Unifi Dream Machine Nightmare. What to replace with

[Smokie]

As the title says, I replaced my previous router the asus AC Rt 5300 with the dream machine and it's been a complete nightmare. WiFi range is crap and the firmware is half baked at best. Anyway I'm getting rid of it and wondering what's the best thing to replace it with?
Asus/Netgear or something else. Range and speed was always a priority with a full house and many devices. 3 kids could all be playing fortnite at the same time and I need something that can handle it along with 4k streaming.
I always liked asus and there parental controls and vpn always came in handy.

Whay suggestions can anyone make based on experience or knowledge.

Thanks

 

[Poseidon]

If you can find one get a Amplifi Alien router. Recently decided to switch up to AX as my R7800 router was no longer playing nice with my modem and I tried Netgear Rax200 (expensive; frequent disconnects and crappy support) and the Asus AX88U (inconsistent and poor range).

Almost gave up and purchased another AC router until I stumbled upon the Amplifi Alien. Super easy set-up via their app; better range than any previous router that I have used; super fast wireless performance (streaming loads instantly now); Dev team unlocking and adding new features/options; fantastic quick US-based support; looks amazing w/ LCD display and LED lights (not ugly and bulky with spider-looking antennas; and the main thing - it just flat-out works out of the box w/o any tweaking, configuring and turning settings on/off like many AX routers out there).

 

[Smokie]

I was looking at it but was thinking the range might not be great. I think I will be going with the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX 11000. Ive asked in the asus section if there is anything I need to look out for before I buy. The RT5300 I had before the dream machine was great in every sense.

 

[Trip]

It appears you've changed your tune on the UDM since January, eh? Sorry to hear it performed so poorly for you.

That said, UniFi and similar controller-based AP products are meant to solve the signal issue via multiple, lower-power broadcast points. The UDM is no exception to that, containing more or less a FlexHD AP, which is nice, but definitely meant to be just one AP in a multi-AP approach, even for many smaller homes. You kind of have to know that going in and expect to deploy UniFi that way, or close to it, or else it may be a rough experience, as you've unfortunately had to deal with. That excuses nothing about half-baked firmware, though, but overall it's probably not the right product for the job if you're just looking for a one-and-done device.

Moving back to an all-in-one will certainly be an "about face". You'll be blasting a single, highly-amplified broadcast, which may seem more convenient in cases where it works "well enough", but depending on how much performance you desire for all clients, it will have definitely have its upper bounds. The ultimate fix at that point may again be more radios in more places, at lower power. If you choose Asus again, then maybe AiMesh can be utilized at that point.

If you're going AX, the tri-band AX11000 may be tempting, but only the dual-band AX88U is Merlin-compatible currently, so if you err on the side of stability something to potentially consider.

 

[Smokie]

I also installed another AP in the middle floor of my home so the UDM was downstairs and the AP in the middle. My main issue was kids couldn't play multiplayer games. As soon as there pc connected it would drop packets or drop off the network.
The unifi forums are full of issues with the UDM and even more with the UDM Pro. The interface and management you had at your finger tips looked great but nothing worked.

Supports first line of support was turn of some certain features that would entice people to there products in the first place, why add a feature if there first step to resolving an issue is turn these features off.

It's unfortunate that these devices are not fully ready but reliability is what I need. Full house with 3 children, all looking for there bit of internet time.

500M internet to the house and I would expect to be able to utilise it at all times. At this moment I would not recommend anyone purchase the UDM and will go back to trusty ASUS.

 

[AndreiV]

I know 2 people that bought the "Dream Machine" they had bad dreams too and sent them back as they were all but useless.