With the rise of much faster Internet speed, this post serves as a generic guide to know what Wireless Router you should buy and some generic tips and tricks when buying a router.

Use the format below if you wish to ask what router to buy


Recommended Router List
RM200-400: TP-Link AX55
RM400-600: TP-Link AX72/AX73, ASUS TUF-AX4200, ASUS RT-AX57
RM600-1000: TP-Link Archer AX80, ASUS TUF-AX6000
RM1000 and above: Most routers beyound this price point are good

Equipment List
This list serve as a reference on what router you should purchase based on the performance of their WiFi tested with Intel AX200 Wireless Adapter. Unless specifically mentioned, these routers can support Gigabit speed over wired LAN.

WiFi router speed rating

All the routers tested below support Unifi unless stated otherwise.
Only ASUS router support Maxis with VOIP working properly.

Note: For routers that appeared twice in the list, it means that the performance level is somewhat middle.

TP-Link
100Mbps: Archer AX12
300Mbps: Archer AX23, Archer AX53, Deco X20, Deco X50
500Mbps: Archer AX55, Archer AX72/AX73, Deco X50, Deco X68
800Mbps: Archer AX72/AX73, Archer AX80, Archer AX95, Deco XE75, Deco X80, Deco X95
>1Gbps: Deco X95, Deco BE85

Asus
100Mbps: RT-AX1800HP
300Mbps: RT-AX1800HP, ZenWiFi XD5, RT-AX57
500Mbps: ZenWiFi XD5, RT-AX57, TUF-AX4200, ZenWiFi XP4
800Mbps: TUF-AX4200, TUF-AX6000, RT-AX86U PRO, GT-AX6000, GT-AX11000, ZenWiFi XT8, ROG Rapture GT6
>1Gbps: GT-AX6000, ZenWiFi XT12/ET12, GT-AXE16000


What WiFi adapter to buy?
Here are the only WiFi adapter that I filtered that are decent.

PCIE Wi-Fi 6 Adapters:
Performance are the same since they all use the same solution from Intel.

TP-Link TX3000E	3 years warranty with external antenna cradle.
TP-Link TX50E	3 years warranty without antenna cradle.
ASUS PCE-AX58BT	3 years warranty with external antenna cradle.
Intel AX200	You can purchase the Intel AX200 from Lazada and install yourself for notebook users.

USB Wi-Fi 6 Adapters:
Not recommended due to USB stability issues

This post has been edited by blacktubi: Oct 12 2023, 09:50 PM

Why 5Ghz signal is weaker than 2.4Ghz?
The high the frequency, the weaker the penetration. 5Ghz is operating at a higher frequency than 2.4Ghz. The shorter wavelength means it cannot penetrate solid objects like concrete wall that well.

Why 2.4Ghz is unstable and slower?
The 2.4Ghz band is used by a ton of devices such as dect phones, bluetooh, microwave oven and many other IoT devices. The interference is worst if you stay at a condo which really impact the maximum performance you can get.

Put it in layman terms, 2.4Ghz is like talking to a friend with 100 other people in the room, you have to talk slower so your friend can hear you better.

2020 Update: TNB just announced their smart meter is going to operate on the 2.4Ghz. Expect worst performance.


Why my WiFi speed is slow even after using a good WiFi router?
Please make sure you use a good WiFi adapter. Realistically, an AC1300 WiFi adapter can deliver up to around 500Mbps at very good signal.

The speed will be slower as the distance is further, a good router will have better interference mitigation so the long distance speed can be better.

Before you complain any further, use an Ethernet LAN cable to test the speed to determine where is the bottleneck is.

This post has been edited by blacktubi: Nov 29 2020, 06:03 PM

How to test your Internet speed properly.

Prerequisite:

1. Use Ethernet LAN cable to speed test as WiFi is not consistent.
2. Ensure ALL Ethernet cables are in good condition and it is CAT 5E and above.
3. Make sure your computer and router come with a Gigabit Ethernet LAN port.
4. Use a good router.

