le jour et la nuit avec UniFi je trouve …

I can't recommend this more. They have a great integrated solution with their Dream Router 7 otherwise you can start down the rabbit hole with your own "short stack" with a cloud gateway and access point and flex switch for additional wired devices

My suggestion is to either replace the AT&T gateway with a standalone ONT (fiber modem), if available from AT&T, or to have AT&T set their router in Bridge Mode (IP Pass-Through Mode) with WiFi turned-off. Install either a Unifi UCG-Max-NS (no WiFi) or UDR7 (w/WiFi7) router, a USW-Lite-16-POE 16port 1GbE POE switch, and as many U7-Lite AP's as desired for good WiFi coverage. Alternately, you can add a NetGear GS316EPP or TP-LinkTL-SG1016PE 16-port 1GbE POE switch and a pair of EnGenius EWS356-FIT AP's, but won't be able to seamlessly roam between the EnGenius and AT&T WiFi networks (probably better to just disable WiFi on the AT&T router).

Your SB8200 is still a good modem. If you're on a cable system that supports mid-split or high-split DOCIS 3.1 (improved upload speeds), you might want upgrade to an Arris S34 or Hitron CODA56 (see what your ISP supports) to get that benefit. Just beware that the S34 is crazy expensive. The UniFi UDR7 is unbeatable for the price and features. 2.5GbE WAN port will connect to either of the above modems at full speed, in the event your ISP provides (and you choose) a faster speed tier than 1gbps, or if you ever switch to a fiber ISP. You get three 2.5GbE LAN ports, (one PoE in case you want to add another AP), and one 10gbps SFP+ port that can be used for LAN or secondary WAN (for redundant Internet connections). The UDR7 supports WiFi 7 with 6GHz band. You can add UniFi G4 or G6 Instant security cameras via the built-in NVR support. The router supports VLAN's and and multiple SSID's so you can segregate IoT, Guest and other network traffic from your normal LAN traffic. It does IDS/IPS, Layer 7 Firewall with application awareness, DPI, VPN (in and out), ad blocking and more. All for $279. There are a few true tri-band (6GHz) WiFi 7 routers that are a little less expensive but don't offer anywhere near the features and capabilities.

Unifi Dream Router if your internet service is <1gbps. My early access version has been going strong for several years now. If you have much faster service, the UDR 7 or Unifi Dream Machine Pro will be good. Or you can build your own router with a spare PC if you really want to learn networking.

I switched to this last week after two years of fiddling with my Asus router trying to keep my stuff online. Long story short, Nextdoor neighbor for some reason runs two routers, the one from the ISP and a Netgear and has his wifi on every single dang channel and his stuff is constantly channel hoping as it fights itself. I put in the Dream Router 7 on the first floor and the U7 Lite AP up on the 2nd floor and my network is now solid as a rock. Signal levels throughout the house are great and nothing is dropping. I spent a few days learning UniFi and set up three VLANs, wrote a bunch of firewall policies to allow a few select devices on my IoT VLAN to be accessed from my primary. If you stick your ear close you can hear the fan but more than a few inches out its silent. It's so small and since it's white it blends right in. My wife has not complained. She even helped me install the AP.

I know you're looking for cheap, but don't do that to yourself. If you can swing it, pony up for something like the Ubiquiti UDR-7 or some other router that at least has 6e or 7 support. DOCSIS 4 (Spectrum is going to do Extended Spectrum DOCSIS last I heard) is "coming soon" which will bring with it fairly substantial bumps in throughput even if you stick with your 3.1 modem for a while longer. It's not unreasonable to expect the mid-tier cable internet speeds to be over 1 Gbps in a year or two to compete with fiber offerings, so having a router with a 2.5 Gbps WAN port will be beneficial.

The OP declared they're in a double wide, so they likely have neighbors very close with their own wifi causing interference. $10/mo pays off their prosumer UDR-7 router in ~2.5 years. That prosumer router takes care of getting channel and power configured and "it just works" without the user having to take care of it past the initial setup. This is the gear I encourage anyone I help with their network get ~because~ "it just works." Even though it's from a prosumer company, this is their consumer level gear. >I'm slightly less in the loop with the demise of DSLReports, but I'm not aware of Spectrum having deployed D4 basically anywhere other than tiny test areas thus far. Same with Xfinity. Comcast/Xfinity is doing DOCSIS 4 FDX (Full Duplex DOCSIS) and they should be close to deployment beyond the test markets. Cable operators have been preparing their networks for the upgrade for years now. The DOCSIS 4 chip spec finalized for FDX and ESD and modems for them should be petty far along the production cycle by now. The cable networks themselves have been going through the necessary upgrades for a few years now to be ready. This all leads to the "coming soon" aspect. but because OP isn't paying for the modem, that part isn't their problem at all. Cheap wifi routers cause more pain than they're worth. I won't put something into my customer's houses that I wouldn't be willing to use myself. >Bad advice here, no offense. You can provide your own hardware recommendations too. It's all free advice from strangers on the internet... bad advice would be telling them to just get dial-up.

It’s bit overkill maybe, but if you don’t use any Ethernet ports I’d recommend the [UniFi Express 7](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-cloud-gateways/products/ux7) for the cutting edge WiFi 7, the security, and the ease of managing devices for a family. It should be supported for a long time. If you do use extra wired ports you could always opt for the [Flex Switch](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-switching/products/usw-flex-mini) from them that gives you four extra ports and is powered off the router itself. That or you could go for the the [UniFi Dream Router 7](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/cloud-gateways-wifi-integrated/products/udr7) for a bit more. I just purchased the UDR7 and love it!

