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Is this why Ubiquiti quality has fallen over the last ~2 years? I went all-in on Ubiquiti almost 3 years ago and I’ve been less than thrilled with the quality a

Is this why Ubiquiti quality has fallen over the last ~2 years? I went all-in on Ubiquiti almost 3 years ago and I’ve been less than thrilled with the quality and level of support. This chaos that you say happened seems to line up with what I was seeing as a customer but everyone has been shocked at how UI has dropped in terms of quality.

iYanderz 5y ago
A lot of tech is suffering from quality issues in the past 2 years: We're in the middle of a global pandemic. Components are being stripped out left and right to meet demand, especially in the automotive sector. Ubiquiti is no different, and their store being constantly out of stock is a clear indicator of that. Personally, I would argue that Ubiquiti handled the pandemic much better than other companies. Take the Cloud Key firmware: Back when it was first released, the thing was so unstable it had to be reset every few weeks. Every firmware update required a factory reset. Nowadays, it's solid. Even flashing beta builds is a smooth, issue-free process. Features like person and vehicle detection in their Protect lineup are a much welcome addition, as is the revamp of the Protect app. All of this happened during the pandemic. I know people whine about how Ubiquiti unified everything under a global login, but come on.. if it works, it works. It's hardly a reason to bash Ubiquiti because you're upset you temporarily have to sign into ui.com. Now, maybe they are putting more effort into Protect than they are into the network side of things. I don't know, because I primarily use them for Protect. With that being said, I'm fairly satisfied.
artificialLimbs 5y ago
When I first bought ubnt (a sec gateway), I could chat with support agents FROM THE GATEWAY'S WEB UI! The service was shockingly good at the time, and I was committed to using UBNT from then on. Agents would be on the chat usually within a minute, maybe a few. Now... submit a ticket. Frustrating/pointless UI changes. Breaking system upgrades. Backed up your configuration? Doesn't matter, you're going to need to reset this update... disappointing. I still have hope they'll turn it around because they have the best UI of any network gear I've used for getting small/mid size networks up and done.
- khaki54 5y ago
  yeah i remember that feature. was amazing!
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
lotsofpulp 5y ago
I read somewhere (maybe on Reddit) that ubiquiti had started offshoring a lot of the work and as a result quality had suffered.
zamadatix 5y ago
I mean this genuinely: I'm amazed there was a point at which people were ever thrilled enough with the quality and level of support from Ubiquiti that they are now shocked. Other than the working hours first level chat support I can't think of anything they had in support that remotely resembled having quality support. Shit, 3 years ago I was happy if there was someone on the forums that found a version of firmware that had killer features like "routing, hardware NAT, and IPv6" working all at the same time without (major) bugs. Low quality software and support with cheap hardware is what they've always been known for with everyone I've ever talked to.
- RF_Savage 5y ago
  Maybe people are now used to the level of support they get from Google & Co.
myrandomcomment 5y ago
I used to recommend them. Not anymore. My complete home setup is all their kit (the GUI means that if I kick it, the family can likely sort - it is import). I opened a case that a replacement switch (new model, old is EOL) did not work with one of their POE devices. I know this stuff backwards and forwards. I did my testing and basically sent the case to support with all the details (I know this stuff at the ASIC level). Wasted my time for a week. Finally I just said screw it and RMA the switch (nothing wrong with it) because support would not move. I received the replacement and surprise, same issue. Only after that I got the "sorry, we will reach out to L2 support." Wasted my time on a good debug that clearly ID the issue and I had to pay for shipping on RMA. I am stuck with them for now, but as soon as I can find a better offering I am going switch. (My issue is that I understand that most users are clueless, heck I started in support for Win3.1 for an ISP, but the stuff in the debug clearly was a statement that I understood what I was say, and even as a Jr. engineer 30 years ago, I would have read it and said "hum, this dude knows his stuff, maybe I should ask at the next level").
- cyounkins 5y ago
  Possibly related: Ubiquiti used non-standard 24V POE for some devices. Plugging standard 48V POE into certain old devices could damage them, and 48V devices won't power on with 24V injectors.
  - DaiPlusPlus 5y ago
    To be fair, and AFAIK, I understand there was (and still is?) no ISO/IEC/IEEE standard for "dumb" PoE power, only "smart"/"managed" power. The rest of Ubiquiti's gear does use IEEE 802.x.
  - myrandomcomment 5y ago
    Thank you for sharing. Unfortunately this is not the issue. I wish it was that simple as they make an adapter for that.
  - secureleaf 5y ago
    This is true, although it's important to differentiate active and passive adapters. Ubiquiti sells some devices that are 24V passive PoE. These devices include their UISP products (such as devices like the AirMax). Passive injectors are dangerous because they always supply 24V to the port; this could damage a non-24V PoE device. There's also the 802.3a* standards family, such as the 802.3at (what Ubiquiti calls PoE+). Each of the standards (e.g. 802.3at, 802.3af, etc.) support different amounts of current, but they're all 48V active adapters. Active PoE is safer because the device "requests" the power it wants; the switch does not always supply 48V power over the port, so devices that don't require PoE won't be receiving power. Ubiquiti sells a few switches that support both 24V passive PoE and 48V active PoE. You can change this in the switch's web interface, through the port settings. You may also want to consider just using a 24V passive injector, especially if your switch cannot be configured to supply 24V power.
chaostheory 5y ago
If you read their Glassdoor reviews, one of the common complaints was the company’s hostility towards automated tests.
b3lvedere 5y ago
I used to like Ubiquiti a lot, but nowadays i prefer to use other brands which are even easier to implement and manage. For the clients that still want to use Ubiquiti i try and implement a Debian 11 VM with the Ubiquiti software on it.
- pdimitar 5y ago
  Which are those other brands and models, please? I am looking to upgrade my home setup to 10GbE LAN and apart from 2-3 switch models from Mikrotik I really can't see anything worthwhile (I don't want Cisco or TP-Link, they don't take security seriously).
  - Ducki 5y ago
    Check out Aruba Instant On, they seem to be trying to jump the bandwagon with the single-pane-of-glass-management and target small businesses. Also Ruckus Unleashed seems to be similar and Juniper MIST.
    - pdimitar 5y ago
      Thank you! Never heard of them, will research them thoroughly now. Much appreciated.
  - b3lvedere 5y ago
    Aruba Instant On. (It's owned by HP) The name is bit misleading though. Especially the first time it can take quite some time for devices to be fully updated and manageable. Regarding support wise: I've had one malfunctioning switch (POE just stopped working) and it was replaced within 24 hours, so that's nice.
    - pdimitar 5y ago
      Are their 10GbE switches fan-cooled? I really would like a quiet device for a bedroom.
newbamboo 5y ago
If there’s a single person to blame for a company’s failure, there isn’t a single person to blame.

