I admire your empirical zeal in testing all of them, and appreciate that you reported back to us with such detailed results. Glad to hear the AmpliFi worked out. A co-worker went with the AmpliFi and reported similarly positive results.
I tried Amplifi as one of my options as well and (as reported in this thread) it worked for me but the mesh points became play toys for my kids as they resembled swords lol. I also Wanted a wired backhaul option. I did end up giving it to my brother in law who has had no issues.
I too am glad that you were able to get a system that works for you. Each eco system is a bit different and I have seen people love things that others have absolutely hate. I had 2 days of velop drama until I realized I need to read the instruction booklet for setup instead of just doing it myself (was connecting them through wireless backhaul before setting them up 1 by 1 wirelessly like the manuals says) after I plugged them in one by one and followed the proper setup then connected them to wired backhaul after all of them were meshed and working I have been happy since.
I'm on Shaw 300 using whatever modem/router that comes with Shaw Bluesky, also I'm pretty much a networking idiot. I just did a speedtest and noticed I'm getting all of 20 down and 5 up in my kitchen and figured the CP collective could help me out.
I've read the thread and now I'm wondering if because I'm in an old 4 level split, and wiring from the main access point to the other access points would be a real pain, if there's a better brand/model to focus on for a wireless system?
Or is a wireless backhaul worth it in a mesh system? Would I be better off just focusing on bridging the Shaw modem to a really good router instead?
Would I be better off just focusing on bridging the Shaw modem to a really good router instead?
Almost any WiFi/router will be better than the 3 in 1 Shaw gave you. As said above, bridge the modem and connect to a WiFi router (Asus is really good. Lots of good models for ~$150). At minimum, make sure you change the default username and password on your new WiFi router and make your wireless access key somewhat complicated. Passphrases work well.
Fun fact about the Ubiquiti AmpliFi HD: you can buy them without the plug-in MeshPoints.
"Well, okay. But why the hell would you do that?"
Becaaaaaause you can actually squeeze better performance out of the system by buying three of the AmpliFi HD routers. You hardwire one to your modem/gateway, and then once it's configured, you can plug in the other two and use them as wired or wireless mesh APs. They generally perform much better than the two MeshPoints that the normal AmpliFi HD system comes with (and which cannot be configured with a wired backhaul).
Cost is a wee higher than the normal system ($630 for three AmpliFi HD routers vs $519 for the AmpliFi HD System with MeshPoints).
The info in this thread has been great. My current set up has been dealing with some hardware failure issues, so I decided to jump on some Ubiquiti hardware that I had been looking into. AmpliFi seemed like the perfect solution for me, even if it's likely overkill for my 1400 sq ft ish town home.
Question: I ordered two AmpliFi HD systems to replace my current network set up. I presumed I could connect one to the modem, set it up and then set up the other on the far side of the home via wired back haul as a wireless AP point and things would be relatively hunky dory like the set up you mentioned?
I also stumbled upon a relatively new Ubiquiti UniFi AP AC Lite at work that has been discontinued due to changing network needs. I am able to acquire it for a nominal cost. I am wondering if I should greedily add the AP AC Lite to the system so that I have a unit on each floor, or if setting up the AC Lite into the mesh system would be more hassle than it's worth? (though I don't believe setting up an AC point alongside the two AmpliFi would be problematic)
The info in this thread has been great. My current set up has been dealing with some hardware failure issues, so I decided to jump on some Ubiquiti hardware that I had been looking into. AmpliFi seemed like the perfect solution for me, even if it's likely overkill for my 1400 sq ft ish town home.
Question: I ordered two AmpliFi HD systems to replace my current network set up. I presumed I could connect one to the modem, set it up and then set up the other on the far side of the home via wired back haul as a wireless AP point and things would be relatively hunky dory like the set up you mentioned?
