Setup

When first powered on, the screen lights up in all of its 240 x 240 pixel resolution, which does not look great up close. However, that is a non-issue from even a couple of feet away. If not set up, the screen tells you of three available options - a mobile app for the Apple iOS platform, one for the Google Android platform, and "another option" which just has you using a web browser to access the temporarily generated Wi-Fi network and following the prompts on screen to set up an SSID (or two, if you want to use different ones for the 2.4 and 5 GHz networks). It is quite clear where the focus is here, so I set about using the mobile app to best replicate the end-user experience.


On Google Playstore, search for AmpliFi WiFi, and the top result should be this very one. Once the app is installed, it will walk you to go through the various steps in order with the HD mesh router before setup commences. The quick start guide also does a good job here by going over the process in more detail. If you already have a router connected to your modem, just follow the steps to disconnect it from the mode, power it and the modem off, plug the Ethernet cable from the modem to the AmpliFi router, and power both on.


The app defaults to handling the HD mesh router first, which in turn provides information on other devices (mesh access points, or the Teleport in this case) it came with. Setting up the router is similar to how it is done with the web browser in that the app will connect to the temporarily generated Wi-Fi network and ask you to name the wireless network with a password to keep it private. It will finally prompt you to allow remote access, which takes a Google or Facebook account - more on that soon.


Once the router was set up, the app automatically was told that a Teleport unit also needs to be similarly configured, and this is definitely a handy feature instead of having to manually add other units from, say, a drop down list to then have the app figure out what to do. At this point, I wanted to first ensure the router was fully up to date before getting the Teleport involved, and here, the app notified me that a firmware update was due. The review kit arrived as a pre-retail unit in that the hardware was finalized, but the firmware was in beta at the time of shipping. AmpliFi has been pushing out consistent updates since, and a non-beta firmware release was already out by the time I had this set up. The screen on the router complements the app in showing the current status of the unit during each of these steps as well.


Installation of the AmpliFi Teleport is slightly more involved, but here too the app and/or quick start guide make sure to walk you through everything even if you are a novice user. Tapping the device icon in the app leads to a "Test Connectivity" option, and make sure the unit is plugged in and within range of the router during this time. The LED on the unit will flash to denote it is being configured, and make sure to connect the phone to the wireless network named "Teleport XXXXXX", where XXXXXX represents the last six characters of the Teleport's MAC address on the device label. In most cases, there should just be a single such network visible unless your neighbor/colleague is also a fan of the AmpliFi Teleport in which case you now have something in common to talk about. When prompted, select and sign into the local home network you want the Teleport to be paired to, and finally agree to pair the Teleport to the specific AmpliFi router you have previously installed and set up.