Ubiquiti UniFi 6 Pro Acces Point Wifi 6 AP 5.3Gbps 300+ clients (U6-PRO), dual band

Product Information

Yes, all the UniFi 6 Access Points support mesh networking. Can I use the U6 Pro or U6 LR outdoors?

The speed remains fairly consistent up until the 45 feet spot (-77dB), where the throughput goes down to 162Mbps up and 33.6Mbps downstream. Going farther to 70 feet disconnected the client device once again, so the problem is that the Ubiquiti U6-Pro just doesn’t reach that far, while most other WiFi 6 APs do. Was that done as to not overlap the potential audience for the U6-LR? Probably.The U6-Lite is the cheapest and least-powerful Wi-Fi 6 AP UniFi offers. It has the least range and performance, but it also has the lowest price and smallest size. It’s the same size (and uses the same mount) as the older AC-Lite and nanoHD. It is not dust or water resistant, and should only be used indoors. With every foot of free space and every obstruction, a Wi-Fi signal attenuates and gets weaker. 5 GHz signals attenuate faster, and provide around half the range of 2.4 GHz. When deciding on how many access points you need, a good general rule is don’t expect 5 GHz coverage to extend further than 2 walls or 30 feet away. Some APs like the U6-LR extend this circle out a bit, but with the others APs, roaming to 2.4 GHz or getting low SNR 5 GHz performance is possible at the far edges. The U6 LR unsurprisingly has the best performance (speed and range) across both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, thanks to the highest signal strength and 4×4 MIMO on all bands. But again, keep in mind that I kept the interference to the minimum, which means that it’s most likely close to impossible to reproduce this behavior in a dense WiFi area. Moving a bit farther from the AP while also keeping the WiFi 6 client device connected to the 5GHz (160MHz) network, I could see that the attenuation gets a bit more aggressive, going from -27dB at 5 feet to -58dB at 15 feet and -70dB at 30 feet. Ubiquiti U6-Pro vs Other WiFi 6 Access Points – 5GHz (160MHz) – 5 Feet – Upstream. The Ubiquiti U6-Pro UniFi WiFi 6 Access Point is an indoor WiFi 6 AP with 5.3Gbps over the air speed and a 300+ client capacity. The U6-Pro is a dual-band WiFi 6 (802.11ax) access point that represents the next generation of high-performance wireless technology for home and enterprise users. Delivering blazing fast over the air speeds of up to 5.3 Gbps over its 5GHz and 2.4GHz channels, the U6-Pro will maximise the WiFi experience of any residential or office deployment. Plus, with its ability to support over 300 concurrent clients, the U6-Pro ensures reliable wireless coverage across even the most device-dense environments. The U6-Pro also marries power with ease of use through streamlined setup, configuration, and mobile-friendly management via the UniFi Network app. Easy to Deploy and Manage!

The UniFi Access Point (UAP) U6 family consists of 5 models: the U6 Lite, the U6 Pro, U6 Long-Range (LR for short), U6 Enterprise, and the U6 Mesh. The curious thing is that the industry wants to push us now towards WiFi 6E. Slow down, guys, you’re not going to pull this off in the WiFi networking market, although I applaud your effort. I know people that are still using 802.11n (WiFi 4) routers, so the adoption at the home-user level is really not that great; neither is at the SMB or enterprise level because the equipment costs money, the monitoring and the management for new hardware costs money and it’s not worth it upgrading every couple of years. Wireless Test (5GHz) I’ve seen this approach with lots of EnGenius access points, including the ECW230 and the latest WiFi 6E ECW336, and it works wonders for the heat management of compact access points. Ubiquiti still insists that their APs are suitable for outdoors, so there are no ventilation holes and you do get a silicone cover for the ports area, which means that the device will get hotter to the touch when it’s operational (due to the heat transfer), but there should be no risk of overheating. Ubiquiti U6-Pro Heat Management. The U6-Mesh is my default recommendation for outdoor UniFi wireless networks. The AC-Mesh and AC-Mesh-Pro are still workhorses, and their superior antenna options make them better options in some situations. I’d still lean towards the U6-Mesh due to the higher performance with Wi-Fi 6 devices, but that’s just me. I don’t think there’s a big rush to upgrade from an AC-Mesh or AC-Mesh-Pro, but for new installs and upgrades the U6-Mesh is the new benchmark. Opening up the U6-LR was a pain in the behind, but the Ubiquiti U6-Pro is even worse. The top plastic part is glued to the bottom section and even if I was using a heat gun, I still had to scratch and deform the case to finally be able to pop the top part off (this time, my fingers remained relatively intact). Ubiquiti U6-Pro Antenna Positioning.The U6-Pro is the newest of the three, and it is also a big step up from the U6-Lite. The U6-Pro also offers more transmit power, higher-gain antennas, more spatial streams, and more overall performance than the U6-Lite. The U6-LR and U6-Pro are both IP54-rated, meaning they are partially dust and splash resistant. They can be used in a protected outdoor area, like under a porch roof, but you wouldn’t want to install them in an unprotected outdoor area. Before getting to the actual results, I need to mention that a PoE adapter or switch is mandatory, and I used the Zyxel XS1930 which was way overkill for a Gigabit connection, but I had it already installed from when I tested the EnGenius ECW336 (not that Ubiquiti actually sends me anything, let alone an Ethernet switch). So, as I did with the U6-LR, I used three client devices, one with a WiFi 6 adapter and two with WiFi 5 cards. Ubiquiti U6-Pro vs U6-Lr vs Zyxel WAX650S vs WAX630S – Long-term speed test – 80MHz – Upstream – 5 feet.

While the likes of TP-Link, Google and Netgear have decent mesh Wi-Fi offerings these days, UniFi WAPs are at a whole different level when used as a part of a UniFi OS/console managed home network. And that’s exactly what we have in the VueVille DIY Smart Home network. I have been using the UniFi U6 Lite in my home for many months now and have been impressed by how much it improved Wi-Fi in my home. Range is very good and so are transfer speeds. But how does it compare to the other U6 models? The throughput at 30 feet was 238Mbps up and 121Mbps downstream, but things get a bit problematic at 45 feet and farther. That because the attenuation shot up to 79dB and the throughput was barely decent, 43.9Mbps upstream and 12.7Mbps downstream. At 70 feet, I could no longer see the network, so it’s 0Mbps. Before reaching conclusions, I just assumed that it’s the fault of interference (which did ramp up after 30 feet) and it’s natural when using the 160MHz channel bandwidth on 5GHz.The AC-Mesh and AC-Mesh-Pro are still relevant, but are also due for an update. Ubiquiti hasn’t replaced these models with direct replacements, but they have made newer outdoor APs that can be considered instead. Wi-Fi 6: U6-Mesh The AC-Mesh-Pro is an AC1750 Wi-Fi 5 AP, offering more performance than the non-pro model. It doesn’t have removable antennas, but instead comes with high-gain (8 dBi) antennas built-in. The AC-Mesh-Pro is big enough that it could act as a lunch tray. It is harder to hide, but the additional antenna gain provide impressive range and performance. The AC-Mesh-Pro can operated on standard 802.3af (15W) PoE, or with Ubiquiti’s 48V passive PoE. The U6 Mesh can be placed on a table, wall-mounted or ceiling-mounted, but the others are designed to be wall or ceiling mounted only. You can of course place the others on a table but coverage may suffer.