Ubiquiti U6-LITE UniFi 6 Lite Access Point

Product Information

The amount of background noise (other Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth, Microwave ovens, etc) is referred to as the noise floor. airFiber is Ubiquiti's own proprietary custom silicon and implements the most efficient use of licensed and unlicensed-band spectrum – a vital attribute in increasingly crowded RF environments. The highest modulation levels require you to be very close to an access point, and realistic throughput numbers are lower.

You won’t necessarily see the same results on your network with your devices, but it should give you a general idea of expected performance. It comes with pre-drilled holes for pretty much any situation (wall, ceiling, EU socket, Outlet Box (US), Junction box (US)), a nice set of screws and plugs, and attaching the access point itself is a lot easier. Overall, the U6-Lite is the best deal in the UniFi AP lineup and it’s my default recommendation for a new UniFi network. In my home network, I was already using the normal Unifi Lite and LR model, so in this article, we will compare the old with the new models. The UniFi 6 Lite is the same size as the nanoHD, and can use the nanoHD covers and recessed mounting bracket.In this chart and all the ones that follow, the numbers I’m showing are throughput in Mbps, averaged over five or more minute-long local iPerf TCP tests. The Long Range also has addressable RGB lights and is partially dust and splash resistant, meaning it can be used in a protected outdoor area, like under a porch roof. This way of wireless communication deliver benefits such as high-speed connectivity over long distances, fast to deploy, and considering the harsh South African environment, is the best solution for last-mile deployments. I then stepped through the different channel widths and bands, letting the connection stabilize before beginning my tests. The BeaconHD is a dual-band mesh AP with no option for wired backhaul, resulting in much lower 5 GHz throughput.

Using 5 GHz at close range, the U6-Lite and U6-LR are faster than Wi-Fi 5 access points by around 10-20%. When deciding on how many access points you need, a good general rule is don’t expect 5 GHz coverage to extend further than 2 walls or 30 feet away. The advantage of the Unifi 6 Long Range with its 4×4 MU-MIMO 5 GHz radio really comes into play when connecting with multiple clients. The AC Lite has 3dbi of gain on both antennas with a max output power of 20dBm on both frequencies, whereas the 6 Lite has 2. Early implementations of OFDMA were tested by SmallNetBuilder, and he found no discernible benefits.Achievable range and throughput will vary depending on the regional regulations where the radio is deployed.

A typical airMAX network will consist of one outdoor Base Station (or Access Point) and multiple CPE devices connected to the Access Point.On the security side, Wi-Fi 6 mandates support for WPA3 encryption and authentication, replacing the more vulnerable WPA2. Walls and floors are more likely to have a bigger impact than distance in most homes, but the exact dB penalty depends on material. I ran all of my tests with multiple TCP streams, and occasionally reversed the direction as a point of comparison. Wi-Fi 6 adds MCS 10 and 11, supporting up to 1024-QAM modulation which raises theoretical throughput by 25%. Multi-device throughput should see a significant throughput increase, due to multi-user MIMO and OFDMA.

This raises maximum data rates from a 867 Mbps to 1200 Mbps for a typical 2 stream client over an 80 MHz channel. What I found interesting to see is that we can see a significant improvement between the Unifi 6 Lite and the old model. The company’s product portfolio originally began with the utilisation of existing commercial Wi-Fi chipset technology to wirelessly deliver Internet to underserved areas. I connect a notebook directly to the switch and used another notebook with an Intel AX201 WiFi 6 Adapter to measure the speed.The Long Range model has higher-gain antennas and higher transmit power, a more powerful processor, double the RAM, double the spatial streams, and requires PoE+. If we look at the specifications of the new access points then we can understand why the Unifi 6 LR is so much bigger. Extreme modulation requires an extremely loud signal, and there’s a 3 dBm penalty whenever you double channel width. It’s quite big (and heavy), but as you can see in the tests, it has an amazing throughput, even through brick walls. I just wanted to compare the old access points with the new Unifi WiFi 6 access points in a real world scenario.