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.
Can you tell me if the Tenda N300 is compatible with Unifi?
Thanks.
No, it is not.
Can draytek 2830n support unifi through wan 2 pppoe ?
You will have to manually configure the VLAN tagging. No guarantee on it.
Thanks, vlan tagging did the trick.
Bro, i’m unable to get the full unifi 100Mb speed on the draytek but easily reach that with the tm router. Does it mean the draytek is not fully compatible? manage to get only 66 Mb ish on the download test, even with the bandwidth control disabled. Any thoughts?
I do not own the router so I cannot conduct a test. It may be certain options prevent the connection from running to its full potential.
Boss, I just installed Unifi 30MB with TM RGX4400. I discovered that initial loading for webpages is slower compared to my previous Streamyx. Speed test no issue. Has been playing around with frequencies and channel and even DNS IP, still the same. Now using 2.4GHz, on 20MGhz at channel 6 (so many people on channel 1 and 11). One neighbour is using channel 7 :(. Also tried the 5GHz. Same thing. It looks like DNS issue. Whenever I change to Google DNS, it will be ok for a while and then starting to slow down. Same as TM auto DNS.… Read more »
I believe something is wrong with the equipment as this is rather unusual. A third party router is definitely better.
i have a question if i bought the router from oversea can it support unify?
for exaple RT-AC5300 or RT-AC88U thanks
Yes, it will work as Asus is having the same firmware no matter where you purchase your router from.
hi Hirman same thing as me also.Web pages definitely slow and everything slow.Open youtube app also slow.Sometimes its very fast.Speed test also no problem right.Technician came 2 teams 2 different Groups.Signal strength keep Decreasing Eventhough same place.Very frustrated.Turn off and on also same thing.Gonna buy a asus router tomorrow and see what happends.Even tm texhnician came and said first time he conquer this problem.
Hi David,
Good to hear that actually I am not alone. Please share your experience with the new Asus router. If ok I will buy new router also..hehe..
Hi all,
I called TM on Monday about the problem with RGX4400. A technician came today. Replaced the router with TP-Link Archer C5. Whoooshhh…problem solved. I am happy now. Save some money to buy new router later. 🙂
Hi there, thanks for the detailed article, I am wondering if the router not listed applicable too, I am thinking of linksys EA9500 or tp link talon, looking forward for your replying =)
Also, can I change the modem too? Thanks!
You cannot change the ONU. I do not think they are compatible even if they do, it will not be easily configured.
Hi..black tubi,rt-n66u and rt-ac66u same kind of router?i got rt-n66u but i dont know if it support unifi 30mbps package.
They are not the same router. RT-N66U is EOL now.
Hi, I have bought a new router. How could I change the old router to new one?
Follow the guide that come with your router.
Thanks to comment. I faced some problem. There is few connection types to choose which is Static IP, DHCP, PPPoE, PPTP, L2TP, DS-Lite and Unifi-PPPoE. Which should I chose? I’m now using Unifi, is it chose the Unifi-PPPoE?
Yes, select Unifi-PPPOE.
can i use linksys ac1200+ for unifi replacement router?
I do not think it comes with Unifi support.
Hi Black Tubi, I would like to know the difference between Asus RT-AC55UHP and RT-N14UHP as I see the difference is in the Gigabit Ethernet which doesn’t really affect performance of the web browsing and moreover the RT-N14UHP comes with 3 x 9dBi. Thanks in advance.
The number of antennas does not equal the signal is stronger, it is just a fact of how the radio is designed. The RT-AC55UHP is a modern wireless router with Wireless AC ability. Not to mention the better chipset as well.
Ah thanks blacktubi for the insight. Do you know if Wake on Lan is easy to setup for RT-AC55UHP? Thanks.
It is a Native Asuswrt feature and you can google more on it. It is very straightforward to me.
Hi , I would like to try out Asus router for my Unifi currenlty using 50 mbps package but i dont need those high end expensive router … what is recomendation as long i have a stable wifi and good connection ?
I believe RT-AC55UHP is a great choice.
Thank you sir and i got myself RT-AC68U . So far my whole family is happy with it and i was using TL-WDR4300 and it was terrible keeping locking up after a few days and need to rebooted.
Yes, I normally recommend Asus devices if you can afford it. You pay a premium price but the experience is much better.
i just bought a d-link dir868L recently from passes , and it came from Hong Kong , so now the problem I meet is I can’t even connect to the Internet and the globe icon is always orange . Any experts have any solution to solve this problem ? Pls help
The hardware version is B and the firmware is 2.03v for more info about the router
You need to install the Unifi firmware from this link. Use the option with support VLAN for Unifi. I do not guarantee it will work.
Nice info bro. I think i want to change my unifi router coz its very bad connection.
Hi bro, i am having issue with my wireless connection, on RT-12HP for 2 years plus i think. Have done firmware upgrade n factory reset but still not working. Wireless connection still unstable. Suspect due to overcrowding, but using the wireless tool, i do not see that much of collision and i am the only one using that channel. Any tips to improve or router upgrade is the only way? Thanks
Get a 5Ghz Wireless AC router. There is still overlapping from your neighboring channel even if you are the only one on the channel. Use 20Mhz and stick to channel 1,6 or 11.
Not all device can connect to 5Ghz right? Or is there a compatibity mode? Any suggested brand/model? Thanks in advance.
They are known as dual band router. They support 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz.