Few months ago I decided it was time for new router and got a Tplink Archer AX73. Performance was fantastic but I was underwhelmed with the dumbed down interface and lack of options. Recently I needed a new router at our rental property and time was of the essence, so I took the new Tplink over there and put my WRT-1900acs back in service, and it's just not cutting it.
The only thing I like is that I have DD-WRT flashed on it and I have endless options for setting up multiple SSIDs, DHCP ranges, etc. etc. But AFAIK it's only maintained by a single person, documentation is spotty, and it doesn't support any Wifi 6 hardware, so I'm ready to move on.
It seems that every consumer router has limited configurability, so I'm considering the UDM Pro. It's a considerable expense though and I've seen glowing as well as "stay away" reviews. Worse, the SE model is looming on the horizon which has built-in POE ports but is currently out of stock in the early access store. The minute my return period is over, inevitably the SE will become available.
The documentation for the UDM Pro is not available online, so I can't see what features it offers. Can I create an arbitrary number of SSIDs, multiple DHCP ranges, is there a decent firewall and routing so I can be very specific about what my IOT devices can and cannot connect to? Are non-Ubiquity cameras compatible? I don't have any IP cameras (yet) but I really don't want to be locked into a single vendor.
I recently migrated my network setup from Eero to Unifi. I got a Dream Machine, two FlexHD's and a NanoHD. I also installed the USW-24 switch and a few Flex Mini switches to complete the setup.
I love it. It solved all my wireless issues and the tools they provide help you solve issues you didn't even know you had. I also like that I have the power to expand it as much as I want and the reporting it provides. All that being said, it is considerably more expensive than anything else.
While I don't have the pro, I think most of the things you mentioned can be done. On the UDM I can create different SSID's, but they also warn you about creating too many. I had a dedicated 2.4 setup and was able to assign it to only be broadcast from two of my AP's to limit it. I'm pretty impressed.
I can't say for sure about non ubiquity cameras. But I do see a github project that seems to allow the work around for this.
But I also did just do a camera switch. Got rid of all of my wyze and ring cameras and just went with Foscam (for various reasons). I run them all through BlueIris and integrate all that with Hubitat so I can do various things. Loving the setup. My only advice is when you are looking at cameras, make sure they are onvif compliant and also offer dual streams. The main stream you can use to record 24/7 and the sub stream will be a much lower quality that Blue Iris will use for processing. The key here is that your recordings are still high quality but the Blue Iris serve doesn't have to work hard at all. There are many camera's that are compatible with BI. I just got fed up with Wyze and Ring and all the limitations and all the hacks that I had to implement to get them to work outside of their ecosystem.
I dumped my Linksys Velop crap back in September and put in a Dream Machine Pro, 4 16-port managed switches, a 24-port managed switch, 2 AP 6-LRs and 2 6-Lites. I've been extremely happy and am kicking myself for messing with Linksys for so long. The 4-SSID limit is real and a tad inconvenient. Allegedly you can disable wireless uplink and use more, but I have not found that to be the case. The firewall is no Palo Alto but for a home network it's more than adequate. There are a few quirks with the UI that are a tad annoying but nothing that really affects usability. Their cloud management console has been a bit flaky recently but you can do everything locally if you need to, so not that big a deal.
I have been pleased enough with my UDMP to buy more into the Unifi system.
They cannot store images from other cameras to the Protect unfortunately.
But overall I have had no complaints. Setup was pretty reasonable (I had no problems with mine) and the API (where understood) provides access to it as well so I have integrated some things with my Hubitat. Adding in access points and switches have been very easy and their smart plug and smart power strip work very well (the strip is also very cheap overall).
FWIW, I've been running Ubiquity for 5 or 6 years, started with a single Unifi AP AC, and a cloud key, and now I have 3 Unifi 6 APs (2 Pros and 1 LR) an Cloud Key Gen2 + and a boatload of their switches -- I absolutely love the little 5 port Flex Switches, PoE powered, and great for point of use switching.
I have 6 cameras including 1 Unifi Doorbell, and I love them!
I DO NOT have a UDM, or a USG. I use the Edgerouter 4, as my router. I have structured wiring cabinets in my house, and none of the new UDMs will fit.
