# Home network tips needed



## Dalkamyr (Oct 4, 2018)

I've recently started enjoying fiber optic gigabit internet where I live. Im faced with 2 challenges.

1) my 2 in 1 router/modem provided by Bell Canada (hub 3000) is a bit away from my living room downstairs. So I bought an Ethernet cable down there for more stability and speed. Do you guys have tips on how to hang that cable on the walls without making it look nasty? Cause I live in an appartment and I can't do a bunch of big holes in the wall. Also if I use a stapler I fear I'll damage the Ethernet cable

2) when I'm like 1 meter away from the modem router. I get about 400mbps on WiFi. But that drops considerably as I get like 10-14 meters away... Is there a way to take full advantage of my gigabit speed thru WiFi?

Should I get a better router?
Extenders?

What do you think?

The devices I use is a hardcore Gaming PC
I have an htpc which uses lots of bandwidth. And I have an xbox one x. My cell phone is a Samsung note 8.

Oh and yes, I can make use of the gigabit speed for those if you who would say 150 Mbps is enough for most... Which it is. But not for me


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## FordGT90Concept (Oct 4, 2018)

Definitely don't want to staple an ethernet cable because the pinching will cause crosstalk to soar between pairs.  Maybe you can use something like these:
https://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-Adhesive-Organizer-Management-Natural/dp/B07BFY7XWC/


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## dirtyferret (Oct 4, 2018)

Dalkamyr said:


> I've recently started enjoying fiber optic gigabit internet where I live. Im faced with 2 challenges.
> 
> 1) my 2 in 1 router/modem provided by Bell Canada (hub 3000) is a bit away from my living room downstairs. So I bought an Ethernet cable down there for more stability and speed. Do you guys have tips on how to hang that cable on the walls without making it look nasty? Cause I live in an appartment and I can't do a bunch of big holes in the wall. Also if I use a stapler I fear I'll damage the Ethernet cable
> 
> ...



1- you can try sticky cable guides.  You can also try powerline or moca adapters rather then Ethernet as a last resort but powerline adapters don't work as well as ethernet (better then wifi back haul) and moca needs cable coaxial wall plates installed otherwise you running a cable down the wall again.
https://www.amazon.com/Hardware-Mul...538662287&sr=8-5&keywords=sticky+cable+guides

2 - par for the course with AC wifi even on the top of the line routers that peak at around 600mbps (see link) and drop considerably with distance.  You can try 160mhz bandwidth (if your router supports it) but you also need a client that supports it which means the latest intel 9260 wifi card (very few devices use it).  4x4 MU-MIMO routers can peak around 700-750mbps but you also need a 4x4 MIMO client, another rarity.

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wir...-wifi-gaming-router-reviewed?showall=&start=3


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## thebluebumblebee (Oct 4, 2018)

I'll +1 smallnetbuilder.com
Since you're in an apartment, you may want to be careful of what adhesives you put on the wall.  Consider something from 3M Command.
Secondly, if your apartment is carpeted, you should be able to run the cable along the wall, actually tucking the cable in between the wall and the carpet.  Be careful of the carpet tack strips.


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## John Naylor (Oct 4, 2018)

1.  There are cable hangers available in any hardware store.  Basically a plastic half loop which the cable snaps into with a small nail / tack to affix to wall ... commonly done along moulding.  Also adhesive type

https://www.truevalue.com/shop/elec...ries/round-cord-clips-w-clear-adhesive-strips
https://www.truevalue.com/shop/elec...adhesive-mounted-releasable-clamp-3-4-in-2-pk

2.  There's also exterior conduit or cable "surface" raceways
https://www.cableorganizer.com/surface-raceways/

3.  WiFi is ok for phones at stuff but if your ever gonna sit in that spot for an hour, Id want a cable.

4.  There's no sense paying for hi speed internet if the rest of yur network is going to  bottleneck it.


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## Dalkamyr (Oct 4, 2018)

dirtyferret said:


> 1- you can try sticky cable guides.  You can also try powerline or moca adapters rather then Ethernet as a last resort but powerline adapters don't work as well as ethernet (better then wifi back haul) and moca needs cable coaxial wall plates installed otherwise you running a cable down the wall again.
> https://www.amazon.com/Hardware-Mul...538662287&sr=8-5&keywords=sticky+cable+guides
> 
> 2 - par for the course with AC wifi even on the top of the line routers that peak at around 600mbps (see link) and drop considerably with distance.  You can try 160mhz bandwidth (if your router supports it) but you also need a client that supports it which means the latest intel 9260 wifi card (very few devices use it).  4x4 MU-MIMO routers can peak around 700-750mbps but you also need a 4x4 MIMO client, another rarity.
> ...



