• Static DHCP Reservations for Unifi Devices

I switched my home network over to Unifi gear a few years back and have been thoroughly impressed. In my experience, it’s fast, reliable, and fairly inexpensive. However, some of the user interface can be a little less than intuitive. I hit the following friction point every time I add a new piece of Unifi gear to the network.

Creating DHCP Reservations for Unifi Gear

I like to keep my networking infrastructure in a loosely organized IP topology. Rather than hard-coding static addresses on the specific devices, I prefer to create DHCP reservations. You would think this would be easy, but for some unfathomable reason, the Unifi controller hides the ability to set DHCP-assigned IPs for Unifi specific gear. It’s important to note that these steps are not necessary for regular devices on your network, just for the infrastructure.

Find your new device on the Devices tab in your Controller. In this example, I’ll be giving a static IP to u6-lite-01 .

Device at Auto-Assigned IP

Select your new device and expand the Details tab to find your device’s MAC address. Write the MAC down somewhere.

Device MAC

  • Navigate to the Clients screen in the controller and select + Add Client at the top.

Add a new client with MAC + alias, click Add (don’t set fixed IP yet!).

Adding Client

  • Still on the Clients screen, select + All Configured Clients on the top.

Filter to your newly added alias.

Client without IP

  • Select your new device.

Navigate to the Network tab and give it the fixed ip.

Give the Client an IP

  • Find your device and restart it.

Enjoy your AP at its new IP!

Client at the IP

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how to set static ip unifi controller

Give Any Device a Static IP with UniFi

It’s simple to assign a device a static IP address on a UniFi network. Over time, the IP addresses assigned to the devices on your network, may change. Typically this is not a problem. However, there are some instances where a static IP address is preferred.

Many smart home devices rely on IP addresses to communicate. You access Home Assistant by typing the IP address into a browser. If it’s IP address changes you won’t be able to reach it. Additionally, Home Assistant uses IP addresses to control smart devices locally. So if a smart device’s IP address changes Home Assistant may not be able to reach it.

This guide will show you how to assign any device a static IP from the UniFi controller.

Navigate to the Clients tab in the UniFi Controller.

  • Navigate to the Clients tab in the UniFi Controller.
  • Choose the device you want to assign a static IP address to.
  • Find the Configuration menu in the device’s setting.

how to set static ip unifi controller

  • Scroll down to the Network section of the Configuration settings.
  • Turn on the Use fixed IP address option and save.
  • You should see a confirmation that the network changes were saved successfully.
Did you find an error or need some extra support? Please reach out in the comments and I will do my best to help! -Alex

how to set static ip unifi controller

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7 thoughts on “ give any device a static ip with unifi ”.

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this doesn’t work. After “network changes were saved successfully” nothing happens, IP address is the old IP address, not the new IP address

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Some things you can check/try:

* Any chance your old IP address is due to the device’s setting? * Reboot your device. * Forget the device and reconnect to the network.

What is the device?

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This does not appear to be working on the UDMP. I tried the new and old interface and the button displays a red circle with a line through it indicating it is not an option. Been looking through settings and guides, so any info would be helpful.

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Does not work even though device is set to get IP through DHCP.

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What about the Unifi hardware devices? I have my UMD PRO as 10.0.0.1 I’d like my Pro 24 PoE switch to be 10.0.0.2 and my UAP’s to be .3 .4 .5. I can’t seem to find an easy way to do this.

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The ‘fixed IP address’ toggle is grayed out. It states ‘This feature requires a Unifi Security Gateway or L3 switch.’ I have no idea what that means.

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Well of course it “doesn’t work” if the previous IP lease is still active. You need to re-initiate it somehow. The most convenient to start with is try clicking the “Re-connect” at the end of the line with the particular device in Unifi Network Application.

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Manually setting the controller address for a Unifi AP

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Author Stephen J

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In some circumstances there may be a need to manually tell a Unifi AP where to find its controller. This may be needed if you can't provide the host name "unifi" in the DNS server for the subnet that the APs are located in.

The prerequisite to this process is you must know the IP address of the AP you need to modify. How you accomplish that I leave to you.

3 Steps total

Step 1: ssh to your unifi radio.

ssh to ubnt:192.168.1.20 (or whatever the IP address is.) default password is ubnt, if it something else, I hope you wrote it down when you set it. :)

Step 2: Reset to defaults

You must reset the AP to defaults before changing the inform ip address. To do so execute the following command

syswrapper.sh restore-default

This will reboot the radio and disconnect your SSH session. Once it comes back online, you will need to reconnect.

Step 3: Set new inform IP address

Connect to the mca client

Now issue the set-inform command with the IP address of your Unifi controller.

set-inform http://192.168.3.2:8080/inform

The AP should connect to the controller within a few seconds and you are set.

My need for this arose when I copied my config from my local Unifi controller to a new one on a VM in a different subnet. The problem I ran into was that DNS for the subnet where the APs were isn't setup to use our internal DNS servers so it wasn't seeing the "unifi" host in my DNS. Since I didn't have direct control of the router, I had to find a solution until the router could be updated. Thanks to the Ubiquiti forum guys for providing this solution. (see Reference Link)

Hope it was helpful.

  • Inform URL Won't Stay Set Opens a new window

22 Comments

User avatar

Thanks for sharing this!

User avatar

Nicely done.

User avatar

FYI - Seems with the newer version you need to issue set inform again once you've adopted it in the web admin.

User avatar

Thanks for this. Especially useful on cloud config. BTW - when setting up from AWS image just use the public dns in place of the IP address ( http://ec2-xx-xx-xxx-xx.compute-1.amazonaws.com:8080/inform ).

User avatar

And double thanks to akp982

I couldn't figure out why it disconnected after adoption. I kept on resetting it and and then set-inform. Little did I know I shouldn't have reset it. :)

User avatar

Thanks for this. We have multiple offices connected via site-to-site VPN and have had trouble getting some of our remote APs to show up on our controller that is run in our main office. I knew about the restore-default command but did not know how to tell it what inform URL to look at. This really did the trick.

