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 Sifu, You only discuss wireless routers optimised for TM Unifi here. I prefer to use wired only router which then feeds in one ore more switches. With IP cams, access points, TVs, etc, the ports used on a switch can be 48-96 – I think thats why a wired router will be better – just do the work of routing and giving out IP address without wasting overhead on wireless. Wireless is handled by access points connected to the switch. What are the modern wired routers compatible with our local ISPs? Looks like Mikrotik and Ubnt are not in… Read more »
This article is designed for home users and thus I am only focusing on consumer grade products that are easier to configure. All semi-enterprise grade router should be able to support Unifi as they should support manual VLAN tagging in the switch configuration.
Huawei AX3 Pro or TP Link AX50?
Neither, either the Archer AX20 or Archer AX73 from TP-Link are better choices.
Silly question here but how does the ax50 compare to the ax20 other than not having onemesh? Furthermore, the Huawei AX3 Pro has its own mesh feature as well. How does the Huawei compare, will you do a review about it?
I think the AX50 is only better in the situation where 160Mhz is needed else you’re better off getting the AX20 or TP-Link new AX73 which is really good.
Hi, How many connection use one Unifi account(PPPoE) at the same time?
Thanks a lot.
I don’t think TM allow PPPOE account sharing.
Thanks reply.
Using tplink C5400x router, but even that also there’s some areas in the house with low signal connection, any recommendation on how to improve it ? does wifi extender helps ?
Yup get a high performance TP-Link extender like the RE650.
hi, would like to ask about adding on second router, can i connect the second router from the BTU unit( the white box), since the BTU unit have 2 LAN output to connect, 1st. and 2nd. router parallel. or it should connect 2nd. router to 1st router only( BTU => 1st.router=>2nd router ) . pls advice thanks
No, only the first LAN port on the BTU is functional for Unifi. Second router must be connected to first router.
thanks for reply, meaning if the first router broke down, the second router will not working also .
Hi there.
Hope you can help me here.
Looking for good model router with USB support.
Already looking at AX20 as it fits my budget below 300.
Just wondering if there’s any other maybe with little bit lower price?
Appreciate your help on this.
Thanks!
At this price range, I doubt theres anything better at less then MYR 300.
Hi i would like to upgrade my router. My current router is a DIR-842. I’m currently on 100Mbps with unifi. Any good recommendations for a router with a good price?
Just get TP-Link Archer AX20. It’s a great affordable router but I think it’s been sold out for some time.
Hi! i am currently using tplink c1200 and wish to upgrade to a better router. I am currently on a 500mbps with unifi. any recommendation for a good router with good price?
TP-Link Archer AX20 is a great affordable WiFi router.
Hi! Please kindly update your guide to setup the new Asus RT-AX86U that you recently reviewed. After reading your review, I’m planning to buy that router..? Thanks! Your reviews have been enlightening for noobs like me. Great work and looking forward for your future reviews! Thanks.
Appreciate that.
Hi, I’d like to know if NetGear Nighthawk X4 Model R7500 supports UniFi?
Can’t be sure about if they still have the Unifi option in their firmware considering they are hardly sold in Malaysia.
I see. I couldn’t even find the VLAN setup in the GUI. Anyways, thanks for your insight!
This is my second question. The one question seem to be no comment by admin.
I am gonna upgrade to package TM Unify 100mbps soon. Please guide me the best perfomenace router to me.
House Semi D Single story with 5 rooms
3 laptops
4 smatphone
1 android box
2 wireless CCTV
Switches home light and fan wireless technology.
Thanks
What is your budget? If your budget is higher, get ZenWiFi XT8, for lower budget get TP-Link Deco M9 Plus.
Hi! Good day, I am using Dlink DIR-842 by UNIFI on my first floor, I cannot get 5G WIFI signal downstairs on ground floor. If I were to replace it with DIR-3060 would it help to get better 5G WIFI signal on the ground floor. With the DIR-3060 if it does not give good signal on the ground floor I can then add the DRA-2060 on the ground floor to boost 5G WIFI signal. Is the DIR-3060 compatible to work with UNIFI and any setup issue that you have encountered Appreciate you sharing your insights on this. Thank you Regards… Read more »
I never try both the D-Link system before but you might as well go straight to a fully fledged mesh WiFi system instead. The Deco series from TP-Link has been pretty good.
Hi!
Thank you for the reply. I cannot go with full fledge mesh as the mesh device does not have enough gigabit ports for my desktops. I have 2 desktops that i need connected to the main router which the DEco series only comes with 1 gigabit port.
Thank you again and have a blessed day. I will go with the DIR-3060 as I can use the extender if needed for my ground floor.
Regards
KT
You can always get a Gigabit Ethernet switch to add more ports.
Hi!
Sorry, one more question. Do you know if the DIR-3060 works with Hypp-TV for UNIFI?
Would you know if UNIFI technical people will know before I take the time to go ask them?
Thanks
Regards
Khai
All D-Link models should support HyppTV but I never test them before.
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your quick responses. Have a blessed week ahead.
Regards
KT