Ubiquiti UniFi 6 Long-Range Access Point U6-LR

Product Information

WiFi 6, the latest generation of wireless technology, brings significant improvements over its predecessors. This technology is designed to support a higher number of devices connected to the network without sacrificing speed or performance. This benefits modern households, stores, and more, where numerous devices, such as smartphones, laptops, and IoT devices, are all vying for a stable and fast internet connection. With 4x4 MU-MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) technology, this access point can communicate with multiple devices simultaneously, further improving the efficiency and speed of the network. Installation Made Easy With PoE

I did like that the design has remained the same, so the Ubiquiti U6-LR sports that characteristic circular plastic case covered by a white matte finish and that extra weight adds a bit to that ‘premium feel’. Don’t get me wrong, the Ubiquiti U6-LR doesn’t feel cheap at all, but we humans are a bit weird, so we associate heavy electronic devices to high quality. As for the WiFi part, the Ubiquiti U6-LR uses a combination of two chips for the 5GHz band (it actually made me think whether it’s actually tri-band and it’s not): Mediatek MT7975AN and Mediatek MT7915AN 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax 4×4:4 + Bluetooth 5 chip. As for the 2.4GHz radio, it seems to be using the Mediatek MT7622 chip (802.11a/b/g/n 4×4:4). FeaturesWhen the signal dropped to -88dB (at about 70 feet), the throughput was barely usable (14Mbps up and 1.4Mbps downstream). Switching to the 80MHz channel bandwidth, but keeping everything else intact, showed a slight decrease near the access point (compared to the 160MHz), but the throughput does look a bit better after passing 30feet (the signal strength also didn’t differ that much from the test using the 160MHz channel bandwidth). Ubiquiti U6-LR vs Zyxel WAX630S vs EnGenius ECW220S – Long-term speed test – 80MHz – Upstream – 5 feet. Enabling 160MHz channels improved things to 111MB/sec; we might have expected to see a bigger leap, but Ubiquiti has seen fit to equip this AP only with a Gigabit Ethernet port, meaning this is about the highest speed it can handle. That’s a shame, as there’s likely more performance potential here that you simply won’t be able to access. But, while Zyxel, EnGenius and TP-Link have released powerful WiFi 6 access points a couple of years ago, proudly showcasing the best that the standard could offer, Ubiquiti didn’t really care about its competition. So it took its time, only recently making available a 2.5GbE WiFi 6 access point. The Ubiquiti U6-LR still offers a 1Gbps port and, considering the price tag of the device, it makes a lot of sense. To be fair, the entire series is surprisingly affordable, but U6-LR supports 160MHz channel bandwidth, OFDMA, 4×4 MU-MIMO and the support for the excellent UniFi controller. The combination of a powerful processor, advanced WiFi 6 technology, dual-band operation, and PoE+ support makes this access point an ideal choice for modern, high-demand networks. It ensures fast, reliable, and efficient internet connectivity for a multitude of devices, offering an excellent user experience even in challenging environments. Important Outdoor installation requirements

