AmpliFi LR & HD Home Wi-Fi Mesh System 2021 Latest Updated Review

AmpliFi LR & HD Home Wi-Fi Mesh System 2021 Latest Updated Review.

The AmpliFi HD is a beautiful mesh networking system that anyone would be proud to plop down right in their living room, with enough performance and range to shatter every speed record we have on the books.

Design and Features

The Amplifi HD reviewed here is the most powerful of three systems available from Ubiquiti Networks and is designed for large houses with obstructions, such as dense walls, floors, and other structures, that degrade Wi-Fi signals

It uses six high-density, long-range antennas to cover up to 20,000 square feet and offer theoretical throughput speeds of up to 5.25Gbps (1.75Gbps from the router and 1.75Gbps from each mesh point)

while the Standard System which is designed for smaller dwellings uses four standard-power antennas to cover up to 10,000 square feet, with maximum speeds of up to 2.35Gbps

Setup is a breeze

Setting up the Amplifi HD took about five minutes, and was done entirely through the step-by-step guide offered by the free iOS app (there’s also one for Android).

The base station itself is small enough to nestle into any area, though Ubiquiti clearly designed it to fit into any home décor.

Installation and Performance

The Amplifi HD router is a breeze to install. After connecting it to my desktop PC and my cable modem and downloading the mobile app, I opened the app and tapped the Set Up Amplifi button

The app immediately recognized the router and asked me to name it and assign a password. The router let out a chime and flashed its LED lights, and I was connected.

Pros

• Easy to install and configure.
• Dedicated band control.
• Four LAN ports.
• Good throughput and range performance.

Cons

• Expensive.
• Limited settings.
• Large mesh points.
• USB port does not support external peripherals.

There’s an app, of course

The app is designed to be straightforward, though we found it took a little time to get used to. It works a lot on visual cues that aren’t always obvious.

For example, router and mesh point settings are accessible by tapping on an image in the app, since there is no shortcut to them in the menu at the bottom. Discovering them was trial-and-error.

The app offers real-time data like the base station’s screen does, and bandwidth testing was always a tap away. Unfortunately, as of this review, there is no remote access to control or manage the router away from home

Ubiquiti says that feature is coming, and we hope it is because the whole setup here will benefit. As is, any troubleshooting or administering has to be done within the router’s Wi-Fi range.

Security and Parental Controls

AmpliFi HD’s router and extenders can use WPA2 encryption to keep your data secret. But, as with the Luma and Starry Station, you can’t use an older WEP-based device.

You can set the AmpliFi to hide the SSID. AmpliFi lacks Luma’s built-in firewall that can keep hackers out, and it can’t perform port forwarding or

Currently, the router lacks traditional parental controls for keeping kids away from the web’s seamier side — a feature you do find on the Luma.

You can pause all internet connections when it’s dinnertime or homework time.

Casting a Wide Mesh

Mesh networks are somewhat of a niche for homes because they can be overkill in many instances.

The Amplifi HD system is probably good enough with the base station alone.

like dense walls, brick, concrete, and any other obstructions that weaken signal strength

Hardware

As we hinted to in the previous section, the AmpliFi router uses a new style of wireless networking known as “mesh networking”,

Joining the likes of the Luma and Eero Wi-Fi systems which use multiple antennas that plug into a standard 12v outlet

spread out across the entirety of your house in order to transmit a consistent signal across long distances with as little bandwidth degradation as possible.

Software

The app is equally as intuitive to use, giving users the option to manage  settings and options directly from their phone

Plus if that wasn’t enough, the app even includes a native Live Chat feature that automatically connects you to a support desk that can help you with any technical issues

AmpliFi LR & HD Home takes all the parts of managing your home router making for what is arguably one of the user-friendly software packages we’ve tested to date.