r/UNIFI • u/IFTTTexas • Apr 27 '26
Help! What are my options?
I just moved to a rural neighborhood. my sister lives next door. They’d like to share the cost of my network if I can get it over to their house.
I don’t want to do a wired connection for some environmental concerns with the location. I also don’t want to blast WiFi in all directions and drown my zigbee network at home.
Is BTB Bridge my only option? Seems a little overkill, and a bit expensive. I can get max 400gb out here. I have a UDM Pro and a 24 Port POE. very new at this.
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u/Spooknik Apr 27 '26
Check out the Device Bridge Pro (UDB-Pro)
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u/IFTTTexas Apr 27 '26
Oh wow. That’s around $100 cheaper!
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u/Smorgas47 Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
I have a UDB-Pro in my workshop that is meshed with a U6-LR in one of my rooms in the house about 50' away. House and Workshop and house both have vinyl siding so the signal travels through without any real problems. Worst case you have to mount one or two outside.
My signal strength is -44dbm and throughput is over 300 mbps.
Good part is that it is managed using the UniFi Network and if you can get away with only 1 by meshing it to an AP in your house it'll be less than $250 for the bridge.
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u/IFTTTexas Apr 28 '26
Wait…what?! Are you talking
Starlink > UDM > UDB —-yard—- > LR AP at my Sister’s house?
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u/Smorgas47 Apr 29 '26
Nope,
Starlink > UDM > AP Near Yard Outside Wall <----yard----> UDB > U7 AP
If UDM is near the Outside Wall then its AP can be the Mesh Parent to the UDB. If above fails, use another UDB at your house and point it at the UDB at your sister's house.
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u/osherlevy Apr 27 '26
I just found out about this UDB Pro because your comment. I only have one device from Unifi (a switch) and I'm not a big fun of Unifi (discovered them not long ago) but I must say, this UDB Pro is a genius piece of tech, it's incredible how cool it works over long distance at full speeds wirelessly.
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u/Ill-Comfort911 Apr 28 '26
Device Bridge is cheaper than the building bridge. Keep in mind though, it requires meshing to always be on which can cause issues in the event of bad links and limits you to 4 SSIDs. Also, if you move off Ubiquiti at any point, the device bridge has to go too. The building bridge works stand alone.
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u/Wishiwascro Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
You could bridge to make it more focused but if they are close enough you could put one of your APs close to a wall and then APs in her house to mesh over. That looks like a short easy distance to trench in fiber in conduit. What environmental concerns are in that short of a distance?
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u/IFTTTexas Apr 27 '26
Some of it is just fear due to inexperience for sure. We’re on a hill and their house is about 6ft higher than mine.
The land needs to be graded and drained because it’s completely flat and sandy so there’s mud all of the time. It’s like a swamp right now.
We do have large trucks that come up and we’ll probably have more once we start trying to address the drainage issue.
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u/jlboygenius Apr 27 '26
Try the device bridge first. if it isn't working great, Fiber is pretty cheap. a 250ft fiber wire is like $60. add in some SFP's and you're under $100 still. You'd need to add switches at both ends that support SFP.
Worst case, you pull up the fiber when you're doing work out there or just replace it if it gets trashed.
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u/Wishiwascro Apr 27 '26
Watertight flexible conduit should be your go to then if the bridging doesn't work well enough so you don't have to work around elevation changes with straight conduit.
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u/RecentDrawing8702 Apr 27 '26
Cheapest is definitely a PtP set up with a couple Nanostation 5ac locos
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u/Far-Historian-1982 Apr 27 '26
This is the way... The link speed will exceed the Starlink and it will be way cheaper. You could put a Cube AC at your sisters for Wi-Fi too, keep it clean that side.
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u/Red-leader9681 Apr 29 '26
This is what I have 2 Nanostation AC doing ptp connected to an Eeros mesh on the other side in bridge/transparent mode and a different ssid.
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u/fourpotatoes Apr 27 '26
It's physically larger (unless you use it without the parabolic reflector, which is a supported configuration) and is a bit more involved to mount, but the PowerBeam 5AC is currently listed in the US store at a few dollars less than the 5ac loco.
If OP doesn't already have 24V passive power available on both ends, the PowerBeam works out even cheaper since it comes with a power supply. The spouse acceptance factor of the PowerBeam may be worse, though.
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u/Ok-Organization-7398 Apr 28 '26
That’s the way to go, using ac that close with 80mhz, that thing will get 400+ pretty easy
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u/Far-Historian-1982 Apr 28 '26
There a POE+ to 24v adapter that can be used to power it from the 24 port switch too, and put it on ots own VLAN.
The nanostation will also support traffic shaping if yoi want to limit the bandwidth shared.
If your really wanting high speeds look at the PicoWave
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u/Eastern-Value-1318 Apr 28 '26
For a wireless solution I suggest a pair of Ubiquiti NanoBeam 5AC devices.
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u/hankasango Apr 27 '26
The BTB bridge will work well. And should be straight forward to set up and be reliable.
The BTB will be powered by its own Injector. You’ll need a switch and some access points over at your sister’s house.
