I know this is an old video, so just chiming in that the performance got a LOT better. But it's still not rated for a lot of cameras, especially g4-pros. I switched to a UDM-P and it's been great with three g4-pros, two doorbells, a Flex, and a g3-ins. Zero issues. But the NVR.... Yeah that's the way to go man!
Thanks for the video, I see it has been 2 years. I recently updated my Unifi network and replace two older 8 PoE, SFP (Gen1) with the new USW-Ultra-60W which still covered the PoE budget I needed for several cameras and access points. I noticed responsiveness has been much better. Note several months earlier I also replaced the default 1TB HDD drive with a 2TB SSD, which also helped. Overall I am pretty happy with the CloudKey though hoping the Unifi Dream Router Ultra with the M2 drive comes soon. From what I saw in a presentation it will be similar to the new Unifi Cloud Gateway Ultra, but with an M2 drive and Protect installed.
Honestly, the SSD shouldnt have made too much of a difference. Since the OS is running on emmc, and ssd for storage for cams? Not sure 100% just thinking out loud.
thank you for explaining this! everyone on youtube only talk about setting it up. I want to know what the cloud key does and how it works. Thanks for the info!! I had to subscribe to your channel.
At 5:06 you say you unplugged it from the POE and it ran for hours. The (older versions) of UCKP have a small battery inside. If the UCKP loses power the battery will provide power to do a proper shutdown. If you let it "run for hours" your battery dies and you corrupt your hard drive data.
I just replaced the Cloud Key Gen 2 Plus and USG Pro with the Dream Machine SE. The old stuff was in use for two years and has worked great, no problems supporting 8 cameras, 3 APs and multiple siwtches.
So in your opionon, can a Cloud Key G2 Plus easiliy support 2 x AP U6 Pro and 6 x 2k G5 Bullet cameras ? What do you think, is the disk fast enough for the cameras ?
You should be fine with 2 APs and 6 cameras. I would install an SSD... A lot of people don't like the idea of using SSD for Cameras, but it worked fine for me for months.
I just added an Ubiquiti Cloud Key Gen2 Plus yesterday, and trying to access it locally (I have a 1gb Network) is almost impossible, that I am forced to login to my cloud account to manage it - I am hoping it is a firmware issue that they can update - For security cameras and my alarm system I went with the Ring ecosystem as they have cloud recording, camera notifications and I can access all my camera anywhere in the world, plus if my alarm goes off all the cameras start recording. Thank you for your video on the Ubiquiti Cloud Key Gen2 Plus I thought I was going crazy when I could not connect to it.!!!
Hey Mr Magoo. Happy new year. I also hope a firmware version will fix the issues. I changed my disk to an SSD and it seems to help a little. Thanks, Guy
You can host the Unifi network controller yourself on your own hardware. I will run really well even on low end hardware. You were also able to host Unifi Video yourself, however ever since the move to Unifi Protect you have to use their hardware (unless you want to do some tinkering). I also find the protect hardware kinda weak, and would really prefer the option of buying a licence and hosting it on my own hardware... I have several UNVRs stacks as well as several standard UNVRs, and UDM pros. The number of cameras you can put on even the highest end stacked UNVR is not that many in the real world which is a big bummer (unless you want to really lower the recording quality)
I am watching this 6 months later, Honestly you would be better using Unifi Controller on a Raspberry PI, Windows or Linux PC and get the Unifi NVR for your cameras if you must use Unfi Protect. UDM Pro / UDM SE runs the same software and operating system as the cloud key and the same sort of bugs may come across, nto to mention they still have a low camera limit. An even better option would be forgetting Unifi Protect and putting the cameras onto a different NVR application. Protect really is still lacking in the feature end of things compared to other solutions. I went with Blue Iris for NVR, Raspberry Pi for the Unifi Controller. It also allows me to keep my own PFSense based router.
I see. Since I moved to the UDM SE, my experience has improved dramatically, not a lot of complaints. Still observing and will probably get an NVR. Will look into Blue Iris. Thank you Brandon.