Thanks for all the recommendations for wall fixtures etc.

As for my speed issues. I've done further testing and a lot of reading on the internet today and it boils down to this:

I tested my wifi speeds in every room. I seem to get a consistant 300-500mbps near the modem itself (like 1 meter away)
I get 260 Mbps in my bedroom but it drops to 5-20mbps in the living room and other areas. There seems to be a lot of other wifi networks certainly causing interference...

Also I'd still like to hear your opinion regarding two questions:

1) how much of an observable difference in wifi speed and STABILITY could I potentially gain by using a stronger and better router? Seeing the bell hub 3000 is an ac router/modem... Would buying a stronger ac router (or ad, ax) increase the RANGE of my coverage? 

2) how much by using a wifi extender? (wall plugs) (not hardwire or moca)

3) lastly I've read about mimo 4x4...etc... What exactly are the benefits of mimo? Are my devices compatible with it? Note 8,xbox one x, ipad pro 2nd Gen, pc etc

4) I read about the 5.8ghz frequency. Would a router that uses it help? What about QOS. Whats the benefits of qos


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## dirtyferret (Oct 4, 2018)

This article should answer all of your questions

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/bas...177-how-to-buy-a-wireless-router-2018-edition

Just my personal thoughts
1) im not familiar with the bell hub 3000 but looking at some of the various hardware they have used with it on wikidevi; it looks mediocre so I would expect to see better range and throughput from one of the better Asus, netgear, synology routers. 

2) using a wifi extender would be a cheaper alternative then buying a new router to increase throughput in your living room

3) MU-MIMO allow your router to talk to clients simultaneously rather then one at a time.  You need a 4x4 MU-MIMO router and clients that support MU-MIMO for it to work properly.  The Note 8 may support it, not sure on the other clients you listed (currently few support it). 

4) QoS allows you to prioritize traffic so things like gaming or video can be prioritized over email.  Ive personally never tested something like 5.2 vs 5.8ghz but from what i have read on forums there should be little difference.


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## Dalkamyr (Oct 5, 2018)

dirtyferret said:


> This article should answer all of your questions
> 
> https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/bas...177-how-to-buy-a-wireless-router-2018-edition
> 
> ...



Thanks for the interesting comments and the article. That was some TLDR articles lol. But I read most of it anyways. 

I think my solution for now will be to get the bell whole home wifi pods for 5$/month. My apartment is weirdly built. I'm on like 3 different floors (long story) so mesh coverage is probably better than a beastly router. 

The bell router is actually quite decent. 1gbps plus capable, it's also tri band. But Im pretty sure one of the 5ghz radios is reserved for her TV/PVR boxes which I don't use cause I don't need tv service... 

In a perfect world scenario I'd buy a beast 4x4 mu mimo and learn how to bypass the bell hub 3000 which from my research seems to be a very complicated process and get my own mesh network kit 

I'll report back the results from the whole home wifi pods results.


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## dirtyferret (Oct 5, 2018)

