No passwords for Unifi Ubiquiti APs - factory reset?

[AC43]

Hi, five years ago I had an installer set up my Ubiquiti APs but he didn't give the the passwords. I can see them through the app but I can't log into them.

Now I'm planning to change my broadband supplier but am nervous about hooking up the Ubiquitis to a new router if I can't administer them.

There are three in total and, according to YouTube, I may be able to do a factory reset on each one if they're the ones with buttons on the back.

Anyone tried this?

[xeny]

AC43 said:

Hi, five years ago I had an installer set up my Ubiquiti APs but he didn't give the the passwords. I can see them through the app but I can't log into them.

Now I'm planning to change my broadband supplier but am nervous about hooking up the Ubiquitis to a new router if I can't administer them.

There are three in total and, according to YouTube, I may be able to do a factory reset on each one if they're the ones with buttons on the back.

Anyone tried this?

Yes, fairly routinely, I deal with quite a few of them. The really old stuff (original green LED AP) won't speak to the current version of the app, but the AC Pro onwards seems to be fine.

edit:make sure you've got a working AP your device can use to connect to the network to set each AP up. Don't cut off the branch you are sitting on.

Edited by xeny on Saturday 30th September 12:02

[AC43]

xeny said:

AC43 said:

Hi, five years ago I had an installer set up my Ubiquiti APs but he didn't give the the passwords. I can see them through the app but I can't log into them.

Now I'm planning to change my broadband supplier but am nervous about hooking up the Ubiquitis to a new router if I can't administer them.

There are three in total and, according to YouTube, I may be able to do a factory reset on each one if they're the ones with buttons on the back.

Anyone tried this?

Yes, fairly routinely, I deal with quite a few of them. The really old stuff (original green LED AP) won't speak to the current version of the app, but the AC Pro onwards seems to be fine.

edit:make sure you've got a working AP your device can use to connect to the network to set each AP up. Don't cut off the branch you are sitting on.

Edited by xeny on Saturday 30th September 12:02

Thanks. How are they configured? Do they daisy chain off each other? Or do they all talk individually to something? And what is that thing? The router? Or is is the "Unifi controller" - I keep seeing that mentioned but I've no idea if I have that running somewhere and if so on what device

When I look at them through the app on my phone all I can see is the three APs.

There's a message which says "Standalone Access Points. These APs are not associated with any UI Account and must be independantly configured"

ETA Apologies for all the questions - I've found the PDF of the user guide and I'll have a read of that.

Edited by AC43 on Saturday 30th September 12:27

[xeny]

You can config them all either from the mobile app, or a "proper" java based application running on a Windows or Linux host.

For single APs I'd control from the app, for multiples I tend to use the proper controller application. It doesn't need to be running 24/7 for typical domestic deployments, but gives you more info/control over the APs.

edit: probably worth making a note of the current channels (2.4 and 5 GHz) /bandwidths (20 20, 40 or 80 MHz wide) before resetting them, so you can easily get back to a known good wireless config,

Edited by xeny on Saturday 30th September 13:51

[megaphone]

Just to note. You can’t ‘control’ them from the Unifi app, you can only set them up individually in Standalone mode, same as they currently are.

If you want to properly control them you need the Unifi controller running on a separate device.

In your case I would run them Standalone for simplicity.

I expect they will just work with the new router. Do they have the same SSID as the current router?

What colour is the led ring on the APs? Blue or green?

[AC43]

megaphone said:

Just to note. You can’t ‘control’ them from the Unifi app, you can only set them up individually in Standalone mode, same as they currently are.

If you want to properly control them you need the Unifi controller running on a separate device.

In your case I would run them Standalone for simplicity.

I expect they will just work with the new router. Do they have the same SSID as the current router?

What colour is the led ring on the APs? Blue or green?

Thanks fella.

I'll keep them standalone.

They all have separate SSIDs as does the router.

I can't actually see any colour from them.

Odd.

[xeny]

AC43 said:

Thanks fella.

I'll keep them standalone.

They all have separate SSIDs as does the router.

I can't actually see any colour from them.

Odd.

