Ubiquiti - UniFi Dream Machine Special Edition
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Dec 25, 2025 Scoring
Liked most:
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"Unifi provide the most stable wifi network for IoT of all the AP on the market, even with one VLAN, even in mesh configuration. ... I have +200 IoT devices in my home from Apple, Switchbot, Aqara, Logitech, Eufy, Hue, Govee, and numerous exotic brands. I have been through hell with solutions from Apple, Orbi, Peplink, Meraki, Eero, Huawei and many many more. And only since I am rocking on Unifi I can open my Apple Home app with not a single device error !"
"Actually better than a range extender, as Mesh systems are designed from the ground up to work with each other in the system. ... But it's half ass "patched up" jerky jerky mesh was no match to a Deco. Deco was snappier, more reliable, and longer range."
"I have a 2 story 2350sf house. I have an Orbi with the master AP upstairs in the hall covering all the bedrooms rooms. Downstairs I have 2 Orbi Client APs on either end of the house covering all the downstairs, garage, and outside. ... I’ve never had any issues with coverage or bandwidth."
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"In a 6000 sq ft house I’ve just helped with it has 6 access points and has a perfect full signal everywhere you go."
"I have a 2 ZenWiFi AX’s on each floor of my house. WiFi everywhere, including a bench at the back fence of the property kicks butt."
"There’s not a dead spot on my property."
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"The Ubiquity has awesome traffic stats right in the app. ... Most people have zero idea about their utilization….but the Ubiquity gives you all that in amazing detail and history….that even rivals commercial gear without all kinds of expensive management software."
"I love that I can access home assistant (and anything inside my LAN) through a wireguard tunnel direcly on the router from my phone or laptop."
"The most advanced Cloud Gateways, like the UCG-Max and the UCG-Fiber, and the Dream Machines can also do what the Cloud Key does plus acting as a router."
9
1
"I download 50tb a month on my server and steam Plex to nearly ten simultaneous users this way. Never had any issues relating to the wifi side of it."
"not once have I ever wanted for wifi performance...and I've got dozens and dozens of devices on the AP's. ... Finally switched to ubiquiti and stopped having constant problems, aka it's reliable."
"Remote play to xbox sx (xbox wired) with 5 ping on iphone, very playable, all while wife and son are streaming something on tv/phones/tablets all on wifi."
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"I just ran a speedtest on mine and get 935Mbps down, 108Mbps up. UDM-SE with intrusion prevention on, CyberSecure active, detection mode set to detect and block, almost all active detections enabled, memory optimized off, I am not using the zone based firewall yet."
"Install a multi AP system, set up two SSIDs, and broadcast to the APs in each apartment."
"You can easily do this with Ubiquiti UniFi gateways. ... Often we create a different SSID for IoT and just turn on 2.4GHz for that SSID. ... Turn off 5GHz etc."
Disliked most:
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"Orbi’s pos firmware updates ... years of doggy updates ... bad firmware problems ... bad firmware updates take down my home and some other family homes I supported back then ... Their terrible firmware releases are well documented."
"It runs hot, needs rebooting nightly or it starts slowing down"
"currently using tp link ax3000 (which started to give me issues recently) ... currently using tp link ax3000 and im changing it cz it has started to give me issues, it randomly reboots"
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"Best speeds I can get from it are 850/800. ... Eero maxes out my gigabit connection. ... The dream machine itself barely gives me 300."
"I had 1Gb service and with G WiFi I got a fraction of that speed. ... My old router was holding me back from the service I paid for."
"I'd end up with service for the whole network dropping several minutes multiple times per day."
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"Best speeds I can get from it are 850/800. ... Eero maxes out my gigabit connection. ... The dream machine itself barely gives me 300."
"HOWEVER, the RJ45 ports of both devices are Gigabit only, cutting down the 10gbps speed of your fiber line to 1gbps."
"And trust me, you will soon run out of the 8 ports both devices can provide."
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1
"And the range comparatively is also bad. ... Upstairs on my eero with my laptop on wifi 700 I can still damn near max out my gigabit. The dream machine itself barely gives me 300."
"Best speeds I can get from it are 850/800. ... Eero maxes out my gigabit connection. ... The dream machine itself barely gives me 300."
"So I thought: ok, 4x4 on 6ghz isn't fair vs 2x2. So I direct wired an Wall AP7 upstairs in the same room I test from... and at best I can get 650/600 on 6ghx/Wifi 7. Agree. I just through adding another AP directly in the room would have have compensated for that. And it still couldn't get the same speeds."
