Thank you! A true "real-world" example. I've been going back and forth on this device. I'm looking to replace my Plumes. The Plume's have been wonderful, but I cut the cord recently and added more devices so it's starting to show signs of some weakness. I could simply swap my regular pods for Plume Super Pods, but they are $99 each, and I would still have their annual subscription. I have been a fan of Ubiquiti for years and the Alien just looks COOL! Seeing (hearing) that you have more than 80 devices connected, and it doesn't seem to be impacting your performance, is a great motivator.
Hello, thank you for the comment. I now have 91 wireless devices attached to these routers and no slow down or any issues of any kind. They run smooth and perfect so far. I went though 7 different router before landing on this one before amplifi I was a big asus fan but not anymore. I've switched teams after 3 faulty asus routers over the last 3 months not getting the coverage and constantly losing signal and having one wipe all the device from the router 2 separate times.
@@ibyopappy I did ultimately take the leap and have been thrilled. My first unit seemed to have a hardware issue, but Ubiquiti took care of it with an equipment swap - after sending like 20+ logs and lots of configuration changes to test. I have over 50 devices connected to just one unit and the performance hasn’t been an issue. I have thought about adding a second one as I’m looking to add some security devices which are all wifi based, but at the same time, I’ve gone back and started to look again at the Ubiquiti Dream Machine and a few AP’s, so that I can setup VLAN’s to keep traffic separate. Thanks again for your review, it really helped push my decision.
@@joecb4401 thank you for letting me know. I am so happy to hear you got a good working one. Amplifi is amazing on response times. I'm now sitting at 161 wifi devices attached right now and still zero slow down on my internet 🙂
At the moment it ain't any comparisons of amplifi router vs the hd mesh model and I was contemplating which to invest in so this upload was perfect for my needs😀
I've got a Amplifi HD and was thinking of upgrading to the Alien. The HD seems to have slow wifi performance when there is a lot of devices connected. Thanks for the review
No problem. I have 139 items attached to them as of today and no problem handling the massive amount of them.still going strong after over a year and a half
Hey, Great Video.. a small suggestion. When u run the speed test in this video it would be great if we could see the router and ur phone doing the speed test.
EXCELLENT video, thank you. I want an Alien router to replace my TP-Link. I pay for 1.2 Gbps but typically get 170-240 Mbps down. What I don't understand is that (and I took a screen shot to show Xfinity) that one time (and only once) I got a download speed of 550 Mbps while standing in the same bedroom as the router & my router is a gigabit/WiFi 6 router. So I know it's possible to get really fast speeds. So 550 was the fastest & that was a one & done. Our house is two story box shape, 1600 sq ft. so even though it's not that big I still had to get a range extender. The modem & router is in one upstairs bedroom and the range extender is in my bedroom which is also on the second story. We have about 17 devices going through the system including 4 Ring cameras & everything works fine. The only thing pissing me off is the fact that I pay for 1.2 Mbps and get wifi speeds of 200 mbps average. Based on reviews of the Alien - it seems as if it would be enough for my home & wouldn't need the range extender (or another mesh point). So all I want for Christmas is a new Ubiquiti Alien router to see how just replacing the router and leaving everything else the same works out. Cheers & Happy Thanksgiving!
So I recently upgraded to a higher internet speed. Now I have 1 gb through them. I'm averaging approximately 700 to 850 through wifi with the Ubiquiti alien. Which is amazing. You'll never reach the 1gb threshold because the higher speed you'll only achieve through direct but 700 to 850 is truly remarkable for wifi and definitely alot better than 200 for sure. I now have 148 devices attached to the two alien routers and there is no problem reaching those speeds whatsoever. I'm still truly happy with them and they are definitely a blessing compared to all the other routers I have tried.
@@ibyopappy Thanks for that - it makes me want to get one that much quicker. One negative comment that I've seen a few times regarding the Alien is that for the price it should be WiFi 6e and until it has it - they won't buy it. I hope when I do buy it I don't find out the next day that there's the "all new Alien wifi 6e" version available to replace the current model. I'm far from being an expert on networking but I think wifi 6e then ads a 6 ghz band which I know none of our devices can even utilize.
@@ibyopappy So at xmas I did get the Alien router and it was $100 off at Best Buy so I only paid $279 for it. As soon as I removed the TPLink and dropped in the Alien my speeds easily tripled. I get over 700 mbps on my laptop and can get 939 mbps on my iPhone 12. On the other side of the house I still get more then 4000 mbps on my laptop and over 500 mbps on my iPhone. And that was just with the default config that the Alien comes with. I still have the TPLink RE650 range extender only because I have since added multiple cameras in the backyard so the signal from the Alien was weak (the Alien is positioned in a room at the front of the house on the second story and the backyard cams are mounted on a shed and the pool deck so they are a good ways off the back of the house). Everything is working smoothly and I am higly highly impressed 5 months later. It is tempting to buy another Alien & ditching the range extender but it's not necessary.
Awesome review, I love Ubiquiti, I went enterprise with the separate devices to construct my home network but now would be nice to get the alien to downsize. I use Philips hue lights that sync to a hub which responds really well to Alexa’s voice response, though I do have all that in the same room with modem and wifi and all. Your man cave is worth the investment, congrats.