I also stumbled upon a relatively new Ubiquiti UniFi AP AC Lite at work that has been discontinued due to changing network needs. I am able to acquire it for a nominal cost. I am wondering if I should greedily add the AP AC Lite to the system so that I have a unit on each floor, or if setting up the AC Lite into the mesh system would be more hassle than it's worth? (though I don't believe setting up an AC point alongside the two AmpliFi would be problematic)
AP AC lites don’t work like that. They require a managed switch to operate and will not work as an ACcess point to an amplifi HD system. The controller software for the unifi gear will not control the amplifi system and visa versa (unless something has changed in the last 2 months that I don’t know about)
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AP AC lites don’t work like that. They require a managed switch to operate and will not work as an ACcess point to an amplifi HD system. The controller software for the unifi gear will not control the amplifi system and visa versa (unless something has changed in the last 2 months that I don’t know about)
Ah, you are correct. I didn't realize they were completely incompatible pieces of hardware. I will stick with the pair of AmpliFi HD Home routers.
Some reading of the Unifi system makes it sound like it would be an interesting consideration if I were to move to a bigger home in a few years, but AmpliFi is much easier as a consumer level plug and play option.
Ah, you are correct. I didn't realize they were completely incompatible pieces of hardware. I will stick with the pair of AmpliFi HD Home routers.
Some reading of the Unifi system makes it sound like it would be an interesting consideration if I were to move to a bigger home in a few years, but AmpliFi is much easier as a consumer level plug and play option.
I tried unifi and it worked perfect....... until it didnt.
My system went down when I was out of town for work and my wife was not able to get it working again because of the complexity. Imagine; a wife and two kids with no internet for 4 days. Yeah that went exactly how you are imagining haha.
I tried unifi and it worked perfect....... until it didnt.
My system went down when I was out of town for work and my wife was not able to get it working again because of the complexity. Imagine; a wife and two kids with no internet for 4 days. Yeah that went exactly how you are imagining haha.
That's a good point. I didn't think about the complexity of the set up.
I definitely but burst out laughing. I imagined you returned home to a scene like this:
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I tried unifi and it worked perfect....... until it didnt.
My system went down when I was out of town for work and my wife was not able to get it working again because of the complexity. Imagine; a wife and two kids with no internet for 4 days. Yeah that went exactly how you are imagining haha.
You don't set up remote access for this reason? I keep my remote access address bookmarked in my phone so I can troubleshoot and modify when I'm not at home.
You don't set up remote access for this reason? I keep my remote access address bookmarked in my phone so I can troubleshoot and modify when I'm not at home.
Negative, I only travel with my work laptop and i prefer not to do anything that isn't work involved as its always on the company VPN
I use Cloud Access to my UniFi Cloud Key so I can troubleshoot when things aren't working.
That said, I really haven't experienced much in the way of outages. Occasionally the Garage AP loses connectivity, and I fix that by power-cycling the AP that it gets wireless uplink from. Or by yanking the ethernet cable out of the switch in the garage.
I've been having an issue with my network for weeks relating to the ethernet in my home after bridging my modem. I have not been able to figure out what to look at and I was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction.
At first I was wondering if it was some type of firewall issue, but after toying with a few things, I haven't had luck in resolving it even with the pair of AmpliFi I purchased. If anyone could point me in the right direction, I'd be very grateful, but I won't be able to try and resolve the issue until Feb 6 as I have papers to write which are due Feb 5 (I'm procrastinating). I am decent at computers, but a total newbie in terms of networking stuff (thus why I've been trying to learn more about it by experimenting on my home set up)
Spoiler!
Basic setup.
- I have a utility room in the basement where the modem is set up (wife thinks it's ugly)
- Hitron modem is connected to a switch which feeds to ethernet pulled throughout the home.
- The home is a two story town house with my upstairs room furthest from the utility room in the basement.
- I had internet 150 which would have been upgraded to internet 300 since last year.
Setup 1, no longer using (December 2018 and earlier): Seemed to work minus the fact I could never seem to get wifi upstairs even with extender gear.
1. Hitron modem, wifi mode
2. Ethernet from Hitron to switch
3. Switch to rest of home (ethernet plates on the walls)
4. Archer C7 and Netgear N400 in the upstairs room. The routers seemed to work as switches, but not really for wifi even if I changed the SSID to different or same wifi as the Hitron (Double NAT issues IIRC).
