Ubiquiti - UniFi Express

the ubiquiti consumer level hardware is quite good - they have devices with a router/gateway and wifi access point built in. I run a ubiquiti UDM SE, with a U6 Long Range access point, and a U6 Extender (much higher end) and it covers my 2500sq ft house great. Look into their cloud gateway ultra (which needs a separate AP, like a U6 in the second link below) [Cloud Gateway Ultra - Ubiquiti Store United States](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-unifi-cloud-gateways/products/ucg-ultra) [Access Point U6 Plus - Ubiquiti Store United States](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-wifi/products/u6-plus) (note you need the POE adapter too, as the CGWU does not provide a POE port). Or the unifi express which is an all-in-one (so has it's own built in AP) [UniFi Express - Ubiquiti Store United States](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-unifi-cloud-gateways/products/ux)

the ubiquiti consumer level hardware is quite good - they have devices with a router/gateway and wifi access point built in. I run a ubiquiti UDM SE, with a U6 Long Range access point, and a U6 Extender (much higher end) and it covers my 2500sq ft house great. Look into their cloud gateway ultra (which needs a separate AP, like a U6 in the second link below) [Cloud Gateway Ultra - Ubiquiti Store United States](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-unifi-cloud-gateways/products/ucg-ultra) [Access Point U6 Plus - Ubiquiti Store United States](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-wifi/products/u6-plus) (note you need the POE adapter too, as the CGWU does not provide a POE port). Or the unifi express which is an all-in-one (so has it's own built in AP) [UniFi Express - Ubiquiti Store United States](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-unifi-cloud-gateways/products/ux)

This will probably get lost in the other messages, but it seems like you are getting close to potentially going down the r/homelab route. In that case, I would recommend the Ubiquiti Unifi Express (https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/ux). It runs the same router software as the Dream Machine but only supports 4 managed devices (unlimited unmanaged devices, you likely have 0 manageable devices at the moment). Because it runs the same networking software as the UDM, if you ever wanted to upgrade to a bigger network using the UDM, it would be a super easy transition. You can even use the Unifi Express as an access point with the UDM so it isn't a wasted purchase in the event of an upgrade.

The UniFi Express 7 is only $199 and the UniFi Express (WiFi 6) is $149. I bet the gl.net has better coverage but if that’s not a huge issue I’d argue that the UniFi stuff is affordable for anyone looking for something decent. I live in a one story 3 bedroom duplex where I host my UDR7 (same coverage as the Express 7 but more ports and features for $80 more) on one far corner of the apartment in my bedroom. It’s completely usable for my roommates and even outside on the patio on the other corner of the place. Coverage would probably be better if I centrally located the UDR7 but I’m selfish and want the peak 6Ghz speeds for myself.

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!

Yeap. Unifi is a sweet spot if you like user friendly interface, slightly more advanced capabilities and IDS/IPS. I have UDM-Pro, UDR and UX. First two are working perfectly and are very fast, so I can recommend both of them. UX is stable but not very fast, so don’t go that route. I don’t have UDM, so can’t comment.

The UniFi Cloud Gateway Ultra can do 1Gbps. The UniFi Express has WiFi 6 and I think it also has 1Gbps throughput. I have the express and it's been rock solid. It also manages the 2 UniFi APs on the network. I'm only running 300/300 so I'm hardly pushing the hardware.

Moved from ASUS to Unifi. Reasonably low end kit for them, over 50 devices. Works like a dream. Even the Wi-Fi mesh.

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.

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.

You could start with a Unifi Express for $150 and add more gear later if needed. It’s a good-enough 2x2 MIMO dual-band AP, but you don’t get _any_ of the fancy stuff like NVR or IDS. Can be converted into an AP later too.

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

I'm moving from TP-Link to Ubiquiti. Not related the the potential "ban" but because the unifi system is better and adds more options. And it doesn't have to be out of your price range. My ASUS systems ran about $500. Then my TP-Link ran $350. On the store right now you can get a cloud gateway express for 109 on sale. I have seen it on fb marketplace for $100 as well. And then on marketplace you're likely able to find some old AC Pros for around 25 a piece. so for $150ish you could cover most average homes...