here is the article in a nutshell

_So here are our recommendations in a nutshell:
_

_If you have an N class router, *it's way past time to upgrade to AC class*. This can provide both throughput and range improvement, even with 11g or n devices. See Does An AC Router Improve N Device Performance?_
_If you have a small area to cover and just a few devices, AC1200 class will work fine._
_*AC1900 class* / three stream routers continue to provide *best price performance* if you're looking for the next step up from AC1200._
_If you want the *best shot at coverage from a single Wi-Fi router*, choose a four-stream, dual-band router (AC2600, AC3100/3150)._
_*Tri-band routers don't provide additional coverage or throughput*. They're mainly for increasing capacity, i.e. handling more devices._
_*Don't let MU-MIMO or 160 MHz bandwidth support influence your purchase decision*. Both require support on the device side to work._
_*Routers that support DFS* can help if you are having a hard time with interference from too many 5 GHz networks._
_*Try a tri-band extender* like NETGEAR's EX8000 or Linksys' RE9000, if you like the router you have, or can't change it,_
_*Choose a  multi-device "mesh" system* instead of "tri-band" AC5300/5400 routers, if you have a lot of devices and a large area to cover. Tri-band products like NETGEAR's Orbi, Linksys' Velop or eero Gen 2 have better backhaul performance than dual-band systems, which is key to overall Wi-Fi system performance._


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## Dalkamyr (Oct 6, 2018)

dirtyferret said:


> here is the article in a nutshell
> 
> _So here are our recommendations in a nutshell:_
> 
> ...



Yup. My situation matches best the last paragraph. Big area, many devices, wifi is unstable. My router location is also not optimal... Its near the entrance of the apartment. Which puts it between both floors which was necessary (long story) but it would have been better for me to bring it more to the center of the apartment. But due to cabling issues, that wasn't exactly possible..


So yeah, mesh network makes sense. Due to the high amount of other wifi networks around me I expect a 4x4 would help with more frequency options.

I hear the wifi pods I talked about support dfs so that should also be good.


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## remixedcat (Oct 6, 2018)

mesh is just fancy repeaters. still have repeater problems like half/bw and co-channel interference and all that... still always best to wire in APs. I recommend either Ubiquiti Unfi AP-AC-LR or Lite. can be had for 100 or less per AP. Also having too many radios in one AP isn't good either. They will still interferre and have other problems. What's better is to do smarter traffic shaping and controls, etc. Also if you got apple devices to disable most of the CTS/RTS protection stuff since the cpu overhead is much higher.


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## Dalkamyr (Oct 6, 2018)

remixedcat said:


> mesh is just fancy repeaters. still have repeater problems like half/bw and co-channel interference and all that... still always best to wire in APs. I recommend either Ubiquiti Unfi AP-AC-LR or Lite. can be had for 100 or less per AP. Also having too many radios in one AP isn't good either. They will still interferre and have oh er problems. What's better is to do smarter traffic shaping and controls, etc. Also if you got apple devices to disable most of the CTS/RTS protection stuff since the cpu overhead is much higher.



I hope I won't offend you by saying I barely understood your reply

What do you mean by "half bw"? I presume half bandwidth? What causes the half bandwidth issue?

Co channel? What is it and how is it an issue?

When you say "APs"? You mean appartements?

As for what you said about Apple devices, I'll google it and probably find what you meant

OK I found what you meant with AP... Access points. So your basically suggesting I add a single AP to my main floor? Which is pretty much the same as adding another router there right? It will sorta repeat/extend the wifi signal same as a mesh network would no? 

I'm kind of a noob when it comes to networking. But I'm willing to read you and read more content to understand better. I love tech knowledge


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## remixedcat (Oct 6, 2018)

Bandwidth is halfed because there's more "hops" to go thru.

Co-channel means that if two or more APs share the same channel the signal degrades.

AP = Access Points
Access points are hard wired to a switch or router. Repeaters/Mesh connects wirelessly to a router. Another reason the speeds are slower. it's like passing buckets of water up or down a mountain or hill., 
Also if anything changes on the original router the repeater loses the signal or connection and needs reconfigured, while Most APs recover on their own. Much easier.


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## dirtyferret (Oct 6, 2018)

I use old routers as APs with a hardwired backhaul.  With most dead spots just one or two rooms even an old N router can handle it and offer close to 80 Mbps down via WiFi.


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## Dalkamyr (Oct 6, 2018)

So if understand you guys correctly it would be smarter to connect another router or AP upstairs using an Ethernet cable to boost my WiFi performances than using a mesh network system? 

If so, why are mesh networks SOOooo popular right now?


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## dirtyferret (Oct 6, 2018)

Mesh networks are eaisier to use and set up but wired backhaul is better then WiFi backhaul.  Also having a bunch of APs in a small space can create more issues.  Two APs (I'm including the router) can pretty much cover just about most homes that don't belong on MTV cribs.