Thank you very much, I've added quite a bit to it over the months I now have an 80 inch tv and an xbox series x and a whole lot of fun toys. A fully stocked fridge and soon to be a microwave lol
@@ibyopappy That's pretty awesome. I got a question for ya. Having two of these, one basically connects to the modem to get your internet, while having the 4 LAN ports connecting whatever to that in one room... and then for #2 you have in your mancave, am I still able to utilize the 4 LAN ports on that for my hardwire devices? If so then this is definitely a solution I'll be looking into replacing. I currently have a Ubiquiti USG, Switch, UAP, and a cloud key, which in itself could be replaced with an Alien and probably do well for home WIFI justice. My wifi Download tests only up to 120mb. After hearing your review about what you pay for for your internet, I thought the same, my wifi devices never get anywhere close, sux saying "at least my LAN devices will do" which is all but one device. Anyway, sorry for my added ranting but I think I feel where you came from to where you are now, I want the same experience.
Yes, in the man cave on the second router that is wirelessly meshed together with the one in the house. I have my xbox series and xbox one hooked up to the one in the man cave via Lan port. Gives me full speed internet of what I pay for. Wirelessly I've configured the router and relocated it a bit about a foot higher and I average 345 megs out there now. Wired about 460 in the man cave just make sure you buy 2 alien routers not the alien mesh system. Because the alien mesh bundle has no screen or lan ports on the second unit So it's just mesh point only. Had to make sure I said that cuz I'd feel bad if you accidentally picked the wrong one lol
@@ibyopappy no worries and thanks, I looked at the black mesh system, looks similar to the Amplifi Hd, I deployed a few for friends and family but the Alien is going to surpass the Wifi benchmark, can’t wait to experience it. I’m only getting one for now as it might do far beyond my single Uac-pro and reach everywhere i need it to reach!
@@ohtobeforgiven As I understand if you buy two separate Alien routers, not the MESH pack with 2 routers, so two routers with screens then you can use the Ethernet ports on both routers for what ever you want, and apparently you can use Ethernet to use as the back haul link between the Alien devices for more speed.
I am trying to improve my home network so I listened to your video several times (x4) and really learned a lot and enjoyed it! Among all the other IT presenters, you certainly have the fastest Wi-Fi I have seen -- hands down (1 Gb Internet, and 1000+ on Wi-Fi -- which is amazing!). I would really like to duplicate your setup and wanted to ask your opinion please, if you don't mind: (A) What 6 or 6E modem do you use? (I just rented the ISP Comcast xFI Gateway modem, but unfortunately, only getting about 30% of the 1.2 Gb I am paying for, so if I buy another Modem you recommend, I think it will be so much better. The Gateway presumably has Ethernet ports: Single 2.5Gbps, and Three 1Gbps ports, and has DOCSIS 3.1, but I am not seeing any results from it.). (B) Is your 1st Amplifi Alien router not in Bridge mode (5 Ghz)? (C) Is your 2nd router (5 Ghz) set up as a Mesh point (not in Bridge mode, and not in NAT)? (D) And is your third (2.4 Ghz) router set in Bridge mode, but is it a Mesh point too? (E) Lastly, the way my home is arranged, I think I can hard-wire with an “ethernet backbone (backhaul)” with CAT 8 cable between the modem (basement), Alien router #1 (basement), and Alien router #2 (1st floor). But, Alien router #3 (2nd floor) would have to be a wireless mesh point (no way to run a cable upstairs, since my wife would kill me). I have about 81 devices and can’t add anymore to my old Linksys Velop router, according to their Tech support. I think you can tell I am a newbie at this, and I really need your advice on this. Thank you! 😊
I like this guy. Anyone know if there’s any chance Alien supports Apple HomeKit for secure routers in the future? Ubiquity founder is a former Apple engineer, right? I have over 50 IoT devices in HomeKit. Apple AirPort Extreme (gen 6, the last one) couldn’t handle them all. After I bought a single eero pro 6, then realized the airport extreme maxes out at 50 devices. But then I found out Amazon now owns eero so I’m not interested anymore. Plus the eero pro 6 is a complete nightmare with my older Wemo smart plugs, of which I have a dozen in perpetual unresponsive states. About to return eero pro 6 for Alien.
I'm not sure if it works with that, sorry never tried anything with Apple. I currently have 156 devices attached to my alien's as of right now with it having no issues whatsoever. Had them almost a year and they are doing great 👍
Thank you for the honest review. Thinking of getting myself the Alien router so this was helpful. Side note: Nice job with the man cave. I too have a smart home but all devices run on 2.4Ghz since that's standard. How did you manage to get them to run in WiFi 6? Also, have you ever experienced dropouts? My current setup causes multiple smart devices to lose connection randomly throughout the day. I'm assuming because my current gaming router can't support the bandwidth of having 40+ devices all on the 2.4Ghz channel. Thanks again!
Hello and thank you for the kind words 🙂. The router can easily handle what ever I have thrown at it. Right now there are 149 devices attached to them with no drop out. The router is wifi 6 but also can handle wifi 5. It's dual band 2.4 and 5 ghz can hook up to any wifi 6 or lower from my experience with it.
The hd goes to 80 as well and I tried both. Same result. Most I saw at any time was 285 and that was only one out of probably 50 speed tests I had done with it.
The hd doesn't preform nowhere near as good unfortunately. I'm fairly sure u won't see to much of any dip in speed with an alien though. Should be solid with any internet.
@@ibyopappy i need better speed! I am a day trader and needed a good internet .. this HD is sometimes dropping the signal and causing problems for me since i have 30 devices connected
@@ibyopappy Question? on the second unit can I Ethernet hard wire a device like a video camera system to have it online access? since main router will be located way too far to run a wire up there, thanks Go Yankees!
