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Review on Ubiquiti NanoBeam ac Gen2: πŸ”§ Unleashing High-Performance airMAX ac Bridge (NBE-5AC-Gen2-US) by Kofi Wills

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Great product for less than a month Cable TV will cost you

I'm NOT a networking guru/techie but I've sporadically installed networking gear for our small business over a couple of years. Ubiquiti does great things and when we replace old hardware we almost always stick with their products for cost reasons. It's not a product that's customizable, it's what you make of it. Don't buy it expecting to connect your distant relatives 100 miles away to your internet through a forest of buildings etc. They say 10km+, but I'd say if you want really good bandwidth, stick with these links for less than 10km. But if you do your research, you can easily customize it and create great links within the recommended range. Keep an eye on your Fresnel as this is the biggest problem people have with wireless bridges. The WiFi setup worked like a champ with my iPhone. I've always installed previous versions on my computer using a wired connection, but the Wi-Fi setup is really easy. 1) Connect the device to a POE source (included) 2) Login to the WiFi hotspot it creates with the user. Name and password are in the box. 3) Open the app (see App Store) and set up each device (one as a hotspot and one as a station). Hell, there's even a QR code you can scan to install for yours. Use the Ubiquiti app to view links - search for: UBNT LINK MAP * Revain doesn't like real links; P and check your link before you buy any equipment. LOS (line of sight) isn't a laser beam for this type of device, so you'll need a wider clear path the farther you make your bridge. Stand up and look at the actual path the signal will take. There's a tree covering half of it, you better take care of the tree or raise the radio over it. If all else fails, use the UBNT forums. They won't spoon feed you, but if you have technical skills, you can set up a wireless bridge with them. I'm pushing 120Mbps receive and 11Mbps download to almost 2 miles and I know there is room for improvement. Given that my ISP provides 200/12, I'd say that's not bad.

Pros
  • Nice
Cons
  • Good but not great