As our digital lives continue evolving and intertwining with our daily routines, having a robust and reliable home network has become necessary for any American home. This was underscored during the pandemic when the pressure on my previously unflappable NetGear Nighthawk gaming router reached new heights. With four of us in the house video-chatting simultaneously and over 40 devices vying for Wi-Fi bandwidth, it was time to rethink our home network architecture.

It’s a common misconception that boosting the internet speeds from your ISP will rectify connection issues. However, in our 3,000-square-foot home, creating a robust, wired backhaul mesh network was the more sensible approach. Moreover, future-proofing our network to include home video surveillance was a key consideration.

Enter the Ubiquiti ecosystem, an all-in-one networking solution. My Ubiquiti setup included a Dream Machine SE gateway and three u6-lite access points, strategically placed to optimize coverage:

  • The home office above the garage
  • The 2nd-floor hallway near the kids’ bedrooms
  • The kitchen area on the 1st floor

This installation was no small feat due to a few unforeseen obstacles. With the careful planning of routes for CAT6 cabling and precision placement of access points, I spent approximately 18 hours over six days installing and configuring the whole system – a project I undertook while my wife celebrated her birthday in Aruba.

Installing the Ubiquiti system required considerable technical know-how and some construction skills. The task involved cutting into walls and ceilings to run the cabling and mount the access points, along with configuring the network to serve our myriad of devices optimally.

picture of my 2nd floor hallway ceiling-mounted access point

Despite a handful of challenges encountered along the way, the hard work paid off in the end. There are now zero Wi-Fi dead zones in our home, and even with only a measly 85mbps service from FIOS, the complaints about poor network connectivity are a thing of the past. Whether it’s a Zoom meeting, an online gaming session, or simply streaming movies, our Ubiquiti network handles it all easily. We are thrilled with the upgrade. Even more exciting, the system is ready to incorporate home video surveillance when we implement it in the immediate future.

The Ubiquiti system is a game-changer in the prosumer home networking world. This particular installation required time, patience, and a lot of elbow grease, but the rewards – a stable, high-performance network that’s ready for future enhancements – make it all worthwhile.

To anyone considering a home network upgrade, remember this: A better network isn’t just about speed; it’s about design, placement, and reliability. For me, the Ubiquiti ecosystem was the perfect solution.