Remote SupportWhat happens in a UniFi site survey, and what you get back.
Before any UniFi hardware goes on your wall, we walk your site, map your Wi-Fi, check your cabling and count your devices, then hand you a written plan.
Here is what that visit involves and what to ask for, whether we run it or someone else does.
Listed in the Ubiquiti Professional Integrator directory. Part of our UniFi installation and support service.
Why a survey first
A site survey is the difference between a network that works and one that almost works. It turns guesswork about access point positions, cable runs and camera sightlines into a floor plan you can approve before a single cable is pulled.
This guide sets out the steps we take and the questions any business owner should ask before signing off on a connectivity upgrade.
The survey in five steps
From scope call to fixed quote.
- 01
Scope call
We start with a short call to understand your site, your users and what is not working today. You tell us the floor plan, the dead spots staff complain about, and the doors and cameras you want. We bring no hardware to this call.
- 02
Site walk
An engineer walks every floor, room and yard with you. We note where people sit, where coverage drops, where the cabinet lives, and every door and camera location you have or want.
- 03
Wi-Fi heatmap
We run a wireless survey on a phone or tablet that records signal strength as we move, then turns it into a heat map of your floors. This shows the real coverage and the dead spots, not a guess.
- 04
Wired and power audit
We check your existing switches, cabling and PoE budget, so we know what can be reused and what needs replacing. UniFi cameras, access points and door readers all run on a single cable, so the cabling count matters.
- 05
Findings and plan
You get a short written report: a floor plan with proposed access point and camera positions, a device list with prices, a network segmentation plan, and a fixed quote. No work starts until you approve it.
What we check
Eight things the survey covers.
Coverage and capacity
How many access points you need and where, for your user count and building shape. The U7 Pro Max covers about 160 square metres and 500-plus clients per AP; dense floors step up to Enterprise APs at 1,000-plus. Placement decides whether Wi-Fi 7 delivers.
Cabling and switching
Existing cable runs, switch capacity and PoE budget. One cable per device keeps the install clean and the maintenance simple.
Internet and failover
Whether your current link is enough, and whether a second link or 5G backup is worth it for your uptime needs.
Network segmentation
Keeping staff, guests, building systems and cameras on separate zones, so a problem on one cannot spread to the rest.
Camera sightlines
Where cameras see and where they are blind, day and night, and where the footage is recorded and kept.
Door access points
Which doors need control, which locks they have, and how visitors and deliveries are handled.
Interference
Other Wi-Fi, microwaves and building materials that weaken your signal, found during the heatmap.
Growth headroom
Sizing the gateway and switching for the users you have now and the ones you expect, so you do not rebuild in a year.
What you walk away with
A written plan, not a verbal quote.
Floor plan with positions
A marked-up plan showing where each access point, camera and door reader goes, and why.
Device list with prices
Every switch, access point, camera, reader and gateway, with the price, so the quote is transparent.
Segmentation plan
Which traffic sits on which zone, and the rules that keep them apart.
Phased recommendation
If the full plan is more than you want to spend now, what to do first and what can wait.
Once you have the plan, see how the network itself goes in on the UniFi network page, or how cameras and doors fit on the camera and door access pages.
Questions to ask any installer
If they cannot answer these, keep looking.
- Do you run a wireless heatmap before quoting, or do you guess access point positions?
- How do you size the gateway and switching to my user count, not just the building size?
- What is the PoE budget, and will a single cable run every device?
- How do you segment the network, and can guests and building systems reach my business data?
- What happens to my cameras and doors if the internet drops?
- Is the quote fixed before install, and what is not included?
The questions business owners ask before booking.
- How long does a UniFi site survey take?
- A single-floor office takes an hour or two on site; a multi-floor or multi-building site takes longer. Add the scope call beforehand and the written report afterwards. We work to your timetable, not a fixed slot.
- Is there a charge for the site survey?
- The on-site assessment is free. You get the floor plan, the device list and the quote whether you go ahead with us or not.
- What should I prepare before the survey?
- Have a floor plan if one exists, your current internet plan details, and a list of the dead spots and the doors and cameras you want. If you have no floor plan, we draw one during the walk.
- Can you survey a site someone else installed?
- Yes. We audit an existing UniFi or third-party setup, check it against best practice, and tell you what to keep, fix or replace. The survey is the same whether we are taking over or starting fresh.
- Does the survey commit me to an install?
- No. The survey and the report are yours. You can take the plan to another installer, do the work in stages, or leave it. The quote is fixed and there is no lock-in contract.
- What if my needs are simple?
- If you have one office and a handful of users, the survey is short and the plan is small. The same steps apply, scaled down, so you do not buy more network than you need.
Next step
Ready to book a site survey?
Send us your address and a few words about what is not working. An engineer will call to scope it and book the walk.
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