Poor speeds and Range on Unifi AP-AC-LR

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Davout

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#268573 26-Mar-2020 15:27

Hi guys,

I figured we would upgrade our Wifi at home with a Unifi AP-AC-LR to give us a bit more range and flexibility with our WiFi over an old D-Link 4320L.

I need someone smarter than me to tell me whether or not my expectations are realistic. We are on a 900/400 connection.

So far the results have been absolutely terrible.

Testing from the same location as the D-Link, the speeds I get are poor. I could get 280up/300down from my desktop, now I am lucky to get 200/150. The my iPhone 11 Pro Max which gets 350+/400+ on the D-link consistently is the same - a few times I have seen similar upload, but the download is usually around sub-200, often between 90-100.

This would have been acceptable if there was an improvement in range, but this too has gotten worse. Speed drops sooner within the house, and I've effectively lost all connectivity outside of the house - we used to get at least 5-7m outside the house before.

Does this sound like an issue that can be worked on? Does this sound normal?

This is just disheartening.

sbiddle

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#2447280 26-Mar-2020 15:39

Where and how is your AP mounted?

You also had something before that had omni antennas - the UniFi does not have an omnidirectional antenna pattern.

CYaBro

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#2447282 26-Mar-2020 15:41

What frequency are your devices connecting to the AC-LR on?

Is your desktop using wifi?
Can you get a cable connected directly to the router to see what speeds your connection is actually giving you?

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

wratterus

1687 posts

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#2447306 26-Mar-2020 16:08

In my experience the AC-LR APs generally give noticeably better signal than your average AIO assuming they are mounted correctly.

I frequently see upwards of 400 - 450 mbps with a 2x2 AC client on AC-LR & AC-Pro APs with an 80mhz channel width.

What frequency, channel width & band steering settings (if any) do you have set on the UAP?

What band did you used to connect to for your coverage outdoors on the D-Link? What model D-Link did you have?

cyril7

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#2447316 26-Mar-2020 16:20

Hi, what bandwidth is the 5GHz radio set to best results are 40MHz if you have more than 2 WAPS and 80MHz if just two or less, you should also set bandsteering to prefer 5GHz.

Cyril

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#2447318 26-Mar-2020 16:21

wratterus:

In my experience the AC-LR APs generally give noticeably better signal than your average AIO assuming they are mounted correctly.

I frequently see upwards of 400 - 450 mbps with a 2x2 AC client on AC-LR & AC-Pro APs with an 80mhz channel width. ...

As above.

With a gigabit fibre connection and one AC-LR AP (5GHz, 80 mhz channel width) on our hall ceiling, I typically get better than 400mbps up and down throughout a single-story house - on a "bad" day 350mbps.

Sideface

Davout

111 posts

Master Geek

#2447326 26-Mar-2020 16:31

wratterus:

In my experience the AC-LR APs generally give noticeably better signal than your average AIO assuming they are mounted correctly.

I frequently see upwards of 400 - 450 mbps with a 2x2 AC client on AC-LR & AC-Pro APs with an 80mhz channel width.

What frequency, channel width & band steering settings (if any) do you have set on the UAP?

What band did you used to connect to for your coverage outdoors on the D-Link? What model D-Link did you have?

I don't have it mounted yet, I am trying to figure out where to best mount it. Is that likely the issue?

5GHz @ VTH80 / 2.4 @ VTH20, I have 2.4 and 5 separated.

D-Link Taipan 4320L AC3200, again 2.4 and 5 are separated.

[Wired connections get about 800/450.]

wratterus

1687 posts

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#2447329 26-Mar-2020 16:37

Crikey well as AIOs go that is pretty up there, has 3x3 on 5GHz and beam forming too. On paper the UAP-AC-LR is much lower spec, although I would still have it over the D-Link personally. 😜

There is definitely something going on though as you should be seeing at least 400mbps with a 2x2 AC client if you are near the UAP regardless of how it's mounted.

Do you have the UniFi controller running or did you use the app to configure the UAP?

