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.
Hello, my Unifi speed now is 500mbps but i only get 4x++mbps, any router to suggest for a house 3 storey house and my router will be located on 2nd level of the house? Primary choice will be stable second is speed that can reach any near 500mbps unless feel like waste it.
I recommend Asus Blue Cave for this size.
Can TP-Link Archer VR400 C1200 support unifi 500Mbps.
Unifi copper installation max speed is 100Mbps. The VR400 is designed for copper.
My premise using 10Mbps and upgrading to 100Mbps, TM technician provide me a new modem (this one attach with fiber) to support 100Mbps speed since Im using PfSense firewall as the router and able to get 100Mbps. But if using old modem, only reach 50Mbps. So does it necessary to change the modem or router to enjoy the high speed?
Possibly due to their oldest modem which is known is ONU have some hardware limitation.
Now using TM RnD router. Need to be changed for 100mbps speed?
Yes.
Hi, recently got the upgrade from 10 to 100mbps , via ethernet connection or while being very close to the router with 5GHz wireless connection, I will get 100mbps speed. But when I use 2.4 GHz connection, it just wouldn’t get to 100mbps no matter how close I am , normally I only get 70, and it get worse when I test it downstairs, the router (DIR-850L) is situated upstairs. And so the 5GHz connection seem to be fine but it only work in very close distance. So, I guess it is probably some kind of traffic jam going on… Read more »
2.4Ghz is highly overcrowded with devices. Nothing can be done. Some high end router can be better with good interference mitigation.
Hi Alvyn
i’m planning to change the old router TP-Link Archer c1200 to netgear nighthawk xr500. my internet speed currently is 300mbps but planning upgrade to 800mbps for online gaming purpose. i just want to ask you is the netgear nighthawk xr500 is unifi compatible ?? Thank You…..
I do not have any experience with Netgear. They are good device but Asus have better Unifi compatibility in Malaysia. Netgear and Asus are both high end router manufacturers. 🙂
Unifi just upgraded my speed to 500mbps.
Problem is my wifi download speed is around 40-50mbps with 2.4ghz and around 80++ on 5g.i am using a tenda ac6
Ac1200 router.is my router cannot support the speed? Can anyone advice or have this same problems.tq
AC6 is limited to 100Mbps because of the port speed limit
Hai I got upgraded from 30mpbs to 300mbps…my router is dlink dir 850L and cable CAT5E but my speed test is 50mbps only… I need change my router or not
Yes, you definitely need to upgrade your router.
I have just been bumped up to 100mbps from 10mbps. The old D-link router is DIR 615. Do I need to buy a new router?
You definitely need to.
Me too and mine is D-link DIR-816L. do I need to buy a new router?
Yes, that router maximum speed is 100Mbps.
Hi, is ASUS RT-AC55UHP support the turbo upgrade speed (ie 300 MBps)? I notice it was not in your ASUS router list, but the box was 1 of the gigabit router right?.
I removed this model as this model is EOL but it can support up to 500Mbps.
Hi there, im still using the D-Link DIR-615 router and Huawei Echolife HG850a modem. Do you recommend me to change after the speed upgrade? my router and modem was from ages ago. haha
You definitely need to upgrade that old router. The modem is not user replaceable.
Hi,
I am using Dlink DIR 850L as provided by TM.As far as i am concerned, this router supports at least 300 mbps on wifi.Am i wrong?When i do the speedtest max it can go is up to 200mbps.I’m currently on the 800mbps unifi plan.
Thanks
It doesn’t support 800Mbps over wireless and it is known to have weak wireless performance.