I actually needed to replace my ROG AX6000 router and I bought two routers to try them out. I bought the UDR7 and a Netgear RS500. I can say that the UDR7 has very poor coverage and worse long range performance compared to both the ROG and Netgear. The Netgear is the best of the three and the ROG on second place. I live in a 600 Sqft apartment and both the Netgear and ROG maxed out my 1000/1000 Mbps connection on WiFi in every corner, while the UDM7 gave me around 400/400 Mbps in some corners and only maxed out right by the router. I believe Ubiquiti products are meant to be built out with more APs rather than using one standalone powerful router. The UDR7 is only using 2x2 radios vs the other routers and that is very noticeable. The UDR7 UI is nice but I think I will return it since I’m replying on only one router and have no plans to add any APs.

I just got a UDR 7 to replace an old Wifi 5 Synology router that wasn't cutting it anymore. I also purchased a Flex Mini 2.5g 8 port switch so that I could have some more wired connections in my apartment, but otherwise I have no other Ubiquiti equipment. Total cost, about $500. I just got it all finally installed \*today\*, so my results are really fresh. I'm thrilled with my ability to see port data and benefit from the "managed network" aspects of things through the web or app ui. I like that I was able to give my partner admin access easily without setting a weak password on the router. The visualization of the network and what's going on is fantastic. I will say that the UDR 7 feels almost like a loss leader to me. It performs very well so far for its price -- it was much cheaper than an equivalent wifi 7 device from another vendor. But now that I have a "tasting"... it's hard to not want to go a little ham. It's so cool seeing how much data you can get on what's going on in your network from a snazzy interface. One thing I did not anticipate is that Ubiquiti doesn't allow "push button" wifi pairing, which is a thing consumer-focused routers do. I think it's called WAP? I had to do some shenanigans to get my old canon printer onto the wifi, but now that it's on there it's fine. I had to dig out an old usb cable and use a utility to configure it. Everything else has worked great.

sort of, about to replace a Dream Router. Got 1 gig fiber installed recently, so the Dream Router is now a bottleneck. DR 7 seems like the logical upgrade.

sort of, about to replace a Dream Router. Got 1 gig fiber installed recently, so the Dream Router is now a bottleneck. DR 7 seems like the logical upgrade.

Yep, the BGW320-505 has some annoying shortcomings, just like the CenturyLink-branded C3000Z DSL modem/router I used when still on DSL. As you say, the solution is to have your own router, with the AT&T box in IP Passthrough mode. My previous one was a Ubiquiti Dream Router. I upgraded it once I went from ADSL (~140 Mbps down/20 Mbps up) to AT&T fiber (1 Gbit/s both ways) because that model maxed out at 700 Mbit/s (despite having a "gigabit" WAN port, this was a processing limitation apparently). I replaced that Dream Router with a Dream Router 7, which as well as being more than capable of handling the full gigabit, and also does WiFi 7. Which tier of AT&T fiber do you have? Particularly if you're OK with not having the latest and greatest WiFi, I see a few routers on the market that can handle a full gigabit wired, for $100 or less. Would that work for you? The extra-mega-elegant solution is to cut out the AT&T box entirely, by purchasing your own SFP+ module (WAS-110) and programming it to "masquerade" as the BGW320-505. But then you need something with an SFP+ port to plug that into, and it gets to be a few hundred $ in hardware.

Yep, the BGW320-505 has some annoying shortcomings, just like the CenturyLink-branded C3000Z DSL modem/router I used when still on DSL. As you say, the solution is to have your own router, with the AT&T box in IP Passthrough mode. My previous one was a Ubiquiti Dream Router. I upgraded it once I went from ADSL (~140 Mbps down/20 Mbps up) to AT&T fiber (1 Gbit/s both ways) because that model maxed out at 700 Mbit/s (despite having a "gigabit" WAN port, this was a processing limitation apparently). I replaced that Dream Router with a Dream Router 7, which as well as being more than capable of handling the full gigabit, and also does WiFi 7. Which tier of AT&T fiber do you have? Particularly if you're OK with not having the latest and greatest WiFi, I see a few routers on the market that can handle a full gigabit wired, for $100 or less. Would that work for you? The extra-mega-elegant solution is to cut out the AT&T box entirely, by purchasing your own SFP+ module (WAS-110) and programming it to "masquerade" as the BGW320-505. But then you need something with an SFP+ port to plug that into, and it gets to be a few hundred $ in hardware.

You will certainly be able to restore a backup from the UDM to use on the new UDR7, but you can’t use them both as part of the same UniFi system either way.

1. Fan is silent above my fridge with my Bourbon and temps have remained the same. 2. Range is great at covering my 5800 three level home. The old Samsung TV in the kids playroom above the garage is about 70feet from UDR7 on ground floor and it has 3 bars. The screen is nice, however the app is much better. The UDR7 replaced an old TPlink 1750. Home internet is sub 100mbs so no way I can max it out speed wise.