I have a Netgear nighthawk router that gives me my full 100 mbps down / 35 up on the main floor and in my basement office.  It even covers the kids bedrooms.  In the master bedroom I use an old Asus N600 router that has a Roku hardwired to it plus the router covers our phones and tablets in the master bedroom.  All it cost me was $40 for the power line adapter set to create the backhaul since I already owned the routers.


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## Dalkamyr (Oct 7, 2018)

Thanks. I understand better now. 

When you set up an AP like you are suggesting. Does it create a second wifi network? Or does it operate on the same one? What I mean is for instance you said you have a router (or Ap) in the master bedroom... Do your devices when you take em elsewhere in the house where the main nighthawk router is located connect manually to the nighthawk? 

In other words:
Do you need to manually switch from one wifi to the other when you move around the house (considering you have 2 APs if you count the router?) 

Also the mesh network I was talking about... The one from bell does NOT create a new wifi networks with a bunch of "Ext" secondary APs 

They act as an extension of the main router (HH3000) from bell fibe.


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## remixedcat (Oct 7, 2018)

if you have the same SSID and password they should hand over ok. depends on how good the WLAN clients are.


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## dirtyferret (Oct 7, 2018)

I create a new signal on a different channel.  I use the same SSID name (wifi network) so the client will switch over to the strongest signal in a seamless transition.  Most modern client will search for signal strength every few seconds.  For example if I use the SSID name of "TPU" my laptop will use the TPU signal from the nighthawk router and hold onto it in the basement office and upstairs bedrooms but it starts to lose the signal in the master bedroom and will automatically switch over to the Asus AP "TPU" signall in the master bedroom. 

I know i keep linking SNB articles but they do the best job out there explaining everything.

best way to get whole house coverage (FYI; powerline and moca adapters can handle far more bandwidth now then when the article was originally posted but all the same principles apply)
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/bas...best-way-to-get-whole-house-wireless-coverage

wif roaming and how it works

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-features/33195-wi-fi-roaming-secrets-revealed

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/basics/wireless-basics/33180-how-to-fix-wi-fi-roaming


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## Dalkamyr (Oct 18, 2018)

remixedcat said:


> mesh is just fancy repeaters. still have repeater problems like half/bw and co-channel interference and all that... still always best to wire in APs. I recommend either Ubiquiti Unfi AP-AC-LR or Lite. can be had for 100 or less per AP. Also having too many radios in one AP isn't good either. They will still interferre and have other problems. What's better is to do smarter traffic shaping and controls, etc. Also if you got apple devices to disable most of the CTS/RTS protection stuff since the cpu overhead is much higher.




Whats the difference between the LR and Lite version of the Ubiquiti Unfi APs?


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## remixedcat (Oct 18, 2018)

radio power


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## Dalkamyr (Nov 9, 2018)

Why do you recommend ubiquiti specifically as a brand?

I noticed there are a bunch of other less expensive AC access points from other brands.



dirtyferret said:


> I use old routers as APs with a hardwired backhaul.  With most dead spots just one or two rooms even an old N router can handle it and offer close to 80 Mbps down via WiFi.



Do your devices automatically switch your (improvised APs)  from one router to the next?

Or y gotta do it manually?


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## remixedcat (Nov 9, 2018)

Ubiquiti gives you enterprise level controls at a very low consumer price. That's why they are doing so well. Mine have been great even when the power blinks during firmware upgrade I was able to recover.


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## RCoon (Nov 9, 2018)

I've been using Ubiquiti UniFi deviceds for enterprise purposes for nearly five years now. Solid as a rock and extremely easy to manage. Also cheap, very cheap.


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## dirtyferret (Nov 9, 2018)

Dalkamyr said:


> Why do you recommend ubiquiti specifically as a brand?
> 
> I noticed there are a bunch of other less expensive AC access points from other brands.
> 
> ...



My devices switch automatically.


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## Dalkamyr (Nov 9, 2018)

So if I understand well:

For my usage (home usage) (not entreprise usage) 

Routers would work just as well as access points pretty much? 

