r/Ubiquiti•
anon_lurk

Help. Beginner trying to be responsible...

Question

I will be moving soon and was already determined to get out of using Ring and get into some actually decent security camera setups. Discovered the UniFi ecosystem in the process of researching that and now I am interested in a network setup as well. I'm experiencing a bit of decision paralysis though and the time to make a decision is pretty much this weekend. Reaching out here for a bit of guidance. Sorry for wall of text just trying to cover the bases.

Priorities are four cameras, a doorbell, and bulletproof WiFi throughout the house. The house is almost 60 years old and doesn't have any kind of ethernet structure, although there may be other cable runs I can replace, but I did not see any in locations that are useful. Mainly focusing on WiFi so I don't have to string cable to every room, it just sounds like too much right now and I'd like to get a better read on how/if we will rearrange the house before I commit to that. We use two PCs for gaming and they will be patched in on the lower floor where the gateway will be located.

I have a max budget of $3k USD and I would prefer to stay well under that unless it's really worth it. Budget would include me pulling my own Cat6 for the cameras and APs (hopefully the doorbell if I can figure that one out). I don't necessarily want the cheapest bare bones system, but I realistically won't be looking to expand it for at least 5 years(might need more beef for the kids' electronics when they get older). I would prefer less equipment overall so trying to avoid injectors and such but will consider them to save money.

I'm kinda set on the UNVR Instant Kit unless somebody wants to talk me out of it. Next is probably a Doorbell Lite which should work fine with that. Main questions are with the network which is just throwing me for a loop. I'm pretty sure I want two APs, or a WiFi Gateway and an AP.

So maybe one option is UCG-Fiber + 2x U7-Pro-XG(I believe I would need injectors here)? Another option is something like the UCG-Industrial(no injectors is compelling and do I really need 6 Ghz) + U7 Pro XG? The "Industrial" option is actually more money so it's probably better to just buy the injector(s) for the Fiber setup. Is there an effective cheaper option? I've been doing some research and these seem the most applicable to me but I will confess there are A LOT of options and I want to make sure I'm not missing something(like just spend $500 more and system is three times better or $500 less and it still easily lasts five years..lmao right..).

I will stick some design maps(5 GHz) on here of those two setups for some more info. They seem basically identical to me. The ductwork runs through the center of the basement ceiling so I'm trying to take that into account and I was rather conservative with materials so it should be overkill either way. Top left bedroom of main floor will be the master so wanted something to reach there for sure.

Basement Fiber

Main Floor Fiber

Basement Industrial

Main Floor Industrial

Let me know what you think and thanks for your time!

Posted Aug 29, 2026, 3:06 AM UTC

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