Yes, there are several ethernet ports on the back of router in the garage. I have 2 xboxes hardwired straight to it and it gives me the same speed it does in the house as it does in the garage. Just note to be able to do this you will need 2 separate alien routers and mesh them together. If you buy the mesh kit it will not have any ethernet ports on the back of the mesh point. Also the mesh kit itself does not have a screen either on the mesh point. It was I think 80 bucks more buying 2 individual alien routers vs the mesh kit but well worth it. I couldn't be happier with my setup set up was ultra easy and the updates took a about 15 minutes and then it was ready to rock. Lemme know if you have any other questions 🙂👍
Through the application it's called amplifi wifi on Google play or Apple. Its very easy just click on set up mesh and it will give you easy instructions. Do the main router first then set up the second with setup mesh point
Hi Man. Do you have tried to connect the alien and hd together? I know they seem to be not compatible but I’m curious to know if it is really possible or not. Actually I’ve the hd and it barely cover my apartment...I still have a great dead zone and my home is not huge...
@@ibyopappy ok I see but the question is if I’m this way the HD is seen in the app as an amplify product or as third party access point. Please let me know. Thank you so much
If you had them wired together you would have to hit the 3 little lines on the top left of the app then push switch amplifi to croos over to the other router. Keep in mind that you will have different ssid names that they will use because the alien will not mesh up with the hd. My suggestion would be to just go with an amplifi alien on it's own. The alien should cover 3000 or better square feet. They will both be seen in the same application though because they are amplifi routers. Don't forget to hook up to the wifi you wish to access the router from. 👍
Excellent video! I just learned that TP-Link will be releasing in March 2023, a new Deco BE95 BE33000 Whole Home Mesh WiFi 7 System with 16-Stream 33-Gbps Quad-Band WiFi - 11520 Mbps (6 GHz-1) + 11520 Mbps (6 GHz-2) + 8640 Mbps (5 GHz) + 1148 Mbps (2.4 GHz). Since I know you tried several routers in the past, what do you think of TP-Link routers? Should I take this plunge, or wait for Amplifi Alien Wifi 7 to come out? I emailed Amplifi and they have no information to release. Thank you! Go Yankees!
Aliens routers only work with alien routers unfortunately they are the same company that makes the hd but as of right now the hd and the alien are not compatible with one another. You can run more than two alien routers meshed together though if you need to
If I get 1 alien (only have about 12 devices that need internet mostly TVs) will it span across 1/2 acre property ? Will it provide wifi in backyard let's say to my phone for strong wifi? What is sq ft range of product?
Our property covers just under 20,000 Sq. ft. (so a bit less than 1/2 acre) 1 Alien covers the entire area and I can get a good WiFi signal in our neighbor's home beside us & in about 1/2 of the church property on the other side of us. We're hooked up to our local municipality's 50Mb Fiber optic service and typically run 56-58 up speeds & 50-52 down. I just ran a test on my Alien & it's sitting at 57.6 up & 51.8 down. There are 13 devices currently hooked up & I've seen as many as 32 when all of our kids are here. The only issues I've had since purchasing the Alien 2 years ago this month has been some intermittent total signal losses. Our provider has replaced the ONT twice (Which is nice because we now have the latest & greatest...) I've worked with Ubiquity's service techs on this & they finally suggested trying a different cat 6 cable between the ONT & the Alien router. Our provider checked the cable ends & found a bad connection on the router end. The tech replaced both ends & we've not had a single issue since then. The only reason I could see the need to mesh two Aliens together would be if you lived in a large 2 story home (I've been told it's hard to push WiFi up.) or need service over more than 1/2 acre of property.
Even if you have 100+ devices on your network because it's a "smart home" it is completely unnecessary to have 2 separate 400mbps lines of internet with that as the justification. IoT devices use literally kilobits of information and many of them communicate locally without traversing the internet at all, therefore internet speed would have no bearing. Having a separate router for your IoT devices is a good idea with that number of devices as the router itself would be the limitation. But there is zero reason to have a separate line of internet for devices that barely use internet. Also, you state that your bulbs operate better due to Wifi6, but that is not accurate. Your DEVICE must support Wifi6 and I'm not aware of ANY lightbulbs on the market that support Wifi6, which is 802.11ax. If you have an extensive smart home you should be using a hub, such as SmartThings or Hubitat, with Zigbee/ZWave/Thread/Matter to offload those functions from your network.
I have 2 separate internet lines in my home because 1 is for work and it's paid for by my employer and needs to be secure for my work. The other line is for evrything else that runs my home so the only devices hooked up to my work internet is my phone and my computer.
And there is 100% no need for a hub unless your router can't handle it or you just want to buy one because you have extra money in your pocket you don't care about. I now currently have currently 400 megs for work and a gig for the rest. I have 3 aliens 1 that runs my work internet and 2 that run my home and I can tell you whatever you read on paper. You can study till u r blue in the face on wifi 6 vs 5 but every wifi 5 router I purchased which was 7 different high rated/expensive routers couldn't turn off 20 lights at the same time.
