UniFi Express 7

Ah, yes, if you want a no headache router with everything under the sun plus ids/ips, this is the way.

Go with Ubiquiti Unifi ecosystem, but get a different router/gateway other then the Express 7. It is a very basic system and low powered. If you want a basic router go with the Cloud Gateway Ultra. If Wifi is why your Thinking on the Express 7, go with the dream router 7 instead. or get a wireless AP to go with the cloud Gateway Ultra.

Get a Unifi gateway and wireless ap. They work great.

This is exactly what I have done. I have a Cloud gateway Ultra and 2 access points. One wall AP that broadcasts in one direction and one normal AP. They cover my 3-level, 3400 sq ft house beautifully. BUT this is an advance set up that requires some customization.

You’ll need to buy piecemeal, I’ll leave required equipment below for what I’d do. https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/u7-lite https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/ux7 https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/usw-lite-8-poe You’d only need about 1 UX7 and 1-2 U7 Lites. I’d do 1 U7 Lite and see how that performs, you can scale up easily if needed.

Skip all of those and grab a Dream Router or Unifi Express 7 from Ubiquiti. I’d opt for the Dream Router over the Express for growth, such as adding security cameras and such or additional access points for expanded coverage. If you don’t plan on any of that, then an Express 7 will meet what you need.

I find these a extremely functional for the price.

For my actual home network, [https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/ux7](https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/ux7) I have a 8 port POE and a AP with room to add more. This is a very cheap, and nice way to get the features from Unifi controller without having to run a vm or buy more expensive gear. (though a dream machine would be nice, but not needed) I have a switch and some POE switches for my play network.

WiFi mesh with all access points being wired back to the main router totally avoids this issue. While some devices stay static, having multiple SSID's is fine but for phones mesh is way better than dropping off one AP to connect to another. I believe OP has a "gateway" from his ISP which is a modem and router in one device and they are always terrible but I could be mistaken. Having a good router does matter because at the end of the day all traffic relies on it so having a terrible router can cause or make WiFi issues worse. After dealing with a terrible Google mesh setup for years I finally moved to Unifi. Their software really is easy to set up, especially stuff like VLAN's and multiple SSUD's, which AP's can use what SSID's or mesh and a mix of SSID's if you want. . Ran pfsense for years but it has no WiFi solution. The difference in WiFi latency is insane using [this](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/cloud-gateways-wifi-integrated/products/ux7) and one of their AP's that's wired back to the Express 7. Switches AP's while doing speed tests. It just slows down for half a second when it does switch AP's.

Recently got a Dream Router 7 and while it's just the router all their AP's are mesh capable. Now it's above the mark you're going above but I wish I had gotten the UniFi Express 7 which is essentially the same with less ports. I misunderstood something so 70 dollars probably wasted although I ended up using the porta. Depending on your internet speeds it may not be enough. This is the misleading part. It has a 10Gbps port but its IDP is like 2.4Gbps so you will never get 1oGbps from it but if your Internet is under 2.5Gbos it's fine. The great thing to me was their software. It's stupid easy and I used everything from PFSense to WRT to Cisco CLI. Any AP can be a mesh AP or independent. It suggests stuff like iot VLAN's and makes it simple so while not cheap you're paying a lot for the software and future software support. The one thing disappointing I found out after was for MLO to work, the main benefit of WiFi 7 were it uses all the bands as one "pipe" requires WPA 3. I've been meaning to mess around with VLAN's but it appears to be a per router/AP setting which sucks because I think my Pixel 8a support WPA 3 but most my 5Ghz stuff doesn't so that's going to be an issue with any WiFi 7 mesh system. I did get noticeably higher internal (LAN) transfer speeds when using it so it works. EDIT: see below and it's a network wide WiFi setting [https://www.reddit.com/r/Ubiquiti/s/qXrsjaMuRO](https://www.reddit.com/r/Ubiquiti/s/qXrsjaMuRO) https://preview.redd.it/v2lx4as0mscf1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=b542fc1ec84cd08901689b85afea01768521168a

I don't know why availability would be an issue. All the items are in stock. This is what you would need for a "complete" setup. 1. https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/ux7 -- That's your main unit. They are just as plug-and-play as most consumer routers these days. 2. https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-wifi/products/u7-pro-wall -- Ubiquiti has a LOT of access points. I'm not sure what your ethernet cable terminates. If it terminates into a wall plate, then you may want one of the nice wall mounted ones. If it terminates in the ceiling or in a cabinet, then maybe you choose a different one. 3. https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/accessories-poe-power/collections/pro-store-poe-and-power-adapters/products/u-poe-plus -- That's the PoE injector for your second access point. To your questions... Configuration and management: Honestly if you're even slightly network savvy, it's so much cleaner and nicer than the other systems. The Asus / TP-Link stuff is now either typically locked in an app or has a crappy web UI with infrequent updates. Google WiFi is fine. I have it for my parents, but you don't get much control. At least it "just works" most of the time. Range: In my experience, much more than the Google WiFi Nest Pro. Similar to you, I installed that at my parents' house. I upgraded them from the previous Google WiFi system, and I found the range got a bit worse, but if you're in range, the speeds are much better. PoE Injector -- Most Ubiquiti stuff is powered by what's called "power over ethernet." It atually sends a DC current over the cable. It provides both power and data to the access point. For homes / businesses that require multiple access points, it's so convenient to just drop an ethernet line where you want to add the access point, versus needing a separate power source. Most mid-range or high-end Ubiquiti stuff has ethernet ports that are already "PoE enabled." With the device I recommended to you, the ethernet port there doesn't have PoE, so you need an "injector" which takes wall power and sends it through the ethernet line. An alternative device is the Dream Router 7. https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/udr7 -- One of the ethernet ports on this device is a PoE port, so in this case, you wouldn't need the injector. BTW - I agree it's awkwardly hard to tell if wired backhaul is working w/ the Google Home app. As I mentioned, I have it set up for my parents w/ 3 nodes, all wired, and I find it so frustrating how NOT intuitive it is. Like, they really hide the visibility of it. That being said, it DOES pretty much "just work" for my parents. You said you "added" the Nest Pro. Google doesn't allow you to run mixed mode. I'm assuming you have swapped both old units out for the newer Nest Pro, right?