The UniFi 6 lineup does not support Wi-Fi 6E yet. In the US, the FCC approved the usage of the 6 GHz spectrum in April 2020. A few other countries approved the use of the spectrum since then, and the Wi-Fi Alliance started their Wi-Fi 6E Certification Program in January 2021. Some manufacturers have announced their first Wi-Fi 6E products, but Ubiquiti isn’t one of them. For now, we have to wait for UniFi access points that support the 6 GHz band. The difference between the U6-Lite and U6-LR is large enough that it could be the deciding factor between needing one or two APs to cover a given area. In some situations one U6-LR is better, in others two U6-Lites may be better. It’s hard to make general conclusions. There wouldn’t be much difference in performance or price, so that decision probably comes down to where you have Ethernet cabling more than anything. Note for International Readers As part of their AC Wave 2 lineup, the FlexHD offered a new enclosure, which resembles a tall, skinny Coke can. The FlexHD can be used on a shelf, mounted on a ceiling, or on a pole. The FlexHD can be used indoors or outdoors, and is generally a very _flexible_ access point. I’ve never had a FlexHD to test, but it should perform similar to a nanoHD, which I have tested. When further away, you can see the impact of the lower transmit power for APs like the U6-Lite. Higher power and higher spatial stream APs offer more distance, and can compensate with features such as beamforming. Range is where the U6-LR and U6-Pro show their biggest advantage over the U6-Lite. Higher gain antennas and higher transmit power allow them to reach further. A few extra dBm is enough to allow an AP to effectively cover a larger area. The U6-Lite has an older 2.4 GHz radio, meaning it doesn’t deliver the benefits of Wi-Fi 6 for 2.4 GHz clients. The U6-Lite is an AX1500 class AP, with an 802.11n-era 2.4 GHz radio and a 5 GHz radio that tops out at 80 MHz channel width. The U6-Lite doesn’t support 160 MHz channels, unlike the U6-LR, Pro, and Mesh. They can all operate in DFS channels in the US, though.

Multi-device throughput should see a significant throughput increase, due to multi-user MIMO improvements and OFDMA. OFDMA is a technology borrowed from LTE cellular modems. It’s main impact on Wi-Fi is that it breaks up a wireless channel into smaller Resource Units (RU), and each RU can be assigned to a specific client. There are up to 9 clients per 20 MHz channel, and up to 36 users per 80 MHz channel. Clients can also request and use multiple RUs at once if they need more bandwidth. Note: this model had a revision while in the EA store, upgrading to a Qualcomm chipset featuring a 4x4 4800 Mbps 5 GHz radio. With a 5 GHz band offering 4x4 MU-MIMO and OFDMA, delivering a remarkable 4.8 Gbps throughput rate, and a 2.4 GHz band featuring 2x2 MIMO and a 573.5 Mbps throughput rate, you get the best of both worlds. Stream 4K videos without buffering, enjoy lag-free online gaming, and ensure a seamless browsing experience on all your devices. This access point is engineered for high-speed data transmission, so you can enjoy uninterrupted connectivity throughout your home or office. Seamless Performance with Full 4x4 MIMOI did like that the design has remained the same, so the Ubiquiti U6-LR sports that characteristic circular plastic case covered by a white matte finish and that extra weight adds a bit to that ‘premium feel’. Don’t get me wrong, the Ubiquiti U6-LR doesn’t feel cheap at all, but we humans are a bit weird, so we associate heavy electronic devices to high quality. Ubiquiti has announced six Wi-Fi 6 models so far, and it’s a safe to assume more are coming. We don’t have any details on what those other models will look like, all we can right now is speculate. The most obvious missing models are replacements for the AC-HD line. All the WI-Fi 6 models announced so far are dual-band, but the U6-HD could be tri-band, with two 5 GHz radios. I’ll be interested in testing those when they come out. 2.5 Gbps Ethernet uplink ports are also likely for those models. 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

Without using DFS channels (which can conflict with radar, and aren’t universally supported) the normal 5 GHz spectrum only supports three true 80 MHz channels, and one 160 MHz wide channel. The actual number of available channels varies by country. Powerful Wi-Fi 6 Access Point with 4x4 MU-MIMO featuring a small, sleek design and mounting flexibility for use indoors or outdoors.

Key Features

For my next test, I tested from 3 different places in my house. I wanted to show the impact of distance from your AP on a typical 20 MHz 2.4 GHz or 80 MHz 5 GHz channel. The above tests were very close range, and were meant to show an absolute best-case scenario. These distance tests are more realistic, and the 15 feet + 1 wall results are more likely what you will see in typical use.

At the top, there’s the LED ring which will be solid blue if everything is fine and the device is adopted to the UniFi. Otherwise, the LED will stay solid white waiting for the AP to be adopted. It’s also going to flash white when the Ubiquiti U6-LR is initializing and booting up, and, if it has lost connection to the network, searching for the wireless uplink, the LED will flash blue every 5 seconds. Not really a fan of the single LED system, as I said many times, but I admit it looks very cool on the Ubiquiti access points, so it gets a pass in this case. Single 1Gbps port. As for the WiFi part, the Ubiquiti U6-LR uses a combination of two chips for the 5GHz band (it actually made me think whether it’s actually tri-band and it’s not): Mediatek MT7975AN and Mediatek MT7915AN 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax 4×4:4 + Bluetooth 5 chip. As for the 2.4GHz radio, it seems to be using the Mediatek MT7622 chip (802.11a/b/g/n 4×4:4). Features

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The U6-Pro switches from MediaTek to a Qualcomm chipset. Generally speaking, Qualcomm’s solutions are better than an equivalent MediaTek chipset. I’m glossing over a lot of details there, but the underlying differences are enough that Ubiquiti classifies the U6-Pro as a 6th generation device, while the U6-Lite and U6-LR are both 5th generation. Wi-Fi 5 and 6 support 160 MHz channels, although client support for 160 MHz isn’t common yet. The 5 GHz band only supports two 160 MHz channels, both of which overlap with DFS. 160 MHz channels are much more feasible with the added spectrum of the 6 GHz band included in Wi-Fi 6E. What About Wi-Fi 6E? The AC-Mesh is an AC1200 Wi-Fi 5 AP that is getting old, but it’s still for sale and a valid option for new outdoor installations. The AC-Mesh comes with removable omnidirectional antennas, which can be replaced with any antenna that has RP-SMA connectors. The AC-Mesh can operated on standard 802.3af (15W) PoE, or with Ubiquiti’s 24V passive PoE.