Is Unifi worth the upgrade?

[kuchkovsky]

The only comparable UniFi line device to ASUS home routers is UDR7

While I generally agree with your points regarding firmware, this is simply not true - otherwise, this thread wouldn't exist. Both the UDR7 and UX7 are directly comparable. The new compact consoles (not the old rack-mount ones) plus any single AP are comparable as well, even though it's a bulkier setup than a single home router.

The problem is that their Wi-Fi specs for the Wi-Fi 7 devices (except for the really bulky Enterprise-series APs, probably) generally have worse signal strength, lower speeds, and fewer spatial streams. Asus simply wins in terms of raw performance and coverage. I think a UniFi console paired with a non-UniFi AP would work fine, though - delivering both powerful Wi-Fi and a nice set of router features.

Don't get me wrong - my point isn't that UniFi is bad. It's about acknowledging that it's still not ideal, and that more powerful compact home APs / AIO routers would be a great addition to the current Wi-Fi lineup to match Asus' top-of-the-line hardware. And IPv6 support needs improvement - come on, Ubiquiti, it's not 2012. I can't really blame home router brands for this, but SMB-grade hardware should have top-notch networking features, including first-class IPv6 support - it is the future of the web.

this Honda Civic Type R networking (my term, Tech9®) has one advantage only - it's cheap

The UDR7 is a bit cheaper than the RT-BE88U (both have non-ideal Wi-Fi 7 specs - the former is a mediocre tri-band, the latter is a top-spec dual-band). The UCG Fiber + E7 combo is more expensive than the GT-BE98 Pro, but cheaper than the GT-BE19000AI. Comparable configs aren't that different. UniFi just doesn't have budget devices in their lineup, unlike Asus.

 

[slyx1978]

While I generally agree with your points regarding firmware, this is simply not true - otherwise, this thread wouldn't exist. Both the UDR7 and UX7 are directly comparable. The new compact consoles (not the old rack-mount ones) plus any single AP are comparable as well, even though it's a bulkier setup than a single home router.

The problem is that their Wi-Fi specs for the Wi-Fi 7 devices (except for the really bulky Enterprise-series APs, probably) generally have worse signal strength, lower speeds, and fewer spatial streams. I think a UniFi console paired with a non-UniFi AP would work fine, though - delivering both powerful Wi-Fi and a nice set of router features.

Don't get me wrong - my point isn't that UniFi is bad. It's about acknowledging that it's still not ideal, and that more powerful compact home APs / AIO routers would be a great addition to the current Wi-Fi lineup to match Asus' top-of-the-line hardware. And IPv6 support needs improvement - come on, Ubiquiti, it's not 2012. I can't really blame home router brands for this, but SMB-grade hardware should have top-notch networking features, including first-class IPv6 support - it is the future of the web.


The UDR7 is a bit cheaper than the RT-BE88U (both have non-ideal Wi-Fi 7 specs - the former is a mediocre tri-band, the latter is a top-spec dual-band). The UCG Fiber + E7 combo is more expensive than the GT-BE98 Pro, but cheaper than the GT-BE19000AI. Comparable configs aren't that different. UniFi just doesn't have budget devices in their lineup, unlike Asus.

I have to disagree with you on that. On paper, ASUS routers might look faster when you compare their specs, but that doesn’t reflect real-world performance. I directly compared the ASUS GS‑BE18000 with the UniFi U7 Pro XG. Technically, the ASUS has better specifications—like 4x4 spatial streams on both 5 GHz and 6 GHz compared to the UniFi’s 2x2—but that advantage doesn’t translate to actual use.
In real-world tests, the speeds across my devices were mostly identical, except on the PS5 Pro, where transfer rates nearly doubled when connected to the UniFi. Where the UniFi clearly wins is in stability and reliability. I returned the ASUS after months of frustration: random 5 GHz dropouts, connection drops, AirPlay issues—you name it. Switching to UniFi solved all of that. And as a bonus, the UniFi dashboard feels modern and intuitive, unlike ASUS’s interface, which looks straight out of 2010.