I have the same issues. But since i rely on Palo Alto as my firewall, probably will upgrade to NVR for protect and leave the cloud key as a standalone controller
@@KBTrainings Yeah I have dual WAN on my Palo and i can not do selective, policy based routing with UDM. I also have my firewalls in HA and UniFi does not have any of these advanced features. Maybe you can put the UDM Pro behind your fortigate and just use a transit /30.
@@KBTrainings UNVR is the right move here. Use UCK for network only (or maybe talk too), and UNVR for Protect. You retain flexibility on your routing/firewall options, which is best. This is the setup I moved to after trying to run Network + Protect applications on a UCK - even with only a few cameras. The 2.5" HDD is going to struggle for Protect. An SSD less so, but moving to UNVR is what you need for more than 1/2 cameras really - especially with continuous recording (as I do). UDM Pro gives you more processing power and a larger form factor HDD, but its still a single drive, and isn't the right solution to Protect scalability. With the UNVR you can run multiple disks in RAID (I recommend RAID 10). Put some nice fast disks in there, and you'll enjoy the scrubbing experience much more than you ever will on a UCK...
Intrinsically it is a good unit. With good software. I sold and used many. The main issue is the flawed thermal design. It runs hot! Way too hot. This causes errors and CPU idling (less performance). This is due to: 1. bad cooling and a spinning harddisk inside; 2. a bad PoE power converter inside; 3. inadequate CPU cooling. This besides of literally blowing itself up in the first version of the UCKG2+. This is due to an overheating and overcharging Li-Ion battery inside. It expands and makes the unit fail. Solutions: -adequate housing cooling; -take the battery out; -swap the HHD for a SSD; -DO NOT power it via PoE, use a USB-C PS, safes 10 degrees Celsius… The unit is a nightmare to open up, though. All in all one of the worst product designs of Ubiquiti. The newer version is a tiny bit better, cause they took the battery out.
I had similar issues, I think it was having some sort of overheating issue. I literally plopped a heatsink on top of it and haven’t had an issue since.
I have two UCK 2Gen at work and at home for about 7 months (9 cameras at work and 5 cameras at home) I have had zero issues, I have not seen it not load as you have. what lead me to your video is I want to know how to record live video on demand like I can with my ARLO camera system. I don't think I can which is a feature I would like to have. do you know if this can be done?
Hey Don, All I know is that you can do motion activated recording, I have that set up on some of my low traffic area cameras. Not sure how the live video on demand works, but with the motion detection, I get all the interesting footage I need. Thanks Don!
Hi, I hope this message finds you well. I am in the process of installing a WiFi network using Starlink and need to distribute the internet signal through 13 Ubiquiti U6+ Access Points. For this purpose, I have purchased a USW-Pro-24-POE (400W) switch. However, I am uncertain if this equipment is sufficient to unify the network efficiently. Could you please advise if this switch is adequate for my needs or if I require any additional equipment? I appreciate your attention and look forward to your response.
Can’t wait to see your review on the udm pro se when it comes out. I followed your videos and I also have the fortigate 60, 3560 switch and Cisco wlc/ap and it is rock solid. So thank you for what you so as it solved lots of wifi issues in my house.
Hey, Thanks for your Video, I just installed my personal HDD by mistake, but unfortunately I lost some of the DATA, could you please let me know where that DATA gone? Since I just connect it with the Power and PC , not with Ethernet. Could you please help me,
If you're running 4K cameras you can't put many on there, like maybe none haha. Use a NVR if you have 4k and stick to under like 6 max 4K cameras per NVR.
for CCTV you should exclude from UCK and use other NVR. UCK not power enough to support multi task. I use Sophos as Firewall and UCK just to handle 5 AP and 3 switches. CCTV I use HikVision. 5 VLANs on my network. and the result wallahhhhh...
I agree with you. I have 12 switches and 11 APs. The cloudkey Gen2 has had issues handing out IP address’. Plus had the same issue as you. I upgraded to Dream Machine pro. Hoping those issues do not reappear.
Your video is private, I can't see it. But anyway, if the reboot didn't fix, not much can be done from my end. Just make sure you have connectivity on the switch port you're connected to, try to replace it with another device or swap the cable... if your connection is fine, the device might be toasted, i don't know. It's an appliance, it can fail for no reason, and it happens all the time in production. Good luck.