You'd normally go for the same SSID and juggle signal strength, so you get reasonable behaviour from a device as you move around the property.

The LED that illuminates the annular groove can be configured on/off, so I'd guess these are turned off.

[megaphone]

AC43 said:

Thanks fella.

I'll keep them standalone.

They all have separate SSIDs as does the router.

I can't actually see any colour from them.

Odd.

So you have to change the wifi network you are connected to when you move around? That's not really ideal. As said above, they should all be on the same SSID, so you can just 'roam'.

If you can get to the back of the AP you will see the model number, eg UAP-AC- PRO. You'll also see the reset button which can be pressed with a paper clip.

[AC43]

xeny said:

You'd normally go for the same SSID and juggle signal strength, so you get reasonable behaviour from a device as you move around the property.

The LED that illuminates the annular groove can be configured on/off, so I'd guess these are turned off.

Thanks.

[AC43]

megaphone said:

AC43 said:

Thanks fella.

I'll keep them standalone.

They all have separate SSIDs as does the router.

I can't actually see any colour from them.

Odd.

So you have to change the wifi network you are connected to when you move around? That's not really ideal. As said above, they should all be on the same SSID, so you can just 'roam'.

If you can get to the back of the AP you will see the model number, eg UAP-AC- PRO. You'll also see the reset button which can be pressed with a paper clip.

As I probably mentioned earlier, the installers that my builder forced me to go with (I know....) were very much out of their depth with this and the other tech I had them put in.

It's been irritating me for the last five years and now I want to do something about it. I want to get this sorted and then get back to having alarm/cctv/video doorbell on phone apps again.

First things first; I couldn't get the little lab thing to release on the Ubiquiti I tried to remove on Saturday despite trying several techniques suggested on the internet. I've ordered a removal key which arrives this week. Will take it from there.

[hab1966]

Could i just slightly derail this thread please...

If you have an router and an access point in the property and you want easy roaming throughout, my understanding is that you use the same SSID for both the router and AP. Do you use the same channels on both router and AP or different ones?

[xeny]

different ones.

[hab1966]

xeny said:

different ones.

Thanks.

[megaphone]

You can usually unlatch the APs with brute force, just twist them anti-clockwise and they should come off.

Edited by megaphone on Monday 2nd October 18:59

[megaphone]

Also the standard log in and pass for the APs is ubnt , you never know the installers may not have changed it.

Do you have the PoE injectors to power the APs? If so there may be a reset button on the injector. I've had variable results when pressing them. Hold down for 10 secs and release.

Edited by megaphone on Monday 2nd October 12:31

[AC43]

megaphone said:

You can usually unlatch the APs with brut force, just twist them anti-clockwise and they should come off.

Tried that and failed.

[AC43]

megaphone said:

Also the standard log in and pass for the APs is ubnt , you never know the installers may not have changed it.

Do you have the PoE injectors to power the APs? If so there may be a reset button on the injector. I've had variable results when pressing them. Hold down for 10 secs and release.

Edited by megaphone on Monday 2nd October 12:31

Yes, tried ubnt but that didn't work.

I can't see any PoE injectors. No to say there aren't - just can't see any.

[megaphone]

AC43 said:

megaphone said:

Also the standard log in and pass for the APs is ubnt , you never know the installers may not have changed it.

Do you have the PoE injectors to power the APs? If so there may be a reset button on the injector. I've had variable results when pressing them. Hold down for 10 secs and release.

Edited by megaphone on Monday 2nd October 12:31

Yes, tried ubnt but that didn't work.

I can't see any PoE injectors. No to say there aren't - just can't see any.

They'll be where all the cables terminate. Or maybe they are powered with a PoE network switch. Do you have a network rack? If so post up,a pic.

[AC43]

Oh yeah good point. I have a network switch/rack thingy. That'll be powering them. Probably.

[AC43]

Right; my removal took arrived and so I removed one to have a look.

It's a Unifi Ubiquiti AP AC Lite 802.3af POE.

According to the spec sheet I found it supports 300Mbs on 2.4Ghz and 867Mbs on 5Ghz.

Off to find my reset tool.....