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Ubiquiti all the things: How I fixed my dodgy Wi-Fi

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Re: Ubiquiti all the things: How I fixed my dodgy Wi-Fi

#241

Post by cc438 »

Icedcool wrote: post #236

> I got a variety of responses including that I should install the open source dd-wrt firmware... No, no, a hundred times no... Author didn't want to try a new OS on his device, and instead opted to spend an additional 2.1k on enterprise level devices. While this did 'fix' it, he wasn't really innovative or creative. Just was willing to spend more money. A similar example might be, "How I fixed my car" - Bought a new…

I fully agree with your take on this being an exercise in throwing money at a problem until it goes away. He probably didn't even need to go as far as diving headfirst into the world of fussy custom firmware to solve this issue either, Asus hardware comparable to his Linksys equipment is recommended so often that I can't imagine he researched the topic before making his buying decision.

Re: Ubiquiti all the things: How I fixed my dodgy Wi-Fi

#242

Post by cvwright »

lmns wrote: post #186
smhg wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some help for anyone looking into DD-WRT. I use it on 2 routers (a dirt cheap TP-link and a higher end Netgear) for >3 years. Both have been stable and performant. No known issues. Things are definitely better than stock firmware. The approach I took: - When you're new to DD-WRT, look up your router in the database on their website. Take some time to read about installation (and maybe configuration) on their wiki. I…

Why should I use DD-WRT? As far as I can see, they don't release any stable versions and their nightlies are broken all the time. The software in OpenWRT / LEDE seems to be much more up to date and they release stable versions.

It really depends on your hardware. For the WRT1900AC mentioned in the article, DD-WRT seems to have better support in recent months. The Kong builds have an especially good reputation among the DD-WRT crowd.

I'm running mainline DD-WRT on the slightly cheaper WRT1200, and aside from a couple of random 1-2 minute dropouts it's been great.

Re: Ubiquiti all the things: How I fixed my dodgy Wi-Fi

#243

Post by Cieplak »

striking wrote: post #26
Cieplak wrote: post #22

Does anyone know how to tell if a wifi device uses beam-forming versus omnidirectional microwave emissions? I imagine that beam-forming devices expose people to less microwave radiation (2.4 and 5 GHz). Somewhat alarmist but an interesting perspective: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F0NEaPTu9oI

> Somewhat alarmist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave#Effects_on_health Microwaves can't hurt you unless you focus the hell out of them, right at yourself. Even then, they can't make you experience the health effects that this handsome fellow was talking about (insomnia, really?). You might get buzzing in your ears if you're right next to a radar dish... and that's about it. FCC guidelines on radio emissions ar…

I agree with your overall point that the talk's claims are overblown.

> unless you focus the hell out of them

By this you mean, increase the intensity of the radiation? Obviously, a person would die inside a microwave oven that uses the same frequency as wifi (2.4Ghz). But it seems myopic to dismiss the possibility that there are no other dangerous effects besides heating. There is still much ongoing research on the effect of pulsed/modulated microwave radiation (as opposed to continuous radiation). As another example, certain RF harmonics are particularly dangerous:

At frequencies near the body's natural resonant frequency, RF energy is absorbed more efficiently, and maximum heating occurs

http://www.arrl.org/rf-radiation-and-electromagnetic-field-s...

Re: Ubiquiti all the things: How I fixed my dodgy Wi-Fi

#244

Post by caycep »

For a ~$1500 square feet house, how are their AmplifiHD consumer WiFi Mesh network products? The reviews seem to say they are more consistent than Eero/Google equivalents.

Also, my one paranoid worry about routers are the frequency of security updates...my TP-link hasn't had a patch for 2 years, and I'm hoping Ubiquiti has a better track record to avoid things like a Mirai infestation...

Re: Ubiquiti all the things: How I fixed my dodgy Wi-Fi

#245

Post by zwily »

caycep wrote: post #244

For a ~$1500 square feet house, how are their AmplifiHD consumer WiFi Mesh network products? The reviews seem to say they are more consistent than Eero/Google equivalents. Also, my one paranoid worry about routers are the frequency of security updates...my TP-link hasn't had a patch for 2 years, and I'm hoping Ubiquiti has a better track record to avoid things like a Mirai infestation...

Ubiquiti Unifi updates are pretty consistent, and I've never had any problems installing them.

Re: Ubiquiti all the things: How I fixed my dodgy Wi-Fi

#246

Post by Johnny555 »

csmajorfive wrote: post #114
Johnny555 wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could use a pair of airfiber stations to get over 1 Gbit/sec. But they are not cheap. You'd probably be better off finding a way to run fiber (or even cat5) to get 10 gigabit.

Well my current solution works fine. I have an AC87 in each closet. The one with the gear runs in "wireless bridge" mode. I'm attracted to the prosumer Unifi stuff but there doesn't seem to be a simple solution to bridging. The airFiber units in our hallway is a little too much. And there's no easy way to run cat5.

