Ubiquiti USG and Handoff/Continuity

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Posted on
Tue Dec 26, 2017 8:47 am
Shutter offline
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Ubiquiti USG and Handoff/Continuity

Posting here as I know many others on the forum are also using Unifi gear.

I've just installed a Security Gateway(USG) and an AC-Pro AP. This isn't my first AC install, but it is my first using the USG. Everything is running extremely well except the one thing that has stopped working since the install is Handoff/Continuity between my Apple gear. I can't get Handoff, Universal Clipboard, or Instant Hotspot to work.

I've done the usual reboot, turn off/on Handoff on all devices, turn off/on Bluetooth/Wifi. I'm on the same wifi network, and logged into the same iCloud account. I know lots of people have issues with Continuity, but I've been fine with them, and this only stopped working when I installed the USG.

So I'm wondering what setting in the USG is blocking this feature? Does anyone know? I'm running the USG pretty much in the default, as my network needs aren't that complicated. The one thing I have yet to try is turning off/on iCloud. Trying to avoid that as a last resort in case there's a setting in the USG that I've overlooked.

Thanks,

Simon

Posted on
Fri Dec 29, 2017 4:57 pm
DaveL17 offline
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Re: Ubiquiti USG and Handoff/Continuity

Spent the day today installing my USG and Switch 24. The only real roadblock I ran into was the reallocation of my static-host-mapping. I took lengths to try to re-up them through the console (you can't assign static IPs to a client in the controller unless the client is connected) and researched hand-editing the config file (which was a bit over the top for me). Turned out to be just fine pushing the router into service and rearranging the IPs as needed.

But on target, I just checked continuity and was able to handoff from my iPhone to my MacBook (both on WiFi). The only port forwarding rule I've set up is for Plex (Indigo was able to communicate with the reflector without punching the port manually).

Not sure why your continuity isn't working. Did you set up any other subnets or VLANs?

EDIT: apparently I was working with dated information. You can, in fact, add a client manually with the UniFi controller.

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Posted on
Sun Dec 31, 2017 8:23 am
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Re: Ubiquiti USG and Handoff/Continuity

That's what I feared. I'm going to have to turn off/on iCloud on each device to see if that fixes it. #*@%&?€ Apple :x

I'm not doing anything funky with my USG and AP. Networking is not my thing, so I try to keep it vanilla. So why it's Continuity is not working now is very annoying.

The USG is a fab bit of kit though, isn't it? There are a lot of features built in, but some are in not very obvious places, as you probably found out. They are moving things around in each version to consolidate where everything goes, based on all the YouTube videos I've been watching on configuring the USG - though to be fair it's pretty straight forward once you're found the settings.

One issue you might run across is VPN not working if you have UPnP turned on. Sure, best to leave UPnP off and create your own port forwarding rules, but I had it on to test Plex, and couldn't for the life of me figure out why VPN wasn't working. Turns our there's conflict between UPnP and VPN. Turned it off, created my own Plex port rule, bingo, VPN works.

Posted on
Sun Dec 31, 2017 9:44 am
Different Computers offline
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Re: Ubiquiti USG and Handoff/Continuity

Having UPnP off may be causing the iCloud issues.

I'd love to hear what Gateway features you think are cool. I'm sold on Ubiquiti (though Java dependency is a bummer) but haven't figured out why I would need a USG.

SmartThings refugee, so happy to be on Indigo. Monterey on a base M1 Mini w/Harmony Hub, Hue, DomoPad, Dynamic URL, Device Extensions, HomeKitLink, Grafana, Plex, uniFAP, Fantastic Weather, Nanoleaf, LED Simple Effects, Bond Home, Camect.

Posted on
Sun Dec 31, 2017 9:48 am
DaveL17 offline
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Re: Ubiquiti USG and Handoff/Continuity

Good luck with continuity. I hope you're able to figure it out without too much headache. I haven't set up VLANs or VPN or anything like that yet. Right now I'm working on sorting why a couple of devices I have which should be at 1000 are only at 100. :D

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Posted on
Sun Dec 31, 2017 2:05 pm
kw123 offline
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Re: Ubiquiti USG and Handoff/Continuity

On the 100/1000: disconnecting and reconnecting the cable did it for me.