Really interesting seeing the mixed bag of wireless performance reviews. I bought the UDR7 as a gateway first, AP second but I have been very pleasantly surprised by the wifi performance. I already had solid coverage of my 2500 sq. ft. house via a UAP-AC-LR and NanoHD but I bought the UDR7 instead of the Cloud Gateway Fiber so I could provide some wifi 6/7 coverage for devices that support it without buying an extra AP. My UDR7 is actually sat in my garage on a metal shelf so very far from ideal placement. My internet connection is 1gbit over-provisioned to around 1.2gbit. I have IDS/IPS enabled. I live in a regular stud framed house. I am running a regular Ookla speedtest. I forced my test devices onto the UDR7 AP for the following tests. - From 20 feet away with 2 walls between device and UDR7 I max out my line speed (~1150mbit) on my Pixel 6 and Laptop (with Intel AX-211) both of which support Wifi 6E. - From 30 feet away with 3 walls between device and UDR7 I get 900mbit on my Pixel 6 and 1000mbit on my laptop. - From 40 feet away with 4-5 walls between device and UDR I get 700mbit on my Pixel 6 and 800mbit on my laptop. So no complaints here at all. I keep running speedtests because I'm so impressed coming from wifi 5. I am using a 2.5gbit port for WAN and have the 10gbit SFP+ port hooked up to my server. Everything is running very smoothly with no sign of performance issues from the UDR7. My laptop reported aggregated link speeds up to 2400 down / 2200mbit up. I am thinking about setting up OpenSpeedTest on my server so I can see just how far I can push things.

First time UniFi experience here - so far it’s been mixed trending towards positive? 3gig fiber service from isp. 2400 sq ft three level home. ISP router was a WiFi 7 router and gave great range and speeds, but every month or two my iot devices would get kicked off and it was a hassle to get any support each time. Friend pushed me to Ubiquiti to have more control. Dream Router 7 arrived 3 days ago. Day 1 was 8 hours of nightmare setup. I’m not an IT/networking experienced person but was excited to learn and tinker. Growing pains have hurt. Initial speeds were slow, and generally it felt like a downgrade from the speeds I was getting with the isp router. Customer support was tedious and it really took all night to start figuring it out into a usable network. Day two much better, and day 3 also better. Finally have all my devices connected, iot network on a separate vlan, and pretty much the whole house gets coverage. The signal strength isn’t the greatest at the fringes, but so far that has just been on speed tests or WiFiman scans. Functionally all my stuff works and is getting enough speed. That being said - the 5ghz band just seems slow and the dream router itself doesn’t give any accurate speed tests between the isp modem and itself. Keeps telling me I’m only getting 40 mbps down and up, but then you can speed test something over WiFi and it gets 200-400 mbps. Still trying to figure all that out. I’d like to be registering better speeds over the 5 ghz channel - especially if I’m just 5 feet from the router with no obstructions. So far - nothing is losing connection noticeably…it’ll take a while for me to judge if it’s more stable than the isp router - but I can at least look at how everything is functioning or not. Haven’t added in firewalls yet …but I’d say mixed to positive experience. Hoping it stays stable and gets better.

UPDATE: attempted the install today of the dream router 7. It’s been a monumental disaster. Network kept dropping, WiFi and hardwired speeds were much slower than the quantum router. Spent hours with chat support with little progress. I’m trying to stick this out and see what needs to be adjusted to see if it can work well, but speed, reliability, and coverage have taken a huge hit. I’m pretty bummed - this was supposed to be a step up and it’s been a huge downgrade so far.

Update #2: okay - we’re more optimistic but not out of the water. Lots of chat with ubiquiti and a few trouble shooting efforts of my own. I switched my smartnid from quantum to transparent bridge mode. I also updated to 4.2.9 early access on the dream router. WiFi speeds seem to still be less than ideal - but most of the time I’m hitting 3-400 mbps on a device. Further away from the router it quickly drops to around 100-200, but functionally I know that’s not bad at all. Hardwired before I was getting only a few hundred Mbps - but now I’m getting closer to the full speeds ranging between 1-2gbps on my 3 gig internet. I honestly don’t know what makes everything so variable though! One speed test to the next there’s large variation. And lots of ping variation too depending on the test. Sometimes ping is 5-9ms - and then it’ll jump on the next test to 200 or 250. Unclear what I can adjust or tweak to resolve this. I will say that when I took the network down and up again a few times all my devices reconnected without any issue tonight - which is miles better than before with the isp router. The journey continues ….but I’m not ditching my ubiquiti stuff yet, if it can just get a little bit better / more consistent I think they’ll hook me for life ….maybe I want an express 7 to give me a stronger signal in the basement…..am I crazy? lol

If you’re buying into the tech today I’d recommend looking at WiFi 7, wifi 6 is already outdated.  Personally I’d look at the UniFi range if you want to be a bit hands on with your network. Maybe a UniFi express 7 or UDR7 if you want an all in one for your main router (wifi and routing). Then if you can get other access point hardwired in then great, if not UniFi APs will do wireless mesh. (U7 pro or u7 lite to save costs) Of course the number of nodes/access points you need will depend on how much area you’re covering. But seeing as you have the 2x AE (flat square ones? Or towers?) two wifi points should suffice in your new set up  If you want to be less hands on, then look at tp link deco and eero. Tp link have a low range wifi 7 model that doesn’t include 6ghz 

If you’re buying into the tech today I’d recommend looking at WiFi 7, wifi 6 is already outdated.  Personally I’d look at the UniFi range if you want to be a bit hands on with your network. Maybe a UniFi express 7 or UDR7 if you want an all in one for your main router (wifi and routing). Then if you can get other access point hardwired in then great, if not UniFi APs will do wireless mesh. (U7 pro or u7 lite to save costs) Of course the number of nodes/access points you need will depend on how much area you’re covering. But seeing as you have the 2x AE (flat square ones? Or towers?) two wifi points should suffice in your new set up  If you want to be less hands on, then look at tp link deco and eero. Tp link have a low range wifi 7 model that doesn’t include 6ghz 

