Products · Product
MikroTik
Raised as a usability problem by 51 people on Hacker News over 14 years (2013–2026), in 35 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Mikrotik UIs are confusing and docs are poor outside the CLIUnreviewed
20132026- Configuring Mikrotik routers is difficult, especially VLANs, WireGuard, VPNs and routing2026-10-09
- Mikrotik's user interface is less polished and shiny than UniFi's2025-12-05
- Everything uses Mikrotik-specific conventions that new users find unintuitive2021-01-11
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Configuring Mikrotik routers is difficult, especially VLANs, WireGuard, VPNs and routing2026-10-09
- UI wasted the commenter's time, prompting a switch to pfSense2026-07-20
- Port forwarding needs heavy docs reading; WiFi AP UI is hard to use2026-07-19
- UI is a graphical overlay on a config file, hard for newcomers to use2026-07-19
- Must manually configure FQ-CoDel and bufferbloat protection, which isn't built in2026-07-19
- UI exposes raw config complexity without guidance, making mistakes easy and risky2026-07-17
- Connected devices buried three menu levels deep; default page is creating a DHCP server2026-07-16
- Default password on sticker is tiny and hard to tell characters apart2026-04-25
- Hard to configure: IP overrides, wrong default password, UI logs user out every five minutes2026-04-25
- Mikrotik's user interface is less polished and shiny than UniFi's2025-12-05
- Configuration interfaces are confusing, and manual setup is needed for basic tasks2025-08-02
- Configuration feels clunky and complicated compared to Ubiquiti2025-08-01
- Making a DHCP reservation requires hunting through multiple menus and separate steps2024-12-18
- Terrible UX makes the networking gear hard to learn and operate2024-09-12
- Controls hidden in collapsed sections; users must remember titles to find them2023-12-14
- CLI feels counterintuitive and wonky to an experienced Linux user2023-12-14
- The interface is cluttered and dated, looking like an amateur 90s app2023-12-14
- Dealing with SFP module inconsistencies is annoying, and the router is slow2023-09-07
- Firmware upgrade option is hidden in a separate menu and was only found by accident2023-05-22
- Trouble configuring bonds with rSTP because the documentation is poor2023-02-09
- Configuring the device is complex and has a poor user experience2022-08-15
- Couldn't figure out how to configure switching, bridging and VLANs, unlike Linux2022-08-15
- Port forwarding isn't offered as a consumer option; users must write firewall rules instead2022-04-15
- Configuration hierarchy layout is weird and cumbersome compared to JunOS2022-03-28
- Steep learning curve makes the router hard to set up2022-02-18
- Management replies leave via whatever interface received the request, causing strange firewall behaviour2022-02-14
- Filling forms or editing settings is confusing and terrible to use2021-12-27
- Extremely complex to operate, too hard for people wanting basic networking2021-12-08
- Settings export did not work as expected, unclear whether it's fixed2021-12-07
- Steep learning curve; basic VLAN switch setup requires lots of trial and error2021-12-07
- Interface is a poor copy of UniFi with its worst UX aspects2021-12-07
- Configuring VLANs on the bridge in the WebUI was confusing, with two alternative approaches2021-12-07
- Basic setup like firewall, NAT loopback and VPN needs deep networking knowledge and manual configuration2021-12-07
- Hard to configure; unintuitive interface and confusing terminology2021-12-07
- Assigning a VLAN to a port requires navigating three separate top-level tabs, which is confusing2021-12-07
- Steep learning curve before the interface becomes usable2021-11-24
- Confusing UI and poor defaults lead professionals to make mistakes2021-03-30
- Many manual settings make features like NAT and QoS very hard to configure2021-03-30
- The touchscreen does not work, so the author wishes it did2021-03-17
- Hard to configure an SSID per VLAN even for an experienced user2021-02-26
- Hard to configure compared to UniFi2021-01-12
- Too many options and the UI is not friendly for set-and-forget use2021-01-12
- Everything uses Mikrotik-specific conventions that new users find unintuitive2021-01-11
- Configuring IPv6 services and firewall access is practically impossible and undocumented2020-11-05
- Scripting language is finicky with steep learning curve, syntax and quirks make user feel handicapped2020-10-12
- The web and admin interface is described as pretty bad2020-01-11
- No simple enable-firewall switch; manual chain rules make small mistakes expose the network2019-11-03
- Reserved directory names fail with confusing 'file not found' errors and file timestamps oscillate unpredictably2018-09-04
- Required terminal setting for SSH is hard to find, leaving SSH unusable2018-09-04
- Router UI is bad and takes time to get used to2018-02-16