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Posted on
Sun Dec 31, 2017 2:56 pm
chase offline
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Re: Ubiquiti USG and Handoff/Continuity

If you are using UniFi to manage your access points, having a USG doing the routing and unifi switches doing the VLAN work really ties everything together. I am a big data guy, so it is cool having all this info in just one database... (well just about, I have to use AirControl for the AirMax gear)

You should not see any iCloud issues related to UPnP.

And I have seen flakiness with Continuity, but none of it I would blame on the LAN. Continuity uses both WiFi and Bluetooth so all the devices will work better with Bluetooth enabled.

If all your apple stuff is modern, disabling /enabling iCloud should not cause any problems.

Posted on
Sun Dec 31, 2017 3:33 pm
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Re: Ubiquiti USG and Handoff/Continuity

kw123 wrote:
On the 100/1000: disconnecting and reconnecting the cable did it for me.


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That worked for me too. Only I unplugged the cable and replaced it with a new one. :D

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Posted on
Mon Jan 01, 2018 7:43 am
Shutter offline
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Re: Ubiquiti USG and Handoff/Continuity

Different Computers wrote:
Having UPnP off may be causing the iCloud issues.

I'd love to hear what Gateway features you think are cool. I'm sold on Ubiquiti (though Java dependency is a bummer) but haven't figured out why I would need a USG.


Tried with UPnP on and off - made no difference. Also can't find anything about it being required. I've enabled mDNS, seeing as that appears to be required for Bonjour, which I think Continuity uses.

What I like about the USG is how much better it is from by crappy wifi router supplied to me by my ISP. It's the little things I wish to do to my network which are so much easier on the USG. The stats a interesting, though I doubt I'll keep looking at them unless something doesn't seem right.

DaveL17 wrote:
Good luck with continuity. I hope you're able to figure it out without too much headache. I haven't set up VLANs or VPN or anything like that yet. Right now I'm working on sorting why a couple of devices I have which should be at 1000 are only at 100. :D


Thanks, it's just so infuriating with the lack of support documentation from Apple. It comes down to turning off/on the Handoff setting on your device, and wifi/bluetooth. What's even more infuriating is that it starts to work, and then fails to complete.

And I also had the same thing with amber link light. For a minute I thought I had run an inferior cable, which I didn't relish having to re-run. Turns out a reboot fixed it for me.

chase wrote:
If all your apple stuff is modern, disabling /enabling iCloud should not cause any problems.


Looks like I'm going to have to try that. I have a lot of devices to do this too. :roll:

Posted on
Mon Jan 01, 2018 2:04 pm
kw123 offline
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Re: Ubiquiti USG and Handoff/Continuity

I would contact their help desk. They are very helpful, friendly ...
Start a chat from the controller Lower left


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Posted on
Mon Jan 01, 2018 2:39 pm
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Re: Ubiquiti USG and Handoff/Continuity

It's working now between iPhone and iMac. Will now working on gettting it working on my other devices. The fix, turning off/ on iCloud. Thankfully it isn't as painful an experience as it used to be. The only annoyance is my credit/debit cards need re-adding to wallet.

But it's still total BS. All Apple tell you is to toggle the Handoff settings. Why one has to completely off/on iCloud to get this working is a terrible user experience.

Posted on
Mon Jan 01, 2018 11:42 pm
chase offline
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Re: Ubiquiti USG and Handoff/Continuity

Tried with UPnP on and off - made no difference. Also can't find anything about it being required. I've enabled mDNS, seeing as that appears to be required for Bonjour, which I think Continuity uses.


I have plenty of experience with ubnt gear and the apple ecosystem. I do not have mDNS enabled on any of the networks I maintain and bonjour works as designed. I also do not use UPnP. The apple devices on my networks can use continuity. The only real gotcha I have come across is if you have a Time Capsule or Airport Extreme set to use Back to My Mac it will grab the ports L2TP over IPSEC VPNs use. Abandoning Back to My Mac is a very good idea as the L2TP VPN is quite a bit more robust and way more flexible.

I think the logging in and out of iCloud is all that is needed. (I find this is also the fix if Mac's are having a hard time 'push' joining a phone or LTE iPad's personal hotspot). And your right, reseting the device's Apple Pay credentials is a pain. I had all my cards on my phone and since switching to the iPhone X, I have only bothered to authorize 1 card so far.

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