Well I have to say I am hoping I disagree with you on the cloud key because I definitely disagree on the Windows installation. I find that the controller installed on Windows isn't very good. Was really hoping this would be an improvement.
What do you think of the UniFi Cloud Key...?
Please Like and Share.
Thank you,
Guy.
I know this is an old video, so just chiming in that the performance got a LOT better. But it's still not rated for a lot of cameras, especially g4-pros. I switched to a UDM-P and it's been great with three g4-pros, two doorbells, a Flex, and a g3-ins. Zero issues. But the NVR.... Yeah that's the way to go man!
Thank you for chiming in.
You're right, since I moved to the UDM-Pro, day and night. And the new updates they have been making are improving a lot.
Thanks for the video, I see it has been 2 years. I recently updated my Unifi network and replace two older 8 PoE, SFP (Gen1) with the new USW-Ultra-60W which still covered the PoE budget I needed for several cameras and access points. I noticed responsiveness has been much better. Note several months earlier I also replaced the default 1TB HDD drive with a 2TB SSD, which also helped. Overall I am pretty happy with the CloudKey though hoping the Unifi Dream Router Ultra with the M2 drive comes soon. From what I saw in a presentation it will be similar to the new Unifi Cloud Gateway Ultra, but with an M2 drive and Protect installed.
Yeah, an SSD in the UCK made a big difference for me too. And an M2 will be even faster.
Honestly, the SSD shouldnt have made too much of a difference. Since the OS is running on emmc, and ssd for storage for cams? Not sure 100% just thinking out loud.
thank you for explaining this! everyone on youtube only talk about setting it up. I want to know what the cloud key does and how it works. Thanks for the info!! I had to subscribe to your channel.
At 5:06 you say you unplugged it from the POE and it ran for hours. The (older versions) of UCKP have a small battery inside. If the UCKP loses power the battery will provide power to do a proper shutdown. If you let it "run for hours" your battery dies and you corrupt your hard drive data.
I just replaced the Cloud Key Gen 2 Plus and USG Pro with the Dream Machine SE. The old stuff was in use for two years and has worked great, no problems supporting 8 cameras, 3 APs and multiple siwtches.
So in your opionon, can a Cloud Key G2 Plus easiliy support 2 x AP U6 Pro and 6 x 2k G5 Bullet cameras ? What do you think, is the disk fast enough for the cameras ?
You should be fine with 2 APs and 6 cameras.
I would install an SSD... A lot of people don't like the idea of using SSD for Cameras, but it worked fine for me for months.
@@KBTrainingsthank you for your response. I'll probably do it exactly like that and I'll buy a ssd.
You're welcome!
@@KBTrainings True, but SSD are sooo much more expensive than the SATA drives..
I just added an Ubiquiti Cloud Key Gen2 Plus yesterday, and trying to access it locally (I have a 1gb Network) is almost impossible, that I am forced to login to my cloud account to manage it - I am hoping it is a firmware issue that they can update - For security cameras and my alarm system I went with the Ring ecosystem as they have cloud recording, camera notifications and I can access all my camera anywhere in the world, plus if my alarm goes off all the cameras start recording.
Thank you for your video on the Ubiquiti Cloud Key Gen2 Plus I thought I was going crazy when I could not connect to it.!!!
Hey Mr Magoo.
Happy new year.
I also hope a firmware version will fix the issues.
I changed my disk to an SSD and it seems to help a little.
Thanks,
Guy
You can host the Unifi network controller yourself on your own hardware. I will run really well even on low end hardware.
You were also able to host Unifi Video yourself, however ever since the move to Unifi Protect you have to use their hardware (unless you want to do some tinkering).
I also find the protect hardware kinda weak, and would really prefer the option of buying a licence and hosting it on my own hardware...
I have several UNVRs stacks as well as several standard UNVRs, and UDM pros.
The number of cameras you can put on even the highest end stacked UNVR is not that many in the real world which is a big bummer (unless you want to really lower the recording quality)
Nice!
I just installed the UNVR too.
