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, Alwyn. I am on a Unifi 500 mbps package and using their stock TP link router, which is very disappointing in performance. I have narrowed down my choices to either the TP-LINK Deco M5 AC1300 Mesh (2 units) or the Asus RT-AC68U AC1900 (used as a pair) for a double storey house around 4k sqft. Could I seek you opinion which is a more suitable set to decide on, if I typically have about 6 devices, and only 1 is used for gaming? Thank you
Honestly, I didn’t compare both of them directly but I think the Deco M5 will outperform the RT-AC68U due to better implementation. Mesh WiFi got a lot to do with the software and TP-Link nailed it on the Deco M5. Plus, TP-Link seamless roaming is really good and AiMesh don’t really have any real roaming assist feature.
Hi Alvyn,
Am on unifi 300mbps speed. Which router from tplink is best for strong wifi signal (default router from tm not very good signal especially on 2nd floor of the house) and support port for hyptv?
I recommend going straight to their Deco M5 mesh WiFi system.
Hai Alvyn, im newbie here. i would like to ask u, which router would you like to suggest for unifi with speed 100mbps. i prefer asus model. does modelRT-AC1200G+ compatible with unifi?.
The RT-AC1200G+ works fine for Unifi.
Hello Alvyn, Background: I’m on unifi 800Mbps and using RT-68U as my main router and AiMesh with a RT-66U B1. On top of that I also use a pair of TP-Link outdoor access point to connect to another house which have a Tenda WiFi router to serve that house which is about 100M away. At times, I might have up to about 30 devices connected and using the network (15-20 WiFi devices on Tenda which is at another house) Question: 1. Do u think the 68U able to handle the traffic with some WiFi on its own due to AiMesh… Read more »
I suggest an upgrade to the RT-AC86U as the processor is newer and faster.
Thanks for the advice.
Hi Alvyn,
Please help if I want to replace my present Archer C1200 to RT-AC88U which have 8 port for usage. Does the present speed of 300mbps will cause any problem?? Can enlighten me for the rest of the port which is highlighted as internet and speed of 500mbps can this number be increase higher (is there a chart for reference)??
Hi there, both RT-AX88U and RT-AC88U are great routers. They can support speeds up to 1Gbps without an issue.
hi,
which one is give better wifi coverage + 5ghz utilisation between Deco M4 (wireless setup) vs Asus RT-AC68U?
2 units of Deco M4 will outperform the RT-AC68U any day.
Hi Alvyn, I’m using the TP LINK AC 1750 router that I bought last year, however recently had experienced that my IPTV is lagging, so I was wondering if it’s required an update for the firmware. I updated to the latest firmware (EU) but it seems like the issues still persists. The TM guy came to my house and he tested via the unifi router and its working fine. Please advise if we have as such firmware from TM that can be useful for my AC 1750. or else, please share what router that we will receive from TM if… Read more »
Maybe you try and switch your IGMP version to V3 on your TP-Link router.
Too many wrong info in terms of suggested plan, maximum internet speed and price..too many..
some product can go up more than suggested..way more..
You are welcomed to show me if those products can go way faster using Wi-Fi. The product price is based on the suggested retail price published by the manufacturers. There may be ongoing promotions which I will not be able to keep on updating based on my available resource.
Hi, I am on Unifi 30Mbps and going to 100Mbps soon, on double storrey, the signal on 2nd floor is very weak and dropped to 10-12Mbps. What router you would recommend to have full coverage without repeaters and good for skype meeting / video streaming?
Get a mesh Wi-Fi system.
TM just told me if equipment faulty i have a choice to renew contract and get equipment for free or buy from them at cost of around rm700 bucks… 188 for wifi router rm500 for the ONU… that’s like daylight robbery and fishy business… anyone had the same experience?
The ONU comes with lifetime warranty from TM. Don’t let them con you!
Just complaint to mcmc ,abt TM charging for Onu,its against their SOP.
Hi, I’m thinking between getting Deco M5 or Deco M9, my house is 2.5 storeys and router is at middle floor, subscribing to Unifi 800Mbps plan. Do you think its worth getting M9 for double the price? Household usage is mainly for TVBox(multiple) and web surfing. Thank you.
I suggest the M9 Plus for a better total Wi-Fi speed if your budget allow for that.
hi Alvyn, need your advise, im not familiar with networking. For 2.5storeys about 2.7ksqft, 3phase wired, router at middle floor, on unifi turbo 300mbps. Should I get 2 Asus AC68u/86u or 2 Deco M4 or M5 mesh better? or is 1 unit of router sufficient enough? I would prefer to have the setup where I dun need to connect to a diff point when I move around.
Optimally I would recommend getting 3 units one of each floor for the best performance. Currently, TP-Link Deco system offers superior roaming compared to ASUS AiMesh due to TP-Link Deco support of 802.11k/v/r fast roaming.