How to Downgrade Firmware via Ssh on Unifi Ap

A new (or second-hand)
Ubiquiti Unifi Access Point (AP)
tin be an intimidating animate being. Setting upward Unifi APs is different from most other networking equipment you may come up beyond. But don’t worry, learn how to SSH into Unifi AP (access point) in this tutorial.

Ready? Read on to get started!

Prerequisites

This tutorial comprises hands-on demonstrations. To follow along, ensure you have the following in place.

• A
  Unifi access bespeak. This tutorial uses a UAP-AC-Calorie-free model, version 5.43.52.
• An SSH client. This tutorial uses the Windows SSH client from a PowerShell prompt on Windows 11 Build 22518, but whatsoever SSH client will piece of work.

• A Unifi controller
  (Ubiquiti) version 6.ii.26 is used in this article.

Identifying a Previously Adopted Access Betoken

Before you can SSH into a Unifi AP, you must first determine if the AP was previously adopted or non. A controller centrally manages all Ubiquiti devices with an access point. An admission signal that a controller has claimed (associated with) is referred to as “adopted” while a new or factory rest AP is “unadopted”.

To view an AP’s status, open up your favorite browser, and log in to your controller by connecting to the URL and filling in the username and password fields.

Next, click the AP icon on the left-mitt side to display the device listing.

The epitome beneath shows 2 APs continued to a controller. The outset AP (denoted by a white status dot) is claimed by another organization, while the controller claims the 2nd AP (denoted by a green condition dot).

Note the IP addresses of both APs like the ones below, as y’all’ll demand them to admission both APs later.

If you cannot encounter the AP in the devices page of the controller (or you haven’t ready a controller withal), endeavor your DHCP server. The AP can normally be constitute on your internet router and should list all of the devices on your network with their IP and MAC addresses.

You don’t demand to know what a MAC accost is, only know it’s on a label on the underside of the admission signal called “MAC ID.” Lucifer the MAC address on your AP to an IP on your network, and you lot are skillful to go.

The status of the access indicate makes a difference equally to which username and countersign that you lot use to connect to the AP. For an unadopted admission point, or 1 which has been recently reset, the SSH credentials will be (depending on the firmware):

• Username:
  root
  |
  Password:
  ubnt
• Username:
  ubnt
  |
  Password:
  ubnt

Simply for the unadopted admission indicate used in this tutorial, the credentials are
ubnt
for the username and
ubnt
as the countersign. Accept notation of the username and password, as you’ll need them to admission the unadopted AP in the following department.

If the access point is adopted, the credentials will exist root/your-SSO-account’southward-password (business relationship.ui.com).

Accessing an Unadopted Access Point

Once yous know your access points’ state, yous tin now admission them, but first, showtime with accessing the unadopted i.

If the access betoken has been previously adopted, the username and password may accept been reset, so leap to the “Accessing an Adopted Access Betoken” section.

Open a concluding, and run the command below to SSH into the AP. When prompted, enter the unadopted AP’southward password y’all noted in the “Determining if the AP has Previously Been Adopted” section.

If the SSH session is successful, you’ll get a
BusyBox built-in shell (ash)
message like below.

If the credentials practise not work, reset the access point by
performing the reset procedure
on your AP.

Resetting a Previously Adopted Access Point

Now that you lot can access an unadopted AP via SSH, you can also access a previously adopted AP. But outset, y’all’ll reset the previously adopted AP. Doing so sets the AP in a ready-to-be “adopted” state by your controller.

Resetting an AP causes downtime. So ideally, merely try this on an Access Betoken that is not yet in use unless you’re prepared to face some angry users.

Run the
gear up-default
command below to clear Unifi admission points config and reboot the AP, which takes a few minutes to complete. This command puts the AP into the aforementioned land every bit using the physical reset switch on the device.

Resetting an Admission Point’s Default Password

Not leaving your network settings on default is a sensible thought. A new username and countersign volition automatically be prepare with new details for your network when yous adopt a device. And then to be on the condom side, reset the default password now.

Run the
passwd
command at the shell prompt, and so enter a new password and ostend it.

Hither’southward How to SSH into Unifi AP via Accessing an Adopted Admission Signal

Perhaps y’all accept an adopted AP; how do yous admission it? SSH into the AP using the username and password you prepare when configuring the controller.

Notation that if you prepare your controller to use your
account.ui.com
address and enable two-factor for device authentication, SSH access will non work.

If yous do non know the AP username and password, you volition demand to factory reset the AP similar in the “Resetting the Admission bespeak Default Countersign” department or use the controller to admission the AP.

Just yous can as well utilize the controller to reset the username and countersign globally. This action affects all adopted APs on your network.

To reset the credentials for all access points on your network:

ane. Open up the controller, and select the settings (gear) icon.

ii. Navigate to
System Settings
—>
Controller Configuration.

Now select
Device SSH Authentication
and change the
Username
and/or
Countersign
(or add together
SSH Keys
for public-primal authentication).

Avoid using “root” as the username equally it’s a special user on the Linux-based operating system of the access point.

Finally, click the
Employ Changes
push button to save the changes.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, yous’ve learned that there’s nada you can practice from the console of Unifi AP that you can’t also exercise from the controller. Just even so, knowing how to SSH onto Unifi AP is a handy exercise. This access method lets you quickly bank check and automatically pull information, such as the current AP firmware.

Y’all tin can also SSH to an AP to update the firmware, which could be automated via SSH if you have many devices, rather than clicking through the web GUI of the controller.

Now how practise you plan to build upon this newfound knowledge? Perhaps apply SSH to integrate the AP into a configuration management arrangement, such equally
Common salt
or
Ansible, to automate updates?