![](/static/253f0d9b/assets/icons/icon-96x96.png)
![](https://linux.community/api/v3/image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffry.gs%2Fpictrs%2Fimage%2Fc6832070-8625-4688-b9e5-5d519541e092.png)
You can configure them independently of a controller by ssh but the config will be lost on a reboot or when the device next polls the controller
Edit: and apparently someone else has said you can use the app to configure them without a controller at all
It’s not really documented anywhere officially. I’ve found the knowledge over the years from searching the ubnt forums. But I stopped using unifi equipment a few years ago for similar reasons.
This forum thread is probably the best starting point I can give you but configuring unifi APs via ssh for any reason other than maybe a botched IP configuration is a bad idea