I’ve been a Balance 30 LTE router user for a couple of years now, and have puchased four Peplink APs over the past year. A few weeks ago my IT consultant sold me a Unifi POE managed switch and a gateway cloud device, both of which are working well. If/when I need to replace the Balance 30 LTE, is there any major problem using the Peplink APs if I decide to go with a Unifi router? I realize I won’t have the central AP control and will need to log into each AP to make adjustments and update firmware, but that would be rare. Any other major issues to expect? I haven’t decide to do this yet, but I’m curious about my options.
They’ll work but, frankly, I think you went the wrong direction. I’d have strongly recommended replacement of the B30 LTE with a newer Peplink router and preserve Peplink’s excellent ability to manage the APs.
It’s not just a matter of updating FW on the APs – it’s being able to do the myriad of things the Balance controller does in its relationship with the APs.
I may well go that way (I haven’t replaced the router yet). But I needed a new switch pronto, live in rural Maine where two-day shipping is usually not possible, and my IT guy had a Unifi switch just sitting there. I’m not wed to anyone’s gear these days, frankly. I was a Peplink fan, but I got a sour taste when Peplink published incorrect specs for the B30LTE a while back, which caused me to buy those Pepwave APs, thinking I had a router that would last for awhile. Last time I’ll rely on Peplink’s marketing dept., that’s for sure. So, given that the APs will probably need less adjustment than anything in my system, but I’m stuck with them, I’m trying to figure out what to do when my Starlink exceeds the 200mbps limit of the B30LTE. I appreciate the reply and thoughts, and Peplink may get that sale. But given the introduction of the well-performing Unifi gear into my system, maybe not.
I have a significant Ubiquiti network infrastructure with MBX 5G as my backbone router and a Netgear Pro-level managed POE switch. Downstream is entirely Ubiquiti including several fiber POE switches but a few QNAP switches thrown in for 10G ethernet to my work computers and Synology NAS. The router works without issue but has little to do with managing the Ubiquiti APs or any other network component - it simply provides gateway connectivity to my network. I also have a Pepwave AP that I connect when I take my router RV camping. All just works. What problems would you anticipate?
I don’t know that I anticipate anything specifically, other than losing the ability to control the APs from the router itself. Now, I log into the router and can do things like update the firmware for my Pepwave APs from that single point, on the AP tab. I’d lose that. The big lure of Ubiquiti/Unifi is that my IT supplier/consultant deploys their gear often, as do many others, while Peplink seems to be more of a niche player. I do like SpeedFusion Cloud, though. We’ll see…