products:wireless_ap_comparison

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Wireless AP Comparison

Does a nanoHD provide any advantage over the U6-LR?

via brwainer on Discord

nanoHD is 802.11ac Wave 2 (WiFi 5). U6-LR is 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6).

Also theoretically they have different antenna configurations - the "LR" name for both Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 means a more sensitive reception circuit, and an antenna that is more optimized for out along the ceiling/wall, versus down/out from the AP

When comparing the UAP-AC-Lite, UAP-AC-LR, and UAP-AC-Pro (all ac Wave 1) for example, in a clear environment the LR is usable at further distances, but in any congested environment that just means the AP will be able to receive more interference, making it less useful.

You can click the black buttons below to hide/show columns to make a more direct comparison.

Model UAP-AC-LITE UAP-AC-LR UAP-AC-PRO UAP-AC-HD UAP-AC-SHD UAP-nanoHD U6-Lite U6-LR1)
Wiki Page Link unifi_ap_ac_lite unifi_ap_ac_lr unifi_ap_ac_pro unifi_ap_hd unifi_ap_shd unifi_nanohd
Wifi Standard 802.11n/ac Wave 1 802.11n/ac Wave 1 802.11n/ac Wave 1 802.11n/ac Wave 2 802.11n/ac Wave 2 802.11n/ac Wave 2 WiFi 6 WiFi 6
Generation & Chipset2) Gen 2 QCA Gen 2 QCA Gen 2 QCA Gen 3 QCA Gen 3 QCA Gen 3 MTK Gen 4 MTK Gen 4 MTK
Radios/Ant 2.4g 2x2 3x3 3x3 4x4 4x4 2x2 2x2 4x4
2.4GHz 300Mbps 450Mbps 450Mbps 800Mbps3) 800Mbps4) 300Mbps 300Mbps 600Mbps
Radios/Ant 5g 2x2 2x2 3x3 4x4 4x4 4x4 2x2 4x4
5GHz 867Mbps 867Mbps 1300Mbps 1733Mbps 1733Mbps 1733Mbps 1200Mbps 2400Mbps
Gigabit Ethernet 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1
PoE 24V Passive / 802.3af 24V Passive / 802.3af 802.3af,802.3at 802.3at 802.3at 802.3af 802.3af 802.3at
Environment Indoor Indoor Indoor/Outdoor (Covered) Indoor/Outdoor Indoor Indoor Indoor Indoor/Outdoor (Covered)
Height (mm) 160 175.7 196.7 220 220 160
Width (mm) 160 175.7 196.7 220 220 160
Depth (mm) 31.45 43.2 35 48.1 48.1 32.65
Weight (grams) 185 315 450 830 830 300

You can click the black buttons below to hide/show columns to make a more direct comparison.

Model UAP-AC-IW UAP-AC-IW-PRO UAP-IW-HD
Wiki Page Link unifi_ac_in-wall UniFi AC In-Wall Pro
Wifi Standard 802.11n/ac Wave 1 802.11n/ac Wave 1 802.11n/ac Wave 2
Generation & Chipset5) Gen 2 QCA Gen 2 QCA Gen 3 MTK
Radios/Ant 2.4g 2x2 3x3 2x2
2.4GHz 300Mbps 450Mbps 300Mbps
Radios/Ant 5g 2x2 3x3 4x4
5GHz 867Mbps 1300Mbps 1733Mbps
Gigabit Ethernet 3 3 5
PoE 802.3at 802.3at 802.3af; 802.3at required for POE passthrough
Height (mm) 139.7 139.7 139.7
Width (mm) 86.7 86.7 86.7
Depth (mm) 25.75 25.75 25.75
Weight (grams) 200 210 210

You can click the black buttons below to hide/show columns to make a more direct comparison.

