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 Alvyn,
My unifi package turboed to 500mbps. TM replaced both modem and router – TP-Link Archer 1200. If I want to change the router to Asus, can the RT-AC1200G+ model support 500mbps? The current router I’m using supposedly support up to 300mbps but it can be used for 500mbps plan, according to the technician. I’m confused. My budget for new Asus router limited. tqvm
I recommend getting at least the RT-AC1300UHP for 500Mbps. Asus routers are a bit more expensive but they are more stable.
hello my turbo upgrade is 800 mbps what router should i look at?
You can look at Asus RT-AC86U or TP-Link Archer C2300.
Great post. Thanks. Looking at the price of the router, it doesn’t make sense to have this upgrade. Most devices are wifi now, and it is really hard to get 800mbps on wifi even for the latest and greatest router you could get now. 5ghz band still got choppy connection compared to 2.4ghz.
Hi Alvyn,
My unifi package has been turbo-ed to 500mbps.
My current TM stock router only can deliver maximum 100mbps for wifi connection. So, can both Archer C6 / DIR-867 deliver maximum wifi speed up to / nearly to 500mbps? One more, can both routers connect to my android box?
Thanks.
Both routers can support your Android box and can do 500Mbps when you are near to the router.
Hello,
Any suggestion for semi d house router? Coz with the current dir 850 unifi router i can’t even streaming in my room on the second floor.. less than 100mbps.
Asus RT-AC86U or TP-Link Archer C2300 is a good choice.
hi bro,im about to receive unifi turbo speed upgrade(300mbps),should i upgrade the router for that?currently im using dlink dir 845 provided by team.waiting for you reply,anyway good post bro.?
You can consider the D-Link DIR-867 or TP-Link Archer C6.
Hi Alvyn
Mine has been upgraded to 300mbps. Using what TM provided during installation last time.
Router Dlink DIR 842 C2
Modem Huawei Echolife HG8240H
do I need to upgrade to get the 300mbps speed? Or change any settings? Current speed test same as before
Thanks
This router can support 300Mbps. Make sure you are using a CAT5E or CAT6 Ethernet cable.
Hi I just got turboed to 800mbps. Which are the cheapest router that I should have to support the speed? Thanks in advance.
Even the cheap TP-Link Archer C6 can support this speed over LAN but if you are looking at WiFi, you need Asus routers.
Which series of Asus Wi-Fi router will be enough for info 800mbps?
RT-AC86U and above. Blue Cave can deliver 800Mbps as well.
how to access router’s page ? im just getting when “No such file or directory” logging into the gateway ip page
Maybe you try to clear cache for your browser first.
Dear Alvyn,
I just got the 500mpbs turbo plan upgrade. Aside from the router, which I’m looking at the TP Link Archer C9, do we have to take note of the modem? The current modem I have is the Huawei Echolife HG850a, and I’m not sure whether its up to the task for 500mbps. Your input is very much appreciated on this side!
Regards,
Yee Kang
I not sure if the HG850a can support 500Mbps but you can test it. I recommend the C2300 and skip the C9. The C2300 is miles ahead of C9.
Huawei Echolife HG850a BTU got 4 ports LAN but only support up to 100mbps. still need to wait for unifi to replace the BTU.
Hi Alvin
My current stock router from TM for my unifi is DIR-850L. TM have upgraded my package to turbo package which i believe 500mbps
Do i need to upgrade the router for optimization?
Please advise thanks
You sure need so, I suggest the Archer C6 or DIR-867.
Hi there, my unifi has been upgraded to 800mbps, may i know which mesh wifi router model would you reccomend.
I need the mesh wifi routers to cover up to 2 storey 3000sqf of space.
I recommend getting AiMesh for such a big space. If the budget is too much, get TP-Link Deco M9 Plus.
Unifi technician came by today to check on wifi connection. checked on fibre optic and changed huawei modem to the latest one. however , when he tested the connection using lan cable, speed can reached up to 500mbps. But then when i got home and used my lan cable, speed only went up to 100mbps. when i was on wifi 5 ghz it was 198mbps. any solution on this ? or my lan cable is the problem ?
You need a new LAN cable.