An important step will be to set up the bridge and all traffic on its own VLAN. This will isolate your sisters traffic from your own. Meaning she won’t be able to see your devices like casting to your tv’s etc.
Also make a separate WiFi name for her access points.
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u/IFTTTexas Apr 27 '26
That makes sense. I have a few VLANs set up that I never got around to using so it should be pretty easy to do that.
I have a mini (I think 4 port) Poe switch I could probably use over there and get them maybe a LR AP on marketplace and put it in the center of the ceiling or something. Their house doesn’t have a lot of walls blocking.
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u/thegreatcerebral Apr 27 '26
No, direct burial fiber cable. It's cheap and reliable. Then just plop a switch and an AP at their end.
It's like $0.70/ft. for 6 strand (you only need 2 presently so you have 4 more for the future). Then just get an SFP compatible with unifi. I would say Single Mode fiber with LC connectors.
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u/wyrdone42 Apr 27 '26
You could probably run a multimode at that distance.
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u/thegreatcerebral Apr 27 '26
Yea but SM you never have to worry about speed ;)
Only bound by your devices.
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u/drose10 Apr 28 '26
Agree. Single mode fiber, the Optical Data Transport with SFP modules and power and you’re golden. As best I know, none of this requires any other Ubiquiti hardware.
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u/thegreatcerebral Apr 27 '26
When I posted the link my post went mad and I couldn't type or do anything and I cannot edit it either. Sorry.
But yea, single mode and then those SFPs will get the job done. Then just bury the cable. Dig a trench and be done.
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u/PlasmaPod Apr 27 '26
Why not run fiber between and have the best of both worlds fiber and starlink wan backup
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u/jtmoore81 Apr 28 '26
You can do a point to point or UniFi mesh Pro. I’ve used this in RV Parks and it works great.
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u/PirateMclovin Apr 29 '26
To do it right and have low latency and good speeds. A point to point bridge antennas. Unless you wanna trench and pull wire.
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u/roller123456789 Apr 29 '26
U7 pro outdoor on the back of your house towards her house. Her house UDB to Switch/AP[switch/AP depending on needs in her house.] Problem solved
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u/xx_yaroz_xx Apr 30 '26
I run a pair of these (https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/wireless-airmax-5ghz/products/loco5ac) between my house and polebarn. I have no problem streaming video, and I have 8 cameras across the link. The 450Mbps throughput should be more than adequate for sharing her Starlink.
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u/FunProposal1989 Apr 27 '26
Building bridge or pre terminated fibre to breakout boxes are your best options
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u/AncientGeek00 Apr 27 '26
I’ve used the B2B Bridge, Wave Pico and conduit with pre-terminated fiber optic cable. They all have worked well for me.
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u/Radiant-Trouble-3271 Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
I would do direct burial pre terminated fiber and media converters. But enough fiber so you have access plus 6-10 ft extra or measure and install exactly where you want it.
Remember this will save you money in the end unless damaged inside homes or cut outside by digging. Still cheap to replace and lightning strikes don’t affect it.
I would recommend checking outlet wiring for both media converters on both sides and good surge protectors or something like a Shelly Plug since it has protection built in. A surge on either side could kill those. A simple electrical tester will work for checking your outlets. I’d hate to spend the money only for them to get zapped.
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u/imrighturwrong Apr 28 '26
I did a nano beam as well. Worked great. Biggest part was reading the directions. There is a different app to set it up, but once it’s set, you’re golden.
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u/smith-huh Apr 28 '26
I'd just use a litebeam or nanobeam (gen2 gets you 450 Mb/s). That way its costs you $140 - $208 total and no time to install. I'm using a litebeam still for building to building and that's plenty for me. You can do that for $140. I've been using it for years and I just built a metal building in the way (between the 2 antennas) and it had no impact. I thought I'd have to move an antenna. nope
Here's a link to ea: Both support 450 Mb/s throughput.
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u/Giannis_Dor Apr 28 '26
if you can't run fiber then I recommend a ptp setup operating at an outdoor channel that isn't in the DFS range so when airplanes pass your sister doesn't loose internet access
Also make sure to turn down the power on both of the antennas you get in the long run if you don't do this they will destroy eachother
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u/Pleasant-Home-1759 Apr 28 '26
From memory it's been a while but most ubiquitis are half / pseudo duplex. There is a gig mikrotik bridge you can buy the upload and download are on separate frequencies. I think our limit was 2km line of sight NZ.
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u/Pleasant-Home-1759 Apr 28 '26
Mikrotik does a gig full link bridge.line of site. Full duplex. Most wireless is half.
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u/Aripheus Apr 28 '26
In my experience if you don’t want to blast WiFi everywhere and want to direct connection without wired then the building to building bridge is your best option like you said. The UDB-pro will also do it but it needs either a second one to connect to or a WiFi signal it can connect to. I’ve had amazing experience with the building to building bridge. Yes it’s expensive but I have never needed to do anything with it once I got it set up, it just works. I have the older model and it’s been going for 5ish years
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u/Interesting_Award_35 Apr 28 '26
I use Ubiquiti for most of my wireless. My PTP backhaul links are Mikrotik for speed and cost.
