re-adopt/reprovision UniFi device to a new UniFi controller?

Once you’ve adopted and provisioned a UniFi access point to a controller, you won’t be able to SSH into it. The controller assigns a random SSH password to make it impossible for anybody to login.

You will need to factory reset your UniFi access point. Typically located right next to the ethernet port is a hole that you can press and hold with a thin needle or paperclip to reset the device.

If your access point is using DHCP, you will need to find the new IP address assigned to the UniFi device, unless it is the same or assigned through DHCP reservation. Make note of your device’s MAC address and locate it in your router’s DHCP host list.

From here, you can use an SSH client such as Putty or if on Linux the ssh user@IPADDR command to access your UniFi access point. In most cases the default user/pass combination is either ubnt/ubnt or root/ubnt.

Once you’re in there, you are going to type in the following command into the shell:

set-inform http://yournewcontrollerip:8080/informCopy

This will tell your access point to provision with the new UniFi controller. Login to your controller and you should see your new UniFi device being adopted and provisioned.

Note: You will need to allow both TCP port 8080 and UDP port 3478 on your network/server firewall in order for it to provision properly.