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 know this post is for Unifi, I was wondering if the information is generally applicable for other fibre internet providers like TIME or Maxis?
Yup, it’s a good guideline for TIME and Maxis as well.
Hi Blacktubi,
I am currently subscribed to 800mbps unifi but I am only getting half the speed using the router provided by TM. In addition to that, I am living in a double storey house. Can you please recommend me a router that has good coverage and supports 800mbps?
Just bear in mind that you need to use a WiFi 6 device in order to get up to 800Mbps. I will recommend buying a WiFi 6 router for this.
Hi, which router is recommended to upgrade from D link Dir 842 for 2 storey house? Currently on 100mbps unifi plan. A budget of RM300 or below is preferred.
I recommend TP-Link Archer AX20 for this limited budget.
Hi ax73 or ax90 for a 2 storey 3500 sq house? currenly on c2300 with re305 on unifi 300m
Deco X90 is a better choice for you.
Hi, i have 2 mesh wifi4 the first one connected to my router and well as the second u know, so i decided to buy a new mesh deco which is support wifi6 and can it connect to my first wifi4 mesh? and is there any bandwith? and what is the best router for 100mbps plan?
You can mix and match different Deco in a mesh WiFi but expect slower speed when connected to the Deco M4.
Hi, is the Archer AX20 good for a 2 storey house (2200 sf)? I’m subscribed to the unifi 300 Mbps plan and my download speed is never above 70~ Mbps. Its much lower than that on the first floor . I’m thinking of either this or the Archer C6.
Of course it won’t give you the speed like a mesh WiFi system but it is a huge improvement over the router from your service provider.
Asus RT-AX56U or TP-Link Archer AX73 for ground floor access point ? as the price different is quite small to me
i currently using deco m9 first gen for my 3 story house manage to pull a lan wire to my storage room on the ground floor i want a better and stable signal for gaming for the ground floor room which has 3 bricks walls before the storage room
The Archer AX73 has a stronger and faster WiFi network than the ASUS RT-AX56U.
Really ok tq ax73 it’s is then tq for the reply
hi,im using unifi 30mbps, and i need a wider range for my second access point..would you recommend me a good router for this purpose..tq
If it’s a second router, just get a cheap one. Mercusys MR70X.
Hi Alvin, can WiFi router boost my 100 and 300mbps exceed the max speed of unifi quota? Can u suggest the best router for now?
No, your speed will be limited by the plan.
Hi, recently looking on mesh router. Dlink COVR 1100 caught my attention as the price is cheap compare to other brand. Would you give me some opinion on this model?
No harm to try it if the price is really cheap but I don’t think the performance comparable to what other brands are offering in the similar price point. It’s a bit dated at this point.
Hi. Saw this site and looks like the best place to seek info. Had an Asus RTAC68 but has just died. Now using back the old free TP-Link C5 which seem to work OK but looking for something better. Unifi 800Mbps. Less than 10 devices hooked. Using VPN. I would appreciate your recommendation. Thanks in advance.
You can’t go wrong with TP-Link Archer AX73.
Hi. I have seen gotten the AX73 and found the Smart Connect is good in theory but very poor in actual use. I went to the furthest part of the house that previously can be covered (barely) by the old TPLink C5 and with AX73 Smart Connect enable, I get no wifi signal at all. Once I disable the Smart Connect and switch to 2.4GHz, the AX73 works similar to the C5, aka, can get some wifi signal. Or may be I am missing some setting?
TP-Link is being conservative with the smart connect feature. When the distance is far and the signal is too low, the network may be unstable and TP-Link wants to prevent that. Perhaps disabling smart connect is better for your scenario.
For what it’s worth, this is what I finally did to get Smart Connect working at far corner of the house. On the 5GHz, I set it to 80Mhz and problem seems solved.
Hi Blacktubi,
Currently, i am living in a 2 storey house, approx. 5,000 sqft.
Using Unifi 800Mbps,
Primary router Asus RT-AC88u (ground floor bedroom),
Secondary router Asus RT-AC86u, backhaul on AiMesh (ground floor dining room)
Both routers are about 17 meters apart and are in between a few concrete walls.
I would like to upgrade the Primary router to a Wifi 6 router and create another mesh on the 1st floor using the RT-AC88u.
And backhaul both router to the new Wifi 6 router.
What Wifi 6 router would you recommend me buying?
Thanks in advance!
ASUS RT-AX3000 will be a good choice.