I'd just have to give them all the same SSIDs 
So my devices switch to the strongest signal


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## remixedcat (Nov 10, 2018)

You'd have a smoother experience with the ones I recommended


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## Kursah (Nov 10, 2018)

Dalkamyr said:


> So if I understand well:
> 
> For my usage (home usage) (not entreprise usage)
> 
> ...



Depends on how good you want your wireless network to be really.

I do something similar at home with two Asus routers. It is okay overall.. but compared to a couple of real AP's, it's not as good, especially switching. You may have to tweak the power of your antennas to prevent crosstalk/overlap. That can cause a device to keep switching, which will seem more like the Internet isn't working or is very slow and spotty. 

A couple of UBNT AP's and the UniFi Controller would handle that with better range and signal quality. As said before, Ubiquiti gives enterprise-grade control at more consumer-level prices. Worth every penny, very reliable and easy to maintain.

So yes, you can use wifi routers as AP's, many even have an "AP Mode" that turns off the firewall and dhcp server services for you. One nice thing about that in most cases is that you have a 4-port switch on the back of your router-as-an-AP. Though most UniFi AP's have a pass through port these days iirc. 

Depends on what you need, how well you want it to work, how much you want to spend, and what you're willing to deal with. A couple routers could very well do the trick, try it. If it sucks, then get some UniFi AC-Lite/Pro's and go from there. We can help you get setup.


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## Solaris17 (Nov 10, 2018)

Love the ubiquiti gear at home. Usg4-pro on a non PoE US-48, feeding my
Unify G3 cameras and my UAP-Ac-pro is a US-8-150w Poe switch.

The controller is in a VM in a server at the bottom of a rack, both switches and USG are uplinked via fiber.

Mind the wire mess, its actually not that bad, but I need to get shorter patch cables.


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## remixedcat (Nov 10, 2018)

oh and BTW if you run into PoE issues you can get their little converters that will convert 802.3af/AT to their 24v passive. No need for injectors now. Those things have saved me.


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## Dalkamyr (Nov 10, 2018)

Solaris17 said:


> Love the ubiquiti gear at home. Usg4-pro on a non PoE US-48, feeding my
> Unify G3 cameras and my UAP-Ac-pro is a US-8-150w Poe switch.
> 
> The controller is in a VM in a server at the bottom of a rack, both switches and USG are uplinked via fiber.
> ...



That was complete Chinese to my ears lol. 

Up to now I've been able to follow you guys but this guys post has me completely mystified haha

I think I'm gonna film short video of my appartment so you guys can see EXACTLY what my appartment is like and where my ethernet wall ports are (hard wire) and what I ought to do next. 

I've done a lot of reading to keep up with your terminology but nevertheless my ability to assimilate isn't instantaneous lol 

For instance I've read about PoE and I still don't see what it's for. Apart from basically feeding electricity and data in the same wire to some devices ish.... If I've understood correctly which I still don't see why someone would need that... Plus I don't understand the whole injector vs no Injectors needed. 

But yeah, keep an eye out for my link to a YouTube video where you'll see exactly my setup. It will help us be on the same page. I'm willing to invest the necessary money to enjoy my gigabit internet and I want to integrate smart home features soon including security cameras, lights and whatnot

Here guys. Watch this it should help:


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## remixedcat (Nov 10, 2018)

PoE, you only need power cord to the switch just get a PoE switch if you do. great if you need to use a UPS battery backup and not waste outlets on it for injectors. injectors inject the power to the AP and has a data pass thru. also adds twice the cables which isn't great for apartments.


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## Solaris17 (Nov 10, 2018)

Also if you do and you go unifi, get the US-8-150 instead of the 60 it allows you to use the proper af standard and support the old unifi 24v passive, so it will work on the older and new devices. the 60 does not support some hardware and requires inline adapters which thankfully isnt in injector but still a pain.





^ thats my 150w thats an example. as you can see with the newer switch you can force it to do passive. I am glad ubi finally dropped that garbage and are moving to industry standards in the current stuff.


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## Dalkamyr (Nov 11, 2018)

Did you see the video I posted. Should I disable the wifi on my Bell router?