FYI, at first it wasn't even showing up. After the first set-inform it showed up in the controller but said it was disconnected. Ran set-inform again and it upgraded, provisioned, and connected. I will be doing this on the rest of my unseen AP's very shortly. Thanks again.

User avatar

thanks for this information... now i can see my access point...

User avatar

Thanks for the tip! It's good to know that there is the SSH option on these devices.

User avatar

Thanks for this info... you really saved my bacon!

Plus a good excuse to keep putty on my machine ;)

User avatar

I have a Unifi AP, but the machine with the controller crashed without a backup (It wasn't a critical machine, but I do wish we had the controller config saved).

Is there a way through SSH to determine the config settings on the AP? I'd like to reconfigure the controller with the same SSID's, passwords, and VLANS.

User avatar

Unfortunately, I can't answer your question. I would highly recommend you ask over at the Ubiquiti community. You should get a knowledgeable answer there. http://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi/bd-p/UniFi

User avatar

This worked for me at first. But after 2 weeks of running my AP's they are saying disconnected now. We have multiple offices connected through vpn routers with the unifi software at our datacenter location. I logged on today to add a new AP and all of them say disconnected even though they are working at each location still. I tried just doing the set inform by itself on one of the AP's multiple times and the unifi controller still says it is disconnected.

User avatar

Thanks for sharing, this will be useful in the next few weeks.

Thanks that helped me! Also this helps with more detail: http://helpdesk.maytechgroup.com/support/articles/3000008280-how-to-move-a-ubiquiti-unifi-access-point-to-a-new-controller

When I type the set-inform, I get this reply: login as: ubnt [email protected] 's password:

BusyBox v1.11.2 (2013-03-22 03:06:31 PDT) built-in shell (ash) Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.

BZ.v2.4.1# mca-cli UniFi# set-inform http://10.196.91.132:8080/inform

Adoption request sent to ' http://10.196.91.132:8080/inform '.

1. please adopt it on the controller 2. issue the set-inform command again 3. will be saved after device is successfully managed

how to set static ip unifi controller

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Unifi - access point: static ip print.

Modified on: Tue, 21 Apr, 2020 at 5:01 PM

In some networks, you may want to assign a specific IP address to your access point/switch.

You can do this by going to the devices page on the controller > Click on the device that you wish to assign the IP to (Properties page will appear on the right hand side) > Config > Network > select Static IP from the Configure IP drop-down box.

how to set static ip unifi controller

From here you will need to fill in the fields in accordance with your network. -The IP address will be the address you wish to assign the device -The Preferred DNS is the IP used to perform DNS (usually Google's DNS 8.8.8.8 or your ISP DNS) -The Subnet Mask is the Subnet set up on your router (usually 255.255.255.0 unless stated otherwise) -The Alternate DNS is another IP used to perform DNS (8.8.4.4, 1.1.1.1, ISP DNS, or left blank) -The Gateway IP is the IP address of your router -DNS Suffix can be left blank **PLEASE NOTE**   You will have to make sure that all settings are correct before queuing and saving the changes otherwise the unit will become inaccessible and will need to be reset. If this happens or you have any other issues/enquiries, please contact us.

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Hubox

UniFi - How to change the IP of devices

UniFi - How to change the IP of devices

There are two key methods of IP assignment in a network, both with their advantages and disadvantages. These are 'DHCP' (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) and 'Static assignment'. This is the case in any network and is in no way unique to the Unifi environment. You can mix both methods on any network/VLAN.

Almost all gateways will have a built in DHCP server, including Unifi gateways.

Most people will be happy with the DHCP method, where the DHCP server automatically hands out IPs from a pool. . .

  • Low maintenance, easy configuration.
  • No need to set the IP on client devices (mobile phones etc)
  • The IP changes over time, making it harder to identify a device on the network
  • You cannot port forward reliably
  • Firewall controls can only be applied to pools of IPs

Some people will benefit from setting static IPs on certain devices. For example, if you are running some kind of webs server on your network, such devices ordinarily must retain their IP. The IP can either be 'reserved' in the pool for that device, or have it's IP hard coded on the device's interface. . .

  • You always know what the device IP will be
  • Port forwards can be set up and will remain valid because the IP never changes
  • Much finer grained firewall controls can be applied to specific devices
  • More time consuming to configure
  • Error prone
  • You need to keep a list of what IPs are assigned to what clients and be very careful not to assign the same IP to more than one device

Unifi Gatway vs Third Party Gateway

If you are using a Unifi gateway (USG, USG-Pro-4 models etc) then you will be assigning IPs via your Hubox controller. Out-of-the-box, the gateway will be giving all devices, clients, switches, access points, whatever, dynamic IPs from it's internal server. IPs are associated with the device MAC address, the details of which are easily visible in the controller. . .

how to set static ip unifi controller

. . . click on any device you wish to set a static IP, click the gear icon, click Network, and the IP assignment options become visible. . .

how to set static ip unifi controller

As a bare minimum, you will need to set the IP (obviously), the subnet mask, the gateway address, and the DNS address (you can use the gateway address here as in the example above, or a third party DNS such as Google's 8.8.8.8).

Don't change the IP address of the gateway itself by the way, unless you really know what you're doing.

Click Queue Changes, then Apply Changes, the device will reprovision and come back up with it's new IP.

If you are using a non-Unifi gateway, you will not be able to set the IP via your Hubox controller. You must refer to your gateway vendor's own instructions as this is beyond the scope of this article.

how to set static ip unifi controller

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UniFi - Resetting Devices to Factory Defaults

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How to Setup UniFi Network – Complete Guide 2024

Ubiquiti has made setting up a new UniFi Network incredibly simple. You can get your new network up and running within 5 minutes. But after the initial setup, what else do you need to configure? And how do you get the best performance? We are going to walk through the complete UniFi Setup.