UniFi UDR 7

My experience with the UDR7 and other Unifi equipment: I recently replaced my old network setup, which consisted of a Netgear Orbi Pro with one router and one satellite. This previous setup was reliable for 4 years, without any issues or interruptions, providing full house coverage. The only drawback was the outdated user interface and features, despite the overall high quality of the system. The new setup includes a UDR7, U7 Lite, and Flex 2.5 switch installed in the same location as the old equipment. Here are my impressions: Using only the UDR7 from the same location as the Netgear router (without a satellite or access point), I was able to connect at least at 2.4 GHz in the farthest and most obstructed areas, which was not possible with the old gear. Close to the router (1.5 meters away), the Netgear router provided a maximum link speed of 866 Mbps (Wi-Fi 5) and an internet speed of 500 Mbps. With the UDR7 in the same spot, the link speed increased to 1.2 Gbps (Wi-Fi 6) and the internet speed reached 750 Mbps (ISP max). After adopting and installing the U7 Lite, the whole house coverage was comparable to the old gear (Netgear router + satellite). The main difference was the link speed improvement using Wi-Fi 6, which enhanced the TX and RX rates, thus maximizing the ISP speed at medium range (3 meters). With a Wi-Fi 6E client using the UDR7 6 GHz band near the router (1.5 meters away), the link speed achieved its maximum at 2.4 Gbps. However, I found the 6 GHz spectrum less usable since both Wi-Fi 6E clients preferred connecting to the 5 GHz band, only resorting to the 6 GHz when extremely close to the router. Key takeaways: 1.        Ensure to change the 5 GHz channel width from 40 MHz to 80 MHz prior to conducting tests to avoid misleading results, as maximum internet speed might be around 500 Mbps otherwise. 2.        The setup process is remarkably easy and fast for such a complex and advanced network operating system. 3.        Coverage remains consistent with an overall improvement in LAN and internet speeds across the house compared to the previous gear. 4.        The software, functionalities, and features are significantly advanced compared to the older Netgear equipment; the upgrade was well worth it for these improvements alone. 5.        The 6GHz band is not useful for my setup because the connection requires proximity to the router. Overall, my experience was excellent, and the swap was worth it.

I have had my Dream Router 7 for not even a day and a half and I am seriously disappointed. The signal strength of this thing is terrible. Honestly, my ISP provided router was great for everything except the additional features you get with Unifi. I am having an issue where clients disconnect and reconnect sometimes 2-3 times in a few minutes. Given all the threads I have seen, this is not only me but a systemic issue. I did open a support case, but have not heard back since the initial correspondence via chat. If they do not have a solution, I will be returning it.

Just got one to replace my unifi security gateway 3 and some older access point. Reason it routes at 2.3gbps with IDS/IPS turned on. So its ready for the new NBN speed upgrades coming. I paid $566 for mine shipped.

Some observations and commentary: If you're in a building that has concrete, brick, or plaster-and-lath *interior* walls, then the LAST thing you want is a mesh system. Get some cabling in place to logical places on the ceiling, and install traditional access points with wired back-haul to your router. You'll thank yourself later. Sections of the home separated by block walls should have their own access points covering those area(s). Pro-sumer is the way you want to go, since it ticks all of the check-boxes for what you need. Since you're on a shoe-string budget, you're going to have to phase it in over time, and suffer with what you have until the core equipment is on-line. You'll have to take some of the WiFi repeaters off-line as you phase in the access points, as the overlap might affect your WiFi performance. You'll be retiring all of them eventually anyway, as I'm sure that they don't support VLANs. I highly recommend Unifi. It's not cheap, but it is rock-solid. Example: My UniFi access point at home has a current up-time exceeding 120 days without a restart. It has been restarted every now-and-then for firmware updates of course, but I don't ever recall having to restart it due to connectivity issues. -------------------------------------- The U7-Pro and the U7-Pro-XG are currently in the $189-$199 range at store.ui.com Both are tri-band WiFi 7 access points, which support VLANs, etc. Get them up on the ceiling in logical places around your home, and wire them back to your router. I'd recommend placing them in the areas that are heavy with IoT / HomeAssistant devices. Although the access points are VLAN-aware, your actual VLANs are going to be defined on a VLAN-Aware router. . . so until you get a VLAN-Aware router in place, VLANs will have to remain on hold. Possible router(s) to pair with your access points: UCG-Ultra (1Gb), UCG-Max (2.5Gb), UCG-Fiber (10Gb), or perhaps the UDR7, which is a WiFi 7 router. Caveats with those routers: If you have alot of constant/heavy inter-VLAN traffic, any router (including the ones mentioned above) can get bogged down to the point of affecting things like general internet performance, etc. So it is best to minimize inter-VLAN traffic as much as possible. So, don't put your NAS on a different VLAN than the majority of devices accessing it, and don't deploy IP cameras on one VLAN, while hosting the NVR on a different VLAN, etc. Aside from inter-VLAN traffic, your router only really needs to be fast enough to route your ISP/Internet traffic, and any other services that the router might be running. Local traffic to/from the same VLAN is handled at the switch level, and shouldn't be a problem. ---------------------------------------- If your shed is at the 60-foot end of your yard, and you want coverage in your yard, you'll want an outdoor access point. You might get adequate coverage by mounting one on the exterior wall of your home, proximate to the shed, however you won't know unless you try. Don't try to run copper to the shed. Use fiber if you're going to run a cable out there. ---------------------------------------- Lastly. . . unless you're using your crawlspace daily, forget about trying to figure out how to cover a crawlspace to support two random smart lightbulbs. They make some amazing, specialized equipment for that - it's called a lightswitch. :-) ----------------------------------------- Edit: A more affordable VLAN-Aware system would be GrandStream. They make a series of VLAN-Aware access points and routers. . . though I have no real data on how they perform from a stability standpoint. Perhaps some folks can chime in with their GrandStream experiences.