 

[kuchkovsky]

I have a direct comparison between ASUS GS-BE18000 and Unify U7 Pro XG. FIRST device technically have better specs like for example 4x4 spatial streams on 5ghz and 6ghz vs 2x2 on Unify.

Well, maybe UniFi devices perform differently even if they have the same Wi-Fi specs on paper. The UX7 is definitely worse than the Asus. I suspect the UDR7 is too. Maybe the U7 Pro XG is better.

I returned the ASUS after months of frustration: random 5 GHz dropouts, connection drops, AirPlay issues

It probably depends on the model. I've never had issues with the RT-**88U or RT-**86U lineup - both the Wi-Fi 6 and 7 models. I have around 20 devices connected, including plenty of IoT ones.

ASUS’s interface, which looks straight out of 2010

It looks dated, but that doesn't say anything about the quality of the software. For example, Xiaomi's dashboard looks fancier, but their routers are complete crap - even worse than the rest of the Chinese junk.

 

[tgl]

You have to remember that UniFi's APs are designed to be used in multiples, perhaps even one-per-room, while consumer gear such as ASUS really tries to be one-per-household. (Yes, I'm familiar with AIMesh. Never worked that well for me.) That accounts for a number of differences, such as lower max Tx power; and to keep the costs down, yup UniFi's individual APs aren't necessarily top-spec. UniFi users tend to be more interested in aggregate performance for a bunch of client devices than peak speedtest for a single client. When you look at things that way, the reason for using multiple APs is clear: more radios spread across different channels can pass more data in total, even if your super-duper consumer router has better numbers for its one radio. So I don't think simple comparison of spec-sheet numbers is a particularly useful way to look at this.

I do agree that UniFi's weak support for IPv6 is kind of embarrassing. But like @Tech9 , I have no need for that currently.

 

[Tech9]

Don't get me wrong

@kuchkovsky, you demonstrate low knowledge of what UniFi purpose actually is and unclear understanding of what good Wi-Fi actually is. Please, read one of my old posts here explaining some differences between AIO router and multi-AP system.

ASUS lied to you. Significant part of what they advertise as main functionality is either not working, either partially working, either with conditional compatibility. Your device with broken bwdpi has not only non-working Adaptive QoS, but also broken Traffic Analyzer and Parental Controls, perhaps AiProtection is affected too. Dual WAN and Load Balancing are as basic a possible, USB file share is as basic as possible, AiMesh is in total mess even ASUS can't explain, AiCloud breach was the reason behind recent mass firmware updates, twice. Some unlucky people with AX-class devices have lost their routers! This is the quality of the software behind 2010 style UI. It's just the bare minimum so the device can sell. You are lucky there is a person making it better. Most folks around buy ASUS routers just because of this person. Unfortunately, Asuswrt is not entirely open source and proprietary components issues are carried over.

Most customers will appreciate user experience before specs on paper. There is no comparison between UDR7 and the dud RT-BE92U, between AiMesh and SMB multi-AP setup, between Ubiquiti and ASUS product lines. Ubiquiti targets customers with higher networking knowledge and lower false advertising tolerance. ASUS in contrast targets customers with lower networking knowledge and higher false advertising tolerance. This difference alone reflects on the quality and reliability of the products. Companies like TP-Link do both with consumer Archer/Deco and business Festa/Omada product lines and are successful on both markets.

 

[Tech9]

unlike ASUS’s interface

ASUS is coming with similar UI in so called Asuswrt 6.0, but far less customizable. Currently available on ExpertWiFi products.

In current state looks more like Omada SDN Controller, less like UniFi OS Network application. There is a Demo here:

ExpertWiFi Demo WebUI | Official Support | ASUS Canada

 

[mromero]

No one seems to mention that UniFi's IPv6 support is still no better than Asus's - in some respects, it's even worse. At least with Asus, I don't have to manually enter the delegated prefix on my router (it automatically picks up /56), and I can use IPv6 as a transport for WireGuard.