I went the EdgerouterX route for only $60 when I decided to go down the network rabbit hole along with a couple of Unifi switches. With Traffic Analysis off and Offloading enabled, I get every bit of my 1Gig internet. This was a much cheaper route than UDM and I don't regret it.
Now I have a few more of their switches and two of their APs and an still very happy even though the EdgerouterX and Unifi switches and APs cant be controlled by same app. I run Unifi Network Application on a VirtualBox machine
Thanks to YouTube, I even figured out how to set up numerous firewall rules and an IoT VLAN.
Unfortunately the EdgerouterX @ $60 has been sold out for a long time on their website.
Yeah, the ERs seem to be out of stock most of the time. I had an ER3 LITE, and became (incorrectly) convinced it was effectively throttling my 1G connection. Went to find a replacement, and waited weeks for the ER4 to be in stock.
The ER4 is definitely passing all my traffic at 900M or better.
I'm using the firewall for now, but I've got a Firewalla Gold I need to configure and put in place...eventually! Lol
I went down the Unifi rabbit hole completely and couldn't be happier with my setup. In March of 2021 I installed a UDM Pro, 16 port switch, 1 flex mini, 3 UAP AC LR Waps, 2 G3 Instants, 1 G4 Doorbell and 6 G3 Flex Cameras. I have setup 4 vlans, port forwarding, AP Groups, bandwidth limits and a Radius VPN server. The initial setup of the UDM Pro was very easy and being able to view and control everything on one "pane of glass" as they say is great. I set everything up using Youtube videos but I made sure I learned what was going on so I could make my own choices. I was using Google wifi mesh, but the lack of configuration was why I switched. I love the Protect camera app and don't regret being limited to Unifi cameras. I would not go back.
ER12 user here, w/a U6LR and NanoHD and a bunch of managed switches and have been very happy w/it. First router I ever owned (after years of Netgear, TPlink, Linksys, etc.) that I don't have to reboot on a regular basis to keep things up and running smoothly. Up-time is endless. No experience w/UDM line, but overall experience w/Ubiquiti/ER/Unifi has been very good and I'd do it again, and wish I had done it years ago.
Ditto on UDM Pro. Though with the latest Log4j vulnerability the thing did auto-update twice overnight and restarted itself. You can turn that auto-update off but in this case I'm good with it.
I am running Opnsense firewall on a Protectli micro appliance. Connecting to that is a Unifi 24 port POE switch.. have 2 UAC 6's - LR and Lite also running a CloudKey2 to control it. Like @scottgu3 I love the flex mini switches - very handy.
I was initially worried that I would have trouble with things like managing vlans etc nope - no issues to report. I do have to configure things in 2 different interfaces though. Maybe at some point in the future will consider the UDM Pro but for now this piecemeal system is working great.
That is true, I'm so used to it now I don't think to mention it. Though since I finished setting up my ER (VLANs, Firewall rules, Wireguard) I never really have to go back to it, majority of any "maintenance" happens via controller (now "Unifi Network application") running on a Pi, so it does feel more like I only have one UI to worry about at this point.
Thank you everyone. All positive comments. It's a moot point right now though; it seems the majority of Ubiquti's products are sold out and have been every time I visit their online store. Hard to imagine that these sorts of things are popular Christmas gifts.
IAC, the UDM pro is available but no wifi 6 access points, and I'm not paying the scalpers' prices on Amazon or Ebay. Might as well just wait until they're in stock and see if the UDM Pro SE happens to become available in the meantime. Not sure it's worth the extra money, but not having to buy a separate POE switch is a plus.
That is interesting, particularly as 8 of their 10 cameras are out of stock too. I assume you have to run this somewhere else, or does the UDM allow you to install arbitrary applications, like many NAS units do via docker?
Unfortunately, I'm way too invested in Ring devices to toss them all out. A decision I regret but have to live with for the time being.
Interesting but not cheap and there is no way in h*** I'm ever buying another product that requires a subscription to unlock features. I'm subscriptioned-out. It's financial death by a thousand cuts.
Yep. Guess I'll have to act quickly if/when I get any notifications. It's not really all that urgent though; all my important stuff is hard-wired anyhow. It's just that my wife offered to buy the UDM Pro for me for Christmas, so that sort of pushed me to get off the fence and make a decision.