Its hard to get simpler or cheaper than a pair of $60 Nanobeams that will give you 400+ mbit of performance and the integrated 16dBi antennas will help reduce interference from other devices. Ubiquiti also has a Litebeam with a 23dBi antenna that's even cheaper - $49... I don't have any experience with those, but I assume they would work just as well (but proper aiming would be a little more critical with the higher gain antenna)

If your existing routers live in the closets, the Nanobeams can too, you just need to aim them at each other.

Re: Ubiquiti all the things: How I fixed my dodgy Wi-Fi

#247

Post by lostboys67 »

_x5tx wrote: post #187

Ubiquiti Unifi APs saved our network here at the company. Because everyone here uses macbook pros our network is about 95% wireless and lately we where suffering with connection drops and poor bandwith. We changed all our APs to ubiquiti unifi ap pro, now the coverage is awesome and we don't experience any kind of problems. I like the fact that you can control everything from a unified web app. We have an average of…

why not just move your mac users to wired which is what we did brought Ethernet adaptors for all the macs which spend most of there time on a desk and don't "need" wifi

Re: Ubiquiti all the things: How I fixed my dodgy Wi-Fi

#248

Post by legulere »

sheraz wrote: post #237
legulere wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A big house is more than what is sufficient and thus a waste of resources (space, heating/cooling, building materials, wifi routers, ...). Using up resources has negative outcomes (environmental impact, scarcity, bad work conditions like child work, ...) which are to be avoided. I guess that it's not that questionable that waste is bad, so the real question is what is sufficient or still allowable. For that I used Eu…

...and here comes the environment argument. This is a very, very, slippery slope. By this rationale we should just shut down all datacenters, stop driving, stop eating meat, tell gamers to power off, and go back to hang-drying our hand-washed laundry (even in cold wet places like Sweden). At what point does it stop? It seems that you believe that you are different from this guy -- having achieved some moral superiori…

I wouldn't describe it as a slippery slope, but as a discussion point of what is considered excess. Of course you could argue that the bare needs of humans are relatively low, but you can also argue that the needs are pretty high to be able to live a fulfilled life (which is generally what I am thinking).

It's good to shutdown datacenters when they're not needed, but if you need them you need them. It's good not to drive if you don't need to. Luckily I can rely almost totally on public transport but for most people that's not possible so it's okay to use a car. It's good to eat less meat, but also I eat meat because it makes my life better.

> It seems that you believe that you are different from this guy

I'm assuming that I'm not and that life is pretty comparable in the western world, which is why I'm questioning why 500 square meters is excessive here in Europe but not in the USA or Australia.

> having achieved some moral superiority by virtue of "European-ness."

Not really, there are also issues where the US is doing better than Europe (gay marriage, legalisation of drugs)

> Who cares? Enjoy yourself

I think everyone should care about the effects of what they're doing, but everyone also has the right to enjoy themselves. I just don't see how a 500 square meter home helps enjoying yourself.

Re: Ubiquiti all the things: How I fixed my dodgy Wi-Fi

#249

Post by ksk »

shmerl wrote: post #35

> I got a variety of responses including that I should install the open source dd-wrt firmware... No, no, a hundred times no... Silly. If the author doesn't want to follow good advice, too bad for him. I'm using WRT1900ACS with DD-WRT. It works like a charm. > if I buy a product then I expect it to work as advertised and not need to implement hacks to keep it alive. It's not a "hack". It's installing a better quality…

There is no evidence that using DD-WRT would have solved their problem, or was even the right choice. Its a consumer grade solution that's in-between okay and good.

Re: Ubiquiti all the things: How I fixed my dodgy Wi-Fi

#250

Post by flyinghamster »

luckydude wrote: post #227

I had 3 of the same Linksys boxes, had exactly the same problems, moved to UniFi stuff and couldn't be happier. I've got two APs in the main house, one in the barn (man cave, exercise room), and still have one Linksys in the guest house. Which gets power cycled when I need it. I really don't get how Linksys screwed the pooch, but they did. $300 AP that doesn't work. Edit: one config that made them work better for me…

I've had cold feet about Linksys ever since Belkin acquired them.* I'm still running a couple of refurbished D-Link DIR825-C1 units (dual-band N300) with DD-WRT on both, and they work beautifully. I don't see any great need at this time to switch to 802.11ac.

Since I bought them specifically to run DD-WRT, reflashing them wasn't a big deal for me, though it wasn't quite as easy to do as reflashing a classic WRT54G.

* Belkin has been on my "don't buy anything of theirs except cables, and even then look for an alternative" list ever since their 2003 router spam fiasco. Sure, they backed off, but the fact that they even considered doing such a thing in the first place is asinine. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/11/07/help_my_belkin_route... (sorry for the Reg link, they weren't that bad in that era)

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