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Kind of a bummer for devices that are praised as a next-level networking upgrade. With Merlin, you can at least add the missing features using userscripts, but with UniFi, scripting is pretty limited - from my quick research, it seems you can only simulate something similar to services-start.

Ubiquiti relentlessly updating its UniFi OS. Just updated to this: https://community.ui.com/releases/UniFi-OS-Cloud-Gateways-4-4-7/3616808e-3c70-4a1d-b035-c01d7b2a0089

 

[ColHut]

Hello gents, do any of you here happen to know if the UDR7 supports WAN failover through 4G outside of using the LTE units? They only have on RJ45 WAN port and no USB si it would need to be dome kind of wireless solution or similar?

regards

 

[tgl]

Hello gents, do any of you here happen to know if the UDR7 supports WAN failover through 4G outside of using the LTE units?

No idea. If you want that level of expertise with Ubiquiti gear, you'd be way better off asking over at the UI community forums. Lots of helpful, knowledgeable people over there.

 

[Tech9]

They only have on RJ45 WAN port

Your LTE modem has to have Ethernet port.

There is a new device coming with 5G modem built-in and fancy big screen:

Dream Router 5G Max - Ubiquiti Store

Desktop Cloud Gateway with full-performance 5G up to 3.4 Gbps, WiFi 7, 10G SFP+, 4-port 2.5 GbE switch with (1) PoE port, and SD card storage.

store.ui.com

 

[conflictednetworks]

so lots to digest in this thread and I'm currently at a crossroads with unifi and asus RT-BE96U. I have the Unifi UCG-Fiber +a single U7 PRO XG AP. The Unifi can't get the raw speeds and range like the BE96U can and am on the verge of returning the UI equipment BUT I have noticed that the asus every 8-10 days random drops ALL 2.4 GHZ clients and then today all HomePods went off line for no apparent reason. I'll admit I want unifi more b/c of the interface and slick hardware BUT the actual wireless performance and coverage in my home is paltry. at best. The asus really hits a home run as far as absolute performance goes at a lower price point.
Help me decide what I should keeping and if there are any Asus gotchas with the BE96U. I do need 6GHz as I have multiple devices that run on it and prior to this router combo I've run an asus ac86U that I finally decided to retire due to potential security issues that I might be exposing myself to.

Raw speed on my asus 96U for example is I hit 1500mbit allay long on 6ghz in the spaces I need it at and my ISP speed is 1.5 Gbit service. I also have. about 72 devices connected to my home network with more than half of that as IoT devices on the 2.4 Ghz spectrum.

Asus has compelling things like good range and top speed and even a beefy CPU with 4x4 mu-mimo on all radios. U7 Pro XG weirdly has 2x2 on all 3 radios with about 30% less overall speed (using speed test at least) and about 20% less range. I need to wall mount my AP b/c there is NO possible way to ceiling mount them as my home is finished already. I do have a ton of ethernet run in the walls from the builder though and where I can hardwire devices I do.

 

[tgl]

so lots to digest in this thread and I'm currently at a crossroads with unifi and asus RT-BE96U. I have the Unifi UCG-Fiber +a single U7 PRO XG AP. The Unifi can't get the raw speeds and range like the BE96U can

The comment I'd make is that UniFi expects you to manually tune your wifi setup, especially channel choices and transmit power levels. Yeah, there are "Auto" settings for those, but they've put no effort into the auto-choice algorithms and it shows. I suppose they think their target market is the sort of geek who'd want to tune manually anyway.

With only one AP, you might think there's not that much to tune, but at least check these things:

• Are the channels it's using reasonably clear of neighbors' signals? UniFi's Radios/Environment tab will give you some clue about this, but it only shows conflicting signals that the AP has detected within its channel; no info about whether the grass is greener anywhere else. If you're out in the boondocks maybe you have no neighbors to worry about, but in a city it might be worth getting a wifi scanner app for your phone or laptop. On iOS, Apple's own "Airport Utility" has a bare-bones scanner capability, and it's free.
• Are the channel widths reasonable? I'd usually recommend 20MHz in the 2.4G band, 80MHz in 5G, 160MHz in 6G.
• You do have to tune Tx power: blasting at max is usually not what you want. It doesn't help if the clients can hear the AP but not vice versa.

