Unifi ac lite Review

If your router wifi signal can’t reach your entire home leaving dead spots in certain areas that you need to be catered for, a wireless access point (WAP) is a great solution to your problem. The Unifi ac lite is a nifty access point that will boost your wifi network at home or work.

An access point will not only expand your network connections, but it will also boost the range of your existing wifi network. The Unifi ac lite will wirelessly connect your devices to the LAN using a high-speed Ethernet cable. It receives wired Ethernet data that converts to wireless signal which is then sent to your wireless devices. After dealing with connections drops and slowdowns with my home network, I decided it was time to find a solution, and getting a wireless access point was one of the best solutions.

Unifi ac lite review and breakdown

Ubiquiti Unifi Ap-AC Lite - Wireless Access Point - 802.11 B/A/G/n/AC (UAPACLITEUS), White

• Ubiquiti Networks networks Unifi AC Lite AP Wi-Fi 802.22
• 2.4 GHz Speed : 300 Mbps, 5 GHz Speed : 867 Mbps

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The Unifi ac lite is a wireless access point that you can use if you’re having problems accessing a wifi signal in certain areas in your home or office. It’s a 2 x 2 AC1200 access point with one gigabit Ethernet port and it uses a non-standard 24V power over Ethernet. The Unifi ac lite has decent throughput speeds that reach up to 300 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and 867 Mbps on the 5 GHz band. It has an exceptional signal range that can reach up to 400 feet, however, the signal coverage can be affected by the surrounding environment, obstacles, and walls in your home or office. Just like all the other Unifi access point range, you can control and manage the Unifi ac lite using the Unifi network controller software which is a user-friendly and intuitive app that you can on your phone or computer.

Once you install it, it becomes very easy to set up the Unifi ac lite allowing you to do quick configurations and optimizations to your network when the need arises. The Unifi controller software is very powerful which makes it ideal to accommodate high-density clients that require low latency and high uptime performance. It supports the latest wifi 802.11ac technology to significantly boost your wifi speeds for better performance. The software has a virtual control plane that allows for unlimited scalability from one centralized controller. You can also remotely access the controller to upgrade or configure your aces points wherever they are.

What we liked

• It’s small, light, and easy to place
• A very easy and quick setup process
• You can turn off the status light
• Helps to boost your wifi signal
• Improves speed and range

What we didn’t like

• Has no internal web server for configuration
• Configuration can be tricky
• The Unifi controller needs you to have some networking knowledge

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Unifi ac lite specs

Unifi ac lite features

Design

The Unifi ac liteis an all-white device with a sleek, ultra-compact design which is half the size of your standard Unifi AP. It’s a disc-shaped access point with a flat base and 2 internal dual-band antennas for boosting the range of your wifi signal, and you can either mount it on your ceiling or place it anywhere in a room. There is an LED ring at the top of the AP around the Ubiquiti that illuminates to indicate status and you can turn it off if you like because it can be very bright in a dark room. The LED changes color depending on the device’s mode of operation. At the bottom is an Ethernet port for wired connections, a reset button if you need to hard reset your AP, a cable feed plug, and a locking notch.

Speed and performance

The Unifi ac lite supports the latest 802.11ac and can provide dual-band wifi speeds of up to 300 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and 867 Mbps on the 5 GHz band. It’s powered by a Qualcomm Atheros QCA9563 3×3 802.11b/g/n wireless SoC. The processor has 750 MHz with a 32bit MIPS 74Kc core. The Unifi controller uses spectral analysis to give you feedback on how the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands are performing and also locate any bandwidth interference. The band steering feature helps to direct the connected devices to the faster and traffic-free 5 GHz bandwidth for better performance. The airtime fairness limits the airtime access for connected clients reducing the problem-client effect on your system performance.

Features

The powerful Unifi controller software will deal with the high performing devices that require high uptime performance and low latency. You can also use the controller to manage all the network and radio settings. It also comes with plenty of useful features like setting up a guest wifi network using virtual LAN, isolates guest devices from accessing your personal local network, and switch your device to a higher bandwidth 5 GHz connection depending on demand. The software is comprehensive, very flexible, and scalable, but you need to have some networking knowledge.

Who is it best suited for?

The Unifi ac lite is an indoor wireless access point that you can install in your home, office, hotel or internet café to provide speedy wifi connections and improved range for your devices. It’s a small-sized, cost-effective, and high-performance solution for indoor wireless network installation with optimized Ethernet gigabit speeds and radio frequencies.

Are there alternatives to the Unifi ac lite?

Yes, there are alternative access points that may be for indoor or outdoor mounting and use and will ensure the reliability, speed, and compatibility of the communication software.  These access points include Unifi UAP-AC-PRO, Tp-link AC1750, and Netgear AC1200.

Features of the alternative access points

Final verdict. Should you get the Unifi ac lite?

Yes, you should get the Unifi ac lite AP. Although it doesn’t have a very user-friendly setup app, it’s a powerful and versatile access point with plenty of features in its Unifi controller software. You can easily configure, expand this access point and it’s very reliable allowing you to customize its settings to suit your needs.

FAQ

How far apart should access points be?

There should be a distance of 60 feet between access points in a room that has no walls to block the radio frequencies.

Are wireless access points secure?

Most modern access points come with built-in encryption. The second and third generation encryption schemes, WPA and WPA2 are considered to be secure if you use a strong enough password.