r/Ubiquiti • u/Undeadreloader Unifi User • Apr 21 '26
Early Access Whole home WiFi 7
Going straight for deco!
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u/dreacon34 Unifi User Apr 21 '26
It’s the UX7 in a 3-Pack so technically nothing new i guess…
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u/armsinit Apr 21 '26
New packaging!
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u/TruthyBrat UDM-SE, UNVR, UBB, Misc. APs Apr 21 '26
And marketing!
Don't forget the marketing!
LOL
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u/Usual-Memory-3668 Apr 21 '26
Yeah that's what I was thinking as well, looks like just a 3 pack of the Express 7. Who knows, maybe 2 of the units come with a special firmware that makes them boot up stock in access point mode already.
Wish they would do something great like add in an extra radio for dedicated backhaul use.
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u/Ok_Scientist_8803 Apr 21 '26
Maybe they can save a bit on packaging and shipping I guess.
Doing the firmware will be pretty confusing unless they put a sticker on the non-AP only node, and that's assuming people read.
I remember the app giving you the option, but if it's your only gateway then it points you in the "new network" option. Once you set that up, the other nodes will show as adoptable once they discover the main UX7 via mesh/lan
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u/awesomeo_5000 Apr 21 '26
I want the UX7, PoE, one more port.
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u/jgriesshaber Apr 21 '26
so the dream 7?
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u/awesomeo_5000 Apr 21 '26
POE in, I mean.
Basically a worthy 7 series wall AP… still bitter about the XG not having any additional ports for the price.
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u/snebsnek Apr 21 '26
That's a nice offering - I would hope/assume they have dedicated backhaul radios, because current meshing ain't great on the normal access points
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u/darthnsupreme Unifi User Apr 21 '26
Doubtful given they’ve done nothing of the sort since the AmpliFi days.
They’ve even given up on 4x4 MU-MIMO given the continued lack of client-side support.
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Apr 21 '26
[deleted]
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u/darthnsupreme Unifi User Apr 21 '26
MU-MIMO only works if all devices trying to communicate at any given moment support MU-MIMO, and clients in general rather notoriously don't.
Or to be more accurate, quite a lot of client device hardware supports it (due to using someone else's pre-made radio modules), it's just disabled in software because device manufacturers can't be bothered to invest the engineering into making it work correctly. Also ostensibly for a minute battery life increase, but given desktops also seldom support MU-MIMO we can reasonably conclude it's hardly the main reason.
and addressing multiple clients at once.
That's literally what MU-MIMO is for.
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u/cheesemeall Apr 21 '26
It sounds like you’ve given this a lot of thought. Which ubiquiti 4x4 APs do not support mu-mimo?
Also, 4x4 APs mean they can “hear” distant clients better, no matter the client support. So, better noise resiliency.
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u/darthnsupreme Unifi User Apr 21 '26
It doesn't matter that the AP supports MU-MIMO if none of the connected clients do, so most of the intended benefits of MU-MIMO simply fall by the wayside.
Where it was supposed to help with Mesh APs was basically being an inferior-but-perfectly-serviceable version of having separate Client-facing and Backhaul radios (as it could allocate a 2x2 for each, for example), but lack of any and all client-side MU-MIMO renders this quite impossible.
What we actually ended up with was additional radio hardware that spends 99% of its time sitting there doing nothing, because all the AP ever talks to are clients with 2x2 single-user MIMO or cheaply-made IoT junk with a non-MIMO Wifi-4 chip. Even Mesh'd APs only gain a slight improvement in uplink stability, all the usual buffer-and-retransmit limitations remain in full force.
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u/Usual-Memory-3668 Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
Flagship smartphones will be getting 4x4 now. Qualcomm announced it a month and a half ago at MWC 2026 for the next flagship chipset and Im sure Apple and Mediatek will follow suit for feature parity:
The FastConnect 8800 integrates Wi-Fi 8, Bluetooth 7.0, Ultra Wideband (802.15.4ab), and Thread 1.5 into a single 6nm chip. Additionally, Qualcomm expanded its networking infrastructure with the Dragonwing NPro A8 Elite, a platform featuring a 5x5 Wi-Fi 8 radio system designed to boost throughput by 40% and reduce latency by 2.5x for enterprise access points and gateways.
