Unifi Router Buyer's Guide in 2021
If you use Unifi at your home, you are probably not so happy with the speed and stability of the WiFi network. That’s because TM is still a business and they cannot give an expensive router while remain profitable. But, luckily, TM doesn’t stop you from buying your own router.
While the router provided by TM isn’t too bad, they have slower CPU and weaker WiFi coverage. This means they aren’t very good if you stay in a bigger home or if you have more WiFi devices at home. Thus, in this article, I will show you some WiFi routers that I’ve tested that will recommend for you to upgrade your home WiFi router.
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⚠️ This guide is only intended for Unifi Fibre users!
Table of Contents
Unifi Fibre Equipment Overview
All Unifi Fibre installation come with 2 devices which is the fibre modem and WiFi router. The Fibre modem comes with lifetime warranty from TM and it is non-user replaceable. But, don’t worry as the WiFi router rarely breaks down and it performs well. What we will be focussing is the WiFi router part which will impact all your home networking performance.
Unifi Router Brands
Once you purchased the new router, please request your Unifi login ID and Password from TM. You will need them when configuring your new router. Once you got everything ready, remove your old wireless router and connect the new router to the ONU. You have to reconfigure your new wireless router. The process depends on the brand of the router but generally, you just need to insert the PPPOE ID and password and select the Unifi profile on the router.
TP-Link Unifi Router
TP-Link routers are fully compatible with Unifi. TP-Link offers really good value for money as their routers are usually cheaper while delivering the same level of performance compared to their competitors. They offer a 3 years warranty on all their networking products.
You can refer to my guide on how to setup TP-Link Unifi router here.
Model WiFi Specification Suggested Plan Beamforming MU-MIMO Maximum NAT speed Retail Price
Archer C5400X Gaming AC5400 800Mbps ✔ ✔ 941Mbps RM1499
Archer C5400 AC5400 800Mbps ✔ ✔ 941Mbps RM949
Archer C4000 AC4000 800Mbps ✔ ✔ 941Mbps RM999
Archer C3150 AC3150 800Mbps ✔ ✔ 941Mbps RM799
Archer C2300 AC2300 800Mbps ✔ ✔ 941Mbps RM639
Deco M9 Plus Mesh AC2200 500Mbps ✔ ✔ 800Mbps RM999
Archer A10 AC2600 800Mbps ✔ ✔ 941Mbps RM639
Archer A9 AC1900 500Mbps ✔ ✔ 941Mbps RM439
Archer C9 AC1900 500Mbps ✔ – 941Mbps RM469
Deco M5 Mesh AC1300 500Mbps ✔ ✔ 800Mbps RM439
Deco M4 Mesh AC1200 300Mbps ✔ ✔ 800Mbps RM399
Archer C7/ A7 AC1750 500Mbps – – 800Mbps RM312
Archer C6/ A6 AC1200 300Mbps ✔ ✔ 941Mbps RM209
Archer C1200 AC1200 300Mbps – – TBD RM279
Do note that HyppTV do not work on their Deco mesh series of products but Internet is working properly.
Asus Unifi Router
Asus is another well known brand in the wireless router industry. They are slightly more expensive but they have really solid performance and the AsusWRT firmware offers the most comprehensive set of features. Asus also pioneer their AiMesh technology which allows you to use several compatible Asus routers to form a high performance mesh network. Asus routers come with 3 years of warranty in Malaysia.
You can refer to my guide on how to setup Asus Unifi router here.
