I’m a big fan of Mikrotik and have been using them for years, but I have always had Ubqiuiti APs. I have 4, one in the house, 2 in 2 sheds and one on the roof of the house to do outside. I wanted to switch to MT for various reasons but have read a lot of bad stuff about their wifi on the forums. What’s everyone think, is MT as good as Ubiquiti yet? All APs are wired.
To give more details, I want to run a device in station bridge at my front gate so I can run a security camera, automatic gate, lights etc there. Ubiquiti don’t have the wide input voltage of mikrotik so MT is the obvious choice. I can run EoIP back to the ubiquiti but I just thought it might be easier going with all MT
I have two “places” that have almost the same number of Wi-Fi points. In both “places” there are external and internal access points. Option from Ubiquiti - it’s set up once and forgot. But the version from MT - is associated with a constant “struggle”. IMHO.
I have no complaints with Ubiquiti, it’s been running for years with no faults at all. Only issue was a cable to one AP. Might be better not to fix something that isn’t broken. It’s annoying they are adding features like docker containers while still not fixing wifi issues.
Why would you pay that much more for the router board to run that crap you could put on a cloud key for less???
And as much as I can’t stand UniF–k and more specifically UNIF–KERS… if we are talking about basic radio performance… I have to give it to the UniF–k line.
I avoid Tik and Ubnt for WiFi. Much better results from other vendors.
But when it comes down to my routing… its a Tik… across hundreds of installs.
At this time, for most installations, I don’t plan to purchase anything other, than the RB5009UG+S+IN. Therefore, why not try connecting a USB flash drive. And don’t try run a container on there.
I avoid Tik and Ubnt for WiFi. Much better results from > other vendors> .
For years I’ve been saying I dislike Unifi because it’s very Apple like. Recently I read an article and found out the company was started by a group of disgruntled apple employees. I’m not against a slick GUI but this is network equipment, features should come first. At least they didn’t adopt the apple culture of hobbling devices after 2 years.
Invariably, over time, I always see the UniF–k controller fail. Whether it be mongoDB or something else. I don’t care as I don’t deal with UniF–k anymore. If a company I work with insists on it… I will point the DNS towards their server. But I won’t spend 10 seconds trouble shooting ANYTHING ON THE WIFI.
This rigid attitude has lead to systems that run with ZERO MAINTENANCE FOR YEARS AT A TIME.
(Particularly once they give up and take out the UniF–k WAPs and put in something I know works.)
As for reason able prices…
That question doesn’t make any sense to me.
If the solution you have doesn’t work… It’s not a solution.
Things cost what they cost and sometimes you can’t “cheap out and still get by”.
But for reference…
Had an install that had another vendor 'had to put in UniF–k". The agreement was that they could not remove the existing system. They spent several weeks trying to get the UniF–k system to work in an INCREDIBLY noisy, crowded wifi environment. They got fired.
Next crew came in… Tried the same thing… Got the same results.
3rd vendor came in and went down the same path. After a few weeks they told me they were about to get fired. I told them to unplug their WAPs and I put their Wifi on my existing system.
System started working.
After a few weeks, we had a meeting to discuss. I explained what I saw before and how we “added it to our existing”.
The vendor got a little fiesty and decided he wanted to fight. I have no idea what he was thinking…
Vendor : “We have put this system in hundreds of time and it always worked.”
Me : “So what… This place is really tough… I went through several wifi manufacturers before I got to these. But they work. None of the others did.”
Vendor : “Well how much did those cost!”
Me : “like $1800.”
Vendor : “You don’t know?”
Me : “well I don’t remember the exact price. But the issue is who gives a F–k! Your solution didn’t work. This one does. That’s not a comparison. You really have nothing to stand on.”
Vendor : “Well you spent so much more… Or at least you think you did…”
Me : “Hey a$$hole… I don’t recall the price because those access points have been here for 8 years!”
Thats right… Brand new UniF–k was bested by 8 year old devices from another manufacturer.
So back to my prior point… “It doesn’t matter what it costs, if it doesn’t work!”
talking about Wi-Fi, many times the problem is more about bad design and implementation than vendor specific issues
the same apply with almost everything like switches and routers
first key factor is having solid fundamentals and knowledge in technology in particular such as Wi-Fi, switching and/or routing
then equally important is having solid fundamentals and knowledge of the functionalities and especially the limitations of the specific vendor
is like when you are selecting a switch of course you have to know what is capable of, but is most important to investigate what is not capable of or limitations of available features
In the real world, the shortcomings in these aspects added to the commercial interests of those who offer the solution lead to the disasters that we are used to seeing more and more frequently.
but of course, no one is going to accept that it is his fault, the easy way is to blame the vendor
The story you describe is certainly interesting. Another supplier … I asked you to answer - what other (not MT or UniF) supplier of Wi-Fi equipment do you specifically recommend.
I have found again and again… The limits of Mikrotik wireless have been the problem in too many systems.
Mikrotik did finally “man up” and and tell us that there was nothing they could do. The problem was “my environments” (aka: where I needed the wireless to work) So we paid to replace them where we could. As the customer complaining was costing us thousands in support, and it was allowing our competition to point directly to poorly performing projects.
Had to spend a lot of money and replace things out of pocket… But now we are back to providing the quality experience our customers expect, and rightly deserve.
It’s also made me a lot more vigilant in my testing, before even considering putting a new product or line in our installs.
No you should not switch … Ubiquiti are excellent AP’s …. If you want another suggestion TP-Link EAP245 or EAP660HD are outstanding AP’s.
The only MT wireless device I do at times suggest is the Audiance other than that the othe Tik AP’s suck.
Unifi is a system … so to exploite that system everything should be Unifi …. If you are wondering what Unifi stands for … Unified wireless infrastructure —- where all the pieces work together intelligently.
That’s one of the things I don’t like about it. If you just use their APs you feel like you’re using half a system
I should add, I have no interference issues. My nearest neighbour is 100m away and I’ve never seen anyone else’s SSIDs. The ubiquiti stuff has worked perfectly for me for years