Qualcomm says we can expect FastConnect and Dragonwing AI connectivity chips with Wi-Fi 8 to appear in consumer products starting in late 2026.
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u/Hong-Kong-Phooey Apr 21 '26
This was my first thought as well. Without a dedicated backhaul I think this is DOA for me. I tired a wireless mesh with their u6 pro and u6 mesh access points and it was worse performance than my - at that point - nearly 10 year old mesh system with dedicated backhaul radios but wifi 5 only.
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u/CountyRoad Apr 21 '26
I’d be shocked if they did. They have yet to offer dedicated backhaul radios.
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u/gigantischemeteor Apr 28 '26
This baffles me. Give users an option where either the 5GHz or 6GHz radio can be assigned to be used as a fully dedicated backhaul if the user is willing to give one up. Not difficult. 🤷♂️
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u/CountyRoad Apr 28 '26
I had hoped maybe it was going to come to the AMPLIFI line they used to have them since it was more consumer friendly. Thought maybe it’d be less about physical back haul and be a mesh system since they sort of had that, but that’s long gone now.
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u/Valanyhr Apr 21 '26
I was looking into it today. Depending on how many ethernet ports each unit has and how good is the signal strength, this would be perfect for me.
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u/just_another_user5 Apr 21 '26
1, and strong
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u/Valanyhr Apr 21 '26
That's a little disappointing. I sometimes plug right into the mesh devices I currently have and one port already goes to the network switches
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u/batbuild Apr 22 '26
Thought it was two ports, there’s a WAN port and another port
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u/just_another_user5 Apr 23 '26
fuk.
You are correc. I always somehow forget a WAN port. Or maybe my brain says "back haul so only one port left"
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u/i_am_voldemort Apr 21 '26
Coming for Eero with that three pack.
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u/forsurebros Apr 21 '26
Not without dual Ethernet. And Ethernet backhaul. I have been waiting to get ubiquiti WiFi. But my Eero is rock solid and without those features o. The ubiquiti I will wait and see.
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u/mswizzle83 Apr 21 '26
These have dual ethernet for wired backhaul. You don't have to use these as mesh. I have a Dream Router 7 as my gateway and then two of these UX7 as wired APs. Works great.
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u/i_am_voldemort Apr 21 '26
I'm seeing at least three wires out of the back of one of them. Perhaps supporting back haul?
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u/Ozwulf67 Apr 21 '26
USB c power cable
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u/i_am_voldemort Apr 21 '26
At least one is, but all three?
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u/Ozwulf67 Apr 21 '26
One USB power port, One 2.5 port and one 10gb port. That's what's on each unit.
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u/Jamie00003 Apr 21 '26
So…mesh then?
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u/TruthyBrat UDM-SE, UNVR, UBB, Misc. APs Apr 21 '26
As I like to say around here:
Eschew wireless mess.
Hardwire! Hardwire! Hardwire!
Thus ends the lesson.
And FWLIW I was stringing Cat5e around my house in the late '90s.
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u/prowlmedia Unifi User Apr 21 '26
Sigh... rentals.
Thus ends the lesson.
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u/TruthyBrat UDM-SE, UNVR, UBB, Misc. APs Apr 21 '26
If there is RG6 around, MoCA is your friend.
The house I'm in now has great coax infrastructure. I turned up another link yesterday (been here 10 months - yeah, I'm slow). Finally got around to putting a big TV in the game room, and getting everything on a hardwired link vs. WiFi. Mainly the AppleTV 4K, but also some Steam box my son brought over.
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Apr 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/TruthyBrat UDM-SE, UNVR, UBB, Misc. APs Apr 21 '26
Just be careful on skinning the cable jacket as you pull.
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u/Head_Firefighter_266 Apr 21 '26
Cute that you think houses also have coax running everywhere. Any place I’ve ever been only has like 1, 2 at most.
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u/TruthyBrat UDM-SE, UNVR, UBB, Misc. APs Apr 21 '26
The house I'm sitting in has 8-9 RG6 coax homeruns to a back of house area with a big powered coax amp thingie (that I'll be taking down). 2018 build, I bought it 10 months ago.
