The U6-Enterprise by Ubiquiti is a remarkable access point which while seemingly seems oriented towards business-use, is a great access point for just about any use-case including home users. Prior to purchasing the U6-Enterprise, I was using a U6-Lite which was remarkable at the time I purchased it, but nowadays is slowly becoming a bottleneck for my wireless devices. For those with gigabit speeds, this is one of the few options Ubiquiti currently produces which enables you to obtain those speeds over WiFi. The only other model which can currently achieve these types of speeds is the U7-Pro which was recently released.
I live in an apartment currently, and this comes with the challenge of having a dense RF environment. When I first moved in, the U6-Lite was allowing me to send/receive at approximately 400 Mbps. About two years later, this has dwindled to 200-300 Mbps depending on the time of day and location in the apartment. I don’t have an option for where my demarcation is located, as it was already installed when I first moved in. This also makes it impossible to properly run RJ-45 (Ethernet) to place my Access Point in an ideal location. As a result, I’ve depended on WiFi for most of my devices except those located in the living room.
The U6-Lite is definitely not a bad choice for an Access Point, but over-time and with an increasing number of neighbors having 5GHz equipment in my particular circumstances, it’s come to a point where it no longer suits my needs. I would certainly buy this to use in a location which doesn’t have as much RF, and will likely replace the nanoHD at my parents house with this AP in the next month or two so that their devices equipped with WiFi 6 can enjoy the additional speed benefits that come with it.
Onto the U6-Enterprise. I selected this device as it has WiFi 6E and leverages the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands. The big one is having 6 GHz as this is not congested at all where I currently live, and would also provide a benefit of giving me much faster internet speeds on my wireless devices. This device also had slightly increased power levels and higher antenna gain which in-theory provides longer range coverage, in-addition to the additional 5 GHz MIMO spatial streams.
On paper – the U6-Lite claims to have 1,250 ft² of coverage versus 1500 ft² with the U6-Enterprise. However, the downside if power usage is a factor is that the U6-Enterprise shows a maximum power consumption of 22W versus the U6-Lite claiming 12W. Realistically, I’ve only seen the power level increase by about 6W according to my UniFi Switch. Your results will likely vary depending on how many clients are connected, how much data is being pulled, and what bands are in-use, amongst other factors.
Speed is where the U6-Enterprise shines. In locations close to my Access Point, I am seeing speeds between 700-900 Mbps consistently. This is with 1-2 walls in-between my device and the AP. In further away locations, such as the bedroom, speeds drop down to anywhere between 400-600 Mbps, which is still a massive improvement over what I had been previously getting. This is essentially a 2X increase in my environment. Considering a wired connection in the bedroom is not an option, this has given me the ability to fully utilize my network connection.
I have not been able to compare the U6-Enterprise with the U7-Pro, but I wouldn’t expect this to provide any improvement in the further away location (bedroom) simply due to the range. With 3-4 walls in-between the bedroom and living room where the AP is located, this upgrade has already paid for itself. If you have speeds in-excess of 1 Gbps and have supporting 2.5G equipment, the U7-Pro also likely be a great upgrade. The U7-Pro has a similar rating for range at 1500 ft² but has only 2 x 2 for 5 GHz and 6 GHz MIMO. The antenna gain is increased across the board on all frequencies which may also make this a good candidate for those seeking range versus speed. Either way, for those with gigabit speeds should consider making the switch to WiFi 6E based access points.
No Comment! Be the first one.