I made the stupid mistake of buying two unifi Express models. Trust me, they are absolutely 100% garbage. I even sent one to the factory under RMA after I bought it, so I tested 3 total. I have hundreds of ubiquiti networking products for home and two business locations. Pro, non-pro, enterprise, switches, gateways, wifi AP's. They tend to work fine. The Express model though is a failed product, that should be pulled from the market. It will cause you nothing but pain and suffering. If this had been my first ubiquiti product, I would have permanently blacklisted the company line for all business purchases. Buy anything but this product.

I would return the dream router get the Unifi express series either the regular or the 7s. put one in the cupboard and put another in the house they mesh.

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.

I would suggest the Unifi express or UX7, both can handle fiber and they are super friendly user interfaces.

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

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

>*"You are better going with something like ubiquity"* The problem with this is that if you want to get into 10G... or really anything beyond 1G, you need a UDM Pro which just isn't that great if you don't have room for a full 1U rack anywhere. And by the time you add in APs and potentially other switches it gets really pricey compared to a standard Asus all-in-one unit for a small-medium size house. There's the Dream router - but that's only wifi 6 and doesn't support multi-gig. The Express is cute but again, not above gig. Sure, the AIO solutions from Asus for 10G probably aren't quite as good as a full Unifi setup with their APs... but it's way cheaper, takes up less space, and is simpler if you want others in your household to be able to configure it when you're not around.

\+1 for Unifi. Have had it for 10+ years, and have three separate installations now. Super stable, no fuzz, top quality and good customer service (if you ever need it). For a basic set-up: * Unifi Cloud Gateway Ultra (connect the inbound line to this, and do all management through it): [https://eu.store.ui.com/eu/en/products/ucg-ultra](https://eu.store.ui.com/eu/en/products/ucg-ultra) (avoid the Unifi Express, it's .. shit. I have one, unfortunately) * U7 Pro (if you want wall mounted access point): [https://eu.store.ui.com/eu/en/category/all-wifi/products/u7-pro](https://eu.store.ui.com/eu/en/category/all-wifi/products/u7-pro) * U7 Pro Wall (if you want to place the AP on a shelf or similar): [https://eu.store.ui.com/eu/en/category/all-wifi/products/u7-pro-wall](https://eu.store.ui.com/eu/en/category/all-wifi/products/u7-pro-wall) Then visit r/UNIFI to see how to get rid of all your money. Edit: In the "large" installation we a wired connection between our house and the STR, and just one SSD for everything. It's been working great, and we have excellent coverage in both houses, the barn in between and surprisingly far outside the houses too (100m).

A UniFi express will be underpowered and a dream machine pro is enormous and will be overpowered. Get a cloud gateway max. And you’ll need a PoE switch to power your access points. Other than that, yeah this is good advice

Ubiquiti doesn’t have to be super expensive. A flex mini and unifi express is pretty reasonable, and you can host the console on your own PC. This will be enough for many homes! But then you can upgrade as your needs change.

Precisely! With ubiquiti you can tailor your system to your exact needs, ranging from simple to extensive. The simpler solution I mentioned absolutely won’t work for every use case, but it will for many homes. This is a big part of why I enjoy this system so much — you can get exactly what you need in a way that comparable systems cannot. I need only one AP in my home for 20 wireless devices, but I need two switches for wired devices. You need multiple APs for an extreme demand. It works for all these cases and more, and you don’t need to overbuild.

ASUS has some good routers personally I would recommend a you to get ubiquiti unifi express ( wifi version) as it has a lot more features then what you have listed. IDS / IPS ( intrusion detection system and intrusion protection system) Ad blocking DNS inbuilt into the device and it also has DNS redirects built in to make sure all your devices use your specified dns servers. And having your own DNS on your router you can block malicious sites and scams, force safe search and block all adults content.

If the new property has in-wall Ethernet or coax that can be converted to Ethernet via MoCA, you can use a main router + multiple AP setup. This is the ideal option as having the wired link to all APs will give you the most speed and consistency. I’d start with a unifi express + any network switch for the amount of wired devices you need. Then you can find dead zones in the home and add APs as needed. The other option is a mesh network like the eero that all link up wirelessly. It’s much more convenient, but sacrifices speed, latency, and reliability. I’m not too educated on the best mesh systems out there so I’ll let someone else recommend one.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Unifi Express 7 or a Cloud Gateway Fiber + AP.

> 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

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.