Ubiquiti unifi ap controller no good from windows 8?

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MadEngineer

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#169835 27-Mar-2015 13:28

First time trying Ubiquiti so far not so good

Firstly the installer complains about java, for which there is a work around https://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi-Wireless/Java-8-support-notes-for-UniFi-3-2-7-4-2-0-and-beyond/td-p/1085543 - need to edit the shortcuts.

Then I simply cannot see the ap from within the controller or the discovery utility.

I'll have to try my windows 7 laptop later, but this isn't looking good. Why should the setup of these devices be so difficult?

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#1269029 27-Mar-2015 13:48

They have never presented a challenge to me, but have never done this on Windows 8.

Normally we use the method of setting a DNS entry for 'unifi' on a customer's site and having that DNS entry point to the IP address of the management server. We have one central server, not one per client site.

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graemeh

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#1269043 27-Mar-2015 14:09

Try logging in to the access point to see if it can see the controller.

I suspect it may be windows firewall or something messing you up. I think I had this problem initially with windows 8 but it is working now with Windows 8.1 and Unifi software version 3.2.7

wasabi2k

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#1269063 27-Mar-2015 14:39

I have the controller running on 2012, accessing software from windows 8 PC.

What issue are you having exactly?

Make sure port 8443 is open on the device running the controller, then add a DNS entry for unifi pointing to the controller.

Reboot AP.

edit:
Check the AP is getting an IP from DHCP
You can telnet or ssh (I forget which) to the AP with the username admin
Run show log and see what it is doing

MadEngineer

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#1269174 27-Mar-2015 18:07

ok so the controller software doesn't work out of the box with java 8 which came out just over a year ago.

i'm now trying dhcp option 43 on my mikrotik but I had already tried set-inform which also failed. Unless i'm simply doing it wrong as i'm not seeing the device in either the unifi software or the unifi discovery utility.

at this stage i'm only able to configure the device through ssh but disappointing that it should be this hard.

firewall on the windows machine is turned off

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MadEngineer

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#1269184 27-Mar-2015 18:27

I had uninstalled the software and after re-installing and a restart it looks like the controller webserver isn't even reachable from even the local machine

fail

same java issues under windows 7 - need to edit the shortcuts

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chevrolux

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#1269193 27-Mar-2015 18:38

CAPsMAN is a much more fun time lol.

Have to admit I've been converted to Mikrotik. The wireless settings are just so much more flexible than Ubiquiti. In saying that, we run a Unifi v3 controller on a debian instance just to provision AP's and don't have a problem at all. I would say everytime we tried to run it on windows we ran in to problems, mainly java.

MadEngineer

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#1269277 27-Mar-2015 20:52

I'm thinking the same. As a mikrotik nut, imagine my surprise that you pretty much only configure the ssid and key and you're done. I went digging for more settings but because this is purely an AP there's no routing or firewall configuration. I remember a comment someone made that unifi looks great on paper but isn't so great irl.

I can see some benefits but it's certainly not a device you could sell someone with limited experience and know that they'll be able to simply configure it despite the marketing. Definitely limited to the WISP realm.

I'm still seeing further bugs with the software too - after selecting and adding a custom map the configure maps pop-up refused to go away until I repeatedly clicked close more than a dozen times.

I'll have to have a look at airos in the other devices

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Delphinus

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#1271486 28-Mar-2015 14:58

I've done an install on a Win8.1 machine a week or two ago. Can't recall any major issues. 8 AP's running off it with hotspot managed for a motel.

Dynamic

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#1271501 28-Mar-2015 15:44

Interesting to hear these opinions. The Unifi gear is one of the few brands that I trust enough to deploy internationally. We have a decent numver deployed over the last 3+ years with zero issues.

In the unlikely event of an issue I can get one from anywhere and have it went directly to site to have the client connect it up in place of an existing unit with zero hassles with zero advanced configuration.

Brilliant gear IMHO.

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richms

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#1271505 28-Mar-2015 15:53

unifi on the DNS server seems to do the trick.

For family members I have them at their place with a URL back to a server at my place to manage them. No DNS entry at their place so I have to manually SSH in and set the inform URL, but once that is done, its adopted and you SSH in and set it again, you can send it anywhere and it will still check in fine. Sometimes they briefly show as offline but it is coming in from places that have dodgey ADSL etc.

I really wish they would allow management of all their APs via unifi as its so much easier than hitting up web interfaces on things like the nanostations need you to do. Plus seeing when devices connect and disconnect and what AP they are on from a central screen helps with figuring out why things are not working as they should.

I have the server running on a 7 machine because I had issues with java on a server 2008 R2 machine. Doesnt need much, just a machine that is on so one of my downloading machines runs it.

Richard rich.ms

kierangio

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#1280863 11-Apr-2015 07:48

Can you please but a video online of the unified on trolled STARTING or any error codes.

Zeon

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#1280884 11-Apr-2015 08:57

There are a few major failings of UniFi:

No ability to configure individual APs - not so much a failing and probably linked to their positioning of the product but it does cut out a number of users who want to use it on both smaller as well as larger sites.
Why run something on Java - seriously it ALWAYS causes problems and is a bitch to setup
Need some crazy "converter" rather than using stock PoE
Not enough wireless settings

We run 3 Unifi APs and they run just fine and I like the central provisioning model but I would never choose one for home for example - even though the wireless performance is good.

Speedtest 2019-10-14

MadEngineer

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#1281036 11-Apr-2015 12:38

kierangio: Can you please but a video online of the unified on trolled STARTING or any error codes.

I think you're asking for a video of the unifi controller software starting? It's literally just pop up error windows with the errors:

error opening registry key 'software/javasoft/java runtime environment'
error: could not find java se runtime environment
error could not find java.dll

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kierangio

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#1281102 11-Apr-2015 14:55

That pretty not choice. Has it ever popped with cant find javaw.exe

kierangio

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#1281104 11-Apr-2015 15:00

MadEngineer:
kierangio: Can you please but a video online of the unified on trolled STARTING or any error codes.
I think you're asking for a video of the unifi controller software starting? It's literally just pop up error windows with the errors:

error opening registry key 'software/javasoft/java runtime environment'
error: could not find java se runtime environment
error could not find java.dll

On my Windows 7 machine, it was solved by doing the following:

In the START menu type "regedit" to open the Registry (be careful doing this)
Go to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" on the left-hand side registry explorer/tree menu
Click "SOFTWARE" within the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" registries
Click "JavaSoft" within the "SOFTWARE" registries
Click "Java Runtime Environment" within the "JavaSoft" list of registries
Highlight "CurrentVersion" (should see it in the main registry key explorer window on the right)
Change version to "1.7" or a later version thats earlier than your current version.

for windows 8:
Step 1
If you are on the Windows 8 desktop, point the cursor at the lower right corner of the screen. Click the “Search” option as soon as it pops up on the left-side of the screen. If you are on the Metro UI Start Screen, point the cursor at the lower left corner of the screen and click the right mouse button. Now select the “Search” option on the context menu.
Step 2
When you perform either of the above actions, Windows 8 will load the “Apps” screen. Type “regedit” into the search bar located on the right side of the “Apps” screen.
Step 3
Click the “regedit” search result on the left side of the “Apps” screen. If you see a UAC dialog box, click “Yes” to open the Windows 8 Registry Editor.

That is all... should work. Short of that, if you've already tried some other guides and/or messed up your registries, the most certain way to deal with the problem is to delete all previous versions of Java (using "Programs and Features" uninstall process) and then re-install just the version you want to work with. I'd suggest the distribution java site (as it usually has the most stable version)

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