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Comment by mtillman

2 days ago

Recently switched from a UDM Pro Max to a Firewalla Gold Pro and couldn't be happier about the move. Software that works > software that has everything but requires magic to get checkboxes to adhere to a save state-this is a common issue with UniFi Network options. They need far better QA before I recommend anyone use them as an OS.

1 of numerous examples: https://community.ui.com/questions/Device-Static-IP-Not-Savi...

Might be better, but it’s 4x the cost. Firewalla Gold SE at $509, vs UniFi Cloud Gateway Ultra at $129. In my experience, the software does work fine. Works way better out of the box than most routers I’ve used.

  • Yeah I use an OpenWRT router that cost ~$125 and should have just about all of the capability of the $500 Firewalla

    • Yeah when I got 10 Gbit internet at home, all the options for a router looked really expensive so I bought a Lenovo ThinkCentre Tiny for $80 + $20 for the riser+NIC, and installed OpenWRT on it. Runs like a charm, power draw is a the same as the ISP's monthly rental router.

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What issues did you encounter when using Unifi?

From what I’ve seen, Unifi seems like the closest to an "Apple-like" experience - especially given how much more robust their capabilities are compared to most other providers.

  • The idea that Ubiquiti pushes out buggy software as production-ready and that we're all their beta testers is a pretty common meme on their subreddit.

    • > … pushes out buggy software as production-ready and that we're all their beta testers is a pretty common …

      this is such a pet peeve of mine lately. companies are doing this all over the map now, from cars (especially self-driving), games, network equipment, entire software suites… and on and on.

      i absolutely did not opt in to be a beta tester as a random human on public ways. i did not opt in to be a beta tester for your search engine results. i did not opt in to be a beta tester for the games i spend $90+ on. i did not opt in to beta test your company’s network equipment which we paid full price for.

      build and closed test your products with interested parties who explicitly opt-in and quit forcing and charging us to be experiments in your company’s r&d.

    • I hear this talked about in the past but is it still true today?

      I've at least never experienced it (and I stick to the Stable/Release channel).

      I have 4 AP, 9 cameras, NVR and Dream Machine - I guess I got lucky over the 2.5 years I've had Unifi.

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    • I haven't found that to be the case on Stable channel.

      (I do notice people on forums love to use Early Access update channel where... YMMV).

  • I couldn't get my Elgato Key Light Air (or whatever its called) to work on my Unifi network - something was amiss with the WLAN settings that others reported was specific to unifi.

    I didn't like how they stopped supporting on-prem Unifi Video server, and only allow you to use it with a hardware appliance now.

    They moved beyond "just build good product" and into unwanted cloud services and closed ecosystem.

    If this is a re-opening of some of their self-hosting, then great. They're back to par, I guess?

    • > Elgato Key Light Air (or whatever its called) to work on my Unifi network

      I also have struggled with this, and spent many hours bashing my head against a specific setting in PFSense that requires a plugin to enable.

      Then, I thought to try updating the firmware on my Unifi WiFi AP, and have had (almost) no problems ever since. It has taught me to think twice about spending $100+ on a piece of niche electronics that can only be controlled if it is compatible with your WiFi...

  • That was definitely the case. It's not always the case anymore.