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## remixedcat (Nov 11, 2018)

yes I would so it doesn't interferre with your new APs


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## Dalkamyr (Nov 14, 2018)

One last question:

For routers or APs that use both the 2.4 GHz radio and the 5ghz radio, do devices connect to both at the same time? Or one at a time? 

I mean I generally see higher speed results on benchmarks on the 5ghz frequency and a bit less on the 2.4.


My bottom line question is: I noticed some people have separate "networks" or I guess "SSIDs" running at the same time. Is there an advantage in having 2 seperate wifi networks on the same router such as my dad does? 

When I go to my dad's, he's got his Bell 591 wifi and another wifi called bell 591 5ghz. What's the difference? What's the point? 
Why not stick to just bell 591 without the 5ghz seperate network?


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## Solaris17 (Nov 14, 2018)

Dalkamyr said:


> Or one at a time?


One at a time, depending on a multitude of things, but to keep it simple (and assuming both parties are using best practice) The device will attempt to connect at the highest frequency available (that it supports).



Dalkamyr said:


> I noticed some people have separate "networks"



That depends on the device. My AC APs do both but do not require seperate SSIDs.


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## Dalkamyr (Nov 26, 2018)

Ok well I'm going to purchase one or two ubiquiti APs tomorrow. 

I'm hesitating between a UAP-AC-LR Vs Pro Vs Nanohd 

The LR makes sense because the Ubiquiti AP will be about 25 feet away from my masters bedroom where I use the iPad pro 2017 a lot. Plus there's a wall between them. 

The pro makes sense too

The nano hd also because of wave 2 and other functionalities (long term investment) 

What do you think?


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## Solaris17 (Nov 26, 2018)

Dalkamyr said:


> Ok well I'm going to purchase one or two ubiquiti APs tomorrow.
> 
> I'm hesitating between a UAP-AC-LR Vs Pro Vs Nanohd
> 
> ...



The LR will be fine my dude


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## Dalkamyr (Nov 26, 2018)

Solaris17 said:


> The LR will be fine my dude



Thanks. Being that my devices that I use upstairs all support Mu-mimo and that even after reading so many posts and watching YouTube videos I still don't really feel like I've got a good grasp of the differences between the different ubiquiti access points... 

I'll buy at least two different kinds. 
Probably a LR and a Pro or nano 

I feel I need some hands on with these products to fully understand. I also want to tinker with the ubiquiti Unifi software as well. 

I'll post my results here


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## Solaris17 (Nov 26, 2018)

Dalkamyr said:


> Thanks. Being that my devices that I use upstairs all support Mu-mimo and that even after reading so many posts and watching YouTube videos I still don't really feel like I've got a good grasp of the differences between the different ubiquiti access points...
> 
> I'll buy at least two different kinds.
> Probably a LR and a Pro or nano
> ...



Honestly its good to compare for your scenario. As a home user, probably no difference at all. I run a PRO at home. But I also spend thousands on networking gear at work, and my qualifications for what make an AP better to use over another seldom align with user space. 

My aim when buying wifi equipment is density, since thats my target audience. For smaller SMBs or people with Large houses on the beach we deploy an LR or two. No complaints to this day. 

Let us know!


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## Dalkamyr (Nov 27, 2018)

Solaris17 said:


> Honestly its good to compare for your scenario. As a home user, probably no difference at all. I run a PRO at home. But I also spend thousands on networking gear at work, and my qualifications for what make an AP better to use over another seldom align with user space.
> 
> My aim when buying wifi equipment is density, since thats my target audience. For smaller SMBs or people with Large houses on the beach we deploy an LR or two. No complaints to this day.
> 
> Let us know!



Thank you all. I appreciate your input very much. 

I ordered a nanohd and a LR. Will test both and decide what to do when I get a little bit of hands on. 

I also forgot to ask:

I'm using a giagibit switch (netgear gs108) at the moment. Is that good enough to work along side a ubiquiti ap Unifi controller? 

How will Unifi interact with it. I'm not super familiar with switches... Don't know if there's some netgear software I was supposed to install


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## jboydgolfer (Nov 27, 2018)

It would depend on how handy you are. 

Powerline is pretty much plug n play, worth looking in to. 