Model UAP-AC-M UAP-AC-M-Pro UAP-FlexHD UAP-BeaconHD
Wiki Page Link unifi_mesh unifi_ap_ac_mesh
Form Factor Outdoor Pole/Wall Mount Outdoor Pole/Wall Mount Table/Shelf; Ceiling (recessed); Outdoor Pole/Wall Mount Power Outlet / Wireless Extender
Wifi Standard 802.11n/ac Wave 1 802.11n/ac Wave 1 802.11n/ac Wave 2 802.11n/ac Wave 2
Generation & Chipset6) Gen 2 QCA Gen 2 QCA Gen 3 MTK Gen 3 MTK
Radios/Ant 2.4g 2x2 3x3 2x2 2x2
2.4GHz 300Mbps 450Mbps 300Mbps 300Mbps
Radios/Ant 5g 2x2 3x3 4x4 4x4
5GHz 867Mbps 1300Mbps 1733Mbps 1733Mbps
Gigabit Ethernet 1 2 1 0
PoE 24V Passive / 802.3af 802.3af,802.3at 802.3af N/A
Environment Indoor/Outdoor Indoor/Outdoor Indoor/Outdoor Indoor
Height (mm) 353 343.2 159.49 169.7
Width (mm) 46 181.2 48.50 112.15
Depth (mm) 34.4 60.2 48.50 32.2
Weight (grams) 152 633 315 260

Approximate maximum EIRPs for each AP. Actual Transmit power and gain may be lower depending on your channel width, frequency, and specific hardware details. To get your AP's exact Tx power level run iwconfig in an ssh session. Gain values are relative to a theoretical perfect omnidirectional antenna, and are subject to the radiation patterns of the antennas in the device.

US DFS Channels will result in lower maximum power settings on APs that can exceed the EIRP limit for DFS.

US 6Ghz Low Power Indoor (LPI) operation is subject to power limits based on channel width - EIRP limits by channel width: 20Mhz 18dBM, 40Mhz 21dBm, 80Mhz 24dBm, 160Mhz 27dBm, 320Mhz 30dBm.

US 6Ghz Full Power (36dBm EIRP) or Outdoor Operation (any power level) requires AFC.

