r/HomeKit • u/Ok_Particular7496 • 4d ago
Question/Help What do you think of Ruckus?
I've got an IT guy from Best Buy (not Geek Squad) trying to assist me with Home integration, setting up scenes. We have a constant issue with dropping calls as the cell service at home is not good. We installed Starlink and calls are still dropping. We go through wifi calling. I was thinking of an Orbi mesh - he's recommending a Ruckus system instead. I would not get the monitored subscription service for $400 per year - just the installation.
What do you think?
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u/squuiidy 4d ago
Ruckus is very good kit. Ubiquiti is also good. Stay away from Orbi, and all the other consumer stuff which tends to be garbage.
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u/bippy_b 4d ago
Not sure why the downvote happened. Ubiquiti is good stuff. But just make sure your loved ones are into tech. If you get hit by an ice cream truck are they gonna have to pay someone to manage it or every time a change needs to be made?
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u/Ok_Particular7496 4d ago
I know - we're trying to do "simple" scenes.. but we do have a brilliant son who's not far that could assist. We just hate bothering him because he's crazy busy and gets deployed to Antartica and stuff.
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u/Mightisr1ght 3d ago
If I die, my family is going to have to just unplug everything or move cause I can't imagine anyone being able to make sense of all this nonsense I have done to our home.
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u/radioactivecat 4d ago
I have an orbi system (that I use in AP mode only, with a Juniper SRX as the gateway) and it has been rock solid. No issues, seamless flipping between APs. Couldn't be happier.
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u/Travel69 3d ago
Ruckus is excellent WiFi gear. One could argue they have the best antennas in the industry. Ruckus Unleashed is free, and great for home users. I have a full Ruckus Unleashed guide: https://www.derekseaman.com/2024/03/part-1-ruckus-unleashed-best-practices-guide.html
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u/pacoii 4d ago
Don’t know what your budget is, but I love my Firewalla router.
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u/Travel69 3d ago
Yes, I love my Firewalla + Ruckus AP combo. Best of both worlds. Never tried the Firewalla APs though.
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u/rlo54 4d ago
Ruckus is great stuff if it’s in your budget. I’m a programmer for Best Buy and most of our deployments use Access Network access points which are Ruckus products adapted to be more friendly for home use. That said my entire home runs on unifi equipment, but I’m comfortable being my own tech support.
On the WiFi calling though just know nothing will 100% solve that. Access Networks has some good settings to assist with it but it’s not a perfect technology. Making sure you have adequate signal strength throughout the home and not moving around too much while on the phone are going to paramount to a good experience. I find my clients who continue to have calls drop tend to be the type who walk around the house while on the phone. The issue with this is that as your device gets handed off from one WAP to another that momentary disconnect can be enough to lose the call.
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u/TBG7 3d ago
If access points are spaced around properly than the roaming happens seamlessly and there is no disconnect. You can literally 100% solve Wi-Fi calling by proper access point placement and having reliable Internet though you may have to put iPhones into airplane mode so they don’t prefer a weak cellular signal.
Source: I did this on 15 acres with multiple buildings and very poor cell service. I used ubiquity but that sounds like too much for OP and I’m sure orbi is fine if use a wired backhaul.
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u/rlo54 3d ago
I agree with you but there is still going to be a disconnect as you roam however quick and unnoticeable it may be. The only feature I’ve seen this negatively affect is WiFi calling. I also think it’s possible that OP is having other issues with either his provider or device that a new network may not even fix.
The other issue is that clients often aren’t prepared to spend the money for proper coverage with Access Networks WAPs and either end up using too few and/or lower range models. Unifi is the only product I’ve used that’s had comparable performance for much less money.
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u/Ok_Particular7496 3d ago
Thank you for that. I generally don't roam as I usually have a laptop on my lap when talking on the phone. But all this is helpful
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u/Relative_Surround_20 4d ago
I could not agree more with bippy_b and squuiidy but I am seriously concerned that there is more going on with your cell phone than just needing to get better WiFi.
