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 there, what is the best option for router for 500mbps connection and got super wifi connection. As i check TP link archer c6 support 300mbps for 2.4ghz only.unifi give 2.4ghz or 5ghz..hope can give more comment on this
For faster speed you definitely need to use 5Ghz.
Hi there, how about Asus rt n12hp. My plan is not 500mbps however get only less than 100mbps…
You have to upgrade your router as this Wireless N router cannot support Turbo speed.
Hi, if mainly using wifi , will you still recommed tplink archer c6 for unifi 500mbps package ? As i noticed that from internet that archer c6 is not support unifi 500 mbps .Thanks in advance
It can support 500Mbps and I do recommend it.
Good Morning,
Do you have a good recommendation for High gain USB adapter for unifi 800Mbps?
Your POV is highly appreciated.
TP-Link Archer T9UH.
Good Day Sir,
i Currently have the 800Mbps and about to buy the Archer C6, can you recommend a good dual band Usb Wifi Adapter for Desktop. Condition that occurs is Usb adaptor and router is block by a wall and cupboards and is about 5 meters apart.
Your recommendation and POV is highly appreciated.
TP-Link Archer T9UH.
hi ,
my modem were the oldest one (white) n router r dir615(orange/white) . they said the problem of slow n lagged internet mostly arise from router as it only support 2.4Ghz n mostly newer hp n laptop pc nowadays r 5Ghz .
will it be more smooth unifi speed if i upgrade my router ?
internet games were still slow/lagging on hp n pc/ laptop using unifi upgraded package
any suggestion for router to buy for better speed n coverage for budget ?
thks a lot
Yes, it will be a lot better. Get either the Archer C6, DIR-867 or Archer C2300. These 3 are my favorite budget router
Hi Alvyn,
I going to upgrade to unify turbo 800mbps. Currently using RT-AC55UHP.
Planing to change to RT-ACRH17 AC1700. Can it support?
Never tested the router and it is not sold in MY so I cannot comment.
Hello, Alvin, I am using Unifi 100 Mbps package and need some advice, earlier, my old Asus RT-AC68U was running smoothly but then thunder causing the router input port from unifi modem to kaput. So, TM technician plug in a new DIR-842 unit but I am having problem linking my CCTV recorder to this new unit (previously under Asus unit has no problem) though the internet is running fine now. The DDNS setup in the new Dlink unit is ok but cannot access the recorder ( I set a static internal ip for this) neither thru pinging nor video software.… Read more »
Just get another Asus router. Their firmware is by far the best in the industry and the only brand I will get if I need advanced features. Skip the headache with Asus.
hi,
tm has upgraded my speed to 800mbps now.the problem is the speed is slow n always buffering n takes a long time to connect.current router is TP link AC1200 archer C5.should i change to other router.which model.pls advise.Tqsm
You can consider TP-Link Archer C2300 or Asus RT-AC86U.
got turbo-ed last night, and today i’ve done research about my case, using RG-Maritime, hit up tm chat, didn’t help any for me to get my router change. got a few look into the routers you’ve listed and i can’t get over the prices.
looked into tenda on shopee. prices are good! it would be helpful if you could list down tenda routers on here too. that would help us a lot! which Tenda would you rec’d for 500mbps unifi?
appreciate the help!
I never tested Tenda routers.
Hi Alvin – Thanks for the valuable info. I was on the phone with TM yesterday and they told me apparently its my modem which needs to be changed and doesn’t support the turbo speed upgrade. I am now on 500Mbps.
Apparently their technicians will be changing it for me without any cost since its within the warranty period of the Modem. The router i’m using is the one provided by them. Its the black one with 4 antennas. Just a bit puzzled cause they said for me its the Modem and not the Router…….
Yes, it is totally possible. The oldest modem in TM lineup only support a maximum of 100Mbps.
Hi, my current unifi speed has been upgraded to 500mbps.
My existing router is d-link 850L. Tm offer replacement (with cost) to d-link DIR842.
What would be your recommendation?
Should I keep existing?
Accept the replacement?
Or get a new one? If new one, what model and approximately how much is it?
Thanks!
I suggest you just buy your own router. It could be cheaper and you do not need to extend the contract. TP-Link Archer C6 and D-Link DIR-867 are 2 affordable options