I am watching this 6 months later, Honestly you would be better using Unifi Controller on a Raspberry PI, Windows or Linux PC and get the Unifi NVR for your cameras if you must use Unfi Protect. UDM Pro / UDM SE runs the same software and operating system as the cloud key and the same sort of bugs may come across, nto to mention they still have a low camera limit.
An even better option would be forgetting Unifi Protect and putting the cameras onto a different NVR application. Protect really is still lacking in the feature end of things compared to other solutions. I went with Blue Iris for NVR, Raspberry Pi for the Unifi Controller. It also allows me to keep my own PFSense based router.
I see. Since I moved to the UDM SE, my experience has improved dramatically, not a lot of complaints.
Still observing and will probably get an NVR.
Will look into Blue Iris.
Thank you Brandon.
@@KBTrainingsHow is viewing the cameras remotely on the UDM SE?
I have the same issues. But since i rely on Palo Alto as my firewall, probably will upgrade to NVR for protect and leave the cloud key as a standalone controller
I also started thinking about the UNVR... Not happy of the prospective of leaving the FortiGate, we'll see.
Thanks Anon!
@@KBTrainings Yeah I have dual WAN on my Palo and i can not do selective, policy based routing with UDM. I also have my firewalls in HA and UniFi does not have any of these advanced features. Maybe you can put the UDM Pro behind your fortigate and just use a transit /30.
@@KBTrainings UNVR is the right move here. Use UCK for network only (or maybe talk too), and UNVR for Protect. You retain flexibility on your routing/firewall options, which is best. This is the setup I moved to after trying to run Network + Protect applications on a UCK - even with only a few cameras. The 2.5" HDD is going to struggle for Protect. An SSD less so, but moving to UNVR is what you need for more than 1/2 cameras really - especially with continuous recording (as I do). UDM Pro gives you more processing power and a larger form factor HDD, but its still a single drive, and isn't the right solution to Protect scalability. With the UNVR you can run multiple disks in RAID (I recommend RAID 10). Put some nice fast disks in there, and you'll enjoy the scrubbing experience much more than you ever will on a UCK...
Intrinsically it is a good unit.
With good software.
I sold and used many.
The main issue is the flawed thermal design.
It runs hot! Way too hot.
This causes errors and CPU idling (less performance).
This is due to:
1. bad cooling and a spinning harddisk inside;
2. a bad PoE power converter inside;
3. inadequate CPU cooling.
This besides of literally blowing itself up in the first version of the UCKG2+.
This is due to an overheating and overcharging Li-Ion battery inside.
It expands and makes the unit fail.
Solutions:
-adequate housing cooling;
-take the battery out;
-swap the HHD for a SSD;
-DO NOT power it via PoE, use a USB-C PS, safes 10 degrees Celsius…
The unit is a nightmare to open up, though.
All in all one of the worst product designs of Ubiquiti.
The newer version is a tiny bit better, cause they took the battery out.
How is it with the latest update? I'm considering buying it for my video tutorials.
I had similar issues, I think it was having some sort of overheating issue. I literally plopped a heatsink on top of it and haven’t had an issue since.
Wow, good to know!
I have two UCK 2Gen at work and at home for about 7 months (9 cameras at work and 5 cameras at home) I have had zero issues, I have not seen it not load as you have. what lead me to your video is I want to know how to record live video on demand like I can with my ARLO camera system. I don't think I can which is a feature I would like to have. do you know if this can be done?
Hey Don,
All I know is that you can do motion activated recording, I have that set up on some of my low traffic area cameras.
Not sure how the live video on demand works, but with the motion detection, I get all the interesting footage I need.
Thanks Don!
Hi,
I hope this message finds you well.
I am in the process of installing a WiFi network using Starlink and need to distribute the internet signal through 13 Ubiquiti U6+ Access Points. For this purpose, I have purchased a USW-Pro-24-POE (400W) switch. However, I am uncertain if this equipment is sufficient to unify the network efficiently.
Could you please advise if this switch is adequate for my needs or if I require any additional equipment?
I appreciate your attention and look forward to your response.
Kind of sucks that major design flaws coerce upselling to more expensive products. They should just fix the CKG2+.