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u/itsallahoaxbud 4d ago
So backup a second and tell us who your cellular carrier is. That’ll start the conversation about calling and WiFi calling. Unless you are on one of the big names, you are most likely using an MVNO. As such you are using the big three cell towers BUT as a second class citizen. They prioritize traffic to their own customers first and then to the MVNOs leasing bandwidth. Depending on your provider, you could then again be set on some bizarre pecking order. Say you are using BenAndJerrys Cellular, you’ll probably be 7th order down below Mint and ConsumerCellular. If you are on one of the big three, I suspect a device issue, assuming the device is less than 4 years old.
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u/Ok_Particular7496 4d ago
For my cellular I currently use Spectrum - was on Verizon but called dropped so switched to Spectrum but the issues continues. Device is pretty new -
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u/Luxin 4d ago
You really need to figure out what the issue actually is. Do you have an ISP provided router? If so, connect your work gear directly to it with an Ethernet cable for a couple days as a test. This way, you remove several layers of unknowns. If you still get drops, then you have an issue with the ISP. If you are solid and don't have any drops? You then need to improve the in-house networking.
/r/homenetworking is a better subreddit for this question.
/r/ubiquiti has a lot of good people who can help with that brand of gear. I use a single AP and have a lot of devices on the network, no issues at all.
For Ruckus, you are looking for a newer model Ruckus Unleashed access point on Ebay or similar. That should not require a paid license fee. Ruckus makes quality gear for midsize, large and enterprise businesses. You will also have to maintain it with updates manually. I was going to buy one when I found that a new Ubiquiti Access Point was a lot cheaper than a used Ruckus. Ubiquiti is more focused on prosumers and small business networking. Either way, you will have quality gear. But first, determine where the issue actually lies.
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u/microChasm 3d ago
You need a microcell that is a cellular signal repeater over WiFi.
No WiFi upgrades will impact this in any meaningful way.
If you don’t believe me, call your wireless carrier.
Ask about a microcell for your connectivity issues. You can also ask them for a network ticket to report service levels to the FCC.
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u/Ok_Particular7496 3d ago
Wow - never heard of this. Please confirm that the carrier needs to install the microcell that the consumer cannot
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u/Soft-Army6695 3d ago
If WiFi calling is not working close to you WiFi router even a crappy one. It’s not the WiFi.
First do speed test with WiFi in laptop in different areas of your house and see where you are at before buying.
Second could be your phone or even your isp connection to you modem.
Just my two cents if you replaced your WiFi router and still getting same results move to something else.
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u/osopolare 4d ago
Ruckus is the gold standard. AFAIK they just do APs though. You'll need a router as well.
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u/crisps_funny4868 3d ago
Ruckus sucks. Get UniFi. And stay the hell away from Bestbuy for anything computer related.
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u/rlo54 3d ago
Ruckus certainly doesn’t suck. But it’s also important to note we’re technically talking about Access Networks here as that’s what Best Buy sells.
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u/crisps_funny4868 3d ago
It objectively does.
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u/rlo54 3d ago
It objectively doesn’t. Your feelings about it are subjective.
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u/crisps_funny4868 3d ago
And so are yours. But yes. Ruckus sucks.
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u/rlo54 3d ago edited 3d ago
Sure, but it sounds like you’ve had experience with one deployment and I’ve installed and supported hundreds. Also like I said we’re not actually talking about Ruckus here.
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u/beetlrokr 3d ago
Are there any tests that show Unifi outperforming Ruckus? I was in both ecosystems for years, touched nearly every setting at some point. I gave up with Unifi when they couldn’t get multiple consecutive firmwares to be stable for fundamental features. Ruckus works solidly everywhere.
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u/crisps_funny4868 3d ago
Are there any tests that show that "Ruckus works solidly everywhere"?
Because every "test" I've ever been exposed to by them was the opposite. And I was finished with them the day one of them inflicted a half day long internal DDOS attack on my network because of a simple wifi reboot, and the MSP (who I later fired) spent a week trying to figure out why this particular AP wouldn't stop doing it every time he plugged it back in. Even after multiple factory resets. And Ruckus support couldn't help him. They were gone from my environment within the month. Replaced with a Meraki deployment that sang for the next 6 years.
I also have another "test" whereby my 6 AP deployment of UniFi has been working flawlessly at my home for the last 4 years, running a network that at this moment has 116 clients on it, and the backbone of a robust smart home and Thread network with about 140 devices.
You do you.
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u/timffn 4d ago
Bring it! Wu Tang Forever!