Unifi Inwall APs - care to share experience

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Unifi Inwall APs - care to share experience

mailmarshall

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#290747 1-Dec-2021 15:20

Hi there has anyone got the Unifi Inwall Access points (UAP-AC-IW and the UAP-AC-IW-Pro)?

Whats the experience been in terms of speed and mesh? I am thinking of getting a couple for a double storey house which already has single rj45 sockets.

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#2822641 1-Dec-2021 15:24

I'm running 3 of the UAP-IW-HDs across a 278sqm double story house for about 13 months. I've had zero issues with them, all are hardwired and I make use of the inbuilt switch on all of them.

Can comfortable max out 866Mbps across them on 80MHz 5GHz channels, performance across both 5GHz and 2.4GHz is perfect.

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#2822643 1-Dec-2021 15:48

We've deployed half a dozen each to two clients homes. Really positive feedback from both clients. They are only small devices with small antenna, plus they are low to the ground with lots of obsticles like(like cabinets and bookshelves etc) so go with a higher number.

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Mehrts

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#2822651 1-Dec-2021 16:06

I use both the AC-IW and the IW-HD.

Both are great units, very convenient with the Ethernet ports on the bottom, with one of those being able to pass through 48v PoE. They mount on any vertical single flush box. They could be mounted horizontally, but would look a bit strange.

The IW-HD has awesome wifi due to the 4x4 MIMO. I have one mounted behind the TV cabinet in the lounge, and I still manage ~500Mbps up & down over wifi.
The AC-IW is still pretty good with 2x2 MIMO, with ~300Mbps achieved over it.

Since you mentioned it, the AC-IW-Pro is EOL (End of Life), and shouldn't be purchased unless you get a super great deal.

Mehrts

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#2822652 1-Dec-2021 16:10

evilonenz:
Can comfortable max out 866Mbps across them on 80MHz 5GHz channels

That's the link speed, not the actual throughput you'll achieve. Real world figures are roughly half of this, which is still a decent number though.

ghettomaster

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#2822656 1-Dec-2021 16:17

I’m also considering these. My concern is that they could go EOL. Other than a crystal ball is there a way to find out what the deal is with this?

Mehrts

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#2822662 1-Dec-2021 16:31

ghettomaster: I’m also considering these. My concern is that they could go EOL. Other than a crystal ball is there a way to find out what the deal is with this?

Like anything Unifi related, they can be EOL'd at any time. If you're lucky they'll announce this with plenty of warning.

Since they're coming out with the wifi 6 range of APs at the moment, you could either hold off until the U6-IW is a thing, or purchase an IW-HD which is the least likely to be EOL'd compared to the AC-IW.

Even if they are deemed EOL, they'll still function for a long time after this. Don't hold back.

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wratterus

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#2822667 1-Dec-2021 16:47

Installed plenty and always find them great. Never actually had a failure of one yet, or any of the indoor UniFi AC radios for that matter. Not sure why you'd want to mesh with them when they need to be powered by PoE anyway? Assume they would mesh like any other UniFi AP though.

Coverage is obviously not amazing compared to say a ceiling mounted UAP, but they are lower gain antenna, and lower power output, so that is as expected. For a quick & simple retrofit in a premises that already has structured cabling, they are great. PoE passthrough for an IP phone for example is awesome, and the inbuilt switch is great when you only have a single cable run, but need a couple of ports.

Even if they are EOL'd, they'll still work fine with an older controller version.

A switch like the TP-Link SG108PE or SG1210P is great for a cheap option to power them, or even the SG1005LP if you don't need many ports. You could of course get a UniFi switch too, but if you don't need any smart features, any old 802.3af switch will work fine.

sparkz25

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#2822691 1-Dec-2021 17:59

One of the best things since sliced bread! I have one behind my TV and it works perfectly, even both switch ports are in use with one passing POE

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#2822692 1-Dec-2021 18:03

I am over my IW-AC-PROs they work great but unsupported after just 3 years and wont upgrade past 4.2

The UAP-AC-Pro will upgrade to 5

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wratterus

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#2822697 1-Dec-2021 18:28

Not defending UBNT & their propensity to EOL a product just cause the person in charge of the firmware updates is having a bad day, but you should be able to run 5.14.23 on those AC-IW-PRO no issues. I've found 5.14 to be very stable (on the wireless front anyway).

mailmarshall

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#2822740 1-Dec-2021 20:36

Thanks all. I am looking at installing one of the inwall APs in the corridor between 3 kids bedrooms. From the feedback it seems might need more than one if I want my sanity!

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evilonenz

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#2822863 2-Dec-2021 07:46

Mehrts:

evilonenz:
Can comfortable max out 866Mbps across them on 80MHz 5GHz channels

That's the link speed, not the actual throughput you'll achieve. Real world figures are roughly half of this, which is still a decent number though.

I realise this is the link speed, but I can still obtain about 800+Mbps of actual real world speed over the link without issue.

Smokeping

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sbiddle

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#2822871 2-Dec-2021 08:05

evilonenz:

Mehrts:

evilonenz:
Can comfortable max out 866Mbps across them on 80MHz 5GHz channels

That's the link speed, not the actual throughput you'll achieve. Real world figures are roughly half of this, which is still a decent number though.

I realise this is the link speed, but I can still obtain about 800+Mbps of actual real world speed over the link without issue.

You can't get real world 800Mbps on a 2x2 AP with a MCS9 866 PHY - real world throughout over WiFi will always be around ~55% of PHY

Zeon

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#2822878 2-Dec-2021 08:12

sparkz25:

One of the best things since sliced bread! I have one behind my TV and it works perfectly, even both switch ports are in use with one passing POE

Out of interest what device behind the TV are you powering off PoE?

Speedtest 2019-10-14