Ubiquiti NanoStation M2 - Wireless Access Point - AirMax (NSM2US),White

This is a 5-star radio that I rate 1-star for the following reason. I have configured and installed over 2 dozen of these radios and they are fantastic. They operate very well and are a terrific value, which is why I will likely continue to purchase and deploy them. That being said, if one ofyour reasons to purchase them is their warranty and/or after sales service / RMA support, do yourself a favor and look elsewhere. The words 'Ubiquiti' and 'responsive support' don't belong in the same sentence.I had one of two NSM2's that I purchased through amazon fail after 8 months of service. On Saturday, April 30th I filled out their online RMA request form and received an e-mail acknowledgement of my submittal which read "...Thank you for submitting an RMA with Ubiquiti Networks. Your RMA is now in the process of being approved by the Ubiquiti RMA team. Typical approval time is within 2 business days. If you haven't heard anything about your RMA after this time, please send an email to [...] and we will check on the status for you. All the best, Ubiquiti Networks" .When I had received no more contact from them 5 business days later on Friday May 6th, I e-mailed them at the supplied e-mail address and inquired about the status. On Monday May 9th I filled out a form on the Sales Dept. page stating lack of response from the RMA folks. Their own Sales Dept. forwarded my concern that day to their RMA section asking them to 'please assist' and CC'ed me.On Wednesday May 11th, 8 business days after my initial April 30th request, I filled out the RMA form a second time and in the description of the problem I stated that I lacked a response from my initial 4/30 RMA request (no RMA number, no address to ship to, etc.). Again I received the acknowlegement which read "...Thank you for submitting an RMA with Ubiquiti Networks, yada, yada, yada, blah, blah....".So there you go. Bear in mind this could have been a unit that was DOA instead of 8 months old and the same level of response from Ubiquiti for an RMA could have happened. Hey, I could market a radio with a lifetime warranty but if I never respond to RMA requests I could make even more profit!In summary, buy it for value, not for support after sales. Ignore their warranty, after all, Ubiquiti Support does. Heck, they even ignore their own Sales Dept. ! Good luck if you purchase a Ubiquiti product....you're on your own if it ever fails while it's 'in warranty'.UPDATE: Sat. 5/14/16:On Thurs. 5/12/16 I finally received an e-mail from Ubiquiti Support with my RMA info, 9 business days, a couple of e-mails and 1 re-submission after my initial request. They said my request was approved on 5/2 and to 'check my spam filter'. I replied that no such replies from them existed in my spam folder either and that this was first contact I had received from them since the beginning. Who knows? Anyway, I shipped the unit on 5/12 and the USPS is to deliver it on Sat. 5/14. I'll keep you posted how the RMA process plays out.UPDATE: Fri. 6/3/16:On Wed. 6/1/16, 3 weeks after I shipped the defective one to them, I received a brand new NSM2 to replace the defective one, a rapid and positive response to my RMA. Way to go, Ubiquiti! I have no immediate need to install it, but will say this: hopefully my week of frustration trying to get an RMA is not typical and has been addressed. I am still a big fan of the company and their products, so I plan to upgrade my initial rating from 1 star to 5.

I initially used a pair of the NSM5 trying to transfer our 108mbps connection. It goes through about 3-4 walls with drywall / wood siding possibly some trees. The NSM5s did work but the signal strength hovered between 2-3 bars. Signal strength was -76 to -80 which is not super great. The speed test resulted in 24mbps on a good day.I bought another pair of the NSM2s since I read it works better with obstacles.Out of the box, I noticed the signal strength was at 4 bars no matter which way they faced.. When I took it to the remote location, I was impressed that the signal strength was 4 bars. Did a speed test and it gave me 92mbps.Based on my little experiment, I would say the NSM5 may be better if you have a clear line of sight as in a long pole clearing all the obstacles in the way.The NSM2 is better with obstacles.The cable company told me it would cost $5000 to run a line to the other house and it would take 2 months and I will have to pay them $60 per month after that. For $170 total investment, this can't be beaten. It also is more secure in a way that robbers can't cut the cable or phone line to disable all your security cameras.Highly recommended!!!Edit: I discovered that the default signal strength was 28dbm which is the highest level available. It also radiates the most power at about 600mw. FCC limits indoor antennas to 100mw. The good news is that reducing the signal strength by 3db cuts the power in half so by reducing the signal strength to 17dbm, I should be in the 50mw range which is half of the FCC max. I can also go another 3db up but since it is in a bedroom, I chose to be a little on the safe side. How did impact the signal?? On a clear day, I was able to get 75mbps which is not bad and when I tried it on a rainy day, I got about 45 mbps which is also not bad. My criterion is that I would be able to watch 2 netflix streams and with 45mbps, those can be 4k streams if I want to.EDIT: IMPORTANT TIPIf you don't have your unit next to a window like I did, I used a wifi extender with an ethernet port to install the unit next to a window... The difference was night and day.. The connection speed now is up to 85mbps and it is raining outside.. Before I used the extender when it was going through the two walls, I was getting 30mbps.. It also helped me reduce the radiation which was the main reason I moved it..