Ubiquiti Unifi-Ap

Ubiquiti Unifi Access Points are used in a variety of buildings for both management WiFi and apartment WiFi for members.

There are a few different models, but they all have relatively the same configuration steps. (Scroll down for configuration instructions)

Models:

UAP-AC-M (Commonly called "rabbit ears AP"):

• Price $100 (also comes in 3 packs and 5 packs) Purchase Link
  

These are often used as management WiFi access points in equipment racks and on rooftops. They are water proof, suitable for outdoor deployment, have easy mounting options and provide 2.4 GHz and 5Ghz networks.

   

 

UAP-AC-M-PRO (Sometimes called "Flat Panel AP")

• Price $200 (also comes in 5 pack) Purchase Link

These APs are often used to provide WiFi for outdoor areas, plazas and similar places. We are using them at Grand St Guild and Saratoga for the outdoor WiFi at these locations.

They have slightly higher transmit power than the UAP-AC-M rabbit ears along with being able to handle more devices simultaneously.

UAP-AC-IW (In Wall)

Price: 179$ for U6 (WiFi 6 Version, 149$ for U7 (WiFi 7 Version). Purchase Link for U6 Purchase Link for U7

These wall mounted APs are being used in a large number of our full building installs, such as 50th St and Lily House.
They are designed to mount on a standard electrical box, are POE powered and provide 1-4 ethernet ports on the bottom (depending on the model).

   

Firmware Information:

Here's Ubiquiti's instructions for updating the firmware.

We usually download the 4.3.20 update and choose the "Updating without internet..." option using scp.

As of 2021 the latest firmware 4.3.28 has very short uptime (<30 days), so we are using a stable older version 4.3.20 (copy this link)

Never use 4.3.28 or later, as the device will go down and require a site visit to reboot!

The devices are coming with very old firmware that isn't even compatible with the controller so step one is to SSH into the AP and upgrade it to 4.3.20.

Meshing:

Most of these APs support both wired uplink and wireless meshing. Wireless meshing allows the AP to serve as a repeater to extend another AP's network in situations where it doesn't have it's own wired uplink. (It still requires a network cable plugged into a POE power source).
Performance with meshing isn't great, so a wired uplink is always the first choice, but it can be helpful to maintain connection when cables fail or are impossible to install.

Setup doesn't work over wireless meshing! You must connect the AP with a wired uplink to complete setup, then it can be disconnected and deployed where it will  operate with only wireless meshing.

Configuration Instructions:

See Ubiquiti Unifi AP Adaption Guide.

Unifi AP's are monitored and controlled with Unifi Controller (https://unifi.nycmesh.net:8443/) (Only accessible from inside the mesh)
Reach out in #infra-unifi-uisp for credentials.

Devices are arranged in a number of sites to simplify management and keep things organized.

Layout of Unifi Sites:

Site Name:	Usage:
Parks and Public Places	Parks, public WiFi APs, misc rooftop APs on smaller nodes
Hubs Admin	Racks or rooftop APs on major hubs
<NN> - <Hub/Node Name>	Specific hubs or buildings (including full building apartment installs)
Default	Not Used