Model Region 2.4Ghz Tx Power (dBm) 5Ghz Tx Power (dBm) 6Ghz Tx Power (dBm) 2.4Ghz Gain (dBi) 5Ghz Gain (dBi) 6Ghz Gain (dBi) 2.4Ghz EIRP (dBm) 5Ghz EIRP (dBm) 6Ghz EIRP (dBm) Notes
UAP-AC-LITE US 20 20 3 3 23 23
UAP-AC-LR US 24 22 3 3 27 25
UAP-AC-Pro US 22 22 3 3 25 25
UAP-AC-HD US 25 25 3 4 28 29
UAP-AC-SHD US 25 25 6 6 31 31 Can exceed 5Ghz DFS 30 dBm EIRP limit
UAP-NanoHD US 25 26 2.8 3 27.8 29
U6-Lite US 23 23 2.8 3 25.8 26 Wifi AX on 5Ghz only
U6-LR US 26 26 4 5.5 30 31.5 Wifi AX on 5Ghz only, Can exceed 5Ghz DFS 30 dBm EIRP limit
UAP-AC-IW US 20 20 1 2 21 22
UAP-AC-IW-Pro US 22 22 5 6.5 27 28.5
UAP-IW-HD US 23 26 1.8 3.4 / 6 24.8 29.4 / 32 Not all 5Ghz Antennas have the same gain
UAP-AC-M US 20 20 3 4 23 24
UAP-AC-M-Pro US 22 22 8 8 30 30
UAP-FlexHD US 23 26 1.6 4 24.6 30
UAP-BeaconHD US 24.8 30 4.5 5 29.3 35 Can exceed 5Ghz DFS 30 dBm EIRP limit
U6-Mesh-US-BETA US, Early Access 23 26 3 3 26 29 Early Access, Values subject to change without notice
U6-Extender-US-BETA US, Early Access Early Access, Values subject to change without notice
U6-IW-US-BETA US, Early Access 23 27 3 3 26 30 Early Access, Values subject to change without notice
Model Region 2.4Ghz Wifi Spec 2.4Ghz Streams/Antenna 2.4Ghz Max Theoretical Phy 5Ghz Wifi Spec 5Ghz Streams/Antenna 5Ghz Max Theoretical Phy 6Ghz Wifi Spec 6Ghz Streams/Antenna 6Ghz Max Theoretical Phy Notes
UAP-AC-LITE US Wireless N (Wifi 4) 2x2:2 300 Mbps Wireless AC (Wifi 5) 2x2:2 867 Mbps
UAP-AC-LR US Wireless N (Wifi 4) 3x3:3 450 Mbps Wireless AC (Wifi 5) 2x2:2 867 Mbps
UAP-AC-Pro US Wireless N (Wifi 4) 3x3:3 450 Mbps Wireless AC (Wifi 5) 3x3:3 1300 Mbps
UAP-AC-HD US Wireless N (Wifi 4) 4x4:4 800 Mbps Wireless AC (Wifi 5) 4x4:4 1733 Mbps
UAP-AC-SHD US Wireless N (Wifi 4) 4x4:4 800 Mbps Wireless AC (Wifi 5) 4x4:4 1733 Mbps
UAP-NanoHD US Wireless N (Wifi 4) 2x2:2 300 Mbps Wireless AC (Wifi 5) 4x4:4 1733 Mbps
U6-Lite US Wireless N (Wifi 4) 2x2:2 300 Mbps Wireless AX (Wifi 6) 2x2:2 1200 Mbps Ubiquiti store says 1.2Gbps but beacon from the device reports 2402 PHY
U6-LR US Wireless N (Wifi 4) 4x4:4 600 Mbps Wireless AX (Wifi 6) 4x4:4 2400 Mbps
UAP-AC-IW US Wireless N (Wifi 4) 2x2:2 300 Mbps Wireless AC (Wifi 5) 2x2:2 867 Mbps
UAP-AC-IW-Pro US Wireless N (Wifi 4) 3x3:3 450 Mbps Wireless AC (Wifi 5) 3x3:3 1300 Mbps
UAP-IW-HD US Wireless N (Wifi 4) 2x2:2 300 Mbps Wireless AC (Wifi 5) 4x4:4 1733 Mbps
UAP-AC-M US Wireless N (Wifi 4) 2x2:2 300 Mbps Wireless AC (Wifi 5) 2x2:2 867 Mbps
UAP-AC-M-Pro US Wireless N (Wifi 4) 3x3:3 450 Mbps Wireless AC (Wifi 5) 3x3:3 1300 Mbps
UAP-FlexHD US Wireless N (Wifi 4) 2x2:2 300 Mbps Wireless AC (Wifi 5) 4x4:4 1733 Mbps
UAP-BeaconHD US Wireless N (Wifi 4) 2x2:2 300 Mbps Wireless AC (Wifi 5) 4x4:4 1733 Mbps
U6-Mesh-US-BETA US, Early Access Wireless N (Wifi 4) 2x2:2 300 Mbps Wireless AX (Wifi 6) 4x4:4 2400 Mbps Early Access, Values subject to change without notice
U6-Extender-US-BETA US, Early Access Wireless N (Wifi 4) 2x2:2 300 Mbps Wireless AX (Wifi 6) 4x4:4 2400 Mbps Early Access, Values subject to change without notice
U6-IW-US-BETA US, Early Access Wireless N (Wifi 4) 2x2:2 300 Mbps Wireless AX (Wifi 6) 4x4:4 2400 Mbps Early Access, Values subject to change without notice

1)
There is also an EA-specific board revision of the U6-LR (U6-LR-BETA) which will not be getting DFS support nor 160MHz wide channels, it will otherwise be supported by future firmware revisions. It also has a slower CPU which won't "support full-duplex 1 Gbps TCP/IP performance", and it only has 2x2 for 2.4GHz.
2) , 5) , 6)
The abbreviations here match what Ubiquiti uses in their release notes. QCA is Qualcomm, MTK is MediaTek. For specific chipsets used in each model refer to the product page.
3) , 4)
for this number, Ubiquiti used QAM-256 instead of QAM-64. Almost no client devices support QAM-256 on 2.4GHz, therefore 600Mbps is a more realistic claim here. For more see https://www.digitalairwireless.com/articles/blog/the-maths-behind-4-stream-2-4ghz-data-rates-explained

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