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. Our office have just upgraded from unifi 30mbps to 100mpbs. You recommended Asus RT-AC68U in your earlier post. Would this model suits for office use?
It is fine for office usage though do not expect any enterprise feature.
Does this model support IP Unnumbered Address? Would we be able to set more than 12 port forwarding?
If you require enterprise level feature, it is better to go for enterprise grade hardware. UBNT and Mikrotik are good choice and rather affordable.
Hello sir, does TP-link Archer C20 supports TM Unifi ?
Yes
Hi blacktubi, is linksys wireless-n home adsl2+ compatible for 10mbps line? Thank you in advance
No. It is incompatible.
Hi BlackTubi,
Is TP-Link Archer D5 supported unifi connection? Just asking for confirmation.
Thank you.
No
Hi. Which router would you recommend for Unifi 100 mbps ? Plan on upgrading from Unifi 30 soon. Thanks.
It depends on your budget. Asus RT-AC68U is a good choice.
Hai can tp link 841n support unifi hyptv? Thanks
It depends on which version.
Hi there, planning to change my router. Currently using Unifi 30Mbps.which router will be the best for streaming and watching netflix,KODI and etc.
It depends on your budget. Asus RT-AC55UHP is a good choice.
Yes just the perfect one around my budget. Thank you so much for helping out You’re such a big help. Cheers
Good evening sir, I was wonder as I’m on Unifi 30Mbps plan & plan to get Asus RT-N12HP, the question is that in the future if I upgrade to higher speed 50Mbps or 100Mbps plan…do I need to change the router or this model can support it?thks & sorry for noob question.
I recommend something with Wireless AC if you are looking for a future proof router.
Good morning sir, thks for the reply. I think will get the ASUS RT-AC55UHP as I notice many people including yours truly recommend this model for long term use & future upgrade (^__^)
Hi, blacktubi. I’m subscribed to Unifi Advance Plan (50mbps) but have been extremely mad at the slow Internet speed & frequent disconnections. I read many reviews (including yours) and decided to upgrade the router as recommended. The router provided by TM is already 6 years old and can’t handle high speed internet. After seeing your recommendation, I bought an ASUS RT-AC55UHP router. It’s fantastic! I could reach 42mbps of download speed with full bar of Wifi signal in my room. Previously the speed was 5-6mbps with only 2 bars of signal. & I was able to install the router and… Read more »
For a villa or bungalow what would be suitable to use Asus RT-AC88U or RT-AC5300
and i am planning to buy it from oversea like taiwan, the reason that i ask was in the past i had bought from taiwan, and one of the technician told me that it is not compatible to malaysia unify, and only can use the router bought in malaysia. as i had ask the same question yesterday , and of course that u said is compatible no matter where u bought the router as long as it is the same asus brand.
thanks
sorry mistake For a villa or bungalow what would be suitable to use Asus RT-AC88U or RT-AC5300???
The RT-AC88U will be more suitable. I do not think you will utilise the tri band feature of the RT-AC5300.
Hi, can the ASUS router be configured to transmit wirelessly to the Hypptv STB located elsewhere?
Thanks in advance.
No, it can’t.
i am about to move into a duplex apartment in Pavilion and would appreciate your recommendation for best ASUS router for WIFI performance. I am limited to Unifi Advance 30Mbps for internet. However I want best wifi signal to get around house to serve my home network. For devices requiring good LAN (e.g media player upstairs with disk station downstairs) I will use 1Gbps ethernet over power line devices that I have but I will have to bridge upper floor to lower floor using wifi back to LAN, eg. put AP receiving wifi and converting to LAN in upper floor… Read more »
I recommend the Asus RT-AC88U, it is great for what you need. Asus routers come with a media bridge mode which it does what you want (bridging wireless to Ethernet LAN). The performance of powerline adapters are rather low despite the claim of actual throughput so wireless may be more practical.
That’s excellent and a very fast reply thanks. I used to use multiple routers around previous houses to deliver good enough wifi and media performance, but this is a cleaner solution. I think I will get the router first and test network speed first as most of my devices will run off wifi, except one – a VPN router I use to connect to Apple TV which then thinks its in the UK….for the media bridge what do you suggest and where to buy in KL?
Thanks again
Most higher end Asus routers come with the media bridge feature. I recommend at least the RT-AC68U as that will guarantee a good connection speed. A powerline is a cleaner solution, you can try that as it may work with certain 3 phase power configuration.