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 I’m using Asus AC68U Router. And my unifi plan is Turbo 500Mbps. But i’m only getting download speed 10mbps instead of 50mbps. Whats the solution? Is that I need to change my BTU.??
Possible, call TM to check on this.
Hi, I am using Unifi Turbo800 with the standard DLink dir850l router. Which router would you recommend i change to, if my computer is using Intel® Wireless-AC 9560 160MHz, or should i just stick with DLink?
thanks
best regards
I suggest upgrade to something better such as TP-Link Archer C2300 or ASUS RT-AC86U.
Dear sir,
I upgrade from Unifi package 30Mb to 100Mb & Unifi change both new Modem(white box) & Tp Link Router AC1200 yet I failed to stream Netflix ; Panasonic technician came to house insist I request Unifi to change Router using D link 842 ( I found out both have same technical spec ) ; please advise.
Many thanks.
Maybe you can consider ASUS RT-AC86U or TP-Link Archer C2300. Both of these are high end router.
Hi I’m using unifi 100mpbs but going to upgrade to 300 … but my house is big and th eprovided router is not capable to serve whole house… what should I do… extender? Power line extender ? Mesh routers… helpp
Mesh WiFi system is the way to go.
Hi, do my old device like samsung 7 inch tab(1st edition) support unifi turbo? Thanx
No
I recently upgraded from 100Mbps to 300Mbps. Before upgrade, the wifi speed is around 90 Mbps, but after upgrade to 300Mbps, the wifi result is still the same. Please advise.
You need a better result and make sure the devices you use are up to date.
Hi. Is there any recommendation router/brand that have bandwith controller such as skype, video calling etc? My office current connection only 100mbps.
Thanks ya
You are definitely looking at Asus routers with AdaptiveQoS feature. I personally suggest the GT-AC5300 or the RT-AX88U.
Hello there, recently the TM technician came and he does not helped me to install the router properly. I have tried to enter my Unifi PPPOE username and password but I still can’t connect to the Internet. Is that any ideas maybe this router is defect and not the original router that used my UNIFI? My router model is RG-DLINK-DIR842.
Maybe you can call them to let them install properly for you.
unifi upgrade my plan to 500mbps. the router they give me is tplink archer c5. I recently bought archer c60.
which is better? or did I buy c60 wrongly?
I am looking for a router model that supports 500mbps and providing wide range of coverage? any advice?
You bought C60 wrongly as this router only support 100Mbps.
Hey man.. my old asus rtac66u fell & broke. N i just installed the rt ac88u.. the wireless range is the same if not slightly better.. out of all the unifi compatible routers, which one has the best range?
we do gaming wired n wirelessly & stream media mostly
Hi mate, consider the GT-AX11000, that’s the best router in town now.
recently tm upgrade my unifi to 300 mbps, upgrade my router to D’link DIR-842 AC1200. but the issue now is, before upgrade i subscribe to 100 mbps, speed test was around 90-95mbps, now after upgrade to 300mbps, speed test is around 50-55mbps? please advise..
I think your old wireless router is better? What router you use previously ?
Hi, I’m using a Synology RT1900ac router with the 800Mbps upgrade active, but it’s still not going above 100up/100down on the speedtest. Any idea what the problem is? I’m using wired connections on Cat5e and Cat6 and all my equipment is Gigabit enabled.
I was on 100Mbps before so I doubt if the modem needs changing.
Thanks.
What BTU are you having, it could be a misconfigured BTU (modem) case.