As a home network hobbyist, I have finally decided to build a guest Wi-Fi on my home UniFi network system. Despite some good articles and forum discussion topics out there, recent updated version of UniFi OS make many of these guide hard to follow/out dated. This is a step by step guide replicating what I have done to achieve a creation of “basic” guest WiFi network in UniFi system.
Revision History
Update 1/3/2021 – Troubleshooting added. Throughput degradation section added.
Update 1/5/2021 – Troubleshooting section updated.
Update 10/15/2021 – Added VLAN version UniFi Youtube video.
Update 12/28/2023 – New guide based on the latest UniFi OS v3, Network controller 8.0 is created.
Why do we need Guest Wi-Fi Network?
The main reason for most home user needing to create a guest Wi-Fi network is to ensure providing your guest to have Wi-Fi access in your home while making sure your home network devices are isolated from the guest network users. The latter point is for security and prevention of a performance hog on your primary network.
This article will cover
- How to create Guest Hotspot
- How to create Guest Virtual Local Area Network
- How to create Guest Wi-Fi Network
- How to limit bandwidth for the Guest Wi-Fi Network
- How to restrict Access points serving the Guest Wi-Fi network
- When to choose Guest Hotspot vs. Guest Wi-Fi via VLAN
- Troubleshooting on some issues you may encounter after creation of guest network
Setup
At the time of this writing, my current setup are followings:
- Gateway/Router (UDM Pro): Firmware 1.8.5.2964
- Access Points (UAP-HD, UAP-SHD x 2): Firmware Version 4.3.24.11355
- Access Points (nanoHD, IW-HD): Firmware Version 5.43.19.12493
- Switches (USW Aggregation, USW-Pro-24-PoE): Firmware Version 5.43.18.12487
- Switches (Flex Mini x 3): Firmware Version 1.7.5.636
- UniFi Network Controller (on UDM Pro): Version 6.0.43
Guest Hotspot vs. Guest WiFi via VLAN
With the current version of UniFi OS, guest WiFi network have two main methods of implementation: Hotspot vs. via VLAN.
In a nutshell, Guest Hotspot is an easy, simple setup using UniFi system. On the contrary, creating a WiFi Network via VLAN approach has more flexibility and customization.
In fact, one can have both Guest Hotspot network and Guest WiFi network via VLAN. However, if you are planning to create both, be aware that there are behind the scene connection between VLAN based guest network and and Hotspot (ref) which can potentially create otherwise unexpected issue. So at this time, I personally do just one or the other.
In this guide following pages, I will talk about both approach step by step. Personally, I have started my journey with Hotspot but its restriction/limitation were significant enough for my use case; therefore, I have ended up implementing VLAN based Guest Network in the end.
If you are already familiar with UniFi Network App interface and know how to create VLAN etc. here are quick guide.
Quick Guide
Guest Hotspot
- Settings > WiFi > Guestspot > Add New Guest Hotspot.
VLAN based Guest Network
- Create Guest VLAN by tuning device isolation option ON.
- Create Guest Bandwidth Profile
- Create Guest Wi-Fi Network using Guest VLAN & Guest Bandwidth Profile created in step 1 and 2.