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Stable/Reliable Unifi AP? PRO? LITE?

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GGW

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We have some of the original AP AC units. After a bit of struggle with it dropping Mac's we have now been fairly stable for about 18 months w/ controller 3.2.1, firmware 3.2.1.2601, and keeping the controller turned off (disconnects seems much more prevalent when the controller was left running for some reason). Still get occasional disconnects but nothing like during the first few months these were out.

We need a couple of more AP's. Considering two of the UAP-AC-PRO units for faster connect but there seem to be numerous issues on the Ubiquiti forums. LITE (replacement for originals?) seems a bit more stable. Thoughts/Experience?

Looks like we'll also need to move to either v4 or v5 controller (and firmware on older AP's?). Any thoughts on these? Seemingly v5 is the future but v4 is more stable?

I've also considered moving to Ruckus which appears more stable and reliable but really dislike changing vendors, interfaces, extra cost, etc.

Thanks.
 
I have two UAP-AC-PROs and run the controller software (v4) on a VM on my NAS. They have been working for about 6 months without any sort of issue. I've upgraded the controller software to push newer firmware a few times. From a reliability/stability standpoint they work awesome. I haven't moved to the v5 controller because the forums seem to indicate that v5 isn't stable enough yet. I don't have any feedback on the lite, I decided to go with the pro because the price was nearly the same and the pro supports standard POE.

Cost. Cheaper than dirt.

Now on to performance, AC speed sucks. I contacted support and they said that the devices are designed for stability with a multiple user load. They are not designed for few users with high bandwidth needs. My personal opinion is that they should work in either scenario but that isn't the case. I only have about 25 devices connected usually but I've had about 60 connected to the APs without any sort of issue. These replaced two meraki mr18 (n) access points and frankly, I didn't notice much of a difference in speed.

I would push you towards the Ruckus (or other platform) if you can afford it. If you can't afford it and really don't need the top speed then you will probably be happy with the ubiquiti stuff. Your question indicates that you are considering purchasing these for a speed increase alone. Be aware that you may not see much of any increase from your existing hardware (I am assuming N) but maybe a future firmware update will help. Maybe you could buy one of them and do some testing (before the return policy elapses).
 
Thanks. Most devices currently connect AC which is definitely faster than N. FWIW I agree with their prioritizing reliability over speed. When the AP-AC's first came out (2013?) the AC performance was quite poor but improved dramatically with the first couple of firmware updates.
 
When the AP-AC's first came out (2013?) the AC performance was quite poor but improved dramatically with the first couple of firmware updates.

but that big square unit is still horrid compared to the newer AC units
 
Thanks. Most devices currently connect AC which is definitely faster than N. FWIW I agree with their prioritizing reliability over speed. When the AP-AC's first came out (2013?) the AC performance was quite poor but improved dramatically with the first couple of firmware updates.

The AC performance isn't significantly better than N on this unit. I've seen some mixed reviews but the firsthand performance (even when sitting 10ft away) has been pretty slow. Hopefully some new firmware updates give it the dose of amphetamines that it needs.
 
Mostly Apple iPhones, iPads, watches, and MacBooks. Also a couple of fitbit scales, two Tesla's, and a variety of video and still camera's.
 
We're running two UAP-AC-PROs US version without any issues at our church building. I'm using them to cover two floors (6600 Sq.Ft. per floor) one located on each floor on opposite sides of the building. The first AC-Pro I got when the distributors finally got them in stock in Jan. and the second one I bought in mid-May. Both have been running non-stop. The first one has been basically running non-stop since Jan. except when I had to make changes to the configuration as we customized the config. I used my android phone and checked the signal strength throughout the building and its consistent throughout (based upon where we located the AP's). Our senior pastor uses a Macbook Pro and though he could use a wired connection in his office since we installed the AP's he's been using WiFi all the time. I'm running Windows 7 pro with no problems and likewise run WiFi rather than hardwired. Our other ministry leaders have windows and macbook laptops along with android and apple tablets and cellphones and I haven't heard them complain about an issues accessing our wifi network. If they had any issues they would have reported them to me. Our congregation likewise would be at least half iphones and the rest android. Of course their bandwidth is being limited more than the ministry leaders (to insure that both the staff and ministry leaders are getting enough bandwidth to acomplish their work) but again no complaints.

while two units seem to be working fine we will probably add one or two more units to handle the amount of traffic. when they came out with the AC-PRO's they really dropped the price compared to the previous versions which made them even more affordable.
 
I have 4 Pro's in my house and have no issues. We have numerous iPads, iPhones, etc.

Ubiquiti is working on 802.11k/r implementation. Not sure when it'll be available, but hopefully soon!
 

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