I recently replaced my Amplifi Alien with a Ubiquiti UDR7 and couldn’t be more pleased. I followed these instructions for setting up a dedicated IoT network, which has been rock solid for HomeKit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMHQy4u8JZA

Agreed. The Dream Router 7 with a UniFi Express 7 is cheaper than any equivalent Asus or Netgear setup in the US. $500 can get you one of each. $500 will barely get you an entry level 2 node mesh. And the Ubiquiti stuff will be more capable too. I'm dumping my Asus setup in favor of Ubiquiti once I get some money.

Ubiquiti Dream Router 7 and a UniFi Express 7 for $500 direct from them. It'll destroy anything from Asus and Netgear at that price and it's full Wifi 7. https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-cloud-gateways Plus there's a whole ecosystem that can be easily managed. And the stuff actually works too, which isn't always a given with Asus and Netgear.

Ubiquiti Dream Router 7 is $279 direct from them, or you can get the UniFi Express 7 if you don't need all its capability. It'll be better than anything you can buy from Asus for the same money. It's a very scalable system with a lot more capability than anything consumer grade.

Ubiquiti Dream Router 7 is $279 direct from them, or you can get the UniFi Express 7 if you don't need all its capability. It'll be better than anything you can buy from Asus for the same money. It's a very scalable system with a lot more capability than anything consumer grade.

Got UDR7 with U7 lite upstairs, no issues and whole house, 3 bed detached, covered plus outside decking area. I don’t have many IOT devices, however I do have a lot of SONOS devices, which I was worried about, but again no issues.

For you, something like the Unifi Dream Router 7 + additional AP. It is still fairly easy to set up without a lot of knowledge but will be expandable as your network grows. Good bang for the buck as it will have long-term support while most store bought routers will hit EoL quicjly. You can plan out the best locations for wireless APs on the Unifi website.

It has a wireguard server.

Unifi Express 7 or a Cloud Gateway Fiber + AP.

UDR7 is absolutely not overkill for your condo. They're also great in that you can easily dedicate an IoT SSID with backwards compatibility.

Yes. It's powered by PoE though, so you'll need an injector on one end. If you want to consider Unifi, consider replacing that old R7800 with something like a UDR7, then you can manage all the gear from one place (and it has a PoE port). If your Ethernet port is a wall jack, consider the In-Wall versions also.

Yes. It's powered by PoE though, so you'll need an injector on one end. If you want to consider Unifi, consider replacing that old R7800 with something like a UDR7, then you can manage all the gear from one place (and it has a PoE port). If your Ethernet port is a wall jack, consider the In-Wall versions also.

I tried really hard with the crappy 320 but came to the conclusion I need to just put it in passthrough mode and bought a Unifi dream router 7. Best decision, it's way faster than the junk ATT puts out and actually gives me a lot more control.

I have one and hear light whirring if I get very close. Did not know it had a fan until I hear that sound. After experiencing fanless UI hardware (flex switches, UCG Max), UDR is running so refreshingly cool.

I would agree that hardwired is ideal, but I've been having excellent results meshing dream router and ap lite. The distance is only one flight of stairs plus 30 horizontal feet, but device roaming is generally consistent with proximity to the ap. Strangely, some devices have bounced to the ap pro, 150 feet away in a separate building. I expect to see more, more easily with 9.1, probably upgrade tomorrow.

UDR isn't a great all-around unless you're buying firmware. They need to work on making their hardware match their firmware capabilities.

Yes, to build a UniFi network with equal antenna technology, I need to get the Enterprise version of their Wifi 6 AP (assuming Wifi 6 is my use case). If I have a Wifi 7 use case, there's no AP with 6 Ghz 4x4 mimo last I checked, which will help with range to individual clients at the edge of the network and serving multiple clients. Admittedly that was a couple months ago after a recommendation. Even the 7 Pro Max is 4x4 only in the 5 GHz band. Nice for serving many clients, but not the hardware I'd expect for a Wifi client-heavy use case. With the UDR, it's 2x2 on every band. Specific use cases make sense with the firmware/software, like the NVR you mentioned. I'm not dismissing the firmware capabilities, just pointing out the need to strangely compromise with hardware in their solutions *when the claim is world class hardware in every implementation.

How large is the space? Does your relative really need a second AP? For my home I got the Dream Router and a U6+ and it’s overkill but works great. You could do the UDR with the U6 Extender if the space is too big for just the UDR. Just a bit over budget, but…

4x port 2.5gb nics are ~$50-100 alone. The unifi is actually pretty reasonably priced @ $200 and totally fine for home use. Next best thing and my recommendation would be a mini pc and nic running pfsense/opnsense for your requirements, also ~$200 total You'll easily saturate the pi 5s USB bus and gen 2 pcie x1 lane with 4x 2.5gb connections + WAN. The pi could work if you also got a small 2.5gb switch but for the cost I think you're in minipc territory at that point

A few weeks ago I got tired of my issues with my original DR and went to Micro Center and bought a Dream Machine SE and an extra AP. I'm strongly considering returning it for this and a poe 8 lite. \\ ^^^Talk ^^^me ^^^out ^^^of ^^^it

Not a surprise. UDR is notorious for not having enough performance. The previous generation of UDR can only saturate about 700 Mbps of Internet connection with every other capability disabled: Protect, InnerSpace, IDS/IPS, DNS-based Ad Block, and Encrypted DNS, you name it, all gone. Now, the new generation of UDR only provides a slight improvement in CPU (Quad A53 @ 1.5 GHz compared to previous Dual A53 @ 1.35 GHz) but now needs to handle 2.3 Gbps IDS/IPS routing.