 When I was in high school/college,  I Was a floor contractor. I  live in the five college area of Massachusetts, which means I did a lot of work for college students in a rental apartments.   Although the Internet wasn't very big back then (because it didn't exist in the sense it does today) I got real good at running coaxial cable ,and ethernet cable around rooms underneath the edge of carpet's. You have to be extremely careful and certain you know what you're doing ,because the tack strips around the room can puncture the wire ,but it's a great way to do it without seeing it. if you take your time ,maybe use a hot glue gun, or fasteners, no one will ever know it's there ,other than you of course.


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## Dalkamyr (Nov 30, 2018)

I received the ubiquiti uap-ac-lr and am about to set it up. 

After reading about PoE, my understanding is that my gigabit switch doesn't support PoE (netgear gs108) 

So that means I need to power my ubiquiti units passively correct? (24v)


Otherwise I need to purchase a new switch right?


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## Solaris17 (Nov 30, 2018)

if you bought a single AP new it will come with an injector you just plug into the wall.


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## Dalkamyr (Nov 30, 2018)

Solaris17 said:


> Also if you do and you go unifi, get the US-8-150 instead of the 60 it allows you to use the proper af standard and support the old unifi 24v passive, so it will work on the older and new devices. the 60 does not support some hardware and requires inline adapters which thankfully isnt in injector but still a pain.
> 
> View attachment 110291
> 
> ^ thats my 150w thats an example. as you can see with the newer switch you can force it to do passive. I am glad ubi finally dropped that garbage and are moving to industry standards in the current stuff.



Also, is it risky to power the UAP-AC-LR exclusively with passive poe (no switch, just the PoE adapter)?

What about the nano hd. I think that one requires active right? 

Also I get a "Unifi security gateway required" message when trying to view latency and bandwidth tests in the Unifi dashboard. 

What's a security gateway?


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## Solaris17 (Nov 30, 2018)

No the injector they give you with the AP can power it like normal. I ran mine off it for a little over a year before I overhauled my network.

The nano probably comes with its own adapter as we iirc.

You are over thinking this man. Unbox them plug in the injectors follow the instructions and enjoy, you don’t need to be an electrical engineer for this.


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## Dalkamyr (Nov 30, 2018)

Alright so the security gateway error message is gone. Things are good. I haven't played around with the settings in the Unifi controller yet but...

After doing speed tests with my Google pixel 2 xl in all the rooms of the appartement I get 260mbps download speed and upload in the living room, which is more than decent.

But I drop to 40 Mbps in the masters bedroom due to the cellphone switching over to the 2.4ghz frequency. I'll have to switch off 2.4ghz or find a way to force the upstairs devices to stay on 5ghz I guess.

Also is there some wifi optimizing tool I can run in the Unifi controller software or app to have the AP use less populated channels? 
Being that in this appartment block there is a lot of other wifi networks interfering...?


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## Solaris17 (Nov 30, 2018)

I’m mobile right now but leave channels etc on automatic and in the controller you can do an RF scan of both 2.4 and 5ghz channels. The AP will be offline while the test is in progress which lasts several minutes, but I find it helps it auto tune to less populated channels


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## Dalkamyr (Dec 1, 2018)

Solaris17 said:


> I’m mobile right now but leave channels etc on automatic and in the controller you can do an RF scan of both 2.4 and 5ghz channels. The AP will be offline while the test is in progress which lasts several minutes, but I find it helps it auto tune to less populated channels



Wow thanks!

I haven't run the RF scan utility.
For how I have turned off 2.4ghz
Enabled band steering to 5ghz
And changed a setting from VT40 to VT80 (or is it HT40 To HT80)

After doing that the speed has jumped incredibly. Oddly enough, in the masters bedroom the iPad pro 2017 gets 400 Mbps. But the Google pixel 2 xl gets 160mbps... I remember reading somewhere that the iPad pro supports mimo ht80 or VT80 or something like that... Which is the setting I changed from 40 to 80... Which Im guessing is why the iPad pro has incredible speed all of a sudden...

I thought the pixel 2 supported the same feature but maybe not I guess...

I'll report back after tweaking and fiddling around a bit more

For now I must say I'm quite impressed with the UAP! Thank you all so much for the tips and recommendations


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