@@ibyopappy What you're probably seeing, in relation to your Wifi6 router performing better with 20 lights is something called "spatial streams" and 2x2 vs 8x8 MIMO. The Wifi6 router likely supports more spatial streams, i.e. sending more simultaneous streams out due to having more send/receive antennas. But that is not related to the Wifi6 standard, that's just a better router. There is absolutely a need for a hub regardless of whether or not your router can handle it. The purpose of a hub is much more than merely connecting your devices. It allows you to create automations and utilize Zigbee/ZWave devices such as contact sensors or motion detectors to create automations like turning the lights on when you walk into a room or when you open a door. They also allow you to create complex routines such as only turning the lights on at night when it detects motion, or when you turn your TV on setting the lights to a specific dimness or color. Or even things like knowing whether or not you are home and doing things based on your presence in the house. For example, my house does things differently based on whether me, my wife, or both of us are home. They also enable you to link your home security system and even cameras into them. That is a true smart home, not yelling to Alexa to turn some lights on. The idea is for things to just happen correctly on their own based on rules and routines.
Are you sure your HD is using all the same cables? You should not be getting 30 mb right in front of it. I pay for gigabit and get 400+ Infront of my HD
Yes cat 8 ethernet cables. And the 30 mb speeds was not in front of the router it was the mesh nodes where it was 30 mb speeds. If you are getting 400 on gigabit speed internet it's definitely not living up to what I believe it should. I moved up to gigabit internet and I'm running every bit of that on the aliens still to this day. 1,000 plus on wifi
"I have two 400 Meg inernet services." Not really comparing apples with apples, because the internet service could be a limiting factor. You should try the same test using the same internet service.
Depending on your usage I have well over 100 wifi items hooked up and on the one mesh set up I created a separate 2.4 network just for my particular application. It's not necessary but I wanted my garage to grab the closest router for 2.4 for everything that runs on that band. Lights and cameras ect. Just make sure you don't create accidentally another second isp with the same name. I screwed up and for about a week I kept getting disconnected over my mistake lol.
@@ibyopappy so wait… you set up another 2.4 network? On the mesh router? So you have “2” 2.4 networks? You can do that? Over 100 devices that’s awesome! Tell me this… I’ve noticed that when I run a speed test… a couple of times the initial test was low.. then after a little bit of time I run it again and it’s insane…. Is that normal? Does the alien basically say ok we need to send more Wi-Fi to this area? I’m diggin this so far… it’s really nice.. I can’t remember if I asked you about the No backhaul thing… how do you feel about that? But I think it does have some type of backhaul though right? I think I read that somewhere
I have a different 2.4 network out in the garage on the mesh point and It's totally separate from the house. In the settings of the router it will say create a second 2.4 network and you just have to name it and turn it on. As for the backhaul I believe it has 4 dedicated for each router but I'm not sure. I had slow speeds at first as well. For a short while I think because it was learning the network and traffic but after a while it's been flying ever since. From what I know it learns the way data is used and figured out which devices can take 2.4 and which ones can take 5 ghz. Jus make sure you do not create a second identical isp. You will get super slow speeds and drops in your connection.
In case anyone hasn't said it... you can't test routers with a device sitting on top of the router... Speeds get drastically different as you get further away. This video is fundamentally flawed.
This video was to show the difference between routers and no it doesn't get drastically different. Still using the alien to this day and wether you are 2 feet or 50 away it's the same.
@@ibyopappy Not trying to be mean, but there's information out there from people more experienced that say distance is a major factor. Some routers even have a range inside of 5 feet or so where there's little or no signal. It's undstood by anyone who tests routers, you don't measure a routers performance from inches away.
Warning. Amplifi Ubiquiti won’t live up to their commitment. Since 2019 Amplifi has committed to replace a mesh router point which was faulty. They never did. Latest RMA 329500. Will never buy @AmpliFiHome @Ubiquiti #Ubiquiti #AmpliFiHome
Good review! Thanks, you helped me make my mind up. I’m about to pick up the Amplifi Alien tomorrow from BestBuy. 😎
Thank you! A true "real-world" example. I've been going back and forth on this device. I'm looking to replace my Plumes. The Plume's have been wonderful, but I cut the cord recently and added more devices so it's starting to show signs of some weakness. I could simply swap my regular pods for Plume Super Pods, but they are $99 each, and I would still have their annual subscription. I have been a fan of Ubiquiti for years and the Alien just looks COOL! Seeing (hearing) that you have more than 80 devices connected, and it doesn't seem to be impacting your performance, is a great motivator.
Hello, thank you for the comment. I now have 91 wireless devices attached to these routers and no slow down or any issues of any kind. They run smooth and perfect so far. I went though 7 different router before landing on this one before amplifi I was a big asus fan but not anymore. I've switched teams after 3 faulty asus routers over the last 3 months not getting the coverage and constantly losing signal and having one wipe all the device from the router 2 separate times.
Still going strong and I've added a third one. Could not be happier 🙂.
@@ibyopappy I did ultimately take the leap and have been thrilled. My first unit seemed to have a hardware issue, but Ubiquiti took care of it with an equipment swap - after sending like 20+ logs and lots of configuration changes to test. I have over 50 devices connected to just one unit and the performance hasn’t been an issue. I have thought about adding a second one as I’m looking to add some security devices which are all wifi based, but at the same time, I’ve gone back and started to look again at the Ubiquiti Dream Machine and a few AP’s, so that I can setup VLAN’s to keep traffic separate. Thanks again for your review, it really helped push my decision.
@@joecb4401 thank you for letting me know. I am so happy to hear you got a good working one. Amplifi is amazing on response times. I'm now sitting at 161 wifi devices attached right now and still zero slow down on my internet 🙂
@@ibyopappy Holy mackerel that's a LOT of devices!
