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,
My unifi plan was recently recently got upgraded to 500mbps. The router I’m using is supplied by TM D-Link DIR-850L. The spec of the router is gigabit connection. But upon doing the speed test I’m only getting slightly less than 100mbps. Shouldn’t the router be able to support 500mbps since it can support gigabits connection?
Appreciate your reply and help
Thanks
Have you tried another LAN cable?
I changed my unifi package from 10 to 100Mbps. Using old Unifi router, speed can reach 50mbps. And TM side recently change the existing router to D-Link AC1200 (their standard router) . When speedtest conducted on Wifi 5GHz , it can reach 100mbps but 2.4GHz band can reach around 40-50 mbps only…. Why not 100mbps as 5GHz?
TM said got router limitation?
Hi there, 2.4Ghz is overcrowded, imagine like a highway with many cars so the maximum speed is limited.
So, is there any ways we could get the speed of 100mbps also on the 2.4GHz channel, by using different router other than DIR-850L ?
Possible but hard as 2.4Ghz is very congested. Need some high end device like RT-N800HP.
Hi. Saya dah upgrade router saya ke archer c7. Cable pakai cat5e. Bila speedtest, dia punya speed 71Mb ja download. Saya pakai unifi 300Mb punya. Saya pakai unifi lama dah. Dari tahun 2012. Waktu tu 10Mb ja. 6 tahun pakai 10Mb then tm request suruh upgrade ke 30Mb, cuma tambah duit rm10 ja. Then dapat upgrade ke unifi turbo 300Mb. Soalan saya, router dah upgrade. Modem dia kena upgrade jugak ka? Kalau nak upgrade modem kena pi kat tm?
Try with another CAT5E
Hi i enounter problem while setting up for NETGEAR Nighthawk X10, it says i cant establish connection to internet.
Unifi 500Mbps
NETGEAR Nighthawk X10
setting
PPoE, username password inserted, firmware v1.0.4.12(latest)
if anybody can help really appreciated
I never use a Netgear router before. You need to configure VLAN mode manually for it to be compatible with Unifi. That is why I did not list it up there.
https://kb.netgear.com/25724/VLAN-tagging-setup-for-Nighthawk-router
Bro , TM email me and said my account already have turbo speed which is 500M , i’m using TP link -TL-WR841N router , when i have a speedtest using lan cable the result is 95M , but i use wifi is 70M , but i check the router spec which is support 300M?
Hi, the router WAN port is limited to 100Mbps. You need a better WiFi router.
Hello, My unifi is 500mbps now and my router is Asus RT-N12C1 ( 300mbps ) with cable cat5e when i speed test it, I only get 60mbps to 80mbps, is it the router problem ? cause my router support 300mbps but din get any speed test over 100 mbps at all, any suggest? i really need your help, i called unifi 2 week, they keep ask me to do the same thing.
Hi, the router WAN port is limited to 100Mbps. You need a better WiFi router.
Hi, would like to ask for your opinion, I need to access to 20 units of cctvs, 1 smart tv, 2 iPads, 5 smart phones, house type: semi d, will you recommend Asus RT AC5300? Or any other type will be even better than this? I need to view the cctvs online, so the speed need to be fast.
Yes, get the RT-AC5300. CCTV is considered as pretty high bandwidth especially if it is WiFi based ones.
Hi, May I know Acher C5400X and Asus RT AC5300, which one is more suitable for me? I need to access to about 20 units cctvs, 2 smart tv, 2 iPads and 4-5 iPhones daily, house type Semi-detached. Please advise me.. Unifi user.
I would prefer the C5400X, the specs is higher with a Quad Core processor.
Hi Good day;
Which router would you recommend for 500MBPS unifi; in a double storey bungalow house for usual usage on laptop and mobile phones. Will place Router on the 2nd floor centre. House around 7000sqft.
Thank you
7000 sqft is really big. I suggest getting a mesh WiFi kit.
Hi,
Let say router tp link ac750 dual band support up to 300mbps on 2.4ghz and 433mbps at 5ghz channel.it have fast ethernet port at 10/100mbps. So, is it possible to get 300mbps at 2.4ghz channel? If not, what is the best possible? Unifi 500
Not possible, speed limited to the WAN port.
Hi im using Asus RT N14UHP for my unifi package 500mbps
but my internet speed only running 100mbps
im using lan cable to access de network
any solution to fix de problem?
The WAN port of this router is only up to 100Mbps, you need a better router.
I got my unifi upgrade from 30 to 300Mbps. And I recently buy a new router Tp-Link AC1200 Archer C50. When speedtest in tm website. Just got under 100Mbps. Call tm they said 300Mbps masih lagi dalam tempoh percubaan. Are my new router support 300Mbps?
Archer C50 is limited to 100Mbps max due to the Ethernet port is 100Mbps only. I recommend C7/C9
Okay, thanks. C7 can cover 2 floors?
Yes, it can cover 2 floors.