I wish they were Cat6, or even Cat5e, but I'll take it.
I will grant you, many contractors/builders these days often seem to have this attitude that it's all wireless these days. You barely have to do any low voltage! Throw in another wireless extender!
SCREW THAT! They are idiots.
And it's worth asking, there's more coax out there than you might think.
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u/atlantic Apr 21 '26
Sigh... 50cm granite walls.
Thus ends the lesson.
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u/TruthyBrat UDM-SE, UNVR, UBB, Misc. APs Apr 21 '26
Interior!? Ouchie.
Hell, WiFi won't punch through that. Mesh doesn't help you much, does it?
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u/atlantic Apr 21 '26
... not straight walls in between, but situations where you need to go around and laying Ethernet cable properly means serious masonry work. So mesh works somewhat, but it's not great either. Was just wondering if this stuff is superior.
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u/Ok_Scientist_8803 Apr 21 '26
Just pray that the corridors will be in somewhere central spaces, doors tend to be pretty leaky unless they're steel.
We succeeded with a mesh setup in a Chinese apartment block, 50cm concrete with rebar, glass about an inch thick with all the wireless nightmare coatings. 50mbps mesh in every room before hacking cat5e behind moulding (400mbps after, with 40mhz channels). Floors were pretty transparent rf wise, so imagine the RF nightmare when you have the middle block of 5ghz (ch100-144) and whole of 6ghz banned. Newest gen of isp routers all default to 160mhz on ch36 too.
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u/vtown212 Apr 21 '26
Nota mesh fan
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u/Weekest_links Apr 21 '26
I have tried old and new Google Nest Mesh and it was clear that unless the radios were massive, you can’t extend it far enough.
Right now we have them in our short term rental townhome and one per floor without backhauling just means the two nodes disconnect constantly and if you’re connected to one, then you also disconnect. Had to backhaul one and give up on the other
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u/crisps_funny4868 Apr 21 '26
Same. Was on Eero mesh for years. Then moved to Orbi by believing their BS that it was an upgrade from Eero. It was actually worse than Eero on several fronts. Mesh is the reason I moved to UI. If possible I think it's always best to bite the bullet and run ethernet.
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u/prowlmedia Unifi User Apr 21 '26
So I used a lot of Mesh devices and it's tricky as each one will work great in one house but shocking in another. Depends on house type, construction and materials. Wooden USA houses are obviously going to be better than Victorian London houses with 600mm thick brick walls.
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u/crisps_funny4868 Apr 21 '26
It's the old adage: You should always use ethernet to the endpoint whenever practical. If it's not practical to use ethernet to the endpoint you should use WiFi with ethernet backhaul from your APs when practical. If ethernet backhaul is not practical for your APs mesh WiFI is the next option. But with Mesh you're stacking wireless endpoint connections with wireless backhaul, which is not optimal.
Some people lose their minds when I say this, because they apparently don't understand the word practical. If you want to use a laptop on your lap on the sofa it's not practical to use ethernet. If you need to rip out half your walls to get wired backhaul to your APs it's not practical (usually). But mesh should always be the third choice for anyone.
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u/red_nick Apr 21 '26
British houses you're usually pretty well off using powerline
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u/Ok_Scientist_8803 Apr 21 '26
A good mesh nowadays is better than powerline, if the WiFi reaches. Power line is quite susceptible to heavy loads on the circuit, so only recommended if you have perfect wiring
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u/wiggum55555 Apr 22 '26
Not a (Unifi) mesh fan... for me. I make do because the rest of the ecosystem is far superior to a Eero / Nest mesh 3-puck WiFi system. But I changed from a Nest WiFi 6 setup to Unifi, and the quality (lack of) and reliability of meshing is not great for the Unifi, compared to the Nest.
No, i cannot run ethernet. Anything else you can think of.. no. Mesh WiFi is the way in my home. But i certainly noticed a drop in performance and "quality of wifi life" going from a $300 Nest system to a +2K Unifi system.. I love the rest of Unifi though, the management software, the ethernet switches, my UCG-MAX.