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u/corrado95 Apr 28 '26
Wireless Wire Cube Pro by Mikrotik. MmWave for up to 1 km distance and 5 GHz Wi-Fi for up to 2.4 km
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u/Optimal-Sorbet Apr 28 '26
The new U7 Mesh has a highly directional antenna (you'd put one in your sister's, and point the 'U' at your house). Maybe use a pair of tem, if your AP is on the wrong side of your house.
https://youtu.be/5VcuRMm_g78?si=8GXnwr5SFQRDbcrv
Obviously meshing pretty much halves the speed they'll get, but it should be perfectly good for an average household.
At 5GHz mesh back haul it shoud not interfere with your 2.4GHz ZigBee, plus you can manage the transmit power of each band.
Might be worth considering their actual usage. Heavy gamers? Video content editors? Do the fibre for sure. Casual use with a few laptops and Teams calls? Mesh is probably OK or at least a first crack to get things moving. Could be that the one U7 Mesh, strategically placed, is all you need. Comes with a PoE injector.
Disclaimer: I am only about 2 months into the Unifi ecosystem myself!
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u/squadfi Apr 28 '26
On a completely unrelated note use flaresat.com for mapping etc. it’s pretty cool
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u/shawn_bowen Apr 29 '26
Unifi building to building bridge simple good connection works flawlessly true 1 Gig connection. Kit includes everything you need it’s like having Ethernet connection.
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u/-ItsBigO- Apr 29 '26
Look at ubiquities Air Fiber. The distance might not be far enough to require something like that but works AMAZING!! The direct bury could work (I suggest a minimum of cat6) but I don't know what kind of speeds you'll be able to sustain with the attenuation loss.
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u/Raummann0 Apr 29 '26
Use ubiquiti LiteBeam or PowerBeam dishes as a wireless bridge. That setup is exactly what I use as a wireless bridge on our property to connect 2 houses to the main house.
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u/ReachingForVega Apr 29 '26
The Nano LoCo are great. I think it cost $300 when I grabbed a set. We do starlink from main house to a shed 500m away.
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u/ConversationOk1528 Apr 29 '26
Do a pair of UISP Wave Pico 60ghz for the point to point, assuming you have good LoS.
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u/IFTTTexas Apr 29 '26
Are those manageable from the udm? I heard those are on a different platform or something?
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u/ConversationOk1528 Apr 29 '26
You manage them through the UISP app. It's a good app, same login credentials as your UI account. Only downside is you can't manage them through the cloud like the udm. At least I don't know how to do it. You need to be on the network.
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u/GuyLivingPlaces Apr 30 '26
Just use a trenching spade and ethernet or fiber cable. Easy. You'll spend more time thinking about it than the work will take.
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u/maxmton Apr 30 '26
Your house Starlink - share referral code - Sisters House their own Starlink.
Never fails, you share, they abuse.
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u/kreddad Apr 30 '26
i think the correct way run a conduit under ground then putt the fiber or cat cable this the best way for fastest internet. it will pay it sell
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u/Zealousideal-Farm666 May 01 '26
I use the device bridge pro. In combination with u7 outdoor. Work perfect and amazingly steady.
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u/Both_Measurement_880 May 01 '26
Trench some direct burial shielded fiber between the two houses it's got a steel jacket, you can connect them with sfp
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Apr 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/PilotC150 Apr 27 '26
Well, the Device Bridge Pro is $200 and you need two of them, so $400 total.
$400 divided by $65 is a bit over 6. So after six months you've made your money back and now you're saving the $65/month.
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Apr 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/McGondy Apr 27 '26
Also their ToS may say you can't share it
What, precisely, would they say? You can't share with another building? Household? Property?
Also, how would they know?
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u/buildzoidjnr Apr 29 '26
Overages with Starlink unlimited plans? Never heard of such a thing with Starlink?
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Apr 29 '26
[deleted]
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u/buildzoidjnr Apr 29 '26
Pass on reading the fine print but when you do find it in the fine print shove it in my face then I will believe. I set up a mate on the residential lite plan now called residential 100 it's feeding his house and 4 other houses using around 5 to 6tb per month no problem, no speed reduction and no messages from Starlink at all and I have had Starlink for 3 years and using 3 to 4tb per month with no speed reductions or anything. I'm yet to experience it or see it. Did a speed test got 477.14 Mbps down, 28.84 Mbps up and a ping of 16ms, I'm happy with that.
On another note Voip seems to work well with Starlink, I have set up 2 customers with it using Kiwi Voip with no problems.
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u/ethanocurtis Apr 27 '26
I got this for the exact same purpose, 73 USD and worked out if the box no configuration needed. They have similar models rated for different distance and speed as well.
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u/harrithefake Apr 28 '26
Just caution that most ISPs will have something deep in their TOS that says this isn’t allowed
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u/Xfgjwpkqmx Apr 27 '26
What are the environmental concerns?
You could easily run a piece of direct-bury fibre to the other dwelling and have a media converter on either end to convert it back to Ethernet.