At the moment it ain't any comparisons of amplifi router vs the hd mesh model and I was contemplating which to invest in so this upload was perfect for my needs😀
I'm so glad I could help🙂. Had the alien for months and no problems whatsoever.
@@ibyopappy Yeah I bet, although I love compact devices the aliens performance is unarguably better😎
Great video! Very informative and really helped me with a buying decision that I was finding hard to make.
I'm glad I could help. I was having the same issue so I made a video for anyone who was going through the same thing as I was 🙂👍
Congratulation for your lesson exposition. Tks very mucha. Best.
I've got a Amplifi HD and was thinking of upgrading to the Alien. The HD seems to have slow wifi performance when there is a lot of devices connected. Thanks for the review
No problem. I have 139 items attached to them as of today and no problem handling the massive amount of them.still going strong after over a year and a half
Thanks for making this video! Extremely
helpful!
Thanks for your video! I helped me decide which one to buy 😊.
And mine is still going strong with zero issues
Hey, Great Video.. a small suggestion. When u run the speed test in this video it would be great if we could see the router and ur phone doing the speed test.
EXCELLENT video, thank you. I want an Alien router to replace my TP-Link. I pay for 1.2 Gbps but typically get 170-240 Mbps down. What I don't understand is that (and I took a screen shot to show Xfinity) that one time (and only once) I got a download speed of 550 Mbps while standing in the same bedroom as the router & my router is a gigabit/WiFi 6 router. So I know it's possible to get really fast speeds. So 550 was the fastest & that was a one & done. Our house is two story box shape, 1600 sq ft. so even though it's not that big I still had to get a range extender. The modem & router is in one upstairs bedroom and the range extender is in my bedroom which is also on the second story. We have about 17 devices going through the system including 4 Ring cameras & everything works fine. The only thing pissing me off is the fact that I pay for 1.2 Mbps and get wifi speeds of 200 mbps average. Based on reviews of the Alien - it seems as if it would be enough for my home & wouldn't need the range extender (or another mesh point).
So all I want for Christmas is a new Ubiquiti Alien router to see how just replacing the router and leaving everything else the same works out. Cheers & Happy Thanksgiving!
So I recently upgraded to a higher internet speed. Now I have 1 gb through them. I'm averaging approximately 700 to 850 through wifi with the Ubiquiti alien. Which is amazing. You'll never reach the 1gb threshold because the higher speed you'll only achieve through direct but 700 to 850 is truly remarkable for wifi and definitely alot better than 200 for sure. I now have 148 devices attached to the two alien routers and there is no problem reaching those speeds whatsoever. I'm still truly happy with them and they are definitely a blessing compared to all the other routers I have tried.
@@ibyopappy Thanks for that - it makes me want to get one that much quicker. One negative comment that I've seen a few times regarding the Alien is that for the price it should be WiFi 6e and until it has it - they won't buy it. I hope when I do buy it I don't find out the next day that there's the "all new Alien wifi 6e" version available to replace the current model. I'm far from being an expert on networking but I think wifi 6e then ads a 6 ghz band which I know none of our devices can even utilize.
@@ibyopappy So at xmas I did get the Alien router and it was $100 off at Best Buy so I only paid $279 for it. As soon as I removed the TPLink and dropped in the Alien my speeds easily tripled. I get over 700 mbps on my laptop and can get 939 mbps on my iPhone 12. On the other side of the house I still get more then 4000 mbps on my laptop and over 500 mbps on my iPhone. And that was just with the default config that the Alien comes with. I still have the TPLink RE650 range extender only because I have since added multiple cameras in the backyard so the signal from the Alien was weak (the Alien is positioned in a room at the front of the house on the second story and the backyard cams are mounted on a shed and the pool deck so they are a good ways off the back of the house). Everything is working smoothly and I am higly highly impressed 5 months later. It is tempting to buy another Alien & ditching the range extender but it's not necessary.
Awesome review, I love Ubiquiti, I went enterprise with the separate devices to construct my home network but now would be nice to get the alien to downsize. I use Philips hue lights that sync to a hub which responds really well to Alexa’s voice response, though I do have all that in the same room with modem and wifi and all. Your man cave is worth the investment, congrats.
Thank you very much, I've added quite a bit to it over the months I now have an 80 inch tv and an xbox series x and a whole lot of fun toys. A fully stocked fridge and soon to be a microwave lol
@@ibyopappy That's pretty awesome. I got a question for ya. Having two of these, one basically connects to the modem to get your internet, while having the 4 LAN ports connecting whatever to that in one room... and then for #2 you have in your mancave, am I still able to utilize the 4 LAN ports on that for my hardwire devices? If so then this is definitely a solution I'll be looking into replacing. I currently have a Ubiquiti USG, Switch, UAP, and a cloud key, which in itself could be replaced with an Alien and probably do well for home WIFI justice. My wifi Download tests only up to 120mb. After hearing your review about what you pay for for your internet, I thought the same, my wifi devices never get anywhere close, sux saying "at least my LAN devices will do" which is all but one device. Anyway, sorry for my added ranting but I think I feel where you came from to where you are now, I want the same experience.
