New Gear: Ubiquiti Unifi 5G Backup

Apologies for the lengthy preamble. Back in 2001 when we moved into this house we started with Comcast cable modem internet access that delivered 5/1 mbps. We were committed to Comcast for cable TV since we were a Tivo household. Tivo DVRs leveraged cable and the Cable Card decryption scheme.

It also happens that Comcast’s internet access was not very reliable. That caused me to get a DSL service installed as a backup. The DSL service provided by Sprint was modest. We are some 11,400 feet from the nearest central office, which meant that 1.5 Mbps / 768 kbps was the best we could achieve.

Over a number of years, Comcast’s cable modem service got both faster and (somewhat) more reliable. Still, I retained the relatively pokey DSL service as a backup. After Hurricane Ike in 2008 I felt vindicated in that choice. Throughout and after that terrible storm we had sustained phone and internet access via that DSL service. In contrast, Comcast was out for a month.

There came a time when I realized that I had not used the DSL in over a year. And 4G wireless broadband had become available, so I could tether to a phone in a pinch. That combination supported ending the DSL service, which suffered declining cost/performance.

All that is back-story. In all that time, we never had a “dual-WAN” arrangement. Failover between the ISPs was manual. Typically, repatch the WAN port of the router to the desired modem, then load a different WAN configuration. Not difficult. But manual.

Well, no longer! Last week I took delivery of the new Ubiquiti Unifi 5G Backup device. Newly introduced for just $99 this wee magic wand promises an affordable, automatic backup to a 5G wireless service. It’s not locked to any carrier. At the outset it works with AT&T, T-Mobile, and presumably their MVNOs.

My laptop has an LTE WAN option using a SIM from our Mint Mobile family plan. As I’ve documented previously, LTE performance has been degraded as T-Mobile transitioned to higher-performance 5G UC in Houston. Further, there’s really no way to upgrade the laptop 5G. Given these facts, I thought the new 5G Backup device would be a worthwhile experiment.

When the 5G Backup device arrived I installed the Mint Mobile SIM from the laptop and connected it to one of the POE ports on the switch in the house. In just a couple of minutes the device appeared on the network. I adopted it into our Unifi controller, which updated the firmware. In less than 20 minutes it was online and connected to T-Mobile.

The device status is clearly indicated on the bright little LCD display.

Also, in the Unifi Controller web interface. Though it lives out on the network, the UXG Max gateway assigned it as WAN3, defaulting to failover mode.

I was able to perform a speed test. Throughput was not what I might have expected from a 5G link. It’s plain to see that it’s NOT a 5G link at all. At best, it has measured around 20/5 Mbps. That’s not terrible, but it’s certainly not the 300/20 Mbps that I experience on my Pixel 8a.

Ubiquiti is very plain that the 5G Backup device requires a data-only SIM. Mint Mobile does not offer data-only SIMs. In reality, Mint Mobile does not support using their SIM in a laptop, which I’ve been doing for years. But as I have already noted, that only provides a 4G link.

The third line on the Mint Mobile family plan is existing. It only costs $15/mo. Even at 4G speed, that connection is vastly better than the old DSL circuit. On that basis we go forward as it is. At least for a while.

Stella had a meeting off-site today. That gave me an opportunity to test fail-over to the wireless data service without causing any upset or inconvenience.

To monitor the switchover, I started a YouTube video playing on my desktop. Then I simply unplugged the Ethernet connection to the AT&T Fiber box. The Unifi router transitioned seamlessly to the T-Mobile service. My VPN connections were sustained. Video playback was continuous. My Polycom phones retained their registrations.

Dual-WAN failover to the wireless service just worked. When I reconnected the AT&T Fiber service, it just switched back. For $99, I don’t think I could ask anything more.

Ok, maybe I could. The LCD on the device is bright. While initially useful, it’s not necessary once it’s up and connected. I wish it could be turned off, just like the status LED on Unifi APs can be turned off.

I wish the throughput were better, but it’s adequate for now. I can’t justify paying the monthly carrying cost for a separate service that costs more than a Mint Mobile line.