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’ve been using Unifi 100mbps pack for almost 6 months and have nearly 20+ smart devices connected and configured to use smart DNS services on router itself. TM gave Netis router. For the past 2 months, I’m encountering really slow pickup on obtaining up a stable network which encapsulates the DNS. At times it works fine and if I restarts the router, it’ll take almost 2-3 hours for all my devices to get connected and its really annoying. I’m looking up to replace a new router. Will it get solved if i purchase one?
The NETIS router is known to be slow especially when you have more devices connected to it due to the slow CPU. I will recommend upgrading to something better.
Thank you. I’m looking forward to get GT-AXE11000 as future ready from now on.
Hi, I’ve been using C3150 since 2018 and it recently couldn’t connect to the net. Managed to get a warranty claim but I was informed by the Tp Link staff that C3150 v2.1 (which is my current model) has been discontinued and they only have v2.0 as like for like replacement. The staff mentioned that the only difference is the manufacturing date. Im going to collect it tomorrow but was wondering of the following:- 1. If I should agree to accept the different and older version which may have its own problems. 2. Do you know the model that replaced… Read more »
It is probably just a different manufacturing batch and I doubt it makes a significant difference. The Archer C3150 is still one of the best Wireless AC routers around. It’s a shame that TP-Link discontinued it. I guess the Archer AX73 is the closest replacement to the Archer C3150.
Thanks for the reply. Yeah I’m hoping there isn’t much of a difference. Never nice to get an older version of something.
I’m quite surprised that they discontinued the C3150. I recall doing tons of research before choosing it back in 2018 and it was quite highly praised. The AX73 is quite a bit cheaper than the C3150’s original price too
Hi,
I’m currently using Unifi provided D-Link DIR-842, having drop and slow issue on the 2.4GHz for months, 5GHz works just fine.
Restarting modem and router won’t help much.
Changing Wifi channels are the same too.
I tested with my friend’s ASUS RT-AC1200G+ and seems working fine. For a month, never have drop or slow issue, so I thought of changing a new router.
What are the difference between:
1. ASUS RT-AC1200G+
2. TP-Link Archer AX10
3. TP-Link Archer AX20
1- Don’t buy this. It’s a bad choice in 2021
2- Weaker signal strength than Archer AX20. I will suggest top up and get AX20
3- Good choice.
Hi,
I’m using the unifi 100mbps plan, and i dont have a wifi 6 router for now. And my main concern now is that should i buy a better 5ghz dongle receiver for my pc or should i buy a wifi 6 router for better coverage for connection towards my room? What’s the coverage for wifi 6 routers? I’m staying in a double storey house.
What WiFi receiver you use now? Try buying a PCIE based WiFi 6 adapter first.
Hi, Its been 2 weeks since I got Unifi for my house, 100mbps plan. I got the TP-Link Archer C1200 as my Wi-Fi router. However, I encounter 2 problems. My phone connection to the Wi-Fi seems to be more faster when running the TM Speedtest, compare to my PC. Both connected to 5G Wi-Fi channel. There are times where I only got super low DL and UL speed. As low as DL 4.3mbps, UL is 0.0. Calling TM for support, they suggested me to reboot the router. So, I’m wondering. will changing to a different router such as Tenda AC23… Read more »
Consider getting an entry-level WiFi 6 router like Archer AX20 TP-Link. Don’t waste your money buying a cheap Wireless AC router, they are just not going to perform well.
Hi,
I’ve only subscribe to 100MB unifi plan.
Semi D – 3300 sqft – double storey.
Will the Deco M4 be sufficient – in terms of speed and coverage?
or do u suggest M5?
Thanks in advance
3300 square feet is kinda huge. I will suggest the Deco M9 Plus instead.
How do I set up Google Mesh Wifi on Unifi ?
You have to connect to the existing router. Google Mesh does not support Unifi natively due to lack of VLAN.
Hi Blacktubi. Appreciate your kind advice on the below.
Issue: Poor WiFi coverage (i.e. room upstairs at the back could only receive 1/5 WiFi bar or none)
Current modem & router placement: Living room downstairs at the front
House size: 2 storey terrace (approx. 2250 sq ft)
Package: UniFi 300Mbps
Current setup (both provided by UniFi by default):
1) Modem – Huawei EchoLife HG8240H
2) Router – TP-Link Archer C1200
Bought an extender earlier but some family members found it too cumbersome.
Deco M4 mesh WiFi system. Affordable and works really well. Not to mention it only provide one WiFi name which may solve your cumbersome concern.
Tq for your recommendation. Additional research resulted in coming across WiFi 6 routers (ie Asus RT-AX55 since this fits my RM500 budget) offering better range among other features for future proofing purpose. Would this be able to solve the similar range issues? ?
A single unit of RT-AX55 will not provide sufficient WiFi coverrage for your double storey house for sure. This is why I recommended a mesh WiFi instead.
Hi, i only getting 93Mbps from a 100Mbps fiber package. Using cat6 cable linking modem to router then to desktop pc. Anyone can help?
Thanks.
Make sure all the devices you own support Gigabit Ethernet. Perhaps your PC only have a 100Mbps Ethernet port which can only support up to 93Mbps realistical speed.
How set vlan Net gear R6400 AC 1750 for TM unifi please guide me
I do not have a Netgear device. Perhaps you can try to contact Netgear customer service.
Hi i would like to ask. Does mercusys S12 support vlan for hypptv?
Yup
Should I go for ASUS Mesh Router ZenWifi AX (XT8) or Asus ROG Rapture GT-AC5300 Gaming? I have 800Mbps Unifi plan.
ZenWiFi XT8 is the golden-standard for coverage.