And when it comes to setting up an UniFi network, we also need to look at the best placement for our access points, to get the best performance throughout the entire house.

In this article

In this article, we are going through the complete UniFi setup. I will explain the different settings, and give you tips so you get the best performance out of your network.

UniFi Setup

For this UniFi Setup walkthrough, I am going to use a UniFi Express as a Cloud Controller and add an UniFi Lite access point and UniFi Lite switch to it. We are going to configure the network for a typical home network with a guest network and one normal wireless network.

The UniFi Express doesn’t support threat detection (Suspicious Activity or IDS/IDP), so for that part, we will switch over to the UDM Pro that I have running here. Learn more about the difference between UniFi Cloud Gateways in this comparison article .

We won’t are not going to configure VLANs in this article, but if you want to use VLANs, then make sure you read this article once done.

Step 1 – Initial Setup Process

The initial setup of our UniFi Cloud Gateway or Console is best done using a Bluetooth connection and the UniFi Network app. You can download the app here for Android and here for Apple . Make sure that you have the app installed on your phone.

Connect the WAN port of your Cloud Gateway or console to the internet and connect the power to start the device. The device needs a couple of minutes to power up, in the meantime open the app on your mobile.

Note If you don’t wan’t to use the app, then connect a laptop to the network, open a browser and go to http://192.168.1.1 to complete the initial setup.

unifi initial setup

While the console is still initializing , click on Sign In to sign in to your UI Account or to create a new Ubiquiti account. This account allows you to manage your network easily from the internet and also allows you to store automatic backups of your configuration in the cloud.

After you have logged in, you might need to click on the Plus icon to find the new console. Once it’s done with initializing , click on Tap to Setup

In the initial setup process of our UniFi console, we can give the console a name (or leave it default). Depending on the console type you can configure a wireless network. We can change the network later on, but it allows you to quickly connect to your network once the setup is completed.

Click on Connect when you are done and wait for the setup process to complete.

Step 2 – Update UniFi Apps and UniFi OS Settings

If you have created or used a Ubiquiti account in the previous step, then you can now log in on unifi.ui.com to access your console. This will open the Site Manager where you will see your console

Now the first step is to make sure that it’s fully up-to-date . At the moment of writing, UniFi Network 8.0 is released, but the console is still running on 7.x. Click on the console icon to open the console settings (UniFi OS)

unifi os settings

It may take a minute or two before the console has checked if there are updates available, but make sure that all the applications are updated to the latest version:

update unifi network app

While we are in the UniFi OS Settings, open the console settings (2) . Make sure that the System Config Backup is Enabled and check if the location/time zone is correct. Here you can also enable or disable the LED / LCM Screen of the console.

Especially with the UniFi Dream Router or UniFi Express, that you often place insight, you might want to turn the screen off at night or lower the brightness.

Step 3 – Adopt Devices

With UniFi Network fully updated, we can start with adopting our network devices:

  • Open the UniFi Network App
  • Click on Devices
  • Click on Click to Adopt for each device

Adopt Devices

It can happen that a device won’t adopt. This happens when for example the firmware is too old on the device or when it’s previously managed by another UniFi Controller. Check out this article for more information on how to solve adoption issues.

Step 4 – Configure Wireless Networks

We are first going to create and optimize the wireless networks in our UniFi setup. Depending on the console you have, you might already have created a wireless network during the initial setup process. Otherwise, we are going to create one first:

create new wireless network

  • Open the Radio Manager
  • Click on +Create new
  • Enter a name for your wireless network and a password
  • Click on Add WiFi Network
  • Go back to the Radio Manager (1)

We will create the guest network later on, for now, we will focus on our main wireless network.

Access Point Locations

There are a couple of things that we need to take into consideration when it comes to getting the best wireless network performance. It all starts with the placement of the access points. In short, all walls or other obstructions will reduce the strength of your wireless network.

Most place the access point out-of-sight in a closet, but the walls and doors will reduce the performance. Therefore it’s better to place two smaller access points in your house than one powerful one. Check out this article for more in-depth information.

2.4 GHz Radio Settings

The 2.4 GHz band is the backbone of our wireless network. It’s supported by all wireless devices, including smart home devices and older network devices. And the 2.4 GHz band is better at penetrating through walls than the 5 GHz band.

For the best performance, we want to keep the channel width at 20 . A higher channel width means a faster connection, but the 2.4 GHz spectrum is really crowded, so this will only result in an unstable network connection.

  • Click on 2.4 GHz
  • Select All Devices
  • Make sure that the Channel Width is set to 20
  • Keep the Channel on Auto
  • Transmit Power also on Auto
  • Keep Minimum RSSI Off

optimize unifi wireless network

UniFi does a pretty decent job of selecting the best Channels for your access points. You can manually configure them, but keep in mind that you can only use channels 1, 6, and 11 . Assign the channels in such a way that they are as far away from the other AP as possible. For example, channel 1 for the ground floor and 11 for the first floor.

Note When you live in an appartement building or configuring the network for an Office building with a lot of access points, then manual configure the channels for the best performance.

Minimum RSSI will drop the connection of a client when it becomes below the threshold. Now this might seem like a solution to improve the roaming of the devices, but it will often only result in devices losing the network connection.

A better option is to lower the Transmit Power of the access point(s). For example, keep the Transmit Power of the access point on the first floor at medium and on the ground floor at high.

Tip For installations with a lot of access points, you want to set a custom transmit power (you can scroll down in the Transmit Power dropdown. The 2.4 GHz transmit power should be 7 dB lower then the 5 GHz transmit power. This way you will get the best roaming behavior of the clients.

5 Ghz Radio Settings

The 5GHz band allows for a higher throughput, but can’t travel as far as the 2.4 Ghz band. It isn’t very capable of passing through obstruction, resulting in roughly half the range of the 2.4 GHz network.

For the channel width, just like with 2.4 Ghz, a lower channel width will give a more stable network connection. Whereas higher numbers will allow for more throughput. In general, it’s best to keep the channel width at 40 for the 5 GHz radio.

