Hello readers, welcome to another edition of the Kingsville Times Tech Corner. In these most unusual times, we find ourselves trying to fill our social void with a vast array of activities. This might be binge-watching a new show on Netflix that your trusty friend has recommended. It could be putting new found hours of play on your favorite video game console. Maybe you’re enjoying a new book (or a comforting oldie for that matter) or browsing the internet for hours on end.
We’ve found ourselves in an almost unavoidable interaction with the internet during this pandemic. Facebook has noticed almost double the traffic since the beginning of restrictions put in place due to COVID-19 in many countries across the world, especially in their Messenger app in both text and video calling. YouTube has seen a significant increase as well.
Now, imagine for a moment your familiar ritual. You get up, get your morning coffee taken care of, sit down at your kitchen table, and flip open your laptop or begin poking away at your smartphone or tablet.
Wait a second. What’s going on? You’ve clicked, double-clicked, triple-clicked and your favourite websites won’t open! You are now in one big conundrum. You try your email — same thing. After trying to connect multiple times, you head over to your router or access point and the worse has indeed happened — it’s dead.
With so many choices out there, how are you ever going to choose the right replacement? Luckily the Tech Guru can make that task a little easier with a recommendation that is suitable for most home applications. There’s a lot of name brands out there — D-Link, Linksys, Belkin, to name a few.
But what if I were to tell you there’s a lesser-known brand, with capabilities surpassing most of the big names on the market, at a much lower price point? Bring forth the Ubiquiti UAP-AC-LR home wireless access point.
When asking how this compares to the mainstream routers, we need to examine a few attributes that are necessary for folks looking at a long-term WiFi solution for their home needs. To start, this high-tech unit offers an easy user interface that can be accessed with the Ubiquiti UniFi app found on both the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
Whether controlling the interface from your laptop or your smart phone, one can access common categories such as security strength, internet site accessibility restrictions for minors, control over one or both channels of WiFi reception (more on that later), enabling a guest network, profiles for different users, and firewall security measures, just to name a few.
One of the most sought-after qualities consumers desire is range. This is where Ubiquiti stands out amongst the competition. Quite frankly, the range of this unit is incredible. You would be hard pressed to find any router on the market that offers the range capabilities of this router in devices three times the price.
With claims of covering households in excess of 3000 square feet, I can personally attest to these performance claims. In the small town of Harrow where I reside, I personally have had strong reception with incredible bandwidth and speeds a full block away from my home.
This is a dual-band unit, which offers both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz range. This allows for connection of older devices using the 2.4 GHz band as well as accommodating newer devices that take advantage of the speeds and range of the newer 5 GHz band.
Keep in mind there are tri-band routers on the market, but with exceedingly higher price points and with the exception of a few, is currently unused by most. For the average bear, this router will satisfy communication standards for all of your devices, both new and old.
Another amazing feature is the ability to assign priority to certain devices with ease. For instance, your online gamer in the family will no longer be frustrated by bandwidth limitations due to multiple users being connected to this device at one time. The ease in providing priority to these devices is one click away, eliminating intrusion into their gameplay by someone watching Netflix, for instance.
Priority is given to the device, and the other person might automatically be restricted from watching their movies in 4K resolution while the gamer in the family is trying to make their top score without lagging or interruption in speed.
It should be noted that this is a wireless access point. It is used solely for access to the internet and home networking for wireless devices. Those looking for a more traditional router to run ethernet hard-wired communication for devices will have to consider looking into a much higher priced solution with the Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine, hence the introduction pertaining to MOST users.
We are finding ourselves in a time where ethernet connections are slowly becoming a thing of the past, when performance and speed of wireless solutions are on par with their wired counterparts.
Whether you are looking for a replacement, feeling the need to upgrade, or you are finding yourself looking for WiFi range extenders because you can’t get reception outside when relaxing by the pool, save yourself time and money and upgrade to this unit instead — hands down.
Don’t be fooled by false speed and range claims of the bigger names. Don’t allow yourself to be wowed by the latest and greatest pitch a salesman is pushing because of a fancy multi-antenna setup. There aren’t even any visible antennas on the Ubiquiti. This unit is sleek, small, and can be mounted on a wall or ceiling, adding somewhat of modern look to your home as well.
For larger applications, multiple units can be seamlessly “meshed” together, which is all the rage right now, as a selling point for the majors. Ubiquiti even offers an outdoor unit, which is able to handle the elements as extreme as our harsh winters.
Enjoy frustration-free wireless connection to your home internet with the Ubiquiti UAP-AC-LR long range home wireless access point. You’ll be glad you did.
Photo by Joe Chisholm