Model WiFi Specs Suggested Plan AiMesh BF MU-MIMO Maximum Internet Speed Price Range
RT-AX88U AX6000 800Mbps ✔ ✔ ✔ 941Mbps Unreleased
Asus ROG Rapture GT-AC5300 Gaming AC5300 800Mbps ✔ ✔ ✔ 941Mbps RM2489
RT-AC5300 AC5300 800Mbps ✔ ✔ ✔ 941Mbps RM2209
RT-AC88U AC3100 800Mbps ✔ ✔ ✔ 941Mbps RM1809
Asus Blue Cave AC2600 800Mbps ✔ ✔ ✔ 941Mbps RM1099
RT-AC68U AC1900 500Mbps ✔ ✔ – 850Mbps RM1039
Lyra Trio Mesh AC1750 500Mbps ✔ ✔ ✔ 850Mbps RM1579
Lyra Mesh AC2200 500Mbps ✔ ✔ ✔ 850Mbps RM999
RT-AC66U B1 AC1750 300Mbps ✔ ✔ – 941Mbps RM859
RT-AC1300UHP AC1300 300Mbps ✔ ✔ ~500Mbps RM569
RT-AC58U AC1300 300Mbps ✔ ✔ ~500Mbps RM479
RT-AC1200G+ AC1200 100Mbps – – ~400Mbps RM449
D-Link Unifi Router
You probably heard of D-Link before as they are one of the oldest brand selling networking gear in Malaysia. They also produce some really great networking equipment. New D-Link routers are fully compatible with Unifi. They are also rather affordable while delivering good performance.
You can refer to my guide on how to setup D-Link Unifi router here.
Other Brands (Tenda, Netgear and etc)
There are also other brands in the market and most if not all Enterprise level gear can be configured to support Unifi. But, we do not include them in this list as they may be harder to configure for most users.
Netgear is known for requiring manual setup of VLAN for it to work with Unifi.
Hi, blacktubi.
I just move in to a double Storey. I m currently applying for unifi 30mbps, n being advised to install 2 router (for ground floor and first floor) which 1 of the router will be supplied by tm. Which brand of the router will u recommend?
Thanks.
Asus and TP-Link it’s entirely your choice. It depends on your budget.
I’m looking for a router to replace my current Unifi router. I’m staying in an apartment 1500sf wide. Which router would you recommend?
Non heavy user.
Maybe something like the TP-LINK Archer C5 or Asus RT-AC1300UHP.
Hi, I’m currently using the router given by TM. I just moved to a double storey house. Need advice on which router will give a good range for double storey house because my colleague did advice me on changing to D-Link router.
Thank you for your time.
Get the best D-Link router which is the DIR-890L
Hi,
Is TP Link TP-LINK AC1200 a good choice for a standard double storey terrace?
Non-heavy user here
Yes, it is a good router. But I recommend C5 or C7.
My house router unifi not serviceable but the signal full bar.
Is this meaning my router issue?
What you mean by not serviceable?
Hi blacktubi,
Does Linksys EA9500 supports Unifi. Thanks
Linksys Unifi support is pretty hit or miss so I wouldn’t recommend it.
Hi Sir,
Your website is very helpful. After reading through, i decided to buy asus ac68u and it woked waaaaay better than stock router from TM. After updating my firmware, everything is just straight forward. Hypp TV works well, my video streaming apps function flawlessly on 50MBps unifi. In addition to that , there are many features and useful functions to be utilised especially parental control and scheduling.
I should bump into your website earlier. Very helpful indeed.
Thank you blacktubi.
Thanks for the compliment!
I buy a mi router pro from China..Is it compatible or how can I setup to replace the stock wifi router?thanks
You can use it as an additional router but it cannot fully replace the Unifi router.
I heard there are third party firmware which work with Unifi but the stability is poor.
Hi
I bought TP link AC1750 and fail to setup connection to unifi, i am sure i got the username & password correct cause i did the same setting for TL-WR1043ND the same and it works just fine.
what can be the issue?
Have you selected the Unifi profile and tick enable VLAN?
Hi Blacktubi,
I purchased a netgear R6220 wifi router to replace my current unifi wifi router. but tried search for various method online to connect the internet using the new device but unsuccessful. I need help to do the set up for my new wifi router.
Please help!!!
It is not compatible with Unifi apparently.
Hi Blacktubi,
The D-Link DIR-850L (please see link below) is compatible with Unifi, but can I flash it with DD-WRT, do you think?
I not sure if DD-WRT is available with this product but I would advice you to use the stock router for Unifi.
HI,
just wondering if i am buying the router (RT-AC68U) from taobao, but is the china official asus seller. isit compatible with unifi?
thanks
It should be compatible but please update it to the latest firmware first.