iYanderz 5y ago

A lot of tech is suffering from quality issues in the past 2 years: We're in the middle of a global pandemic. Components are being stripped out left and right to meet demand, especially in the automotive sector. Ubiquiti is no different, and their store being constantly out of stock is a clear indicator of that. Personally, I would argue that Ubiquiti handled the pandemic much better than other companies. Take the Cloud Key firmware: Back when it was first released, the thing was so unstable it had to be reset every few weeks. Every firmware update required a factory reset. Nowadays, it's solid. Even flashing beta builds is a smooth, issue-free process. Features like person and vehicle detection in their Protect lineup are a much welcome addition, as is the revamp of the Protect app. All of this happened during the pandemic. I know people whine about how Ubiquiti unified everything under a global login, but come on.. if it works, it works. It's hardly a reason to bash Ubiquiti because you're upset you temporarily have to sign into ui.com. Now, maybe they are putting more effort into Protect than they are into the network side of things. I don't know, because I primarily use them for Protect. With that being said, I'm fairly satisfied.

artificialLimbs 5y ago

When I first bought ubnt (a sec gateway), I could chat with support agents FROM THE GATEWAY'S WEB UI! The service was shockingly good at the time, and I was committed to using UBNT from then on. Agents would be on the chat usually within a minute, maybe a few. Now... submit a ticket. Frustrating/pointless UI changes. Breaking system upgrades. Backed up your configuration? Doesn't matter, you're going to need to reset this update... disappointing. I still have hope they'll turn it around because they have the best UI of any network gear I've used for getting small/mid size networks up and done.

khaki54 5y ago
yeah i remember that feature. was amazing!

