One of the advantages of WiFi 6 is that it allows devices to use the same WiFi channels by breaking up the channel into smaller groups (Resource Units). This way more devices can communicate at the same time. Other improvements are MU-MIMO in both downlink and uplink direction, Target Wait Time, Dynamic fragmentation, and more. The 2.4 GHz band of the U6-Lite features 2x2 MIMO technology with a radio rate of 300 Mbps. This band offers versatility, making it suitable for a wide range of devices and applications, ensuring that you can connect effectively across various scenarios. Efficient Power Delivery

Doubling your channel width increases the noise floor by 3 dB, reducing SNR and your range by around 30% each time. For most home networks is the Unifi 6 lite the best choice, it’s fast enough, reasonable priced, and not too big. The nanoHD covers are really great when you need to place the access point in sight.Again, keep in mind that these tests didn’t show the full potential of the access points. They are capable of even higher throughputs when using multiple clients (or multiple threads) or if you have a client with a WiFi 6 3×3 adapter, for example.

Ruud, thanks for sharing your tests. Please kindly advise on my situation. We live in the U.S. in an L-shaped single-story, wood framed/drywall home. The current router/AP is a Orbi which I want to replace with a hard wired router/switch that will accept 5-6 wired devices (presently using 4) and add a Unifi 6 AP and am between the Lite and LR. The current Orbi is positioned at the “corner” of the L-Shaped floorplan on the floor. The bedrooms are located off one wing of the home with the furthest about 35-40 feet away from the AP. The family room is the furthest room on the other wing of the home, about 55 feet away. We have horrible cellular reception here and rely on WiFi. Probably 25 wifi clients in total connected to the network. I had a satellite Orbi connected to main Orbi but were getting constant dropouts so unplugged it. The stability improved greatly. Would you recommend the Lite or LR? What would be a good wired router/switch to use with the Unifi AP? I had previously tried an Edgerouter with the Orbi in AP model and could not get it working. I’ve since removed the wired router and am using the Orbi for both routing and AP. Thoughts on which Unifi AP and what type of wired router to use? Thank you ~ MikeThe size of the U6 LR on the other hand is increased a lot compared to the old model. It’s the same size as the old Unifi HD access point. The new long-range access point is splash and dust resistant (IP54 rated), which means you can place it semi-outdoors under a porch for example. Upstairs I have placed the U6 lite and measured the speed from my office. Between the access point and my office are two drywalls.

Before running the tests I first connected both notebooks with an ethernet cable to the switch, run the test, which resulted in a 960Mbit connection speed.I had set the transmit power to high and used channel 6 (which was used the least) to test the 2.4 GHz performance. Setting the transmit power to high can result in the access point over shouting the client. The test was done with a clear line of sight, at a distance of 7 meters. You can also run the test with multiple threads, which can increase the total speed that you can get, to do this use the -P switch: iperf3 -c 192.168.1.10 -P 5 -t 10 Wrapping Up One of the big perks of the newer standard is its increased support for devices, so unless you have a collection of devices that actually support 802.11ax connectivity, you won’t really be able to reap the full benefits. When we look at the signal strength we see again a great improvement between the lite models and only a minimal to no improvement between the long-range models. Unifi 6 Speed increase after replacing the access points

The U6-Lite is designed for efficient power delivery, utilising Gigabit Ethernet and powered with 802.3af/48V PoE. This not only simplifies cabling but also ensures reliable and consistent power, enhancing the overall performance and stability of your network. Enhanced Flexibility Analogy: Instead of sending “H E L L O”, Wi-Fi devices send “Hotel Echo Lima Lima Oscar”. The receiving device can then understand the transmission even if a few characters are dropped. WtcSetMaxStaNum: MaxStaNum:230, BssidNum:8, WdsNum:16, MSTANum:1, MaxNumChipRept:32, MinMcastWcid:279 So, where does that leave our recommendation of the existing UniFi Wi-Fi 6 access points? If you’re looking to finally upgrade your whole network to finally get in on the new standard, I’d say waiting out the end of the year may be beneficial. Many of the existing access points provide the same, if not better, performance regardless of the Wi-Fi 6 status, for now. It’s worth noting that Ubiquiti does have a new UniFi access point in the works that seems to target the higher-end side of Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. Though it’s currently in the Early Access store, we can’t really discuss its specific feature set, although we’ll be excited to see how it changes things upon release later this year. For the next test, I switched over to my MacBook Pro and it’s 3 spatial stream Wi-Fi 5 radio. This is an interesting test because it shows the impact of an additional spatial stream, and removes the highest-end modulation and longer symbol duration of Wi-Fi 6. This is a more even playing field, and the U6-LR and AC-HD rightfully pull ahead due to their 4x4 MIMO radios.

Efficient Power Delivery

The UniFi line is great but can be a bit confusing for beginners to understand. So I have put together this comparison of their latest Wi-Fi6 compatible access points – the U6 Lite vs. U6 Pro vs. U6 LR (LR = Long Range). Without the advantage of 4 spatial streams or Wi-Fi 6 enhancements, the U6-Lite falls behind. I couldn’t get my MacBook Pro to associate to a 40 MHz channel on any of these APs, so I excluded those results from this test. I believe Apple uses the “ fat channel intolerant” setting on their devices. As always, 5 GHz is the best option for speed, and 40 MHz channels on 2.4 GHz should be avoided in most situations. As for which of the UniFi Wi-Fi 6 access points that we’re putting to the rest, I’ve added two of the standard U6 Lite models into my setup. As the option Ubiquiti notes as being ideal for home use, it’s the better of the two releases right now for setting up in residential deployments. Here’s a breakdown of the specs: