Ubiquiti UniFi AP Problem

[AlexanderCS]

Hi guys,

Due to my limited networking experience, I figured I'd post here to get some more educated thoughts before deciding to take on this job or not.

Client recently switched to a new Bell Router (Modem/Router combo). He has that going to a Ubiquiti 8-Port TOUGHSwitch PoE. From there, he has 4 Ubiquiti UniFi AP units set up.

When he switched from the old router to the new and plugged the AP units back in, he found they weren't working. The green light (normally solid), will blink every now and then. A look at the manual tell me this indicates the device is in an "isolated state", where all WLAN's are brought down until an uplink is found.

Is this as simple as going to the UniFi software and rediscovering the units?

Really appreciate any insight, especially from folks who have used the specific hardware before.

 

[Mokester]

It appears that the old router may have used a different subnet scheme (192.169 vs 10.0.0, etc) than the new one and APs were set to static. Due to this, the APs cannot connect to the new router. This would be my first guess. It doesn't take too long to configure them...especially if the controller is still present on the network and you have access to it.

Just reset the APs using the reset button...light should go amber. Then discover/reconfigure using the controller. The APs won't show up until they have been reset as the Unifi discovery tool only finds APs that haven't been synced with a controller.

 

[Mokester]

Oh, secondly, find out how many ppl are connecting to this network...if it's a lot of people, then you should recommend moving away from the modem/router combo...he needs better speeds for multiple connections from a SMB router line. You can check the forums for suggestions as this has been covered extensively.

 

[@ncient geek]

Hi Alexander,

in my experience with Unifi APs almost every time you change hardware you need to reset and reacquire. I have never been able to do this from the web interface, generally it means running around from floor to floor and push the reset button on each and every one of the APs, then rename everything, reset everything, names, IPs etc.
I like the Unifi system, mind you, but this is one of the hassles which are not so nice.

 

[AlexanderCS]

Thank you both for the helpful replies.

Mokester, about his network... asked him, he just has a very large house. He's got wife and kids on the network, but he also has a lot of money and a number of places he wants coverage like his "games room". You're right that's one of the first questions I should ask.

@ncient, when you say to reset everything... it's generally not all manual, is it? I know the APs have a reset button that I'll hold to reset them... but when I go into the Controller software and "Discover" them again, is it fairly automatic? Or must these APs have static IPs?

Either way, I'm stuck waiting on the client. He had another group come in when he first set it up, so he's not sure if he even has the login for the controller or what machine it's on. If he can find that info, I'll give it a go since I'm more local and he likes that.

Thank you again for the advice!

 

[frostbyte5014]

Here a few tips I use with the Unifi system that may help you.

Try power cycling the AP a few times giving it up to 10 min each time to be discovered. I have had this problem a few times. I have also had to update the firmware to the latest edition a few times. All in all it's a great setup. Especially if you need a guest portal. It's usually very dependable although I use a digital timer on all my setups to make the AP powercycle each night. That has really improved the uptime when the AP's have a busy day.

 

[paristotle]

Is the controller still in the house? If you can get to the controller you'll save a lot of time. What was the old router/modem? Sometimes the technicians will work with default subnet so you can try a couple of these (example D-Link 192.168.0.0/24) to see if you can discover what the old subnet was

 

[@ncient geek]

Thank you both for the helpful replies.

@ncient, when you say to reset everything... it's generally not all manual, is it? I know the APs have a reset button that I'll hold to reset them... but when I go into the Controller software and "Discover" them again, is it fairly automatic? Or must these APs have static IPs?

That all dépends on your network setup. If you have DHCP set on your router the discovery will be automatic. The resetting however will require you to run around in the building with your little screwdriver to punch the reset holes on the APs.
This sounds like a lot of work, but actually is not. If you document your setup correctly, resetting takes something like an hour for 10-15 APs.
From my experience though, Unifi works MUCH better when the APs have static adresses.

The whole system is REALLY EASY to setup and to maintain !

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Log into that Bell gateway...look at the DHCP leases...see if the APs are there. This alone will give you a definitive answer as to if they're on the new IP range or not....(to answer the "are they statically assigned question").