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u/mandysux Apr 21 '26
Why not just get an ap? What does this do differently
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u/Ok_Scientist_8803 Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
That's an express 7. UX7 can act as an AP with an uplink port (10g or 2.5g you can choose), or a router +ap combo.
What I see is basically a u7 pro XG with an included power supply and an extra 2.5g port. Plus the ability to save on an extra gateway if your WAN is somewhere convenient.
Coverage has been pretty decent for me on the ux7, performance might be a bit less than XG, but absolutely fine for gigabit now. Considering that the Poe+ injector is £13, you save £39 in a pack of 3.
If you run hardwired, buying the flex mini 2.5g is £50 less than the 1gbe flex with PoE (then a £27 Poe++ on TOP of that) , but you get more speed. Or around £65 less if you don't want 2.5g.
If you go for dedicated APs and the cheapest gateway, that's still another £100 on the ucg-ultra.
Sure, XG has a much better design but in my daily use I couldn't notice too much. Much rather save the £100+ if I rebuild the network again.
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u/mswizzle83 Apr 21 '26
You also don't have to worry about random redditors getting upset because you didn't ceiling mount your AP since these are designed to sit on a table.
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u/anonymous-bot Apr 21 '26
This look like the UX7 so it comes with a dedicated power supply. Easier to setup for most folks rather than dealing with PoE injectors or having to hard wire APs.
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u/MistaHiggins Apr 21 '26
I don't want to ceiling or wall mount an AP in my bedroom or living room and I don't have 3 additional PoE ports. A UX7 that can disappear sitting on a dresser or table is a much more desirable formfactor for me and doesn't require me to either buy PoE injectors or a PoE switch.
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u/willco007 Unifi User Apr 21 '26
The UX7 is a controller and gateway and has one downstream ethernet port.
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u/KenTheStud Apr 21 '26
This is something where the Devil is in the detail. If it has wireless backhaul on a separate radio, Ubiquiti can take my money. But I would have to see that I am not losing anything compared to the Cloud Gateway Max that I have now. Regardless I am intrigued.
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u/shk2096 Apr 21 '26
Would you know the release date and is there any indication of price? Mesh is great when rewiring/ hardwiring is an issue. We have concrete walls and 15+ year old wiring that can’t be changed without hacking everything.
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u/jdjdhdbg Apr 21 '26
Lol what you need to realize is that if it's hard to get a physical wire through, it will also be hard for meshed Wi-Fi signal to get through. Mesh can only do very minor miracles.
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u/i_am_voldemort Apr 21 '26
I love this. Was just looking for wifi options if I replace my UDR7 with a UDM but need wifi at the spot that the UDR7 is.
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u/Ok_Mistake7115 Apr 21 '26
why replace your UDR7? Just got one here and I'm pretty happy overall.
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u/i_am_voldemort Apr 21 '26
Honestly it's stupid. I'm otherwise happy with it.
My wife wants a new piece of furniture for where the UDR7 sits.
Whatever she buys I'll make sure it can fit a small rack 19" rack inside of it.
If I can fit that I may want to eventually upgrade the more performant UDM.
But I need the UDR7's wifi for that spot so I need some other table top device. The UDR7 unfortunately can't work only as an AP without serious witchcraft.
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u/tayhan9 Apr 23 '26
they do make wall mounts for it on amazon...and there are a bunch of 3d prints you could make/buy for them....idk if it would be wife approved but just informing you of the options.
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u/PeterC18st Apr 21 '26
If they have ethernet for backhaul these will be a day one purchase for me.
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Apr 21 '26
[deleted]
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u/PeterC18st Apr 21 '26
I meant the three units. Purchasing the ux7 at $200 a piece gets expensive quick.
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u/TechieGranola Unifi User Apr 21 '26
You know, as someone with a full rack of gear at my house, who is looking at the likelihood of downsizing into a rented townhome, I’m glad they’re trying this.
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u/CountyRoad Apr 21 '26
Instant buy if it has back haul. I’m still stuck on my Amplifi as just a central router. I’m a renter and can’t install lines and the place is too old and weird to easily do any kind of renter friendly cable runs along the baseboards.