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cyril7

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#2447333 26-Mar-2020 16:39

Not that it will affect performance in this case but why have you separated them

Cyril

Davout

111 posts

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#2447343 26-Mar-2020 16:51

cyril7: Not that it will affect performance in this case but why have you separated them

Cyril

The D-Link always kicks me down to 2.4 and stuck there. Figured that's the best way to use, especially for things which are nearby.

cyril7

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#2447345 26-Mar-2020 16:53

If you use the band steering in the UniFi you get pretty well always on the best band for you location, infact 100% of the time, its very successful technique

Cyril

ackley

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#2459482 11-Apr-2020 17:56

Yea the speed and range improvement I got from going from a UAP-AC-Lite to UAP-AC-LR was not that great. Nothing really noticeable. In fact I ended up using the two WiFi Aps around the house.

I notice that walls and floors block signal significantly. I positioned my best I could and even made up some brackets so the AP would "point up" into the roof. The signal apparently is a doughnut shape.

Ideally I would probably have a AP per floor with LOS to all areas. For my sons room the distance is probably only 10m but by the time it gets through 2 floors and 3 walls the signal has dropped off completely.

Having a wife paranoid about wifi radiation doesn't help.

hio77

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Lizard Networks

#2459487 11-Apr-2020 18:25

considering the drop in MIMO, That drop in raw throughput isn't surprising.

You will likely find more consistency with the UAP though.

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Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

sbiddle

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#2459511 11-Apr-2020 19:38

ackley:

Yea the speed and range improvement I got from going from a UAP-AC-Lite to UAP-AC-LR was not that great. Nothing really noticeable. In fact I ended up using the two WiFi Aps around the house.

I notice that walls and floors block signal significantly. I positioned my best I could and even made up some brackets so the AP would "point up" into the roof. The signal apparently is a doughnut shape.

Ideally I would probably have a AP per floor with LOS to all areas. For my sons room the distance is probably only 10m but by the time it gets through 2 floors and 3 walls the signal has dropped off completely.

Having a wife paranoid about wifi radiation doesn't help.

The signal is not a donut shape - the "round" UniFi radios are not omnidirectional antennas. The patterns are here but unless you understand what these mean it won't make a lot of sense.

The antenna pattern from a "round" UniFi is roughly downwards and outwards. If you want a donut shape antenna pattern you would need to buy something like a Mesh AC radio which has two omnidirectional antennas.

KiwiSurfer

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#2459523 11-Apr-2020 20:18

ackley:

Yea the speed and range improvement I got from going from a UAP-AC-Lite to UAP-AC-LR was not that great. Nothing really noticeable. In fact I ended up using the two WiFi Aps around the house.

We have an older Unifi AP-LR model (which is 2.4 GHz only) in service covering the living area of our property. Its range is not that great either compared to the Netcomm from Slingshot it replaced at the same location. I thought that was really odd as I was hoping the LR model would have a better range allowing the entire property to be covered by the one AP. But in reality I found the coverage to be more or less on par. Only advantage I noticed was it handled multiple clients somewhat better especially with simultaneous traffic demands.

In the end, we added another older AP (a non-LR 2.4 GHz only model as I realised it was not worth the money getting the LR model) to our bedroom area and found it worked better having two APs. This was my plan all along though the terrible performance of the LR hastened the addition of the 2nd AP.

Current network has the Unifi AP-LR (2.4 GHz only) still in service in the main area of our property; while our bedroom now has the AP-AC-Lite (a newer 2.4 & 5 GHz unit repacing the older Unifi AP unit). I can attest that the AP-AC-Lite performs really well (to the point when I have video calls I often find it better to do it in our bedroom). After the lockdown I intend to replace the old LR with a newer AC-Lite.

Moral of the story: Unifi APs are great but I reckon you do need multiple APs to achieve the best outcome. The current AC series with 5 GHz are much better too. The AC-Lite is so cheap it's worth getting two or more. We previously had a Netcomm router with a Netgear extender (wasn't my decision, my SO set these up before I moved in) and it was woeful with daily complaints from family members living with us. Going to 2x Unifi APs (even the older 2.4 GHz units) has transformed the QOS to the point I can't remember the last complaint!