How to migrate from a UniFi Cloud Key to UniFi OS Server

With the release of UniFi OS Server, you no longer need a Cloud Key to run the full UniFi stack. Now, you can host UniFi Network, Identity, SiteMagic VPN, and InnerSpace on your own infrastructure (without buying Ubiquiti hardware).

If you're currently running UniFi Network on a Cloud Key (Gen1 or Gen2+), you can migrate your configuration to UniFi OS Server in a few steps. This guide walks through the process, including backups, restore, and device adoption.

Why move off the Cloud Key?

Cloud Keys are useful for small sites, but they’re limited:

• Tied to local hardware
• Can’t scale across clients or sites
• No high availability
• No access to newer UniFi OS features (if using Gen1)
• Limited resources and storage
• Risk of data loss without backups

Migrating to UniFi OS Server lets you run the full UniFi stack in the cloud, in your own datacenter, or on a VM (no lock-in, no appliance required).

What you can migrate

Using a .unf backup from your Cloud Key, you can transfer:

• Sites
• Device configurations (APs, switches, gateways)
• SSIDs, VLANs, firewall rules
• Roles, user accounts
• Network settings and alerts

This process works for:

• Cloud Key Gen1 (UniFi Network only)
• Cloud Key Gen2 / Gen2+ (UniFi OS-based)

Note: Protect, Access, and Talk configurations are not portable.

Step 1 – Back up your Cloud Key

Log into your controller at https://<cloud-key-ip>:8443.

Go to: Settings > System > Backup

Click Download Backup. This gives you a .unf file containing your UniFi Network configuration.

Save the file securely, since you’ll import it into UniFi OS Server.

Step 2 – Set up UniFi OS Server

If you haven’t installed UniFi OS Server yet, use one of our platform guides:

• macOS setup guide
• Windows setup guide
• Linux setup guide

Once installed, open the UniFi OS interface:

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`https://localhost:11443`

Or the hostname/IP of your server.

Step 3 – Restore your backup

From the UniFi OS setup screen:

1. Select Restore from Backup
2. Upload the .unf file from your Cloud Key
3. Wait for the import process to finish

This will recreate your site(s), configurations, and policies.

Step 4 – Re-adopt your UniFi devices

After restoring the backup, your devices won’t automatically appear. You’ll need to point them to the new controller.

Option A: SSH into each device

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`set-inform http://<new-controller-ip>:8080/inform`

Repeat this for each AP, switch, or gateway.

Option B: Reset and adopt

If SSH isn’t enabled or you no longer have credentials, factory reset the device and adopt it in UniFi OS manually.

Step 5 – Verify the migration

Once devices are adopted:

• Confirm all devices show online
• Check VLANs, SSIDs, port profiles, and firewall rules
• Verify firmware versions
• Confirm alerts and logs are working
• Make sure backups are enabled on the new instance

Optional: Decommission the Cloud Key

When you're confident everything has moved over:

• Disconnect or power down the Cloud Key
• Remove it from Site Manager
• Remove DNS entries or DHCP options pointing to it
• Reassign controller responsibilities (if needed)

Final Thoughts

Migrating from a UniFi Cloud Key to UniFi OS Server is straightforward:

• Export a .unf backup
• Set up UniFi OS Server
• Restore the backup
• Re-adopt devices
• Decommission the old controller

Once migrated, you gain full control, access to newer UniFi OS features, and flexible hosting options. If you want to offload the migration and hosting work, we can handle it for you.

UniHosted is the first managed UniFi OS Server hosting provider. We run UniFi OS in 30+ global regions, fully managed, with VPN, Identity, backups, and migration support. Schedule a call to migrate your Cloud Key to UniFi OS.