Help to setup unifi AP on pfsense

bongonations

Firstly Happy New year to everyone, thank you for clicking on my question

I have bought a new Ubiquiti U6-LITE UniFi 6 Lite Access Point and a simple TP Link managed switch. I have plugged the unifi AP into the switch and configured the LAN and WAN on my pfsense small form PC

The ISP router is set to modem mode / bridge mode

The WAN is setup in the 10.20.20.* DHCP range

Please can someone guide me on how to setup wifi? I keep seeing "unable to get IP address on all devices" pfsense grants a DHCP address to the actual unifi AP. But I can not get any devices to connect via wifi. I have no idea what do configure on the unifi AP to get things working?

Please help this noob

rcoleman-netgate

@bongonations said in Help to setup unifi AP on pfsense:

Please can someone guide me on how to setup wifi? I keep seeing "unable to get IP address on all devices" pfsense grants a DHCP address to the actual unifi AP. But I can not get any devices to connect via wifi. I have no idea what do configure on the unifi AP to get things working?

Did you set up VLANs on the SSIDs in Unifi?

Do you have those VLANs configured in pfSense? And, if so, did you set up DHCP for that VLAN interface?

Anything in the Unifi software would be outside of pfSense and should be directed to the manufacturer's forums rather than here (but you can proceed -- we will just move your topic out of this space as this is dedicated to wireless within the pfSense software and not related to Wireless APs).

Jarhead

@bongonations You need to either download their app to configure it, or use their controller, also downloadable.
There's no easy way unless you use the whole Ubiquiti ecosystem.

bongonations

Thanks guys

JKnott

@bongonations said in Help to setup unifi AP on pfsense:

The ISP router is set to modem mode / bridge mode
The WAN is setup in the 10.20.20.* DHCP range

Your ISP is providing RFC 1918 addresses?

As for the AP, if you have DHCP working on your network, it should work for the AP too, unless you did something to block it. Are you using multiple SSIDs and VLANs?

I have a Unifi AP and have it on my main network, with guest WiFi on a VLAN. This requires configuring pfSense, the AP and switch to be configured for the VLAN.

JKnott

@jarhead said in Help to setup unifi AP on pfsense:

You need to either download their app to configure it, or use their controller, also downloadable.
There's no easy way unless you use the whole Ubiquiti ecosystem.

I run the Linux software, but there is also a Windows version.

JKnott

@bongonations said in Help to setup unifi AP on pfsense:

Thanks guys

One thing to bear in mind is the config is a bit different from other APs and takes a bit of getting used to.

bongonations

@jknott
Yes I am with Virgin Media ISP and they provide RFC 1918 addresses

DHCP is working on the pfsense small form PC. The AP is getting a 10.20.20.* DHCP leased IP. I have only one SSID setup on the AP? No VLANs setup as yet I am learning and just trying to get the AP to work. No guest wifi required. I am looking to just use static IPs for about 10 devices I have in the house.

I have downloaded the unifi network application software on my PC. and was able to adopt the unifi AP device. However, not quite sure what network settings to configure from here? I am looking for a noob guide

The_Boss

@bongonations

Maybe here:
https://brendonmatheson.com/2020/03/14/unifi-ap-with-pfsense-vlans.html

Youtube Video

bongonations

@the_boss
Thanks for the guide. I have read through it

Do I need a UniFi Controller?

At the moment I have pfsense running on a mini PC with just two NICs.
The pfsense is plugged into a TP Link managed switch port. The Virgin Media router is plugged into the other pfsense mini PC port
The unifi AP is plugged into the switch.

JKnott

@bongonations said in Help to setup unifi AP on pfsense:

Do I need a UniFi Controller?

Yes. You can buy a box, use a cloud server or install on your own computer. You can install on Windows or Linux (Mac?), but the Linux version is for Debain type distros. I download one for openSUSE from elsewhere. If you want to roll your own separate controller, you can install Debian on a Raspberry Pi and install the Linux version there.

the other

@bongonations
hey there,
as mentioned by @JKnott there are severeal ways leading to Rome...

First off: for a normal config, the controller (Cloudkey) is not needed. You need it to configure your AP (iE VLANs etc), not after.
IF you plan on using a CP (Captive Portal) with Unifi (meaning NOT the pfsense's CP function) then your unifi controller must be running 24/7.

When I got my unifi APs I decided on buying the Cloudkey solution by unifi. Why? In comparison to a Raspi these days much cheaper, I am a fan of one function one device in some cases, moderate power consumption...

If you just need a normal AP and no logging, CP, permanent need to configure, then putting the controller software on an existing machine might be enough...
:)

stephenw10

It's been a while since I was running any UBNT hardware (with UBNT firmware) but last time I did you do not need to run a Unifi Controller. You can configure it using the phone app for basic access point fucntion. You need an always-on Unifi controller for some functions like the mentioned captive portal and logging.

So you might want to just run it as a basic AP first for a while before diving into the more complex stuff

Steve

MarioG

@bongo-nations
You don’t need a console using only Unifi APs. I setup two U6-Lites in 5 minutes using the Unify Network app from the Apple store on iPhone and iPad. You only need a console to do more than basic setup , which is all I needed. Last week, I upgraded the U6-Lites I used for a year to two U6-Pros since they became available in my area. It took 5 minutes each to setup on the IOS app and they work perfect.

They all work flawlessly with Pfsense 2.6 with no changes once setup using the app. However, if you need more than what’s available in the app, such as VLANs, you need a console. I tested the console on a Mac out of curiosity and setup an AP. After playing around I reset the AP and went back to the app. It’s all surprisingly easy.

A tip which has nothing to do with getting them to work but may help: I recently got 1.2Gig from Comcast and upgraded the modem to S33 and U6-Lites to U6-Pros (I will upgrade my Protecli FW6A and HP 2520-24 switch eventually). But wifi topped about 475-500, the trick was to bump the 5Gz channel width from 40Mhz to 80Mhz in the IOS app and bingo, I got 899 on my iPad Pro 11 connected to one of the U6 Pros. Not bad considering my best wired speed is 937.