Lastly ... if your place is big enough that you have 72 client devices, it's entirely likely that you need more than one AP. UniFi is designed to use multiple relatively low-power APs to cover a space, not try to do it all with one AP. The physical and legal constraints make it hard for that to work in a large house. Even if you think it was fine with your old setup, you may be in for a surprise as to how much better it can be. (And from what you say, it was less than fine. I'd not put all the blame on Asus; I suspect you were operating at the edge of what you can cover with one AP.)

 

[conflictednetworks]

The goal is to add more APs (I had 2-3 ap's during the Black Friday sale) but then I was running into my return window closing on the unifi gear and then I opted to try to stick with asus which was better performing out of the box.) I am definitely able to manually tune the APs to optimize BUT I still found that the raw network speed the internet was noticeably slower than an AIO. Crazy how that is.

To be honest, while I love love love Unifi's interface and management console that I want to love the asus' simplicity. It just works out of the box and I don't have any complicated network setups. What scares me is the reliability of the asus product. Sure they sell millions of routers all the time but one can't help but wonder how many duds there are in their lineup or those that perform poorly and people just accept it. I'm okay spending a bit more money on unifi but the nagging "slowness" of it at times is bothersome considering that it seems to be like one of THE most recommended solutions out there. I get the same answer from my friends - sure its not the fastest but it seems pretty stable.

I literally had to reboot our asus be96u just before I replied to this message b/c weirdly the 5GHz went out on it today for no apparent reason and previous to that, its had ZERO issues since November so I don't know what is going on.

 

[tgl]

I hear you ... I had a pair of Asus XT8 units for awhile, and they drove me crazy. My notes from that period are full of factory-reset-and-reconfigure-from-scratch, this-FW-version-doesnt-work, etc etc. I don't want to sound like UniFi is perfect, because it's surely not; notably, they also have the some-FW-versions-suck problem. But I've not ever had to do a full reset, and in general it's just more pleasant to deal with, with few day-to-day problems.

 

[conflictednetworks]

did you have issues with your XT8 initially ? I worry that the BE96U performs nicely for the first while and then the problems will then start trickling in as the weeks/months go by. My decision to try the 96U was based on the fact that its an older model that was released in mid 2023 so most if not all the major bugs have been worked out in a way that I shouldn't have to worry about firmware blowing up the CPU or causing constant reboots. It's a mature product as far as I am concerned. It supports wifi7, supports 2 variants of MLO (STR and EMSLR), has great range and fast CPU and 4x4 mimo. That's a hella lot of good tech packed into a unit that cost $600 CAD new. While they say 4x4 doesn't really improve speeds if the devices don't support it that it DOES have slightly better range AND can support other 2x2, or 1x1 devices or a combo of them in a way that keeps traffic moving and is less congested than a router that has a 2x2 mimo radio. I don't want to shirt on asus, they've made some very decent things - my old AC86U? Workhorse by all accounts and still working but no longer being supported means security risks well... my devices are slowly being updated to support AX,AXE and even BE standards now.

I've got a few more days with unifi before it's gotta go back yet again to the store. Tried the UDR7, loved it but lacked enough HP for long term needs, upgraded to the UCG Cloud fiber and its a much better unit but now instead of buying 1 extra AP, I have to buy more APs for coverage. I don't know what the logical answer is, looking at RSSI levels from the U7 Pro XG AP and the BE96U and they're almost the same as far as power levels are concerned. I was surprised that the devices listening and talking back to the asus or the unifi were nearly the same. So in other words, RF performance seems to be awash BUT the asus weirdly somehow just gets better overalls speeds by about 25-30% consistently throughout the home.

 

[degrub]

i shifted from consumer gear to SMB gear because i got tired of investing hours diagnosing a black box. The SMB APs, i configured once and set the power levels until i had adequate coverage. i didn't need bragging rights but needed something that did not require constant attention. You will get to that point one day.... Once you switch and forget about the gear, it will all become clear.