Unifi is still great for APs or switches. Their routers are OK if you just want the basics. If you set the controller up in a VM or raspberry pi you can stay

Unifi is still great for APs or switches. Their routers are OK if you just want the basics. If you set the controller up in a VM or raspberry pi you can stay 100% local all the time. Leave auto updates OFF, only upgrade the firmware/controller until you have a real reason to - something important gets fixed, a new feature is released you want to use - that sort of stuff. I have sites that firmware hasn't been updated in years and doesn't need to. It always amuses me in one thread people bitch about MS, Windows 10 and forced updates then in threads like this I read people fessing to having auto updates enabled voluntarily. Ugh. As for alternatives, Cisco's small business line is looking pretty reasonable. You can find used gear on ebay easily, you can upgrade firmware without a subscription or even needing an account (yes, I'm still talking about Cisco!) and while their management console is a bit weak, it's maturing. I think it will mature faster than UBNT who was strong out the gate but delivered nothing new or significant for almost 7 years now in routing, switching has never delivered layer 3 - especially useful for larger switches. APs seem to take longer to get bugs resolved in their firmware - but like I said if you only upgrade when you really need to that won't even effect you.