Can’t wait to see your review on the udm pro se when it comes out. I followed your videos and I also have the fortigate 60, 3560 switch and Cisco wlc/ap and it is rock solid. So thank you for what you so as it solved lots of wifi issues in my house.
Ah cool, that is good to know.
Can't wait to get the UDM Pro SE.
I have one, it works fine, similar to an UDM PRO.
@Dacian, Great!
I would upgrade the 1 TB HDD that comes with the device to a 2 TB SSD. Problem solved. You have a fairly large set up as far as cams goes.
Is it possible that cloud key 2 plus is used as a backup DVR, or is this a regular video written on dream machine pro se?
I don't think it's possible to have a backup DVR with UniFi, unless it's a recent update
thank you bro! for the honest review
You're welcome Roman🙏
What is the different between I install the controller on my Desktop or Virtual Machine?
So do I need UCK-G2-PLUS to manage and setup my UniFi AP and UniFi Switch?
Yes you do. Or you can install the software on a windows computer or any other option. It needs to be up 27/7
I need assistance with my UCK Plus. It's telling me that the power plug is bad but it's the same one that we've always used.
Hey, Thanks for your Video,
I just installed my personal HDD by mistake, but unfortunately I lost some of the DATA, could you please let me know where that DATA gone? Since I just connect it with the Power and PC , not with Ethernet.
Could you please help me,
have you ever reset the uck and then been stuck on 'obtaining an ip address' frustrating paper weight
Thx for your input
You're welcome!
If you're running 4K cameras you can't put many on there, like maybe none haha. Use a NVR if you have 4k and stick to under like 6 max 4K cameras per NVR.
That is the thing. I hope the UDM Pro SE I am about to install will do better.
Cisco CBS with CBD is where I’ll be moving to.
for CCTV you should exclude from UCK and use other NVR. UCK not power enough to support multi task. I use Sophos as Firewall and UCK just to handle 5 AP and 3 switches. CCTV I use HikVision. 5 VLANs on my network. and the result wallahhhhh...
You're right, the UCK is very limited.
I just changed from the UCK to the UDM Pro SE and the experience is way better.
High quality videos. Keep it up
I agree with you. I have 12 switches and 11 APs. The cloudkey Gen2 has had issues handing out IP address’. Plus had the same issue as you. I upgraded to Dream Machine pro. Hoping those issues do not reappear.
It used to be good but every time you update it becomes in a nightmare, specially if you are far from the physical place
I hear you. Especially if you're not onsite 🙂.
The UDM SE is servir me better.
Thats bad dev.
Thank you for the video
Thanks to you!
👍
Merci beaucoup LAMINE!
NEED HELP!!!!
Something happen to my cloudkey and is off line even though it is connnected and i have internet access... all my cameras are off too...
What steps have you taken...m
Reboot...? Unplug it and let it seat for a moment and plug it in.
@@KBTrainings yes i have done that a couple of times... i have also updated the software i will send you a pic of what im seeing...
@@KBTrainings ruclips.net/user/shortsanTYQCUxdwY?feature=share
Your video is private, I can't see it.
But anyway, if the reboot didn't fix, not much can be done from my end.
Just make sure you have connectivity on the switch port you're connected to, try to replace it with another device or swap the cable... if your connection is fine, the device might be toasted, i don't know. It's an appliance, it can fail for no reason, and it happens all the time in production.
Good luck.
😎👍🏾
Well I have to say I am hoping I disagree with you on the cloud key because I definitely disagree on the Windows installation. I find that the controller installed on Windows isn't very good. Was really hoping this would be an improvement.
I have the same problems with my Unifi Cloud Key gen2+.
My just died totally. I only have 3- G4 pro cameras. Going to buy an NVR.
And maybe not need the gen2. This is my 5th failure of UniFi device's- I think they have them running too hot.
Hi just enquring if your stíll facing the same issues. am in the proccess of buying ucks for a warehouse solution.
One of the most unreliable devices I've ever used (though less unreliable than the first generation)
i hate it more than you but for other reasons, BAD SOFTWARE , the hardware is great but they need to fire their craigslist programmers ;)
Definitely not enterprise. Ubiquiti is trash.
I see.
This is a useless review.