I got 99 problems but my WiFi ain't one

Do you own the place?

I would consider getting ethernet into several rooms and using that as the connection for the mesh.

The obvious is to just use your mobile.

Otherwise just pick up a cheap data sim (I picked whatever was suitable from Carphone Warehouse) and stick it in an old phone if you have one. I plugged my phone into one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073TSK26W?camp=1634&creative=6738&tag=buro9 that I had lying around to provide a network connection but that isn't necessary.

I actually, somewhat unexpectedly, got the sim for free. I got a 30 day rolling contract (100GB of data per month) and cancelled it within 14 days (my internet had finally been installed). This triggered a full refund even though I'd used about 90GB of data.

I personally think one of the things that's lacking in modern wifi is some sort of automated tool to tune the reach/spread within congested areas.

The unifi APs do this (or at least the controller does).

Thanks, that’s really helpful

Good idea, I'll consider this if I ever get round to putting in more wall sockets

Not sure of best thread to ask this in, so feel free to direct me elsewhere.

I am part of our local PTFA, and like many schools the local primary school has a number of families that do not have any (or enough suitable) devices to be able to do home learning. Thankfully we have managed to get our hands on enough devices, so that bit is sorted. We do have a couple of families who don't have internet access though, so we were looking at the quickest, most cost effective way of doing this, I figured a 4g dongle with a preloaded Pay as you Go sim card would be the best approach, but I am struggling to see any which are Pay as you Go, they all seem to be bundled into monthly contracts, which for obvious reasons we can't do.

Anyone got any links to something like this? or can I buy the dongle separate from the sim card?

You can buy the dongle or router separate from the SIM card, yes. Then get a PAYG data SIM. Depending on your budget a cheap 4g router may be better than a dongle...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TL-MR6400-Unlocked-Configuration-Required-External/dp/B016ZWXYXG/ref=psdc_430579031_t2_B078GXZJHP

Excellent, thank you, I figured that should be possible! The reason for going with a dongle is that it controls a bit how the internet is used, i.e. could only be used by the laptop we also give them?

All the 4G dongles I've seen have been WiFi. There's a USB port but it's just for charging.

AirPort Extreme possibly died last night... switched to my Eero, moving everything in Home app was hellish and it nearly broke me, would not recommend.

Yep - see your point. More dongles act as wifi hotspots than not these days, but you should still be able to find one that doesn't.

May also be worth looking at 30 day contracts. Tend to be cheaper and can be restricted so there is no additional spend beyond contract data, the main issue is you need 30 days notice to cancel and it may be tougher to pass credit checks to buy multiple ones.

Also, I assume you've seen this https://get-help-with-tech.education.gov.uk/about-increasing-mobile-data

Yes, the 30 day contract is my back up.

Yes, school is trying to use any government schemes, but they are not moving the fastest...

Would this work plugged into the Ethernet port of VM hub?
Using it like a wired WiFi repeater, if that makes sense?

The mini router? It would do but there are probably better devices out there to act as a wi-fi repeater as that's relatively low powered.

Where do I start with Ubiquiti to replace my ageing Nighthawk R7000? I like to tinker and not afraid of Linux.

You're going to be spending a lot of money.

The biggest benefit from Ubiquiti is when all your switches, access points, and the router... are all managed by a Cloud Key. Then you get a great network, but can also see it, customise it, debug it.

Start with evaluating what you think you'd need and how you want to get there.

i.e.

• Router to replace the Nighthawk
  
• AP to handle the Wifi for the Nighthawk
  
• Switch if you have local LAN needs... the AP is PoE and so your switch should accommodate this
  
• Somewhere to run the network management software, or just buy a Cloud Key
  
  

That's bare minimum... but it only starts to shine when you add more switches and routers. If the above is all you need, then don't bother with distinct components at all - instead look at the Unifi DreamMachine. It limits a couple of things compared to distinct components, but not enough that you'd notice.

DreamMachine looks ideal - the only thing extra I might need is an additional AP for the extension.

If I were you I'd start off with a Unifi Security Gateway and Unifi AP second hand. You should probably be able to get both for about £120. That's pretty much the same functionality as the dream machine but a fair bit cheaper and you have more flexibility on where you put your wi-fi point.

If you have a machine that's always on then you can run the controller there. I've run mine on Ubuntu, Windows and Raspberry Pi.

I haven't bothered with the switches (I had a toughswitch but gave up on it), they don't add that much for a home system I feel. Just the USG and AP allows you to set up multiple networks, block them from seeing each other, etc. You can just use an injector for the AP power (it will come with it normally).

One thing to be aware of is that different products come under different families and require different controllers which is really annoying. The Edge Router X (which is very similar to the Security Gateway) for instance uses a different controller to the access points and the two don't see each other at all in terms of managing them.

Do you know if the controller runs on QNAP NAS?

A quick google suggests it does but I've never tried it.

Cheers - will look into it, don't have anything else that's always on.

After having played about with my network settings I was testing my network speed (using iperf 3) on some computers connected via wi-fi (to a machine connected by ethernet) and getting speeds of 80-90Mbps.

On the same machines though I get a speed of 220Mbps (maxing out the connection) when I do an internet speedtest.

Testing two machines connected by ethernet gives 980Mbps or so as I'd expect so I'm not quite sure what's going on.

Anyone any bright ideas?

I'm having a play with setting this up too.

Currently only unifi kit I have though is an LR AP plugged into my modem which is setup to do the DHCP and routing.

I'm undecided about the DreamMachine v's USG & AP route. Wifi 6 AP doesn't seem to be in stock though so that might swing it.