I recently watched Wendell’s video “Is WIFI 7 ready for prime time?” and thought it wouldn’t be a bad chance to improve my home WIFI/network, sadly they only sell them in USA. Right now I’ve only used the company provided (mandated) router but the plan is to use my home-lab server as router using Open sense through DMZ.
Right now I’m eyeing the Omada EAP720 - BE 5000 from TPLink or something from Ubiquiti. I like being able to host the controllers in my server and being able to change the OS to OpenWrt down the road but sadly the TPLink model doesn’t support 6GHz.
I would be grateful for some other recommendations on APs or what to look out for.
I am running a single U7 Pro and I am very happy with the Wifi performance.
I think one reason for that is that I use two SSIDs.
5/6GHz WPA3 for laptops and phones.
2,4GHz WPA2 for IoT.
I don’t really like Unifi software though. But as long as you steer away from their “Cloud Gateway” lineup you are mostly fine. As long as you don’t bother running your own cloud controller.
It was fun to run it once with 2.5GB LAN and reach 1.1GB with my Laptop, but I could not justify the additional power consumption and went back to 1GBit LAN.
If you’re serious about full WiFi 7 functionality at home, definitely prioritize 6 GHz support, strong mesh/backhaul capabilities, and firmware flexibility for OpenWrt or self-hosting. Since the TP-Link you mentioned lacks 6GHz, you might check out Ubiquiti’s newer AP lineup when available globally, or keep an eye on WiFi-7 models from brands like Aruba or Ruckus in the international market.
You’re right, I meant to say APs instead of routers.
Thanks for the suggestion! The U7 Pro does seems to be the best contender if I want 6GHz. I was a bit hesitant given that the sellers list the specs completely different compared to Ubiquiti’s website but taking into account Edward’s recommendation to prioritize 6GHz it does seems worth the risk.
If you are going unifi u7 series then the Pro XG is the one to get. It’s an improved version of the u7 Pro (which is being slowly phased out already)
edited to add: the improvements are in antenna tuning and more importantly the fan has been removed and a passive heatsink has been added. The APs now eat themselves due to excessive heat less often.
Thanks for the info!
The heat was indeed a cause of concern for me, it can get pretty hot here and I haven’t installed AC and the house can be a bit suffocating at times. The sellers for this model seem even more dubious than the ones for the U7 Pro though.
The XG also seems to support a higher uplink of 10GbE compared to the 2.5GbE.
I guess I’ll try searching for more sellers of the Pro XG…
I’m guessing no Unifi direct sales in your country then? May not hurt to reach out to unifi customer support and see if they can recommend an authorized dealer that will ship to you or is local.
I checked a good while ago and they didn’t but for some reason I just went with it until right now that you told me to check customer support. They do sell now but it seems newer models lag behind. The “newest” they offer is the U7 Pro with all other U7 models coming soon.
I would personally wait. Getting the right certified AP for your area from Unifi will not only give you an actionable product warranty but ensure that the channels the AP operates on are in compliance with your local ordinances. Unifi is known to have different APs for different regions with the same SKU.
I wouldn’t touch anything 6ghz with a proverbial 32.5 ft pole.
The way the regs are written on this one, it requires you to check geographical databases to make sure you don’t interfere with licensed 6ghz and adjacent transmissions (like near air ports) and the way every single vendor seems to have implemented this is by requiring a cloud account and a GPS location in order to scan the database and determine you are allowed to enable 6ghz bands. And you just know they are going to use this to analyze your wifi traffic, and tie it to your location.
It’s an absolute privacy nightmare that will never find itself anywhere near my home.
This too.
If you absolutely have to have 6Ghz bands, do it right.
You don’t want to get yourself arrested for illegally interfering with some licensed transmission/radar installation or something like that. It’s not worth it.
Sure, the Pro XG is even nicer, but it is also way more expensive where I am. YMMV.
It isn’t an improved version, it is a different product.
The U7 Pro isn’t being phases out either.
It is basically the same thing (probably even the same internals) just a different more flat design. Power consumption is also the same.
I don’t know Pro XG has a fan, but the U7 Pro does. Never runs for me, unless I am doing firmware upgrades
That is true, but just keep in mind that the copper modules might be more expensive, need more power and you aren’t going to be able to use more than 2.5Gb in most cases anyway
Do you have any sources for these wild claims?
On most places on earth, there is no regulatory difference between the 5GHz you already run and 6GHz. Especially not for indoor use, where you don’t even need DFS for some channels.
I don’t know where OP is from, but this is for the US:
That is a software setting and has nothing to do with where you buy the hardware from.
Just like with any other Wifi device.
Jesus you guys are making things up and fear monger stuff, just because it is something “new”?
You buy brand X, which might be Unifi or might be TP-Link, then you select the country and brand X will adjust the settings accordingly. Nobody is going to arrest you, because Unifi made a channel mistake in their software. And if you do get arrested, congrats you can now sue Unifi
PRO XG doesn’t have a fan but a big heatsink. We’ve had issues in the past with unifi APs and heat/fan failures so this is a welcome change. The improved version, antenna tuning, and pro being phased out was something our account rep at Unifi mentioned so it may come from a tainted source but they’ve always been good to me. Your mileage may vary.
AC line? Y
eah but to be fair, if I remember correctly they were running all the time. U7 Pro runs under heat or stress which I wasn’t even able to reach once yet.
It is indeed a software setting, but one of the reasons it is not available in another market yet, is because the regulatory framework for control of the band may not exist yet.
When the time comes, I’m sure there will be a software update, and a drop down menu for selecting your country, but it just may not exist yet if you are buying a grey market import.
Y