Detailed comparison of the UniFi U6 Mesh, U6 Pro, and U6 Long-Range (U6-LR) access points, including their current UK prices from the official Ubiquiti Store:

📊 UniFi U6 Series Comparison (UK Pricing)

Feature	U6 Mesh	U6 Pro	U6 Long-Range (U6-LR)
Price (ex. VAT)	£117.00	£105.00	£117.00
Wi-Fi Standard	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bands	Dual-band (2.4 & 5 GHz)	Dual-band (2.4 & 5 GHz)	Dual-band (2.4 & 5 GHz)
Spatial Streams	6	6	8
Antenna Gain	4 dBi	4 dBi	4 dBi
Max Throughput	Up to 2.4 Gbps	Up to 5.3 Gbps	Up to 3.0 Gbps
Mounting Options	Wall/Pole (indoor/outdoor)	Ceiling (indoor)	Ceiling (indoor)
PoE Support	802.3af	802.3at	802.3af
Weather Resistance	Yes (when mounted LED side up)	No	No
Ideal Use Case	Flexible indoor/outdoor coverage	High-performance indoor coverage	Extended indoor range

🔍 Model Highlights

•	U6 Mesh £117: Designed for flexible deployments, suitable for both indoor and outdoor environments. Its weather-resistant design makes it ideal for extending coverage to areas like gardens or outbuildings.

•	U6 Pro £105: Offers higher throughput, making it suitable for high-density environments like offices or conference rooms where multiple devices are connected simultaneously.

•	U6 Long-Range (U6-LR) £117: Provides extended range, making it ideal for large indoor spaces where fewer access points are desired without compromising coverage.

🛒 Purchase Links EX VAT

•	U6 Mesh: £117 
•	U6 Pro: £105.00
•	U6 Long-Range (U6-LR): £117.00

Spatial streams are a key part of how modern Wi-Fi achieves higher speeds and better reliability, especially in Wi-Fi 5, 6, and 6E.

📡 What Are Spatial Streams?

Spatial streams are individual data streams transmitted or received simultaneously between a Wi-Fi device and an access point using multiple antennas. Each stream carries a separate part of the data, effectively increasing speed without needing more frequency spectrum.

Think of them like multiple lanes on a motorway: more lanes = more cars can travel at once = higher total throughput.

🔧 How It Works

•	Based on MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) technology.
•	Each spatial stream uses a separate antenna.
•**	A client device (like a laptop or phone) must also support multiple streams to benefit fully.**

🧮 Example Comparison

AP / Device	# of Spatial Streams	Max Theoretical Speed
UniFi U6 Lite	2×2 MIMO (2 streams)	~1.5 Gbps
UniFi U6 Mesh	2×2 MIMO	~2.4 Gbps
UniFi U6 Pro	4×4 MIMO (4 streams)	~5.3 Gbps
UniFi U6 LR	4×4 MIMO	~3.0 Gbps
Smartphone (typical)	2×2 or 1×1	~0.5–1.2 Gbps
Laptop (good model)	2×2 or 3×3	~1.5–2.4 Gbps

🧠 Key Takeaways

•	More spatial streams = more potential bandwidth, assuming the client device supports it.
•	4×4 MIMO means up to 4 data streams at once.
•	Client limitations matter — many phones and tablets only support 1×1 or 2×2, so they won’t use the full potential of a 4×4 AP.
•	More streams can also help multiple devices share bandwidth more efficiently.

Mesh?

Device	Mesh Capability	Notes
UniFi U6 Lite	⚠️ Not ideal	Designed for wired use; limited or no mesh support in current firmware
UniFi U6 Mesh	✅ Yes (Designed for mesh)	Fully supports wireless uplink; best suited for mesh setups
UniFi U6 Pro	⚠️ Not ideal	Designed primarily for wired Ethernet backhaul
UniFi U6 LR	⚠️ Not ideal	Long-range but expects wired uplink; mesh is possible but discouraged
Smartphones/Laptops	❌ No	Can only connect as clients, not as mesh nodes

SPEEDS

Metric	240 MB/s	2.4 Gbps
Unit	Megabytes per second	Gigabits per second
Conversion	240 × 8 = 1920 Mbps	2.4 × 1000 = 2400 Mbps
Comparison (in Mbps)	1920 Mbps	2400 Mbps
Relative Speed	~80% of 2.4 Gbps	100%
Real-world Usage Context	SSD transfers, LAN copy	Max theoretical WiFi 6 speed

Yes — you can mesh the UniFi U6 LR, but with important caveats:

⸻

✅ UniFi U6 LR Mesh Capability

Feature	Status	Notes
Mesh support	✅ Yes	Supports UniFi “Wireless Uplink” mesh mode
Designed for mesh	⚠️ Not primarily	Optimised for wired long-range coverage
Performance in mesh	⚠️ Moderate	Mesh mode uses half the bandwidth for backhaul
Ideal use	🚫 Not recommended for backhaul to other APs unless wiring is impossible