Yes, in the man cave on the second router that is wirelessly meshed together with the one in the house. I have my xbox series and xbox one hooked up to the one in the man cave via Lan port. Gives me full speed internet of what I pay for. Wirelessly I've configured the router and relocated it a bit about a foot higher and I average 345 megs out there now. Wired about 460 in the man cave just make sure you buy 2 alien routers not the alien mesh system. Because the alien mesh bundle has no screen or lan ports on the second unit So it's just mesh point only. Had to make sure I said that cuz I'd feel bad if you accidentally picked the wrong one lol
@@ibyopappy no worries and thanks, I looked at the black mesh system, looks similar to the Amplifi Hd, I deployed a few for friends and family but the Alien is going to surpass the Wifi benchmark, can’t wait to experience it. I’m only getting one for now as it might do far beyond my single Uac-pro and reach everywhere i need it to reach!
@@ohtobeforgiven As I understand if you buy two separate Alien routers, not the MESH pack with 2 routers, so two routers with screens then you can use the Ethernet ports on both routers for what ever you want, and apparently you can use Ethernet to use as the back haul link between the Alien devices for more speed.
I am trying to improve my home network so I listened to your video several times (x4) and really learned a lot and enjoyed it! Among all the other IT presenters, you certainly have the fastest Wi-Fi I have seen -- hands down (1 Gb Internet, and 1000+ on Wi-Fi -- which is amazing!). I would really like to duplicate your setup and wanted to ask your opinion please, if you don't mind: (A) What 6 or 6E modem do you use? (I just rented the ISP Comcast xFI Gateway modem, but unfortunately, only getting about 30% of the 1.2 Gb I am paying for, so if I buy another Modem you recommend, I think it will be so much better. The Gateway presumably has Ethernet ports: Single 2.5Gbps, and Three 1Gbps ports, and has DOCSIS 3.1, but I am not seeing any results from it.). (B) Is your 1st Amplifi Alien router not in Bridge mode (5 Ghz)? (C) Is your 2nd router (5 Ghz) set up as a Mesh point (not in Bridge mode, and not in NAT)? (D) And is your third (2.4 Ghz) router set in Bridge mode, but is it a Mesh point too? (E) Lastly, the way my home is arranged, I think I can hard-wire with an “ethernet backbone (backhaul)” with CAT 8 cable between the modem (basement), Alien router #1 (basement), and Alien router #2 (1st floor). But, Alien router #3 (2nd floor) would have to be a wireless mesh point (no way to run a cable upstairs, since my wife would kill me). I have about 81 devices and can’t add anymore to my old Linksys Velop router, according to their Tech support. I think you can tell I am a newbie at this, and I really need your advice on this. Thank you! 😊
Great real world review
Thank you so much for the compliment 👍
Excellent video my guy! Go Yankees!
Thank you my friend 👍
I like this guy.
Anyone know if there’s any chance Alien supports Apple HomeKit for secure routers in the future? Ubiquity founder is a former Apple engineer, right?
I have over 50 IoT devices in HomeKit. Apple AirPort Extreme (gen 6, the last one) couldn’t handle them all. After I bought a single eero pro 6, then realized the airport extreme maxes out at 50 devices. But then I found out Amazon now owns eero so I’m not interested anymore. Plus the eero pro 6 is a complete nightmare with my older Wemo smart plugs, of which I have a dozen in perpetual unresponsive states.
About to return eero pro 6 for Alien.
I'm not sure if it works with that, sorry never tried anything with Apple. I currently have 156 devices attached to my alien's as of right now with it having no issues whatsoever. Had them almost a year and they are doing great 👍
Thank you for the honest review. Thinking of getting myself the Alien router so this was helpful.
Side note: Nice job with the man cave. I too have a smart home but all devices run on 2.4Ghz since that's standard. How did you manage to get them to run in WiFi 6?
Also, have you ever experienced dropouts? My current setup causes multiple smart devices to lose connection randomly throughout the day. I'm assuming because my current gaming router can't support the bandwidth of having 40+ devices all on the 2.4Ghz channel.
Thanks again!
Hello and thank you for the kind words 🙂. The router can easily handle what ever I have thrown at it. Right now there are 149 devices attached to them with no drop out. The router is wifi 6 but also can handle wifi 5. It's dual band 2.4 and 5 ghz can hook up to any wifi 6 or lower from my experience with it.
On the HD what width are you using on the 5Ghz channel? Some routers default to 40Mhz on the 5Ghz. The alien will be 80Mhz straight off the bat.
The hd goes to 80 as well and I tried both. Same result. Most I saw at any time was 285 and that was only one out of probably 50 speed tests I had done with it.
I have 1 GB internet! But AMPLIFI HD only bringing 300 MB .. Shit i have been robbed lol.. bout to get the alien version
The hd doesn't preform nowhere near as good unfortunately. I'm fairly sure u won't see to much of any dip in speed with an alien though. Should be solid with any internet.
@@ibyopappy i need better speed! I am a day trader and needed a good internet .. this HD is sometimes dropping the signal and causing problems for me since i have 30 devices connected
I have 131 devices hooked up to my alien and they run great no slow down
how is the second router in garage connected to internet? i have my Linksys router connected to my only 1 modem!
It is meshed to the one in the house wirelessly so it's like a super extender for the garage.
@@ibyopappy Question? on the second unit can I Ethernet hard wire a device like a video camera system to have it online access? since main router will be located way too far to run a wire up there, thanks Go Yankees!
Yes, there are several ethernet ports on the back of router in the garage. I have 2 xboxes hardwired straight to it and it gives me the same speed it does in the house as it does in the garage. Just note to be able to do this you will need 2 separate alien routers and mesh them together. If you buy the mesh kit it will not have any ethernet ports on the back of the mesh point. Also the mesh kit itself does not have a screen either on the mesh point. It was I think 80 bucks more buying 2 individual alien routers vs the mesh kit but well worth it. I couldn't be happier with my setup set up was ultra easy and the updates took a about 15 minutes and then it was ready to rock. Lemme know if you have any other questions 🙂👍
@@ibyopappy thanks for the info, how do I mesh both routers?