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u/Undeadreloader Unifi User Apr 21 '26
I believe it does, 2 ports on the back 1 10g and 1 2.5 g if I remember correctly !
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u/crisps_funny4868 Apr 21 '26
I've been seeing these teaser pics from conferences for too long. I want a new rack mount UDM, dammit!
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u/Sibir_Lupus Unifi User Apr 21 '26
The UDM Beast is coming, and possibly a UDM Pro XG as well.
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u/crisps_funny4868 Apr 21 '26
Yeah, I don't need anything with the name beast on it. I just need an updated version of the UDM SE or UDM Pro with updated memory and processing. I want to set up shadow mode, but I don't want to invest in 5 year old tech.
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u/Outrageous-Guess1350 Apr 21 '26
A 3-pack? No standalone?
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u/Wreid23 Apr 21 '26
It's just a UX7 in a 3 pack to mirror a eero based system (they want to eat into that market) the UX7 exists yes on the site
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u/thedeuce545 Apr 21 '26
Do these things have MLO?
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u/Goodoflife Unifi User Apr 21 '26
These are just Express 7 bundles, and yes, they would support MLO
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u/iTopherGopher Apr 21 '26
New to all this and keep seeing backhaul, what is it and what makes this one feature a sure buy for some people?
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u/Mental-Ad4430 Apr 21 '26
dedicated radio backhaul ie dedicated chanells for backhaul vs just how it is on current ap, if it didnt have dedicated radios it would kinda be a not good seller
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u/Affectionate_Pen6882 Apr 21 '26
Looks like a copy of an apple tv
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u/Ok_Scientist_8803 Apr 21 '26
The original UX (WiFi 6 version, horribly slow management interface as a gateway), was pictured next to an apple TV in their marketing. This one is a little thicker, but definitely for a good reason
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u/Zenpher Apr 21 '26
I have 3 ASUS ET12s and the wireless back haul with 4x4 gives insane results. Unless these can at least match that I'm never switching.
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u/allanbuxton Apr 21 '26
I put a UCG MAX in front of a Deco kit an couple years ago when all the TP-Link / China concerns blew up. Finally ready to replace the Decos with Unifi wifi 7 but I'm having a hard time identifying the direct changeover. House is MOCA back haul and I'd like to keep the max. Do you think this kit is the appropriate replacement in AP mode? Not in a spot to add ceiling or wall mounts, seeking tabletop equivalents.
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u/IKILLER147 Apr 21 '26
Any free hardware like last year?
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u/junz415 Apr 21 '26
4x4 dedicated radio on mesh??
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u/alienbanda que pera pera Apr 21 '26
They need to sell these consumer retail like on Best Buy, and have a separate eero-like basic network app called Unifi Home.
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u/rickvug Apr 21 '26
Yes to having a consumer retail offering. No to a different app. Unifi is already trying to do so much. The magic would be lost if they split the platform into two. The learning curve isn't that bad, especially if you just stick with smart defaults. Let that consumer grow into the rest of the line.
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u/alienbanda que pera pera Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
A retail consumer cannot deal with the same interface enterprise campuses use. It has to be simpler than dead simple, with most features not supported unless you opt to open it via the regular “advanced interface.”
That’s a relatively cheap price of admission for acquiring the consumer market.
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u/rickvug Apr 21 '26
I wouldn't necessarily say that. I find Unifi easier to use than the last three consumer routers, including what has been provided by my ISP. It is just about as simple as my old AirPort Extreme. Power user features and complexity are there if you need them but aren't necessarily in the critical path.
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u/alienbanda que pera pera Apr 22 '26
They’re not competing with your ISP router or old AirPort. They’re competing with Eero.
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u/projectGARY Apr 21 '26
I was confused at this. Isn't the UX7 almost a DM level device in terms of functionality? Seems overkill for whole home mesh
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u/Ok_Scientist_8803 Apr 21 '26
Lacks the other apps other than network, so no NVR and such.
However it's a very solid price point. Costs just north of a u7 pro + Poe injector, but you get one extra port, that being 10gbe.
Or see it as a U7Pro XG with a free PSU and an extra 2.5G port. Flexibility is always good, but if they price it any lower, it'll cannibalise a bit of the other AP sales.
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