🔧 When You Can Use U6 LR in Mesh Mode

•	As a last-mile repeater in areas where Ethernet is not available
•	For outdoor line-of-sight scenarios if signal strength is still high
•	Only a few clients (low density), otherwise bandwidth gets saturated

🧠 Better Practice

•	Use wired backhaul for U6 LR whenever possible — that’s its strength.
•	If you must use mesh, try to:
•	Limit the number of devices connecting via this AP
•	Avoid chaining more than one hop (AP-to-AP-to-AP)

⸻

🧪 Summary

Question	Answer
Can U6 LR operate as a mesh AP?	✅ Yes
Is it designed for mesh use?	⚠️ Not ideally
Better for wired backhaul?	✅ Absolutely
Suitable for high-speed uplink?	⚠️ With reduced performance

First Draft

House x 2 U6 Mesh wired

Office and Shop x 1 U6 Mesh wired

Yard midway x 1 U6 Mesh wired

Yard midway Ethernet repeater x 1

Workshops x 1 U6 LR (inside) wired or U6 Mesh

Sales office x 1 U6 Mesh wired

2 house, 4 shop etc

6 x £117 = £702

🌐 U6 Mesh-to-Mesh Distance Estimates

with wired links

Environment	Max Reliable Distance	Notes
📭 Clear line of sight (outdoors)	60–120 metres	Stable connection; ideal conditions
🏠 Indoors, few thin walls	10–25 metres	Brick/plaster walls reduce range
🧱 Indoors, multiple thick walls	5–15 metres	Signal and performance can degrade significantly

📡 U6 Mesh with Wireless links — Key Details

Aspect	Impact
🔄 Wired Speed	Shared with client traffic — expect up to 50% bandwidth loss
📶 Distance Limit	Ideally < 30–40 metres indoors, < 60 metres outdoors
📉 Throughput	Degraded with each hop — don’t exceed 1 hop if possible
📡 Signal Strength Needed	Maintain at least –65 dBm for stable mesh uplink
⚙️ Setup Simplicity	Easy — automatically meshes with controller guidance
📦 Traffic Load	Light/medium use is fine — heavy loads will struggle

If there’s no wired links, UniFi U6 Mesh access points will rely on wireless uplink, forming what’s known as a true mesh.

Here’s what that means for performance, reliability, and placement:

📡 U6 Mesh with Wireless links — Key Details

Aspect	Impact
🔄 Link Speed	Shared with client traffic — expect up to 50% bandwidth loss
📶 Distance Limit	Ideally < 30–40 metres indoors, < 60 metres outdoors
📉 Throughput	Degraded with each hop — don’t exceed 1 hop if possible
📡 Signal Strength Needed	Maintain at least –65 dBm for stable mesh uplink
⚙️ Setup Simplicity	Easy — automatically meshes with controller guidance
📦 Traffic Load	Light/medium use is fine — heavy loads will struggle

🔍 What You Lose Without Wired links

Limitation	Explanation
Reduced Speed	Wireless uplink halves the AP’s bandwidth — it must “talk” in both directions over the same radio.
Latency Increases	Each hop adds 5–10+ ms — affects video calls, VoIP, RDP responsiveness.
Interference Risk	Shared spectrum = more collisions, retries, especially in dense areas.
Limited Scalability	Mesh doesn’t scale well — ideal for ≤ 2–3 APs total, not whole buildings.

✅ When Wireless Mesh Can Work Well

•	You’re covering a small number of users or light-load tasks (e.g. basic internet, Sage access, web apps).
•	APs have good line-of-sight or limited obstructions.
•	The client devices are close to the mesh APs (not sitting at the outer fringe of the signal).

🧠 Realistic Use Case Summary

Use Case	Wireless Mesh Feasible?	Notes
Office ↔ Yard (30m LoS)	✅ Yes	Strong signal, especially with elevated APs
Yard ↔ Warehouse (30–50m)	⚠️ Maybe	Only if not heavily used simultaneously
House ↔ Shop (walls, 20m)	⚠️ Maybe	Acceptable, but wired preferred
Yard ↔ Yard AP ↔ Warehouse	❌ Avoid double-hop	Second hop cuts performance sharply

🔧 If No Wiring Is Possible

•	Use U6 Mesh (not Pro or LR) — it’s designed for wireless uplink.
•	Keep APs as high and visible as possible.
•	Consider adding one AP mid-point if direct link isn’t reliable — but not more than 1 hop.
•	Optionally, use the UniFi Building-to-Building Bridge for a stable wireless link with dedicated bandwidth (range up to 15km!!)

but

https://uk.store.ui.com/uk/en/category/all-wifi/products/uap-ac-mesh