Through the application it's called amplifi wifi on Google play or Apple. Its very easy just click on set up mesh and it will give you easy instructions. Do the main router first then set up the second with setup mesh point
Hi Man. Do you have tried to connect the alien and hd together? I know they seem to be not compatible but I’m curious to know if it is really possible or not. Actually I’ve the hd and it barely cover my apartment...I still have a great dead zone and my home is not huge...
Only way to hook them together would be through an ethernet backbone. Meaning they would have to be wired to one another to work.
@@ibyopappy ok I see but the question is if I’m this way the HD is seen in the app as an amplify product or as third party access point. Please let me know.
Thank you so much
If you had them wired together you would have to hit the 3 little lines on the top left of the app then push switch amplifi to croos over to the other router. Keep in mind that you will have different ssid names that they will use because the alien will not mesh up with the hd. My suggestion would be to just go with an amplifi alien on it's own. The alien should cover 3000 or better square feet.
They will both be seen in the same application though because they are amplifi routers. Don't forget to hook up to the wifi you wish to access the router from. 👍
What are coverages sq ft wise of both products?
Covers my half acre lot quite sufficient. It all depends on your area and how much interference is in your neighborhood
@@ibyopappy thanks
Excellent video! I just learned that TP-Link will be releasing in March 2023, a new Deco BE95 BE33000 Whole Home Mesh WiFi 7 System with 16-Stream 33-Gbps Quad-Band WiFi - 11520 Mbps (6 GHz-1) + 11520 Mbps (6 GHz-2) + 8640 Mbps (5 GHz) + 1148 Mbps (2.4 GHz). Since I know you tried several routers in the past, what do you think of TP-Link routers? Should I take this plunge, or wait for Amplifi Alien Wifi 7 to come out? I emailed Amplifi and they have no information to release. Thank you! Go Yankees!
So you can do two Alienware with the screens it will work will it work with the HD as well or can I do three alien
Aliens routers only work with alien routers unfortunately they are the same company that makes the hd but as of right now the hd and the alien are not compatible with one another. You can run more than two alien routers meshed together though if you need to
@@ibyopappy thanks for reply.
If I get 1 alien (only have about 12 devices that need internet mostly TVs) will it span across 1/2 acre property ? Will it provide wifi in backyard let's say to my phone for strong wifi? What is sq ft range of product?
I'm sorry to say I think that would be a reach for any 1 wifi router. I have 2 covering my half acre lot
@@ibyopappy cool thanks for response.
Our property covers just under 20,000 Sq. ft. (so a bit less than 1/2 acre) 1 Alien covers the entire area and I can get a good WiFi signal in our neighbor's home beside us & in about 1/2 of the church property on the other side of us. We're hooked up to our local municipality's 50Mb Fiber optic service and typically run 56-58 up speeds & 50-52 down. I just ran a test on my Alien & it's sitting at 57.6 up & 51.8 down. There are 13 devices currently hooked up & I've seen as many as 32 when all of our kids are here. The only issues I've had since purchasing the Alien 2 years ago this month has been some intermittent total signal losses. Our provider has replaced the ONT twice (Which is nice because we now have the latest & greatest...) I've worked with Ubiquity's service techs on this & they finally suggested trying a different cat 6 cable between the ONT & the Alien router. Our provider checked the cable ends & found a bad connection on the router end. The tech replaced both ends & we've not had a single issue since then. The only reason I could see the need to mesh two Aliens together would be if you lived in a large 2 story home (I've been told it's hard to push WiFi up.) or need service over more than 1/2 acre of property.
Even if you have 100+ devices on your network because it's a "smart home" it is completely unnecessary to have 2 separate 400mbps lines of internet with that as the justification. IoT devices use literally kilobits of information and many of them communicate locally without traversing the internet at all, therefore internet speed would have no bearing. Having a separate router for your IoT devices is a good idea with that number of devices as the router itself would be the limitation. But there is zero reason to have a separate line of internet for devices that barely use internet. Also, you state that your bulbs operate better due to Wifi6, but that is not accurate. Your DEVICE must support Wifi6 and I'm not aware of ANY lightbulbs on the market that support Wifi6, which is 802.11ax. If you have an extensive smart home you should be using a hub, such as SmartThings or Hubitat, with Zigbee/ZWave/Thread/Matter to offload those functions from your network.
I have 2 separate internet lines in my home because 1 is for work and it's paid for by my employer and needs to be secure for my work. The other line is for evrything else that runs my home so the only devices hooked up to my work internet is my phone and my computer.
And there is 100% no need for a hub unless your router can't handle it or you just want to buy one because you have extra money in your pocket you don't care about. I now currently have currently 400 megs for work and a gig for the rest. I have 3 aliens 1 that runs my work internet and 2 that run my home and I can tell you whatever you read on paper. You can study till u r blue in the face on wifi 6 vs 5 but every wifi 5 router I purchased which was 7 different high rated/expensive routers couldn't turn off 20 lights at the same time.
@@ibyopappy What you're probably seeing, in relation to your Wifi6 router performing better with 20 lights is something called "spatial streams" and 2x2 vs 8x8 MIMO. The Wifi6 router likely supports more spatial streams, i.e. sending more simultaneous streams out due to having more send/receive antennas. But that is not related to the Wifi6 standard, that's just a better router.