When picking a higher channel width, you basically are stacking the channels together. So when you pick channel 36 with a bandwidth of 40 MHz, then channels 36 and 40 are used. This results in the following useable, non-overlapping, channels:

There are more options when you use DFS, but the ability to use DFS depends on your location, and not all devices support it. So if the 5 GHz spectrum isn’t too crowded, then try to use the normal channels first.

  • Select the 5 GHz radio and all devices
  • Set Channel width to 40
  • Keep Channel on Auto
  • Set Transmit Power to Auto

5 Ghz channel configuration

Again, you can set custom channels for your devices and lower the transmit power to improve the roaming of the devices. But in general, the auto setting should be fine.

Advanced Wireless Settings

When you open the Settings > WiFi and select your wireless network, then you will have the option to enable the Advanced settings .

advanced wireless settings

The default advanced settings are for most wireless networks perfect. Only when you have a high-density network or a lot of guest users, you might want to optimize a few settings. Also if you have connectivity problems with Sonos or Chromecast here are a few settings you can change.

I will briefly explain the settings, but you can leave them default for normal networks and just skip to the next step:

  • Private Pre-Shared Keys – Allows you to use one wireless network for all your VLANs. This way you don’t need to create a separate wireless network for your cameras or IoT devices.
  • Hotspot Portal – Used for quest networks. Allows you to show a branded login page and use different authentication options for guests, including Vouchers or payment options
  • WiFi Band – You want to enable all WiFi bands for your network. If you have an UniFi 6 Enterprise access point you can also enable the 6 GHz band if allowed in your region.
  • Band Steering – Encourages clients to use 5 GHz instead of the slower 2.4 GHz. Leave it on, but turn it off if you experience a lot of connectivity issues.
  • Client Device Isolation – Enable it for Guest or IoT networks. Prevents connected devices from communicating with each other.
  • Proxy ARP – Only used in high-density networks. Allows access points to proxy ARP requests which reduce broadcast traffic.
  • BSS Transition – Allows access points to share network topology information with the clients. This reduces power usage for mobile devices and can help with roaming.
  • UAPSD – When enabled, clients can keep their WiFi longer in sleep mode. You might want to enable this in an IoT network, where it will help save battery consumption.
  • Fast Roaming – Allows clients to roam faster between access points. Enable this only when you roam a lot between access points during VoIP or Video conference calls.
  • WiFi Speed Limit – Limits the up and download bandwidth for clients. Useful for high-density networks or guest networks.
  • Multicast Enhancement – Improves access to register clients and converts multicast traffic to unicast. Can improve performance for smart home products like Chromecast or Airplay.
  • Multicast and Broadcast Control – Restricts multi and broadcast traffic, except for defined devices. Can help reduce overhead traffic on high-density networks
  • 802.11 DTIM Period – Leave at auto.
  • Minimum Data Rate Control – Sets a minimum network speed that clients have to be able to reach. Setting this too low can cause connection issues. Only used in high-density networks.
  • MAC Address Filter – Allows you to specify an allow or deny list based on MAC address with devices
  • RADIUS MAC Authentication – Allows you to use a radius server for client authentication
  • Security Protocol – WPA2 should be used as a minimum. WPA3 is more secure and needed for 6 GHZ network. Leave it on WPA2/WPA3 to support older devices as well.
  • PMF – Needed for WPA3, but leave on optional when WPA3 is enabled to support older devices.
  • WiFi Scheduler – Allows you to set the times when the wireless network should be turned on.

Step 5 – Networks

In the network setting, we can create and configure networks. You always have the default network, which is automatically created, but we can add additional virtual networks to our environment.

Virtual Networks are used when you want to create a separation between devices, in such a way they can’t interact with each other. For example, guests are allowed to use your internet connection, but you don’t want them to be able to reach your network devices.

Or when you have a lot of IoT devices, you them on a separate network for security reasons. So when a device is compromised due to a vulnerability, for example, it won’t be able to access other devices in your network.

When you open the network settings (Networks) , you will see the Global Network Settings . We can leave those settings at the default values in our UniFi setup. IGMP Snooping or Jumbro Frames, for example, are only needed in specific situations, but for most home networks.

unifi network setup

If you click on the Default network , then you can configure the network settings, like IP Range, DHCP Scope, DNS, Content Filtering and more:

configure unifi network

The default Gateway IP/Subnet configuration (1) is fine for most networks. It allows you to use 249 IP Addresses by default, which is enough for most small networks.

Advanced Network Settings

If you enable the Advanced settings (2) , then you can change the DHCP and DNS Settings. If your Cloud Gateway supports Suspicious Activity detection, then you can also configure content filtering for the network here.

The default DHCP scope starts at 192.168.1.6 and ends at .254. This won’t give you much room for fixed IP Addresses. I prefer to configure static (fixed) IP Addresses for known network devices, like printers, smart home hub, or solar inverter. To do this, you will have to disable the Auto-Scale network (1) , after which you can customize the DHCP Range (3)

unifi dhcp range

Step 6 – Optimizing Internet Settings

Even though your internet is already working, we need to optimize a few settings in our UniFi setup to get the best performance. If you open the Internet Settings, you will see the Primary (WAN1) connection. When you have a UDM Pro, for example, you see also the option to configure your primary connection and set up failover or load balancing.

There are a few things we need to configure. The most important one is to enable smart queues if your internet connection speed is lower than 300Mbps. This will prevent buffer bloat , which happens when your router pushes more data on the internet line than your connection can handle.