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I was a bit curious about whether the specs list was wrong and maybe one of my multi-Gigabit Ethernet switches (such as Zyxel XS1930 or EnGenius ECS2512FP) would show a 2.5GbE connection, but no, it’s Gigabit. That being said, I connected the Ubiquiti U6-LR to a PoE switch, then connected a server device to the switch as well. The router also gets to be connected to the same Ethernet switch. Then, I got three client devices, the first is equipped with an Intel AX200 adapter, so it’s WiFi 6 and it supports the entire spectrum of features that the Ubiquiti U6-LR has to offer. Then, there is a laptop equipped with an Intel 8265 adapter (WiFi 5) and the Pixel 2 XL (also WiFi 5), but we’ll talk about them later. Ubiquiti – U6-LR – Wireless Test – 5GHz – WiFi 5 and WiFi 6 client devices – Upstream Ubiquiti – U6-LR – Signal Strength – 5GHz – WiFi 5 and WiFi 6 client devices – Upstream The Ubiquiti U6-LR UniFi Long Range WiFi 6 PoE+ Access Point is a high-performance access point leveraging advanced WiFi 6 technology to provide powerful wireless coverage to enterprise environments. It delivers an aggregate radio rate of up to 3.0 Gbps with 5 GHz WiFi 6 (4x4 MU-MIMO and OFDMA) and 2.4 GHz 4x4 MIMO radios. The U6-LR seamlessly blends into any environment, and is capable of being mounted in indoor and semi-outdoor environment (IP54 rated), and comes equipped with a Bluetooth Low Energy Radio for location based services. Key Features Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology simplifies the installation process, especially in environments where electrical outlets might be limited or hard to reach. The use of 802.3at PoE+ means that the router can be powered and connected to the network using a single Ethernet cable. Enterprise setups, outdoor installations, or large buildings can easily set up their networks where running separate power lines for each device can be cumbersome and costly. The Ideal Choice for Modern Networks With an upgrade to support full-duplex 1 Gbps TCP/IP performance, this access point can handle data transmission in both directions simultaneously at a blazing speeds. This upgrade ensures seamless and fast internet connectivity for all connected devices, making it ideal for bandwidth-intensive tasks like online gaming, 4K streaming, and large file transfers. WiFi 6 for Faster Networks

Now, let’s see how the WiFi 6 client device behaves when it’s connected to the 5GHz network, 160MHz channel bandwidth. And the performance is good, especially near the access point because upstream, I saw an average of 888Mbps and downstream, it went up to 546Mbps. The throughput was good even at 30 feet, going to 377Mbps upstream (and 282Mbps down) while at 45 feet and roughly -72dB in signal strength, the speed went slightly underneath 200Mbps. Ubiquiti U6-LR vs Zyxel WAX630S vs EnGenius ECW220S vs TP-Link EAP660HD Ubiquiti U6-LR vs Zyxel WAX630S vs Zyxel WAX650S. One of the most important features that arrived with the WiFi 6 standard is the OFDMA (which stands for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) and it works wonders at lowering the latency by improving the bandwidth use when connected to multiple client devices. So, it’s nice to see it enabled on the 5GHz band, but it’s missing on the 2.4GHz. Why is that? Some may argue that it was causing issues with older devices (especially legacy ones), but I am more confident that it was a cost-reduction strategy. Left: Ubiquiti U6-LR. Right: Ubiquiti UAP-AC-Pro. The other two antennas as for the Bluetooth and the other is named SA (no idea what it means). The PCB along with the antenna plate can be detached from the bottom side (they’re held only by a heat pad) and this way, it’s possible to see the large metallic plate that Ubiquiti has put here and it’s useful for taking the heat away from the components and to push it outside. The process of removing the top cover is not easy because, just like on the UAP-AC-Pro, Ubiquiti pretty much glued the two parts together. So, a hairdryer + prying tool + lots of patience (and a cut on a finger) was all I needed to manage to detach the upper part. It’s obvious that it’s almost impossible to open up the Ubiquiti U6 LR without leaving some marks, so the warranty is most likely gone if you attempt to do the same. Also, opening the device will remove any resistance to dust or water. In any case, after finally gaining inside access, I was greeted by an interesting metallic plate with an intricate antenna design at the top (reminds me of the Zyxel WAX650S and the WAX630S). Ubiquiti U6-LR Teardown.At the top, there’s the LED ring which will be solid blue if everything is fine and the device is adopted to the UniFi. Otherwise, the LED will stay solid white waiting for the AP to be adopted. It’s also going to flash white when the Ubiquiti U6-LR is initializing and booting up, and, if it has lost connection to the network, searching for the wireless uplink, the LED will flash blue every 5 seconds. Not really a fan of the single LED system, as I said many times, but I admit it looks very cool on the Ubiquiti access points, so it gets a pass in this case. Single 1Gbps port.