All UniFi fans always tell you UniFi products are fine and flawless, but no. UniFi Products are always full of Bugs (Layer 3 switches failed to apply static routing config, Client analyzer failed to record non-UniFi devices' PoE usage), Hardware design failures (UDM Pro/SE/Pro Max's built-in 8 ports switch only has a fixed GbE uplink), and Faults (UniFi Layer 3 features can't handle IPv6, UDM Pro/SE/Pro Max's RJ45 WAN Port can't handle PPPoE up to 700 Mbps). So be prepared, you will face bugs every day every week, and be ready to talk to UniFi's support engineer every day about bugs you find. Cloud Gateway Fiber has a much more powerful CPU (Quad A73 @ 2 GHz compared to Quad A53 @ 1.5 GHz on UDR 7, even more powerful than the one in UDM Pro/SE, a rack-mount gateway) and claims to be able to handle 5 Gbps IDS/IPS routing. So it sure can saturate your gigabit connection. It doesn't have built-in Wi-Fi, so you will need to get a dedicated AP. More money needs to be spent, but the bonus is that your gateway no longer handles the wireless stuff and can focus its computing power on networking, routing, firewall, etc.

I'd recommend Ubiquiti Dream Machine or Dream Router even for a non-techie.

Are you also doing video streaming? If so I would suggest that you hardwire those if you can. I would put the a dream router (2nd floor next to modem) (it has built in wifi) —> POE to other floors and (depends on budget but you could probably get away with U6) you’ll have to get one POE injector as the dream router only has 2 POE ports. Ubiquiti allows you to set up via cloud if you want but you can also go directly from the modem or install their app somewhere on your LAN and push out configuration that way.

This has been answered a lot of times. But I’ll give you the short version. 1 - you’re gonna want to hardwire TVs and gaming. Just an overall better experience. 2- on either your phone or laptop install software that lets you create a heat map. This shows you what areas if the house have bad coverage. 3- I use and suggest ubiquiti equipment. 3a. You’d install a dream router next to your modem (make sure the ISP puts your modem in bridge mode) 3b. Run wires and install access points where they’re needed and set up your network in mesh mode. 4- enjoy

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

I use a UDR in my RV with Starlink. Great coverage inside and out. Easy to add an Instant camera to so I can have a few perimeter cams if I need to. I use a G3 instant as a dash cam for now until I upgrade to the Theta.

Agreed. I started with an UDR, I think it’s great for flat apartments, not so much for multi story houses. You will need extra APs, and the UDR will likely be in a closet or in the basement so not the best place for the built-in AP. I’m much happier now with the UCG and I might consider fibre once/if faster internet access becomes affordable in my area.

I'd bet curious how they addressed the WAN port for this, I sold my OG Dream Router because it couldn't hit 1gb for my fiber. This new one says 2.5gbs WAN.

I have a larger house and found UniFi with 7 access points is a game changer. Make sure you get a switch and hardwire the access points. I have gigabit WiFi in every room. You won’t get all that for $700, but you could do a budget version with a UDR ($199) and 2 U6-Pro access points ($159) for a total of $517.

Yeah my bad, with the Cloud Gateway Ultra you'd need an access point. I was thinking of the Unifi Express which has WiFi 6 built in. I'd personally go with the Dream Router or Unifi Express + Flex Mini switch for the versatility offered by Ubiquiti's software.

Netgear, google, TPLink but the best would be a Ubiquiti dream router with an access point in the other building connected by the wire. Highly flexible and great system with ability for growth.

I don't know why you are getting downvoted cause I had the same problem with my unifi 7 and the new iphone 16. iphone 15 was fine but with the 16 I was having to constantly reconnect it to the network

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

I had to dump my U7 Pros for E7 and U6 Ent. No problems since I changed. If you can factory reset E7 without U7 I’d try that. The U7 Pro and Pro Max have some issues with the chips in them so I’d just stay far away from them. Otherwise - If you don’t care use 6 generation forget about Wi-Fi 7 and wait for the next round.

If you are a Costco member or know one the AEX5300 is the same as the XE75 but even cheaper, they are the exact same. Your assumptions are going to be wrong, price !== quality. If you want to spend more money look at a Unifi Express 7/Dream Router 7 with a U7 Lite.

To be honest, I would not upgrade. It seems like you’re satisfied with your AmpliFi Alien system and enjoying a great day-to-day experience with it. Ubiquiti is still selling the AmpliFi Alien on the UI Store, at the Apple Store, and at many other retailers. Unless you have a good reason to upgrade, it will be an unnecessary hassle and expense. I use UniFi Gen 7 APs with a Cloud Gateway. Still, I would not have upgraded had my previous mesh Wi-Fi system not failed to accommodate a fiber internet service upgrade.

