Ubiquiti Networks UAP-AC-LR 175.7 x 43.2 mm 2.4-5 GHz 802.11ac Dual-Radio Long Range - White

This is a great product that I’ve used in a business (office and film studio) and now also at home. It’s very easy to set up, but the instillation instructions in the box aren’t as good as the ones you can access by scanning the QR code. I’ve also installed the app on my phone to access more of the customisation features available. It probably took me more time to get everything out of the well designed, yet simple packaging, than it did to set it up.So far I’ve had no issues with these, both in the business and at home. Using the app you can set up restrictions for guest users and certain devices, you can also monitor and remove access if you need to. There’s even the option to turn off the gentle blue power led ring in the centre of the hub, so you can set this up and not have to worry about a blue glow coming from it and ruining the mood/atmosphere in low light situations.Once connected to this WiFi signal I can move between the 3 floors at home or between office and studio at work and the signal never drops out, lags or freezes. It’s a really solid and very stable connection that covers an impressive distance.The app support is excellent too, you can sing up to a user account to gain access to more features, but so far I’m happy using it as it is.All in all this device is a great boost for your WiFi signal and really easy to install.

This review could have received a lower number of stars because I could start but not run the controller software on our Macbooks, but a member on the community dot ubnt dot com helped me out by pointing out that it can be started from the MacOS command line with no problem (double-clicking the Uniquity Application icon doesn't work). So, if you're a Mac user, don't fall into that small trap. It's a known problem that Ubiquity should have made more prominent on their support pages since I bet most Mac users will have the same problem: MacOS no longer comes with Java, the latest release from Apple was 1.6, but Ubiquity needs 1.8. A large proportion of users (like me) isn't going to spot the "Java support" article in the support forum...Note that the APs don't have a web interface for configuration, and if you for some reason can't/won't run Java 1.8 then you won't be able to configure them as described in the setup guide in the box. Now, Ubiquity will be releasing a "Unify EasySetup" App for Android and IOS that allows you configure them, so that's an alternative option.I spent a couple of hours swearing at Ubiquity because I didn't have a PC at home at the moment when I tried to set them up, but what swearing was replaced with a "woaw" when I got the controller software working on my Mac. Note that this software is only needed to set up or change the AP configuration, there's no need for the APs to see the controller. But with the controller software you get a really nice interface that allows you to see all the APs on one screen, all the wireless clients on another, what SSID and frequency they have connected with, signal strengths, errors etc etc. So if you have a problem with your Wi-Fi then the controller software is a great place to start. Once I got the software running I was up and running within 30 mins, with a fully functioning WLAN covering all the parts of my house with only two APs, and for the first time ever with full visibility into what's going on. I had tried and failed to use extenders before (two one-star reviews recently) so this was a great relief.In short, while I've only been up and running for two days so far and it's too early to say how stable my WLAN actually is, this might have been the golden bullet that I was looking for.

The problem - I have two broadband lines (FTTC) but rubbish WiFi from Sky router, BT with Home Hub is better but trying to support 30 devices over the 2 story, 25 year old detached house. Wanted to find a proper solution and cease one of the broadband lines. By the way, 30 devices include 3 smart TVs, 3 Sky Q boxes, printer, mobiles, tablets, 7 SONOS speakers, 3 Nest products, Echo Spot etc etc. I was amazed when I added it all up.By chance I happened across some TechFlow clips on YouTube and other recommendations for Ubiquiti products so researched this. The vast majority of our devices were on the Sky network and I didn't want to change the SSID if I could help it. This is especially true for the Sonos mesh and Nest. I innocently thought the Sky Q boxes would work straight away but more of that later.So the solution was the UniFi AC LR fitted to the landing ceiling as WiFi signals travel down better than up. I wanted to attach this to the BT router and cease the Sky line. Since the telephone line and router is in the corner of the front room I also needed to run an ethernet cable through the wall, up the outside of the house and through the attic to the right point. I bought a shielded 25m Cat 6e cable for this.At first things did not go well as the UniFi app on my Samsung phone did not see the AP. I tried scanning the QR code on the AP as directed by the instructions and this didn't work either. I also tried an iPhone but no joy. But I also wanted to install the console software on my laptop so I could investigate the more advanced features later on, so I had to do this and use that software to get the AP installed and configured. As someone with reasonable IT experience this was pretty straightforward but if you don't have these skills it's a pretty steep learning curve without being able to use the (on the face of it) fairly easy setup with the mobile app.I configured the AP with a new SSID to start with as a test and walked round the house testing the signal and throughput. I used an app called WiFi SweetSpot for this but there are many others. Once I was happy with it all I connected the AP to the BT router using the ethernet cable I'd installed. One word here - the shielded cable was a little stiff and I had a bit of a struggle attaching the AP to it's mounting plate due to this. If you used an unshielded ethernet cable, Cat 5e or 6, they are usually more flexible so that wouldn't have been a problem but I needed the cable run to go outdoors.Once the AP was connected up I disconnected the Sky router, pretty much everything actually. Then I changed the SSID on the AP to match the old Sky one (with the same password of course), then slowly started reconnecting all the devices. I found I had to "forget" the Sky network and then reattach in order to get new IP addresses and the Sonos speakers took a bit of Googling to get back. The worst was the Sky Q boxes as I had to pretty much install them from scratch - Sky don't particularly like you using their kit on someone elses broadband and router it seems.So it's now all up and running. Son still has his TV, PS4, etc attached to the BT Home Hub WiFi and everything else is on the old Sky SSID but it's all running through the BT router.I have to say that the AP is a fantastic piece of kit. The console software allows me to separate the two WiFi networks traffic so I've achieved what I set out to do. I guess most people would just have one SSID but the fact that you can have up to 4, including a Guest network if you wish, is very handy.I don't leave the console software running all the time, you only need that if you want proper statistics.I still haven't got the mobile app to see the AP - at some point I'll contact the support team and find out why but for now, it's all working great.