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 Blacktubi, I am using FiberHome SR1041Y router. I am planning to buy Deco HC4 mesh router. Should I connect to the FiberHome SR1041Y router (like the Deco M4 installation shown in video on MyUnifi app) or connect directly to Unifi modem? Thanks.
I will always connecting it to the Unifi modem if that is possible for your situation. It might not always be feasible as the Deco HC4 comes with only 1 LAN port.
Does cube/cylinder design router (Deco, zenwifi) has good coverage? What I always have in my head is router with visible/physical antenna has better coverage. Or maybe I’m wrong.
Not really. In fact, the ASUS ZenWiFi XT12 Pro is a perfect demonstration on how modern antenna works by putting them in a transparent case. The signal coverage is pretty much the best out of all consumer product these days.
hi,
i am using asus rtac66u b1 on unifi 800.
i used to be able to download from steam like 100+MBps , after like maybe 6 months to a year, my DL speed on steam only can get about 10~30MBps,
speed test gets me full speed thou..
oh and i am using LAN cable cat6
Try to reset the router and setting it up again.
well i did, result same.
am i being throttled by TM? or my pc performance degraded that bad or router reaching its time?
Router do degrade with time, maybe it’s time to consider getting WiFi 6 router.
Hi,
What specs to find for a router to cover a whole double story house. Thank you
It’s better to use a mesh WiFi instead.
Hi,
Thank you for the great article.
I’m currently using unifi 100 mbps. Unfortunately, after 2 weeks of using the new router provided by TM keeps disconnecting. Therefore planning to change router hope lesser disconnection.
However, can I get some advice, should I go for WIFI6 router or should just stay with the old router?
Due to I still have some older devices (e.g. phone, laptop, ipad, Tmall Ginie speaker etc.) is WIFI 6 suitable/able to support?
Thank you in advance.
WiFi 6 routers should be backwards compatible with older devices.
Hi. I am using unifi 100mbps and I bought the wifi 6 router ax3000 that support mesh. When I try to configure, I don’t get solid indicator on the router means the internet LED shows red. Is it because it is not compatible with my 100mbps plan? Really need help. Thank you in advance!
They should be compatible. Perhaps I recommend you can call your router vendor customer service.
Hi, can I please check that these routers do not make any difference for 100mps users ?
Of course! A good router is more stable and offer better WiFi range. The difference is rather significant especially when you are further from the router.
Thank you for the response!
I got the 300mbps unifi plan, and comes with the aztech router, since then everytime the Internet will get disconnected on and off, have to restart several time everyday, the staff from unifi suggest to change the router, should i go to change TPlink ax20, does the problems really due to the aztech router?
The router provided by Unifi is not suitable for bigger houses or for those with higher usage. Changing to a better router will definitely help.
I just got unifi 300mbps plan and i think the router not wifi6 and i think it just the basic router …can i upgrade to wifi 6?
Why not, you can use whatever router you want.
Hi Blacktubi
I am using the ASU’s AC1300UHP for 3-4 years and somehow the wireless bandwidth has decreased significantly. Not sure how to test if the issue is due to the router. Lan connected devices speed test to TM is about 450mbits for my unifi 500. Firmware is up to date.
Any advise ? Thanks in advance
Probably due to aging components in the router. 3-4 years is pretty much the lifespan of modern consumer electronics. I suggest replacing it with something with WiFi 6.
Tks bro. Plan to get asus ax55 and tether the ac1300 to extend the range upstairs. Will that work ?
How you are going to connect the AC1300UHP upstairs? Are you going to pull a LAN cable?
For me, The Fiberhome Router(SR1041Y) is just weaker than my previous TPLink Router (Probably TPlink Archer C1200 *I can’t remember the model but it looks alike though*). I have a consistent but highly fluctuated packet loss during gaming with the Fiberhome SR1041Y. Still thinking if i should make a complain to them or i just squeeze out the wallet to get a new router-_-||
TM really can’t provide a good wireless router as that will eat into their profit. That’s stated in their terms of service as well. You have to buy your own router if you wish to get a better performance.
Hi, i just upgraded from 100mbps to 300mbps, unifi tech installed 2 new fiberhome MESH WIFI 6 router – SR1041Y, replacing my Huawei wifi AX3 (wifi 6 Plus 3000Mbps). should i just using those 2 fiberhome or use back my huawei wifi 6 to get better performances and strong signal? . Also, if i use back my huawei wifi 6 and 1 fiberhome mesh wifi 6, will i get better performances?
I think the Huawei AX3 is a better product but maybe you can compare the results.
Hi, saw in the FCC REPORT for SR1041Y on 2.4GHz able to achieved speed link of 573.6Mbps, but speed test result max can achieve is 100mbps? It somehow only 802.11ac
Just subscribed to UNIFI 300mbps and so far only able to use around 30% of the dedicated speed. (Enable band steering)
Thus, i have to disable band steering but the coverage area for 5GHz will be very small.
Even doubt is this really WiFi6 certified.
It is probably a really cheap router with corners cut. Most telco can’t afford to provide good routers as that would eat into their profit. Good routers don’t come cheap.