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, can u recommend TP-Link Archer C6 or C7? I’m currently using 300Mbps. Is MU-MIMO worth it? C7 doesn’t have MU-MIMO right?
To be frank, I suggest the cheaper C6. It performs better.
Hi Alvyn, First of all thank you for this helpful informative article. My current stock router from TM for my unifi is TP-Link AC1200. TM has at long last just upgraded my package to 800mbps (with HyppTV package) but I can only reach 460mbps at best on wifi 5ghz channel. I use a MacBook pro to connect to the internet on 802.11n wifi only (no Ethernet card – don’t get me started on that!) What is the best wifi router for me to get the fastest possible speed on wifi? Thanks in advance Rick Do i need to upgrade the… Read more »
The maximum you can reach on WiFi on the Macbook Pro is around 500Mbps. You pretty much peaked it already.
Hi Alvyn
Mine has been upgraded to 300mbps. Using what TM provided during installation last time.
Router Dlink DIR-615
Modem Huawei Echolife HG8240H
Anything I need to change to get the 300mbps speed?
Get Archer C6 from TP-Link.
Hi Alvin,
I am about to get a 800mbs speed upgrade.
does TM supply the new router,or, do I need to purchase the new router myself?
thanks.
Nope, you need to purchase a new router.
Hi,
I have TP-Link Archer C5 AC1200. Unifi recently turbo-ed to 800Mbps.
Although its 5GHz wireless support up to 867Mbps, but I’m getting only 300Mbps max on speed test. Why is that so and do i need to upgrade my router?
Expected as Wireless is subjected to interference.
Hi, i bought the rt-ac5300, and theres some problem with the wan it is still in red colour. How can i fix that?
Have you tried our Asus setup guide?
Helo sir I jus got turbo to 500Mbps
Currently using
Router Asus RT-AC1300UHP
Do I need to change my router?? Cus the average speed I got is around 100Mbps for unknown reasons
Change your LAN cable.
Hi! Thanks for your great article.
Unifi just upgraded my speed from 30 to 300mbps, and informed me I need to replace my Wireless Router. Should I buy from them (cost: RM 188 but don’t know what brand)? If not, which router do you recommend I buy? I’d like to have great wifi speed on double storey teracce house.
Please advise and thank you!
You can purchase the TP-Link Archer C6. Cheap and budget option.
Hi Alvin,
My unifi has been turbo upgrade to 300 mbps. I can find out that it speed is confirmed 300 mbps by doing speed test via LAN cable but when use wifi it is up to 70 plus mbps only. Is it okay with that or how can I upgrade it to even faster? Which router should I buy? I have also HyppTv package btw.
You can upgrade your wireless router and make sure you use WiFi 5Ghz.
Hi there! I really like your well-written posts and in-depth review of each routers suitable for Unifi use. I have one enquiry which is I need some advice on buying ASUS GT-AC5300 or the newer router TP-Link Archer C5400X. Both are similarly-specced but the ASUS is far more dated (launch on early of 2017) versus the C5400X which launched this year on September. Based on your testing, which one would I buy because both are really closely-related and priced well. Thank you in advance for your input. Have a nice day! 😀
I will product a testing and comparison soon.
Hello Alvin,
I recently got turbo-ed to 500Mbps. Is the DIR-867 good for wifi? And does it support Hypp-tv?
Thank you and have a Happy New Year.
Regards,
Stanley
Yup, it is a good router. HYPPTV compatible as well.
Bought the Asus Blue Cave from Amazon, been turboed to 800mpbs, its only after i bought it i noticed it doesnt have MIMO feature. I was wondering how it would affect me since theres always at 4-6 device connected to my network, netflix, youtune is always on, and most of the time i use it for gaming.
What do u think should i return it and order something else, or blue cave is good enough?
MU-MIMO is only useful if your devices support it.