UniFi Access Points are widely deployed in enterprise networks, offices, and homelab environments.
Stable Wi-Fi performance depends not only on controller availability but also on the health of each individual access point.
When an AP is overloaded or unstable, users experience slow speeds, disconnects, or packet loss.

Monitoring UniFi Access Points is essential to proactively detect performance issues.
PRTG Network Monitor provides lightweight SNMP-based sensors that allow administrators to monitor AP health without overloading the device.
This guide demonstrates a full setup to monitor UniFi Access Points using PRTG.

Monitoring Strategy for UniFi Access Points

Unlike servers, access points are resource-constrained devices.
Monitoring should focus on availability, uptime, and CPU load, not deep system metrics.

The core monitoring goals are:

• Is the AP reachable?

• Has the AP rebooted unexpectedly?

• Is the AP overloaded?

• Will users be affected soon?

PRTG allows you to answer all of these questions with minimal sensors.

#0. Enable SNMP on the AP Device

Before adding the AP to PRTG, SNMP must be enabled on the UniFi Access Point.

• Enable SNMP from UniFi Controller

• Configure SNMP v2c

• Define a community string

• Allow access from the PRTG Server IP

This step is mandatory for SNMP-based sensors to work correctly.

Add Device in PRTG

Add each UniFi Access Point as a Device in PRTG.

Best practices:

• Use the AP IP address

• Place APs in a dedicated group (e.g., UniFi Access Points)

• Assign correct SNMP credentials

This structure helps maintain clean monitoring and alerting.

#1. Ping v2

The Ping v2 sensor is the foundation of AP monitoring.

• Confirms AP network reachability

• Detects AP offline or network connectivity issues

• Provides immediate alerts when an AP becomes unreachable

This sensor should always be enabled.

#2. SNMP Uptime v2

The SNMP Uptime v2 sensor tracks how long the AP has been running.

Why uptime monitoring matters:

• Detects unexpected reboots

• Identifies power instability

• Helps troubleshoot firmware crashes

Set Threshold

• Alert when uptime resets unexpectedly

• No need for complex thresholds

• Focus on detecting frequent reboots

#3. SNMP CPU Load

CPU load is the most important performance metric for UniFi Access Points.

High CPU load may indicate:

• Too many connected clients

• Channel interference

• AP overloaded due to traffic

• Firmware bugs or errors

Monitoring Best Practices

• Monitor sustained CPU load, not short spikes

• Set warning thresholds carefully

• Avoid aggressive alerting

High CPU load often correlates directly with poor Wi-Fi performance.

Alerting and Threshold Tuning

Access points should not generate excessive alerts.
The goal is to detect real user-impacting issues, not minor fluctuations.

Recommended approach:

• Use Ping for availability alerts

• Use Uptime to detect reboots

• Use CPU Load to detect overload conditions

This minimal sensor set ensures efficient monitoring without stressing the AP.

Conclusion

Monitoring UniFi Access Points using PRTG provides essential visibility into wireless infrastructure health.
By focusing on availability, uptime, and CPU load, administrators can proactively detect Wi-Fi issues before users report them.
This monitoring setup is ideal for enterprise Wi-Fi, MSP environments, and professional homelabs.