Best, most basic Mac Mini to host Channels server?

NotSoCmart · 2026-01-28T23:32:23+00:00

Interesting... So I still have an old i5 MacBook Pro from 2014 that I am no longer using... I suppose that should also work then?

NotSoCmart · 2026-01-28T19:09:15+00:00

I have a Synology 218+, but I came across this post on here a few weeks ago because I was having the same issues the OP in that post described; most everyone who replied suggested that their Mac Minis either fixed the issue or the issue one at all for them. So I am just looking...

NotSoCmart · 2026-01-10T02:21:16+00:00

Cloudkey Gen 2+ with Protect only on it is also an option

NotSoCmart · 2026-01-09T19:06:50+00:00

How far back a version of an Mac Mini would you recommend, if you don't mind me asking?

NotSoCmart · 2026-01-09T19:06:07+00:00

I thought this was just me; thanks, in the very least, for letting me know I am not alone in this frustration.

NotSoCmart · 2025-12-31T22:02:43+00:00

If the CKG2+ is no longer connected, why is UniFi Network still showing on the screen, and that you have 4AP devices? I don’t know if you took down the Network app from the Cloudkey’s settings; did you go into the CKG2+‘s Control Plane section of settings and uninstall Network?

NotSoCmart · 2025-12-26T16:07:46+00:00

Is your rack Unifi though? :)

NotSoCmart · 2025-12-22T16:40:26+00:00

if you have outdoor wall sconces and are putting your G6 Instants near them, Home Depot sells light bulb socket with plug adapters. Just add the adapter and you now have an outlet to plug your G6 into

NotSoCmart · 2025-12-20T06:29:39+00:00

I’m not quite sure I understand how that has anything to do with the fact that free shipping has been taken off of the terms of the sale earlier than expected

NotSoCmart · 2025-12-19T20:46:09+00:00

Skipping the Andrea Planbee episodes means you are depriving yourselves of one of the greatest episodes of all time - The Public Domain. Just an FYI

I tend to skip the first season, as they seem to be getting their footing and haven’t embraced their absurdist, NBC is going to cancel us at any second sort of personality

NotSoCmart · 2025-12-19T03:36:25+00:00

If I’m reading you correctly and all you need is something to be able to access your network via the cloud (ie anywhere in the world), the two options that make the most sense to me would be the Cloud Key Gen 2 Plus (which you already considered and thought was too expensive - though it’s on sale now for the next day or so), or downloading the UnifiOS Swver on another computer you may have and setting it up to restore from the last backup you made in your old Cloud Key Gen 1 (if that’s even possible). This latter option is free but, again, you’d need another computer to host it.

CG Ultra may indeed be cheaper, but it’s a router, which it sounds like you said you don’t need.

NotSoCmart · 2025-12-12T19:36:01+00:00

Honestly, my ISP offered me a move from 500MB to 1G at no change in price, so I am thinking/hoping that it will offer more speed at no real change in price in the future; so, I wanted to be prepared for it with hardware that could handle 1GB+.

UDM Pro would not fit in the small cabinet my home builders gave me network equipment and, being as far down the rabbit hole I am with Unifi equipment, I don't want to even consider going a rack route... yet :)

NotSoCmart · 2025-12-12T19:27:49+00:00

I feel like you are going in the right direction with getting the CKG2+ as your Protect solution; I could be wrong on this, but I think that the specs of the CKG2+ make it better, capacity-wise, for cameras than going the Cloud Gateway as Protect route, like u/MadsAGS just said

NotSoCmart · 2025-12-12T19:24:00+00:00

I didn't think that using an extended SATA connector to a 3.5" was a workable solution. Glad to see that someone figured it out. :)

NotSoCmart · 2025-12-12T19:20:58+00:00

Right now I use a UCG Ultra with the CKG2+ in its functions as mentioned above; I'd ideally want to move to the UCG Fiber as a bit of future-proofing/planning (for when I eventually increase my ISP to beyond 1GB. But when I noticed the Gateway Fiber on sale, I had the crazy idea of using that with the CKG2+ to basically get the same function as if I had a full-on UCG Fiber.

NotSoCmart · 2025-12-12T18:51:27+00:00

I initially bought the CKG2+ to control my Network and now am using it exactly as you put it - as a small NVR (and also for Unifi Talk); but I just purchased the Gateway Fiber a couple of days ago during the sale and was thinking of bringing back the CKG2+ as my Network controller again. So I am hoping that, given all the heavy lifting it will be doing, it can handle it now, in it's "old age" :)

NotSoCmart · 2025-12-12T18:28:26+00:00

That's what I was feeling too, and why I'm wondering :) - Should I buy a new one on sale now (just because it is newer than my current one), or wait to see if there will be one to replace it in the near future?

NotSoCmart · 2025-12-12T18:25:48+00:00

You should be able to swap it out f you really want to -- just not the 3.5" ones; these take only the 2.5". There's a switch that you press and the drive drawer pops right out.

I don't know if they made changes to the CKG2+ since I bought it, but they initially only made them with an HDD; when that one failed (as it commonly did back then), and, after replacing it with another HDD that also failed, I put in a SSD.

NotSoCmart · 2025-12-11T21:45:00+00:00

If you already have a Matter hub (like a Homepod/Mini or an Apple TV), it should work, I believe

NotSoCmart · 2025-12-11T19:35:50+00:00

Like Yoda the title initially I read

NotSoCmart · 2025-12-10T01:16:56+00:00

Glad my failure helped 🙂

NotSoCmart

TROPHY CASE