I moved from Eero 6 (3 routers) to Unifi, since I didn't want to pay a monthly fee just to see more data/bandwidth info. I also wanted to create separate VLANs for Guest and IoT, which Eero couldn't do. I ended up with a UDR7 and two U7 Lites, and it has been rock solid for the past 6 months. The controller has a ton of options to tweak to your hearts desire (love the recent update that allows you to turn off specific radios).

It would be multiple products and it's very customizable based on your needs. Going to be comparing to the Pro Deployment which is $699 No Wiring but only need WiFi? Dream Router 7: $279 2x U7 Pro + 2 POE injectors: $408 Total: $687 Need at least 1 ethernet ports near the mesh AP? Dream Router 7: $279 2x Unifi Express 7: $398 Total: $677 Have at least 1 ethernet port wired and need both multiple ethernet and wifi? Dream Router 7: $279 Unifi Express 7: $199 U7 In-Wall: $149 Total: $628 It's a whole ecosystem of devices meant to work together and you can continually expand or replace as units get old. Eeros and Orbis would require replacing the entire stack when it comes to upgrading. With a Unifi setup you can pick and choose which components you want to replace, usually you keep the gateway/router and swap out the Wireless Access Points.

It would be multiple products and it's very customizable based on your needs. Going to be comparing to the Pro Deployment which is $699 No Wiring but only need WiFi? Dream Router 7: $279 2x U7 Pro + 2 POE injectors: $408 Total: $687 Need at least 1 ethernet ports near the mesh AP? Dream Router 7: $279 2x Unifi Express 7: $398 Total: $677 Have at least 1 ethernet port wired and need both multiple ethernet and wifi? Dream Router 7: $279 Unifi Express 7: $199 U7 In-Wall: $149 Total: $628 It's a whole ecosystem of devices meant to work together and you can continually expand or replace as units get old. Eeros and Orbis would require replacing the entire stack when it comes to upgrading. With a Unifi setup you can pick and choose which components you want to replace, usually you keep the gateway/router and swap out the Wireless Access Points.

Pretty much any consumer router made in the last 10 years will work, but id recommend the unifi express (149.99) or unifi express 7 (199.99), I would go with the unifi express 7 as its a bit more value and is more future proof, Unifi routers also have great IDS/IPS. And then an 8 port unmanaged gigabit switch, pretty much anything will do the trick as long as it says gigabit and has at least 8 ports.

grzeje się mocno i spowalnia. Jesli możesz sprzedaj i dołóż do express 7 jest dużo mocniejszy, quad core zamiast dualcore i 3gb ram zamiast 1. Dodatkowo ma ids/ips

I'm in the UK on Virgin Media 1GB cable connection at home. I've been using Google Nest WiFi Router for the last 5 years. After I bumped my service to 1 Gb, I never quite got the full advertised bandwidth. It away reported 850-900 Mbps download, ~85 up and latency ~30+ms. I didn't think much of it as it was still plenty fast for my needs, but about 10% slower than advertised. Yesterday I replaced it with a Unifi Express 7 (same ethernet cables). Speed test now reporting 1.15 Gbps down, 100 Mbps up and latency at 13 ms. So on or over advertised ISP speeds 👍 I always thought it was the Virgin service, a bit shocked to see it was the Google Nest Router, particularly the latency drop. And I couldn't be happier with the new kit. Loving the granular control, visibility, speed etc etc

I’d recommend the UniFi Express 7, it’s an amazing value and has all the WiFi 7 features you’d want. And many more advanced security things too like Intrusion Prevention.

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.

Latest UniFi Express 7 and Dream Router 7 has same IPQ5322 CPU and 3GB of RAM. If you don't need the built in SFP+ and 2.5Gbps switch, and don't bother with running other UniFi applications, UniFi Express 7 is perfectly fine.

I’ve had two asus units, two older google units, and a dinosaur of a unit from apple. Neither asus or google lasted 2 years before completely dying, and none were reliable. I have UniFi now going on 5 years and in that time I had one ap dead on arrival, otherwise flawless experience. A UniFi express and a switch may do well for you, but it won’t look like it belongs in the bat cave.

Unifi express 7. $200 for full wifi 7 and a very nice suite of features. Takes up to 10 gig in and can later be used as an access point if you decide you need something like a cloud gateway fiber or dream machine.

The Dream Router 7 has been the best router I've ever owned so far. WELL worth the cost.

That’s probably the best option if you need a couple extra Ethernet ports. You will also need POE injectors for the two APs. UI sells a [regular POE injector](https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/u-poe-af) for $8 which is all you need for the U7 Lite. My only other suggestion would be a [UniFi Express 7](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-cloud-gateways/products/ux7) which has an AP built in, with 6 GHz, to boot. But it only has one LAN port so if you’re wanting to run more Ethernet you’d need a switch. The [cheapest one UI sells](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-switching/products/usw-flex-mini) is $30 which makes it about a wash with your setup. The only advantage would be 6 GHz from the router but your still be without it on the other floor. Edit to add if there’s a chance they may ever want cameras the Cloud Gateway Max and Dream Router 7 both offer a basic NVR that supports their Protect products. And both have several LAN ports. The Dream Router even has a POE port to power an AP.

