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 BT Team.
Your website really helps so many questions about wifi and routers.
I would like u to do a review on a less famous brand named Prolink PRC3801 Wireless AC1200 MU-MIMO
Dual-Band Gigabit Router. It has many features such as MU-MIMO, Beamforming, Band Steering Capable (I don’t know what the heck it’s about…) but it seems a promising device though.
the price is around rm2xx only.
try that a look.
thanks!!
We will do a review if we happen to get a review unit.
Hello Mr Alvyn Ong, I have 500mbps unifi turbo and would like to upgrade my router. Do you recommend buying Tenda AC18 as it seem a bang for buck and does it a big difference (level of difficulty) to setup the router than the brand you recommend ( tp-link,asus, d-link)
It is fine but I will wait for the upcoming TP-Link Archer A9. It should outperform the Tenda.
The unifi tech team have just upgraded my turbo boost with their D-Link DIR-842. Previously I was using Asus RT-AC55UHP. Which one is better? Should I change back to Asus?
Do change it back to the Asus and update the firmware from my article.
Hi Alvin,
I am currently subscribed to Unifi’s 500Mbps plan and unfortunately the router (C1200) that they provide isn’t offering sufficient coverage throughout every corner of my house. Could you kindly recommend a decent router with wide coverage, as well as the support for at least 500Mbps? Thanks!
TP-Link Archer C2300 or Asus RT-AC86U if budget allow.
Interesting conversation with TM Unifi. They Turbo-ed my internet to 500mbps, told me to upgrade my modem and router with the option of purchasing from them or getting it for free by signing a contract for 2 years. However when I inquired about the models of their modem and router, they replied, ‘Sorry, the modem and router model is depends on the stock availability with technician team. We’re unable to confirm on that.’ How can they not know what models of modem and routers they are providing? Can someone enlighten me on why they do not know what they have… Read more »
The installation is outsourced and not all contractors receive the same batch of wireless router. Just buy your own router. The routers they provide aren’t that good to begin with.
Hi, Good day ! I m using Turbo Upgraded 500 Mbps with TP Link AC1200 stock from unifi 2 years ago.My question is :
a. Shall i change my router to TP Link Archer C6? as my present wifi speed test only 60-65 Mbps.
Thank you sifu.
Yup, or wait for the Archer A6 as it is going to be even more affordable.
Thanks for reply, i can’t wait as the price i bought yesterday TPLink C6 RM200 with Cat6 cable free..FYI Unifi has shortchange my speed with Turbo 500Mbps Upgraded with speed 60-70Mbps Lan connection, after reset port yesterday, now speed touches 500-600Mbps.
Wow. Where you buy TPLink C9? I want buy too.
Hi bos,
between D-Link DIR-842 and TP-link Archer C6 which one is better?
both are on the same price range… except Dlink got extra antenna ..hehe..
Both DIR-842 and Archer C6 have 4 antennas. In our testing, the Archer C6 is much better.
oh yea..didn’t realized some1 had asked u same question.
anyway thanks for answering my question too.
1 more question for sifu here..
I got an offer for Asus AC66U ..is it better? from the price wise, it much more expensive than those 2 earlier….
Thanks!
It depends, the B1 version is better. If it is the non B1 version, skip it.
HI Alyvn,
DLink DIR-842 vs TP-Link Archer C6 VS TP-Link Archer C1200 which is better for Unifi?
TP-Link Archer C6 is the best among the 3.
May I know what is the difference between Archer C6 & A6?
Exactly the same.
Hi Alvyn,
Thank you for you amazing review on many router. I need you advice on my setup to get whole house cover with Wifi-5GHz.
I have Unifi turbo to 300Mbps, with DIR-842 setup and able to get good speed on Wifi-5GHz in the same room.
The DIR-842 router was setup at 2nd floor, so there is zero Wifi-5GHz signal at 1st floor, any suggestion how to get the Wifi-5GHz for whole house?
It’s either you purchase a mesh WiFi system or wire your home with Ethernet cable and run another AP on the first floor.
Hi Alvyn, as unifi gave a free D-Link DIR842 but it’s not such a good router, right if I’m not mistaken. So would you advise me to change the router to a better one like Archer C6 or should I get a mesh deco m9 ?
Or Would it be even better that I change from dir842 to archer c6 and also get the deco m9 for better WiFi coverage range?
Thanks .
The Deco M9 Plus will definitely give you the best performance considering the price is much more expensive as well.
Hi,
Any recommendation for a router that support Unifi 300Mbps and the coverage is good for the entire standard double store terrace house ?
Shall I change to a single router that can cover the whole house or can I add in an extender router to extend the signal from the Unifi stock router (D-Link AC1200) ?
I recommend you changing your wireless router and observe further. The provided D-Link is rather weak
For router I recommend TP-Link Archer C6.
Hi, I got upgraded to 300mbps currently using dlink 850l.Rather poor coverage and crappy router Was thinking to switch to dir 878.What you suggest ,or go for tp link
DIR-878 is a great router with decent coverage. The TP-Link model that is better than DIR-878 will probably be the Archer C2300.
Greetings Mr Alvyn Ong. I would like to check with you, I’m currently using Unifi 800mbps with Archer C7 (v2) router. No matter how I configure it, it will still show max 200mbps instead of 800mbps. Your review for this router was it can goes up to 500mbps. Is it because this was the older version? Second question. If my current Archer C7 (v2) doesn’t support the speed of 800mbps, then I’m looking to buy Asus RT-AC88U or Archer C5400X Gaming. But does both of this router able to work well with Deco M9 Plus as extender? I wonder how… Read more »
Hello there, the Archer C7 you have is an older variant which does not support the higher speed. If you want 800Mbps reliably in your entire home over WiFi, I believe no router can do that right now. 🙁
But, the RT-AC88U and Archer C5400X can provide rather good speed and coverage compared to the Archer C7 but they cannot work with the Deco M9.
Thank you Mr Alvyn Ong for your quick reply. I was keep checking on my emails for your reply and eventually visited your site and saw the reply here instead. 😀 I thinking of getting RT-AC88U or C5400X and work together Deco M9 due to level 2 coverage was way too weak. But all those setup cost over thousand ringgit, so probably I’ll just get Asus RT-AC88U for now as I did some research last night, the review said that router able to support built-in VPN services. So I’m going to switch to other countries IP all the times. Thanks… Read more »
If you require VPN, I would recommend the RT-AC86U. The RT-AC86U comes with a newer processor which should accelerate VPN connection more effectively. And you can actually purchase another Asus router with AiMesh to expand the coverage in the future.
TM does provide free router but the performance is just good enough for a small apartment.
Hi there! I just got my turbo upgrade 500mbps, The existing router got changed to a D-Link(not sure about the model) given by TM.
I have an existing Linksys EA9200, no matter how I try to set it up, it can’t connect to the internet.
Could you please assist!!
I afraid that model does not support VLAN which Unifi need.