All the ethernet ports around the home worked under this set up. But wifi was abysmal anywhere other than in the room directly beside the utility room. I think wifi speeds were 180/15 on 5G right beside the router and around 2.2/4 in the bed room on 2.4G. So I moved to setup 2.
Set up 2, no longer using (December 2018 to today): It was workable, but some significant issues.
1. Hitron modem; bridge mode (Contacted Shaw to change it)
2. Ethernet to switch
3. Switch to rest of home
4. Router in my upstairs room (Some netgear N400 router or something as my Archer C7 is currently bricked and I have no luck reviving it just yet)
All the ethernet ports around the home did not work. But the router was definitely getting connection via ethernet port to broadcast wifi from my room upstairs room. Issues was no ethernet other than the seemingly one line to the router. Luckily, nothing really needs to be hardwired, so I could manage to life without it as I tried to figure things out. Wifi speeds were around the reverse (180/15 upstairs, 2.2/4 ish in basement) and since my Archer C7 bricked during a DD-WRT firmware update with me having no luck unbricking it over two weeks, I had decided to try a mesh system.
Setup 3, current (Today onwards): AmpliFi HD x2
1. Hitron modem; bridge mode
2. Ethernet to AmpliFi HD #1
3. Ethernet from AmpliFi HD #1 to swich
4. Switch to rest of home
5. Amplifi HD #2 connected via ethernet port previously used in setup 2.
The ethernet ports around the home still do not get ethernet. I get a constant 30/15 upstairs 70/15 main floor and 80-200/15 in the basement via 5G wifi. AmpliFi #2 is connected to the mesh point band via 2.4G per the AmpliFi app, but I have doubts it's even doing anything. Attempts to choose the ethernet backbone option just causes the AmpliFi #2 to become unresponsive.
My next move would have been to connect an ethernet cable to the AmpliFi HD#1 and test to see whether it is working to determine if I should focus on the switch, modem, router or if it's something firewall. I'll continue poking around after my papers are done.
What are AmpliFi HD #1 and #2? Are they just the meshpoints or do you have one with a router? You need the router...You should go Hitron-router-switch-meshpoints
What are AmpliFi HD #1 and #2? Are they just the meshpoints or do you have one with a router? You need the router...You should go Hitron-router-switch-meshpoints
HD #1 and #2 are both routers. Torquedog mentioned earlier that the router could be programmed to be a mesh point and thus additional customization could be done to the system. The two routers are currently meshed, but wired back haul isn't working.
I do have the set up you mentioned.
Hitron - HD 1 router - Switch - HD 2 router
However, nothing connected the switch is getting ethernet, including HD2.
I don't think there's a true issue with the switch because in setup 2 which went Hitron - switch - router, the router got ethernet through the switch, but nothing else attached to the switch got ethernet. Setup 1, all things connected to the switch got ethernet.
Another bizarre issue is that my mesh system is showing 3 routers instead of 2, so one of the routers is displaying twice for some odd reason, but I think I should focus on figuring out the ethernet issue first.
EDIT: Could this whole headache be as something stupid as changing the setup to:
Modem - Switch - Router/Router?
No, I don't think that would fix it. I'd pull the second router and eliminate that as an issue. Having 2 misconfigured routers on the same network is going to cause problems.
Start as simple as you can, Hitron-router. Bypass the switch and plug any ONE of your upstairs cables directly into the router. Go upstairs and see if that port works.
Just had a thought...if you plug a network cable into a switch, and it loops somewhere else...say someone has plugged a cable from one port into another that can reek havoc. Or someone pounded a nail through a wire and is causing a short, or wired a port incorrectly. A surefire sign of this is all the lights flashing away on the switch, in snyc with each other. So as suggested, bypassing the switch should solve that.
If you can make the simple network work, unplug everything from the switch, and re-connect one at a time. You should be able to pin down where the issue is. If you can't make the basic setup work, try new network cables.
And if your network is showing 3 and you only have 2, you may want to just factory reset everything and start from scratch. Starting with one...