Also, we want to use a good and fast DNS server, not the one from your ISP, and configure the Expected ISP speed:

  • In Settings go to Internet
  • Open your Primary (WAN1) connection by clicking on it.
  • Enter the Expected ISP Speeds
  • Set advanced to Manual
  • Set your Down and Uprate a few Mbit lower than your connection speed ( more info )
  • Test your connection here
  • Adjust the speeds until you get an A+ for Bufferbloat in the test
  • Under IPv4 Configuration, disable Auto for the DNS Server
  • Primary: 1.1.1.1
  • Secondary: 1.0.0.1
  • Click Apply Changes

enable smart queues unifi

Step 7 – VPN (optional)

Your UniFi Cloud Gateway comes with a built-in VPN server that allows you to connect with your home network with just one click. Now you might think, when do I need this? But when you are connected to a public network and need to access your bank account for example, then it’s better to use your own internet connection.

You can read more information on Teleport and how to use it in this article . To enable it, simply Enable Teleport in the VPN Settings:

enable UniFi teleport vpn

Step 8 – Security

When setting up our UniFi network setup, we will also need to take a look at the security settings. By default, the firewall will block all invalid incoming traffic. But depending on the type of Cloud Gateway that you have we can do a lot more to protect our network.

The basics are Device and Traffic identification. These two features allow you to view which devices are connected to your network, and the type of traffic is going through your network.

Traffic identification does not only show information about the type of traffic, but it also allows you to create app-based traffic rules (which we will look at in a bit).

block countries

Another useful option that is available in all cloud gateways, is Country Restrictions. All traffic to and from a country listed here is blocked. Now a firewall will already block all incoming traffic. But an infected device can’t communicate with a blocked country.

For the Country Restriction, you can also go with an Allow-only approach, where you only white-list traffic to trusted countries.

Suspicious Activity

If you have a UniFi Dream Machine, Dream Router, or UniFi Gateway, then you will also have to option to enable suspicious activity . This adds another layer of protection to your internet traffic. It will scan all incoming and outgoing traffic and check for any suspicious activity.

  • Network – Select the networks you want to enable suspicious activity detection on. Select all networks if you have more than one
  • Filtering mode – I recommend starting with Notify , monitoring it for a week, and then switching over to Notify and Block . You can few the detections in the System Log > Security Detections.
  • Detection Sensitivity – Start with High. If any traffic is blocked that you need, then change to Customize and disable the selected detection.
  • Dark Web Blocker – Enable it
  • Block Know Malicious IPs – Enable it

unifi security settings

Traffic Rules

Traffic Rules allow you to apply rules on specific traffic in your network. Explaining all traffic rule options is something for another dedicated article. But I want to show you two options that might come in handy in your UniFi network setup.

We can for example block specific apps in our network. Let’s say you have young kids and don’t want them to access TikTok. With a traffic rule, we can completely block the app in our network or only allow it during specific hours:

  • Create a new Traffic Rule
  • Action > Block
  • Category > App
  • App > Tiktok
  • Device/Network > All Devices
  • Schedule > Always

create traffic rule

You can also use the traffic rule to set a speed limit on a specific device, or for a specific application. Or we can block the internet access to specific devices during a custom time range.

Step 9 – System Settings

The last step in our UniFi setup is to check the system settings. There are only a few settings we need to check/change. If you open Settings, then make sure you check the country and time format settings first.

Click on Backups and make sure that Auto Backup is enabled. I recommend changing the schedule to Weekly, so you can always revert back to a recent backup version of your UniFi Network setup.

If all your access points are connected with an ethernet cable, then you don’t need Wireless Meshing. Meshing allows access points to connect wirelessly together and extend your wireless network without the need to pull extra ethernet cables.

Disable wireless meshing

If you don’t use that, then disable the Wireless Meshing option in the advanced settings.

Guest Network

As mentioned in the beginning, we are also going to create a guest network. To do this we will need to create a new network and a new wireless network.

  • Open Networks and click on New Virtual Network
  • Enter a network name , for example, Guests
  • Enable Advanced settings
  • Enable Isolation
  • Click on Add

unifi guest network

  • Open the WiFi Settings
  • Click on Create New
  • Enter a wireless network name and password
  • Select the Guest network
  • Enable Advanced Settings
  • Enable Client Device Isolation (this will isolate the guest’s devices from each other as well)
  • Click on Add WiFi

Unifi guest network

Wrapping Up

In this guide, we have gone through every important detail to set up our UniFi network and get the best performance. If you have your network up and running, and want to use VLANs for your IoT devices or cameras, then make sure you read this article as well.

If you have any questions just drop a comment below.

You may also like the following articles

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13 thoughts on “how to setup unifi network – complete guide 2024”.

hebt u dit ook in het nederlands?

Nee, maar meeste browsers kunnen Engels automatisch vertalen.

Thank you for this.

I am new in the unifi world. I have 2 unifi express, one as a router and the other as a AP. The devices replaces 2 Amplifi HD. But in Amplifi HD I could manage Parental control and I could block devices of my children. As example : The devices of my son had no Internet at night.

Here in Unifi express I can not find this settings. Is there a possibility for this ?

Sorry for my bad English.

You can create a traffic rule for this:

Action: Block Category: Internet Device: Select device of your son Schedule: Custom > create a schedule when to block internet.

Thank you ! And simple when you know it.

Does that work on a wired device connected to a Flex mini switch connected to the UniFy Express too or only wireless devices?

That also works on wired devices

This was the perfect guide for my new UXG-Lite setup. Thank you very much for your work!

Hello Ruud,

Great articles, thank you!

I would like to be able to setup the LAN of my second home as if it were part of my LAN at home. This in order to facilitate making backups from NAS to NAS (both Synology), access the webcam of my second home to check weather/snow conditions and get rid of getting hits to french websites in stead of dutch when using google. -Home, USG3, cloud key2, VPN server L2TP. -2nd home, Amplifi (configured as router, not in bridge mode, connected to hotel router, so 2x NAT – I think this is causing the restrictions I’m encountering). Although Netflix usually works flawless I would like all websites to think I’m in NL. Can this be done with the devices I just mentioned or do I need to upgrade to for example the UNIFI EXPRESS? (I don’t want a subscription to a paid VPN, or paid teleport (option on Amplifi). And how should my devices be configured? Thank you in advance, KR Constantijn

I don’t have any experience with the Amplify product line, so I don’t know if that would be possible. But with the UGS3 and a UniFi Express it should be possible to create a site-to-site VPN network.

