New firmware 4.0.69.10871 out today makes this opt-in by default[1].
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21430997
[1] https://community.ui.com/releases/UAP-USW-Firmware-4-0-69-10871/37101df7-b0b4-482b-968f-27633f3daf91 (may require login to view)
What actually changed in this exact version sounds like there is now an opt-out, though it is by default opted-in of course.
Before this version, there was no opt out at all. So this is an improvement from the last release, but still worse than a few releases ago before the phone-home.
I don't think I'll be purchasing any more Ubiquiti gear myself, and what I have I should probably sell off. Network gear is something I want to be able to trust, not wonder what new thing they're trying to sneak in, and the communication on this issue from Ubiquiti has been pitifully bad.
Setting up a DMZ and some firewall tweaks is a lot easier than finding a good AP.
"[HW] Default disable crash and critical event reporting."
I've installed and personally bought a lot of Ubiquiti gear and this was an unwelcome change. However, this certainly qualifies as an appropriate response and there's no reason to start dumping hardware over a software change that's been reverted.