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.
Model WiFi Specification Beamforming MU-MIMO Ethernet Port Price DIR-895L AC5300 ✔ ✔ 4 x Gigabit RM1599 DIR-882 AC2600 ✔ ✔ 4 x Gigabit RM698 DIR-878 AC1900 ✔ ✔ 4 x Gigabit RM518 DIR-867 AC1750 ✔ ✔ 4 x Gigabit RM399 DIR-868L AC1750 ✔ – 4 x Gigabit – DIR-842 AC1200 ✔ ✔ 4 x Gigabit RM289
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.
Dear Sir,
Is Asus RT-ACRH13 compatible to TM unifi?
Best regards.
It should be compatible but I have not test it.
Thank you.
Hi, I have bought RT-AC68U recently, however it does not have option for me to choose “specifc requirements from ISP” which I could not select unifi-biz from ISP profile. Please kindly help. Thanks a lot.
It is there.
Hi,
Is ASUS RT-ACRH13 compatible to TM unifi?
No
Hi black tubi
How do you rate DIR 868L performance.
I’m currently still using VIP 5.
Thanks
Great router.
hi again blacktubi,
I have posted question to netgear about their router compatibility to TM UNIFI. was I addressing the compatibility issue due to VLAN tagging for IPTV and internet correctly?
how can I be rest assured that if vlan tagging problem solved, the compatibility issue will solve as well?
Thank you
You must mention that it needs to be VLAN 500 for Internet and the relevant VLAN ID for IPTV.
Hi, I bought an Apple AirPort Time Capsule but later realized that I could not connect to Internet via TM Unifi. I asked TM to send on-site support but their technicians were not able to resolve the issue on their own. I had to Google and help them to solve the issue instead. That was when I found out that the Apple AirPort router could not connect to TM Unifi without going through an additional router that supports VLAN tagging. My questions: 1. Is there a way for me to configure my AirPort router to connect to TM Unifi without… Read more »
Unifi requires VLAN tagging and it is not supported on the Airport. If you intend to use your AirPort as the main router for your home. Getting a DIR-850L will do but double NAT will exist and you may have issues with certain applications.
hi blacktubi,
is netgear x4s r7800 compatible to TM unifi?
Unknown as this point.
Hi, i live in a double storey house.
Currently i have a Hua Wei Router provided by TM.
I have 100 Mbps Unifi package,.
The signal and download/streaming speed is extremely strong on the ground floor.
On the 1st floor, the wifi signal is present and connects, but is very unstable.
I have looked thorough a few brands and wanted to ask your expert opinion regarding the Tenda AC1200 Wall Killer.
Thank You.
Tenda is rather hit and miss on Unifi. I suggest getting one of the proven brands above. The Huawei is the ONU, there should be another router.
Hi blacktubi,
is ASUS RT-N12HP WIFI 300N (based on my budget) compatible with my UniFi 50mbps (also with HyppTV)? Currently this unifi modem is very bad, we family always got bad connection with the wifi. Most importantly i really need the router to be compatible with the HyppTV for my parent.
What would you say?
Yes, it is fully compatible.
I need a better coverage in my double storey house, which you recommend to me?
RT-AC55UHP, RT-N14UHP, RT-N56U, RT-N18U.
thanks
Get the AC55UHP. Wireless N is outdated.
Hey blacktubi!
I planned to move my hypptv downstairs,
Can i used another router as access point/bridge place at downstairs to connect to the hypptv box?
Homeplugs seems not a possible option for me right now.
Can u suggest any model of budget router only for the sake to connect to hypptv downstairs?
Thank you!
This is a really complicated setup for a home user and it requires a few devices. Alternatively, you can try to contact TM as they have a batch of wireless HyppTV now.
I just got upgraded from 30 to 50Mbps for the Thank You Surprise campaign last week. Immediately I noticed my desktop was having trouble maintaining Wifi connection and only managed to get less than 3Mbps speed (yes 3Mbps). So I have to resort to LAN cable for now. Since my package is still under warranty, now I am waiting for a TM tech to replace my first generation DLink router (white body with orange border) with any newer ones that they have. Hopefully this will solve it for now before I get a more solid router in the future.