I’m considering purchasing the newly released Unifi Express device, so this article was very informative. However, I have a few concerns about some of the seemingly uncontrollable actions of the gateway and was wondering if you had an answer or opinion.

I believe the gateway pings Facebook, Twitter and Google every two minutes. My network doesn’t or shouldn’t have access to Facebook or Twitter. I asked a friend to block these using a PiHole on his network which was problematic because it appears the gateway ignores the DNS settings for it’s own traffic and the only way was to get the PiHole working was to login into the gateway via SSH and change the etc/resolve.config file accordingly.

Once they were block however, the gateway increased the ping rate to such a degree it crashed the gateway and it had to be rebooted at which point the etc/resolve.conf file was overwritten.

Admittedly, this occurred on an older version of the firmware. However, it’s my understanding that UniFi have now implemented DoH for DNS so you can’t block the use of their DNS lookups via blocking port 53.

I would like to use some of the traffic monitoring options but am I correct in thinking these will only work if you use their DNS.

Effectively, I don’t want the gateway to access anything until a request is made. I also want to stop all telemetry not just personal stuff.

It seems a shame you need a firewall for your firewall or at least that what appears you need.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Yeah I don’t think this is going to work with UniFi. Maybe with an Edge router.

Awesome guide!

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how to set static ip unifi controller

Static IP address on USG using CLI (no Unifi)

Update 2018 June 17 : See this post for a nicer way to create these DHCP static entries on the USG. The below applies to an older and more difficult version of the USG software.

The Ubiquiti Unifi controller is making progress in its feature set, but it still lacks basic configuration options found in standard consumer routers. For my specific case I was replacing an ASUS gateway with the USG and needed to set static DHCP entries before removing devices.

The Unifi controller GUI does allow setting static IP addresses but only if the device is already connected to the network. I needed to set the static IP before the device was on the network.

Static IP address using Unifi CLI

This is a tedious series of commands. First ssh to the USG host and execute the below, making sure to replace the network name, subnet CIDR, hostname, IP, and MAC with your values.

Check if the hostname works. It should! However these changes will be lost on a reboot or provision.

Persist the change

The configuration changes above are lost on reboot and we persist them by creating a config.gateway.json file on the Unifi controller . Be careful since bad json syntax can cause reboot loops.

First ssh to the USG and get the current configuration using mca-ctrl -t dump-cfg > config.gateway.json . Remove the unifi-configured lines from the configuration to keep only the CLI-added config. Save the file.

Validate and format the file with python -m json.tool < data.json . Fix any issues!

Now ssh to the Unifi controller and copy the new configuration to /var/lib/unifi/sites/default/config.gateway.json . Reboot the USG and the configuration should be applied correctly.

For reference, below is the json used for my FreeNAS entry.

HostiFi Help Center

Learn how to get a new Omada gateway adopted to your controller

Alex Lowe avatar

TP-Link has a number of gateway models that can be used as standalone routers, but also can be added to the Omada controller. In this guide, learn how to get your new gateway adopted to your HostiFi Omada controller.

NOTE: Once the gateway is adopted into Omada, the local GUI becomes non-functional.

Logging into the gateway

The first thing to do is log into the gateway. By default, the TP-Link devices are set to DHCP on the WAN port and for the local subnet, it is 192.168.0.x/24 with the gateway IP address being 192.168.0.1.

how to set static ip unifi controller

In this example, we are using the entry-level model, the ER605 which has five ethernet ports on the front. This device supports up to three WAN connections with ports 2 and 3 being either WAN or LAN and 4 and 5 being always LAN.

Once logged in, go through the 'Configure Internet' section and get anything amended for your internet connection, such as whether you use PPPoE, Static IP or DHCP for your ISP connection.

how to set static ip unifi controller

Once done, the router will check the Internet connection and tell you if it is connected or not.

how to set static ip unifi controller

Finding your inform URL

Now we have the gateway/router online, we can get it connected to our cloud instance of Omada. If you have connected your controller to the Omada cloud, simply go to omada.tplinkcloud.com and choose your controller. Otherwise, log in to app.hostifi.com and choose your Omada controller.

First, go to 'Settings'

how to set static ip unifi controller

Next, click on 'Controller'

how to set static ip unifi controller

Scroll down to the section 'Access Config' then copy the IP address or hostname found here.

how to set static ip unifi controller

Adding the inform URL to the gateway

The final step is to paste the inform URL into the gateway/router.

Log back into the local GUI of the device and open up the 'System Tools' section, then click on 'Controller Settings'

how to set static ip unifi controller

Next, tick the 'Enable' box for cloud-based controller management, accept the terms and conditions and then, paste in your inform URL from earlier. Finally, click save.

how to set static ip unifi controller

Checking Omada

The very last step is to go back to the Omada dashboard and adopt the router/gateway.

It'll show up as 'PENDING' - click the tick action button to the right to adopt the router.

how to set static ip unifi controller

You may see an 'Adopt Failed' notification and it will then ask for a password. Simply enter in the username and password you used to setup the gateway in its own local GUI. The device will then adopt as normal.

how to set static ip unifi controller

NOTE: Once adopted, the device will use the device credentials set within Omada.

HostiFi provides hosting for both Ubiquiti and TP-Link software-defined-networking (SDN) applications, with servers for UniFi, UISP and Omada. We also offer professional networking consulting, with HostiFi Pro .

If you run into any issues, send an email to [email protected] or contact us via live chat.

XDA Developers

How to set a static internal IP in Ubuntu

Quick links, how to set static internal ip in ubuntu using the gui, how to set static internal ip in ubuntu using the terminal and text editor.

There comes a time when you might have to configure Ubuntu or any other Linux distribution with a static IP address. While you can't change your external static IP address, since it's the one your internet service provider provides, you can change your internal one. This is the IP address used on your network inside your home or office.

