Keeping your UniFi APs and devices up to date is very important for maintaining security, device compatibility and performance. There are a few ways to update your UniFi AP firmware.

If you want fast and reliable UniFi hosting, check out HostiFi with expert support, regular backups, managed updates and prices from $19 per month.

To learn more about our hosting plans, create an account or book a free demo to get started.

Automatically via UniFi Network Controller

The easiest and simplest way is to upgrade the firmware is via the UniFi Controller. This can be done automatically based on when Ubiquiti makes a new version available to GA, or you can manually click 'Upgrade' once those released get pushed to GA.

You can also change the release channel that the UniFi uses for new updates. You can opt into the Early Access releases.

Manually via the UniFi Network Controller

First log into the UniFi Controller

Click Devices

Select the device you wish to upgrade

Click the gear icon

Scroll down to Manual Firmware Update

Next, head to the Ubiquiti Download page and copy the URL for the device you are upgrading

Copy the URL into the box and press Upgrade

Manually via SSH

UniFi Access Points can be updated via SSH too.

First, SSH into the AP using PuTTY on Windows, or the default terminal application on macOS. Type in the following command, swapping out username and IP address for your device.

If your AP has been factory reset, then the username and password will be ubnt/ubnt. If the device is already adopted, then the SSH credentials are set by UniFi and are located in the Settings page of the controller.

ssh USERNAME@IPADDRESS

Run the following command to download and install the firmware.

upgrade https://dl.ui.com/unifi/firmware/XXXX/unifi_ap_upgrade.bin

The AP will automatically reboot once the upgrade process is complete.

Troubleshooting

If the AP is not responding or updating, you might need to factory reset it by holding the reset button for 10 seconds and then try the update process again.