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

lotsofpulp 5y ago

I read somewhere (maybe on Reddit) that ubiquiti had started offshoring a lot of the work and as a result quality had suffered.

zamadatix 5y ago

I mean this genuinely: I'm amazed there was a point at which people were ever thrilled enough with the quality and level of support from Ubiquiti that they are now shocked. Other than the working hours first level chat support I can't think of anything they had in support that remotely resembled having quality support. Shit, 3 years ago I was happy if there was someone on the forums that found a version of firmware that had killer features like "routing, hardware NAT, and IPv6" working all at the same time without (major) bugs. Low quality software and support with cheap hardware is what they've always been known for with everyone I've ever talked to.

RF_Savage 5y ago
Maybe people are now used to the level of support they get from Google & Co.

myrandomcomment 5y ago

I used to recommend them. Not anymore. My complete home setup is all their kit (the GUI means that if I kick it, the family can likely sort - it is import). I opened a case that a replacement switch (new model, old is EOL) did not work with one of their POE devices. I know this stuff backwards and forwards. I did my testing and basically sent the case to support with all the details (I know this stuff at the ASIC level). Wasted my time for a week. Finally I just said screw it and RMA the switch (nothing wrong with it) because support would not move. I received the replacement and surprise, same issue. Only after that I got the "sorry, we will reach out to L2 support." Wasted my time on a good debug that clearly ID the issue and I had to pay for shipping on RMA. I am stuck with them for now, but as soon as I can find a better offering I am going switch. (My issue is that I understand that most users are clueless, heck I started in support for Win3.1 for an ISP, but the stuff in the debug clearly was a statement that I understood what I was say, and even as a Jr. engineer 30 years ago, I would have read it and said "hum, this dude knows his stuff, maybe I should ask at the next level").

cyounkins 5y ago
Possibly related: Ubiquiti used non-standard 24V POE for some devices. Plugging standard 48V POE into certain old devices could damage them, and 48V devices won't power on with 24V injectors.
- DaiPlusPlus 5y ago
  To be fair, and AFAIK, I understand there was (and still is?) no ISO/IEC/IEEE standard for "dumb" PoE power, only "smart"/"managed" power. The rest of Ubiquiti's gear does use IEEE 802.x.
- myrandomcomment 5y ago
  Thank you for sharing. Unfortunately this is not the issue. I wish it was that simple as they make an adapter for that.
- secureleaf 5y ago
  This is true, although it's important to differentiate active and passive adapters. Ubiquiti sells some devices that are 24V passive PoE. These devices include their UISP products (such as devices like the AirMax). Passive injectors are dangerous because they always supply 24V to the port; this could damage a non-24V PoE device. There's also the 802.3a* standards family, such as the 802.3at (what Ubiquiti calls PoE+). Each of the standards (e.g. 802.3at, 802.3af, etc.) support different amounts of current, but they're all 48V active adapters. Active PoE is safer because the device "requests" the power it wants; the switch does not always supply 48V power over the port, so devices that don't require PoE won't be receiving power. Ubiquiti sells a few switches that support both 24V passive PoE and 48V active PoE. You can change this in the switch's web interface, through the port settings. You may also want to consider just using a 24V passive injector, especially if your switch cannot be configured to supply 24V power.

chaostheory 5y ago

If you read their Glassdoor reviews, one of the common complaints was the company’s hostility towards automated tests.

b3lvedere 5y ago

I used to like Ubiquiti a lot, but nowadays i prefer to use other brands which are even easier to implement and manage. For the clients that still want to use Ubiquiti i try and implement a Debian 11 VM with the Ubiquiti software on it.

pdimitar 5y ago
Which are those other brands and models, please? I am looking to upgrade my home setup to 10GbE LAN and apart from 2-3 switch models from Mikrotik I really can't see anything worthwhile (I don't want Cisco or TP-Link, they don't take security seriously).
- Ducki 5y ago
  Check out Aruba Instant On, they seem to be trying to jump the bandwagon with the single-pane-of-glass-management and target small businesses. Also Ruckus Unleashed seems to be similar and Juniper MIST.
  - pdimitar 5y ago
    Thank you! Never heard of them, will research them thoroughly now. Much appreciated.
- b3lvedere 5y ago
  Aruba Instant On. (It's owned by HP) The name is bit misleading though. Especially the first time it can take quite some time for devices to be fully updated and manageable. Regarding support wise: I've had one malfunctioning switch (POE just stopped working) and it was replaced within 24 hours, so that's nice.
  - pdimitar 5y ago
    Are their 10GbE switches fan-cooled? I really would like a quiet device for a bedroom.

newbamboo 5y ago

If there’s a single person to blame for a company’s failure, there isn’t a single person to blame.