Depending on the thickness of your floors and walls, 2-3 APs should do the trick. The Unifi app includes a site mapping feature that will tell you where to put APs based on the floor plan, and you can just scan your rooms to make a floor plan. I’d suggest giving that a shot to see what it suggests for placement and number of APs. A U7 Pro AP is $189 from Ubiquiti directly, and requires a PoE+ switch to power it. You can either buy a switch from ubiquiti, or get a cheap one on amazon. This is where things can start to get expensive. Rack-mount gear is really nice to have. Not having to worry about a precarious pile of networking gear perched somewhere awkward is nice. And it lets you rack mount other gear (home server, UPS, your shitty modem that your ISP gives you) and lets you install a patch panel for easier network management. However, it is bigger, and more expensive. A Unifi Lite 16 PoE is $200, while a Unifi Standard 16 PoE is almost $100 more for AR capabilities and rack mounting. The AR stuff is pretty slick fwiw, showing you what’s hooked up to each port. As for a router, the Dream Router 7 comes with a WiFi 7 AP built in. As does the Express 7. The Express 7 is focused solely on routing, and is cheaper at $200. The Dream Router is more capable, running the full Unifi suite, allowing for security cameras, VoIP phones, door control, and stuff like that, but costs $279 to do so. The Cloud Gateway Max eschews the built in AP for a built in 2.5 GbE switch instead of the GbE switch in the Dream Router 7, and the ability to use an NVMe SSD for camera footage, instead of a microSD card. Worst case scenario: * Cloud Gateway Max - $279 * Unifi Standard 16 PoE - $279 * Unifi U7 Pro x3 - $567 And then you grab a 3d printed mount for the cloud gateway, your ISP modem, and begin rack mounting everything you can. Less than $1500 to do it fancy. Less than $1000 to do it economically. Still, definitely recommend downloading their app and mapping your place out before you pull the trigger on anything.

> Ubiquiti Cloud Gateway and their access points. I have my main network, a guest network, an IoT network, and dedicated WFH network. The IoT network is 2.4 only to make setting up those devices easier. After years of trial and error with every consumer brand router under the sun, I have pretty much exactly the same Ubiquiti setup you do. Three access points, multiple virtual networks, and it's been very stable. Still gradually migrating all my IoT hardware to the dedicated IoT network though. I have so many stupid wifi thingies I keep finding new stuff I forgot about.

Since you have cable Internet and it runs into the basement, you hopefully have coaxial cables available to you throughout the house, and usually in key locations. Just look at the area where all the coax ends should meet, likely in the basement where your modem/router is at and plugged into. If you do find this bunch of coax, you can use it with MoCA Adapters to build a wired Ethernet network inside your home. If you can achieve that, then getting good WiFi everywhere will be easy, as well as providing wired capabilities for other devices in needed locations. MoCA Adapters can be a bit expensive, but worth the cost. If you can build this MoCA network, then whatever you choose as the router and Access Points will work very well, including a 3 pack of a reputable mesh brand. For mesh, I use and can recommend eero. But ASUS Zen mesh is also praised a lot, and has more configurability. If you want to go higher end, you can get an Ubiquiti Cloud Gateway router, a Ubiquiti PoE switch, and some Ubiquiti Access Points. It's more expensive, but very capable of advanced setups, and is very stable. I use Ubiquiti at another home and in my office location, and I can recommend them personally as well.

So others will steer you into changing everything about your current smart home. And while they aren’t necessarily wrong, I’ll try and help you out with your ask. If a lot of your smart devices are Wi-Fi then you have some options. If you have Wi-Fi devices spread across your entire house and outside, you are going to want to invest in a decent mesh system. Specifically one where you can fine-tune the different Wi-Fi networks. You want a system where you can create different Wi-Fi networks as well as assign the bands to each network. I use a Ubiquiti Cloud Gateway and their access points. I have my main network, a guest network, an IoT network, and dedicated WFH network. The IoT network is 2.4 only to make setting up those devices easier. That network can’t reach into the other networks but the main network can reach into the IoT network. I haven’t worked out all the kinks, as I’m still learning myself and tweaking as I go. Another option would be to find a more consumer grade mesh system where you can have multiple access points, nodes, or whatever the brand you choose calls it. The big thing there is to ensure your 2.4 GHz network is named differently than your 5GHz. The mesh helps with coverage, and the unique name for the 2.4 again makes adding your smart devices a lot easier. You should be able to do this with your google Wi-Fi pucks now. Advice would be to leave the 2.4 network the same so you don’t have to read those devices, it can be a pain, the name your 5GHz something different. Phones and laptops are a lot easier to change networks on. The big thing that will help with speed in the consumer grade setup is having wired back haul capabilities. Google Wi-Fi does, I don’t think Nest does. That changes your access points from repeaters to the same speed as your main router, but in more places in your house. The caveat being you need to have Ethernet access in the places you want to add those wired Access Points. I’m sure others will chime in, and correct anything I got wrong. 🤣 Edited: Because I skimmed and missed that you already have a mesh system capable of naming the bands differently and google Wi-Fi supports wired backhaul.

Unifi ubiquity stuff is rock solid

Ubiquity/Unifi, if that's within your budget, way beyond the usual consumer brands, it's a commercial brand, but loved by a lot of prosumers like me.

I have just moved to Unifi from Linksys due to the constant issues with the Velop mesh. All wired and seems to be working very well. Even the Mrs is happy

I use Ubiquity Unifi gear since I’ve used it for almost 10 years. Netgear Orbi is a high quality product, Eero is probably ok too. More a question of how big your space is, is there a way to hardwire access points etc. The standard Verizon router may be totally fine for a small space.

Id check out the decos then unifi, unifi is pricer but nicer, my parents used decos forever without issue. If you just want some basic QOS/port forwarding you'll be good to go.

Like a few others in here I’ve been a full Ubiquity Unifi guy for many years. Great stuff.