There is absolutely a need for a hub regardless of whether or not your router can handle it. The purpose of a hub is much more than merely connecting your devices. It allows you to create automations and utilize Zigbee/ZWave devices such as contact sensors or motion detectors to create automations like turning the lights on when you walk into a room or when you open a door. They also allow you to create complex routines such as only turning the lights on at night when it detects motion, or when you turn your TV on setting the lights to a specific dimness or color. Or even things like knowing whether or not you are home and doing things based on your presence in the house. For example, my house does things differently based on whether me, my wife, or both of us are home. They also enable you to link your home security system and even cameras into them. That is a true smart home, not yelling to Alexa to turn some lights on. The idea is for things to just happen correctly on their own based on rules and routines.
Can it work wireless? Not connected to lan does it work?
Are you asking if the mesh part can work on wireless? If so yes the one in the garage isn't attached to anything but a power plug.
So if I buy two of this I can mess it ?
You can mesh both router together as long as they are alien routers.🙂
@@ibyopappy can you do 3 alien. Router
Do you have LTE 5G GSM Internet. Mobile GSM Internet attached to your router ?
Nope jus regular old cable internet
does it captures wifi signal from cellphone 5g data?
No it does not.
Your smart bulbs are wifi 6?
No, the signal from the router is wifi 6 which allows them to turn off at the exact same time with no fluctuations.
Are you sure your HD is using all the same cables? You should not be getting 30 mb right in front of it. I pay for gigabit and get 400+ Infront of my HD
Yes cat 8 ethernet cables. And the 30 mb speeds was not in front of the router it was the mesh nodes where it was 30 mb speeds. If you are getting 400 on gigabit speed internet it's definitely not living up to what I believe it should. I moved up to gigabit internet and I'm running every bit of that on the aliens still to this day. 1,000 plus on wifi
Alien is WiFi 6 the HD is not so it's common sense the Alien knocks the other down, am i wrong?
True but even creating a different 5ghz ssid on the alien that's not even a wifi 6 channel is still faster than the hd.
@@ibyopappy i agree
"I have two 400 Meg inernet services." Not really comparing apples with apples, because the internet service could be a limiting factor. You should try the same test using the same internet service.
I left a comment about that already, I did about 20 times use the same line as well
Still using the Alien 👽? How are you liking it (them)?
Still going strong and my favorite routers I've ever owned. Whenever these go out years from now I will definitely be buying more alien routers!👍
@@ibyopappy excellent man… thanks for responding… I bought 2 aliens… any settings you’d recommend? Or set it and forget it?
Depending on your usage I have well over 100 wifi items hooked up and on the one mesh set up I created a separate 2.4 network just for my particular application. It's not necessary but I wanted my garage to grab the closest router for 2.4 for everything that runs on that band. Lights and cameras ect. Just make sure you don't create accidentally another second isp with the same name. I screwed up and for about a week I kept getting disconnected over my mistake lol.
@@ibyopappy so wait… you set up another 2.4 network? On the mesh router? So you have “2” 2.4 networks? You can do that?
Over 100 devices that’s awesome! Tell me this… I’ve noticed that when I run a speed test… a couple of times the initial test was low.. then after a little bit of time I run it again and it’s insane…. Is that normal? Does the alien basically say ok we need to send more Wi-Fi to this area? I’m diggin this so far… it’s really nice.. I can’t remember if I asked you about the No backhaul thing… how do you feel about that? But I think it does have some type of backhaul though right? I think I read that somewhere
I have a different 2.4 network out in the garage on the mesh point and It's totally separate from the house. In the settings of the router it will say create a second 2.4 network and you just have to name it and turn it on. As for the backhaul I believe it has 4 dedicated for each router but I'm not sure. I had slow speeds at first as well. For a short while I think because it was learning the network and traffic but after a while it's been flying ever since. From what I know it learns the way data is used and figured out which devices can take 2.4 and which ones can take 5 ghz. Jus make sure you do not create a second identical isp. You will get super slow speeds and drops in your connection.
Can alien and HD mesh together???
No unfortunately they can not.
@@ibyopappy thank you
In case anyone hasn't said it... you can't test routers with a device sitting on top of the router... Speeds get drastically different as you get further away. This video is fundamentally flawed.
This video was to show the difference between routers and no it doesn't get drastically different. Still using the alien to this day and wether you are 2 feet or 50 away it's the same.
@@ibyopappy Not trying to be mean, but there's information out there from people more experienced that say distance is a major factor. Some routers even have a range inside of 5 feet or so where there's little or no signal. It's undstood by anyone who tests routers, you don't measure a routers performance from inches away.
you have zero cred, bro. 1st and biggest mistake? Putting two wifi outputs next to one another. Close your channel and go whimper.
Ur my first troll! That's awesome! What's it like having nobody that loves you? 💗I still do even if nobody else does.
Oh and by the way. They are called 100 foot ethernet cables so i could make the video genius. People like u don't
understand technology lol🤣😂🤣😂
Unfair test swap them on to the opposite plans
If you read through the comments I mentioned I did that multiple times same results. Slow speed on amplifi hd
Warning. Amplifi Ubiquiti won’t live up to their commitment. Since 2019 Amplifi has committed to replace a mesh router point which was faulty. They never did. Latest RMA 329500. Will never buy @AmpliFiHome @Ubiquiti #Ubiquiti #AmpliFiHome