Though many tasks on Ubuntu usually require you to visit the terminal app and deal with lines of text, changing your internal IP is easy. You can do this through the settings app and the Graphical User Interface (GUI). Of course, if you want, you can also swap things out by going through the terminal. Here's how.

Without any technical know-how or knowledge, you can set a static IP in Ubuntu through the settings app. Just note, you will have to use the terminal once to find a range of IP addresses that you can assign. Once you do that, you just tap the Windows Key or the Superkey on your device and search for Settings . Once the app is open, proceed with the steps below.

  • If you're connected to the internet via Wi-Fi, choose Wi-Fi . If you're connected via Ethernet, select Network.
  • Once the interface is open, click the settings icon next to the network you're connected to.
  • From the list of tabs at the top, choose IPv4.
  • Under ipv4 method, be sure to choose Manual.
  • Under Addresses, enter the IP address, the Netmask, and the Gateway you want to use. For finding IP addresses that'll work on your network, you can proceed with the steps below.
  • Open a terminal session. With Ctrl, Alt, and T. Install net-tools with the command sudo apt install net-tools.
  • In this case, we have an inet of 192.168.1.176 and a netmask of 255.255.255.0. We can enter those numbers and can calculate the usable range using this website .
  • When you've calculated the usable range of addresses, choose a valid IP address that falls within this range. Then, you can click Apply at the top.

Any changes you apply will automatically go into effect. If you want, you can also use the terminal to confirm your IP address. Launch it with Ctrl, Alt, and T on your keyboard. Once launched, enter the command ip addr or ip a . You should see an interface IP address listed.

If you're a bit more technical and want to set a static IP in Ubuntu using the terminal, that is possible. You'll have to edit some lines of text and go through a few extra steps, but here's how:

  • Display information about your network. Use the command nmcli connection show. You'll see a network name, a UUID, a Type, and a Device. If this package isn't installed (though it should be, as it comes preinstalled with Ubuntu), then run sudo apt-get install network-manager
  • Note down the range of IP addresses you'll be able to use. Use the command ip addr to find out your machine's current IP address. This tutorial assumes that your network adapter is called enp0s3. If it isn't, then look for the correct one and also change the interface names in the subsequent commands. In the above example, we have an inet of 10.0.2.15, with the /24 denoting that the network uses a 255.255.255.0 subnet mask. In most cases, your usable network range will be whatever is in the first three places of the internal IP address, and then any unused number on your network between 1 and 255 in the last section. For example, we can use 10.0.2.16. If you're unsure, you can enter the subnet mask and your internal IP address into this website to calculate the usable range.
  • Note the IP address of your default gateway with the command ip r. In our example, it's 10.2.2.2.
  • Next, we'll add a new static connection option. Run the following command, making sure to change the numbers after "ip4" and "gw4" depending on your network conditions. These are the IP address you want to change your machine to and the current default gateway, respectively. sudo nmcli con add con-name "static" ifname enp0s3 type ethernet ip4 10.0.2.13/24 gw4 10.0.2.2 In our case, we do the following.
  • Set your DNS, manual DHCP (so, a static IP), and enable the connection. You can do that by running the following commands in succession. nmcli con mod "static" ipv4.dns "1.1.1.1,8.8.8.8" You can swap out the DNS servers above for whatever you want, they are in order of primary and secondary. nmcli con mod "static" ipv4.method manual; nmcli con up "static" ifname enp0s3 Once done, you can run nmcli con show to see if the new connection is enabled. If the output above looks like yours, then you're ready to go!

Setting complete

That's all you need to set up a static IP in Ubuntu. It doesn't take much effort. Remember, we're always writing about Linux, so you can check out our guide to the best Linux laptops should you need one.

How to set a static internal IP in Ubuntu

IMAGES

  1. How To Change LAN IP & Set Static IPs On Unifi Network

    how to set static ip unifi controller

  2. Static Route settings for UniFi routers. : r/Starlink

    how to set static ip unifi controller

  3. Unifi Controller Setup Guide [step-by-step]

    how to set static ip unifi controller

  4. UniFi

    how to set static ip unifi controller

  5. Unifi USG

    how to set static ip unifi controller

  6. UniFi cloud controller on QNAP

    how to set static ip unifi controller

VIDEO

  1. Unifi Access Point

  2. ESP32 I Set Static IP Address

  3. How To Configure Static Ip In dlink Router

  4. How To Set Static IP and DNS Using Command Prompt in Windows PC

  5. Wifi Network Static IP Use & Set

  6. How to Set Static IP in Ubuntu Server 20.04. Change and configure ip adress using putty

COMMENTS

  1. Static DHCP Reservations for Unifi Devices

    Write the MAC down somewhere. Create a new Unifi "client" to hold your reservation. Navigate to the Clients screen in the controller and select + Add Client at the top. Add a new client with MAC + alias, click Add (don't set fixed IP yet!). Set your fixed IP. Still on the Clients screen, select + All Configured Clients on the top.

  2. Give Any Device a Static IP with UniFi

    Navigate to the Clients tab in the UniFi Controller. Choose the device you want to assign a static IP address to. Find the Configuration menu in the device's setting. Scroll down to the Network section of the Configuration settings. Turn on the Use fixed IP address option and save. You should see a confirmation that the network changes were ...

  3. UniFi Static IP Addresses

    Infrastructure devices should always have static IPs. Here's a bit about how I organize static IPs and some basic documentation to go with it. Here's the E...

  4. setting a static IP on a unifi controller? : r/Ubiquiti

    You need to assign the controller a static IP on the network via Unifi if you're using a USG. If you're not using a USG you'll have to set the address in the static address table on your router. If your controller isn't listed as a client for whatever reason you can manually add it's MAC address and assign a static IP. 1.

  5. How to manually set the controller address for a Unifi AP

    In some circumstances there may be a need to manually tell a Unifi AP where to find its controller. This may be needed if you can't provide the host name "unifi" in the DNS server for the subnet that the APs are located in. The prerequisite to this process is you must know the IP address of the AP you need to modify.