I just ran a speedtest on mine and get 935Mbps down, 108Mbps up. UDM-SE with intrusion prevention on, CyberSecure active, detection mode set to detect and block, almost all active detections enabled, memory optimized off, I am not using the zone based firewall yet.
r/Ubiquiti • Alternatives to Unifi Routers? ->You would want a cloud gateway of some sort. The UDM Pro Max or SE are solid choices. You will want a PoE switch if you start with the Pro Max since it has better specs, but doesn’t offer native PoE ports. Then you will want APs of some sort. WiFi 6 or WiFi 7…often the latter requires more power, so the SE might not have enough power for many WiFi 7 APs. The Pro APs are nice and the U6-Mesh is a nice table top AP. The product names are sometimes misleading, so read the specs…or ask here.
r/Ubiquiti • Upgrading home router/wifi ->You can easily do this with Ubiquiti UniFi gateways. Often we create a different SSID for IoT and just turn on 2.4GHz for that SSID. Turn off 5GHz etc.
r/wifi • Recommended router that lets you create separate 2.4 and 5 bands ->Ubiquity is great value with enterprise features. Dream Machines. Best if you use the whole platform with APs and stuff
r/HomeNetworking • Router recommendations for Fios ->I’m not so familiar with home equipment over 1gig, but i think some of the Dream Machine products do that. I’ve had a couple versions of Ubiquity, most recent the regular Dream machine…the round one that looks like a coffee can. I’m an enterprise guy and this thing has really nice features and visibility right in the phone app. Surely does more than your typical linksys and other residential devices. For that space it should be fine alone with its built in wifi6. Check Amazon.
r/HomeNetworking • Router recommendations for Fios ->Ubiquti dream machine. Best choice I've made and I went through all of those consumer devices
r/HomeNetworking • "Best" consumer router under $200? ->Do not put a deco mesh system into your 32,000 sqft mansion. You should be looking at higher end systems like UniFi, HpE, Ruckus. I’m not super familiar with engenius. You need a centrally managed system and with an estate of this size a high end system will be a drop in the bucket of your build budget.
r/HomeNetworking • Wireless AP or Mesh w/ Ethernet backhaul for 32,000 sqft home ->Yeah. I did. Along with hpe and ruckus. A number of my wealthy clients specifically request UniFi and in my experience they stay happy with it and I rarely have to touch anything. It’s also commonly used at resorts, hotels, etc What’s your beef with UniFi?
r/HomeNetworking • Wireless AP or Mesh w/ Ethernet backhaul for 32,000 sqft home ->Ubiquiti makes UniFi. Yes.
r/HomeNetworking • Wireless AP or Mesh w/ Ethernet backhaul for 32,000 sqft home ->Dream machine should be able to cover everything. Maybe an express can as well and they can be had used for $80
r/HomeNetworking • Which router is the best value for a 2,000 sq ft house with 40 devices (mostly Google Home and Eufy cameras), one TV, and no gaming? Internet speed is 150Mpbs (cable). ->The question comes down to how much you want to mess with your router? Personally I don't want to mess with it at all, so I went with the Dream Machine along with UniFi access points and switches. It took me 20 hours or so to learn how to set it up correctly and now it has been running for 7 years or so. I have a pair of Raspberry Pis running Ad Guard and act as my network's DNS. Another Pi running Home Assistant with a lot of radios and such plugged into it. Other than keeping them up to date with the latest firmware and software I don't really think about my network at all anymore. Until I want to that is.
r/synology • Which WIFI router are you using? ->Ubiquiti. It is well worth the investment. You need a Dream Machine and then a handful of access points depending on house size.
r/HENRYUKLifestyle • Wifi Routers ->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.
r/HomeNetworking • Prosumer wifi router recommendations? ->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.
r/HomeNetworking • Prosumer wifi router recommendations? ->I'd suggest looking into Ubiquiti UniFi. Since you have wiring available, it would be ideal. Look at the Cloud Gateway Ultra or Max as the router/controller, and add switches and wifi APs as needed/possible. You'll get a single-point-of-management interface for all the hardware. The Dream Router 7 is nice in that it has an AP built in if that's needed. The Dream Machine rack mounted hardware is also great, it may be overkill for you though.
r/HomeNetworking • What networking system should I use? ->Function split 👍👍👍 One Unifi Cloud Gateway Fibre, along with a U7-Pro hanging from the ceiling being powered off the CGF's POE+ port.
r/openwrt • Need router recommendation (2.5G, SFP, Wi-Fi 7) ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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