  6. All Unifi SSH Commands that You Want to Know

    Even though Unifi devices come with a great controller, sometimes you need to access your Unifi device through SSH. For example, to set up the initial connection, with the set-inform command. ... Set static IP Address: ip route: ip route: Display current gateway: ip router add: ip route add default via 192.168.1.1:

  7. Unifi Controller Setup + Performance Tips [step-by-step]

    Setting up a Unifi Controller is really simple and can be done in a couple of minutes with this beginner's guide. We are going to walk through the initial setup of the controller, connecting the access points and getting the most performance out of it. ... and set a static IP address for the access points through the Unifi Controller. Karl ...

  8. How To Change LAN IP & Set Static IPs On Unifi Network

    In this video I share How To Change LAN IP & Set Static IPs On Unifi Network.Please share this video - https://youtu.be/gFRR3LFgmnYPlease subscribe to this c...

  9. How to Setup DHCP Reservations (static IP for devices) on UniFi Dream

    This tutorial goes over how to setup DHCP reservations on a UniFi Dream Machine / Dream Machine pro. A DHCP reservation allows you to ensure that every time ...

  10. UniFi

    You can do this by going to the devices page on the controller > Click on the device that you wish to assign the IP to (Properties page will appear on the right hand side) > Config > Network > select Static IP from the Configure IP drop-down box. From here you will need to fill in the fields in accordance with your network. -The IP address will ...

  11. UDM Setup Guide: Discovery and Basic Settings

    I covered the basic setup of an L2TP remote user VPN in my UniFi Dream Machine review. Click on the gear icon in the lower right to access Control Center. Click on Networks. Click on Create New Network. Choose between Local, Remote User VPN, and Site-to-site VPN. This guide covers normal, local networks.

  12. UniFi

    IPs are associated with the device MAC address, the details of which are easily visible in the controller. . . . . . click on any device you wish to set a static IP, click the gear icon, click Network, and the IP assignment options become visible. . . As a bare minimum, you will need to set the IP (obviously), the subnet mask, the gateway ...

  13. UDM

    1. pcpcy. • 3 yr. ago. You can see all MACs/IPs you have fixed if you switch to the old UI by deactivating Settings -> System Settings -> New User Interface. Then in the old UI go to Clients -> All Configured Clients (top right), and click the Fixed IP column. That will sort by devices that have Fixed IPs and you can see all of them easily to ...

  14. How do I set an AP to a Static IP? : r/Ubiquiti

    Correct. In the Network controller locate the access point and click on it to open the properties panel. Click the gear icon for the AP's settings and turn on the "use fixed IP" toggle. Then enter an IP. Next time the AP is power-cycled it'll pick up the static IP.

  15. UniFi Gateway

    If your ISP provides Static IPv6 and you want to assign IPv6 addresses to clients on the Default LAN network, then configure IPv6 as follows: WAN (Static) - Specify the IPv6 address and Prefix Length provided by your ISP. This is often a /64. LAN (Static) - Specify the LAN range provided by your ISP. If your ISP provides you a /48 or /56, then ...

  16. How to Setup UniFi Network

    Step 4 - Configure Wireless Networks. Step 5 - Networks. Step 6 - Optimizing Internet Settings. Step 7 - VPN (optional) Step 8 - Security. Step 9 - System Settings. Guest Network. Wrapping Up. In this article, we are going through the complete UniFi setup.

  17. DHCP Reservations / Static Mapping

    A quick tutorial video on how to set up DHCP reservations (aka static mappings) in both UniFi and EdgeOSEquipment used in this video (affiliate):UDM-Pro: ht...

  18. Static IP address on USG using CLI (no Unifi)

    The Unifi controller GUI does allow setting static IP addresses but only if the device is already connected to the network. I needed to set the static IP before the device was on the network. Static IP address using Unifi CLI. This is a tedious series of commands.

  19. UniFi Switches

    For example my home network built with only UniFi devices is set: For all main network elements, that have in UniFi administration in the tab "Unifi Devices" icon "+", which is, for example, a security gateway and switches, a Static iP outside the DHCP range, and for all others device assigned an IP in the DHCP range.

  20. Ubiquiti Unifi Security Gateway (USG) Static IP Setup

    How to set up static IP addresses on Ubiquiti USG router using the Unifi Controller.

  21. Omada

    Next, tick the 'Enable' box for cloud-based controller management, accept the terms and conditions and then, paste in your inform URL from earlier. Finally, click save. The very last step is to go back to the Omada dashboard and adopt the router/gateway. It'll show up as 'PENDING' - click the tick action button to the right to adopt the router.

  22. How do I set a static IP on a Cloud Key? : r/Ubiquiti

    I wanted to change my IP from the DHCP that it was on over to static. I went to the CK by entering the IP address in a browser, clicked on "configure", changed DHCP to static and put in a new IP. After that, I was unable to access it. Couldn't navigate to the new IP in a browser, the cloud access site said the CK was offline (even tried to ...

  23. How to set a static internal IP in Ubuntu

    If you're connected to the internet via Wi-Fi, choose Wi-Fi.If you're connected via Ethernet, select Network.; Once the interface is open, click the settings icon next to the network you're ...

  24. Setting static IP's from UniFi : r/Ubiquiti

    Yes you can, go to the client page of the dashboard and then click on the device you want to assign an address. Go to it's configuration panel and then under the network section toggle the little icon and set the address you need it to be on. Rinse and repeat for the remaining items. EiKall. • 4 yr. ago.

  25. Setting Static IP on Unifi US-16-150 Switch : r/Ubiquiti

    Just received a new Unifi switch US-16-150. Adopted and provisioned successfully on network without problem. Switch successfully got an IP address with DHCP. However I then tried to set a static IP and after applying the settings, the switch now shows as disconnected. Tried a reset on switch and set it up again with same result.