Environment Config:

• Some Antivirus or Firewall is known to throttle connection speed heavily.
• Disable any unnecessary features on your router that may slow down the connection. (Antivirus, QoS etc)
• Older computers may not be able to support faster speed so monitor your CPU usage when performing Speedtest.
• Turn on NAT acceleration on ASUS router or known as LAN Boost on TP-Link router. Only applicable to certain models. Detail

Speedtest Server:

• Use the Speedtest.NET app on Windows 10 as it is is more accurate than the web version
• Try with different servers, sometime even Singapore servers are good for testing
• Use Local servers only

Things to check before you contact your ISP

• If it is stuck at 100Mbps, swap your LAN cable
• Try with a different router and computer
• Reboot can fix a lot of things

This post has been edited by blacktubi: Jun 28 2019, 01:26 AM

Your WiFi speed depends on the receiver of your device and the router. for both router and adapter on 5Ghz.

Most smartphones and laptop come with AX1800 WiFi so the maximum speed you can get is around 800Mbps. Speed is also affected by signal, the maximum speed is only possible when signal is good



Make sure your router and computer support Gigabit speed. Try with different Ethernet cable, computer and different speedtest server.

Ethernet wire is actually rated to their speed. Make sure your Ethernet cable are still good and your router can handle Gigabit Ethernet.

I written a guide to show how you can check the speed of your Ethernet port on Windows here.

For Asus Router, you can check the port speed by clicking the globe icon and click Status tab.
[attachmentid=10183621]


Consider getting a mesh WiFi system if your property is bigger than 1500 square feet or having more than a floor.

A best case solution is to have a unit of mesh node on each floor of your property.


If you are staying is a single storey property less than 1500 sq ft, a mesh WiFi will cause more harm than good.

The huge signal overlap will introduce roaming issue. Besides, when the distance is smaller, connecting directly to the main router will give better speed then connecting to mesh node.

But, it will still be useful if your property have some weird layout (narrow and long rectangle).

This post has been edited by blacktubi: Oct 12 2023, 09:51 PM

Archer C1200 can do LAN easy 500mbps but not for WIFI

I am planning for 2 lists where one is about WAN to LAN and another is wireless.

Great explanation and a good thread to have. Good job, Blacktubi. Will link to this thread on the TM thread for further clarification.

This post has been edited by SilentVampire: Sep 17 2018, 05:26 PM

Nice guide, but it would best add explanation about specific marketing jargons and technical jargons. Else, we'll get questions like "should I get the router with big numbers, features galore and the likes......"

Thank you looking forward to more reviews of routers. My concern will be for wifi as most of my devices are in WiFi.

Thanks, this thread saves me a lot of time. It's easy to understand especially for the people like me not so good in networking stuff 🤗🤗

You could try to read the link on my signature as well. It gets into more detail if you want to know more

blacktubi Great post, I'll pass you some performance results for Mikrotik routers so you can insert them into the post.

As soon as I get my 800Mbps and start testing but dunno when that'll be.

Yes, I read it too, thanks thanks 😀

@soonwai, thanks. Looking forward for MikroTik perf results for 800Mbps especially on WiFi 802.11ac.

Hi blacktubi, may i know where do you purchase your commscope cable? And the pricing?

I planning to buy prolink at shopee. Check it out.

TS, kinda intrigued on what device did you use to hit the 800 Mbps mark.

RB2011UAS? Can't even get past 300 Mbps on ethernet. Its wireless? Around 35Mbps.

Mine is RB2011UiAS-2HnD-IN. Disabled the LCD and all, and while people recommends enabling fasttrack, I cant get it to works.

PCE-AC88 with RT-AC5300 will have no issue to deliver that level of performance over wireless.

Of course, I could have fire up my Ruckus R710s but that is overkill.

EDIT: All tested with non-critical features disabled to ensure NAT is always accelerated.

This post has been edited by blacktubi: Sep 18 2018, 02:37 PM

I have the RB2011UAS but not using as router. Also have RB750Gr3, hAP AC Lite, hAP AC2 and hAP AC. Will test when I get my 800Mbps. Also have older ones like RB750GL, RB751U, RB951U and RB951G. Some of these should be on the same performance level as RB2011UAS.

I was actually in the market for access point that can utilize 800Mbps, though I'm pretty sure none of our devices supports that speed at the moment.

At the moment our Archer C9's 500Mbps over wifi is good enough for us, though it tends to crash after few days. Wish it has at least some sort of scheduled reboot like Tenda's.

So far I've yet to find offering from Mikrotik and Ubiquiti that can delivers that kind of speed. RuckusR710s eh, lets see how muc- nahhhh nevermind.

Cant wait. Would love to stick with Mikrotik, though so far I've yet to find one that would fully utilize turbo's 800Mbps over wifi.

UAP nanoHD from UBNT can deliver that kind of speed but again it is not cheap. Their gears are pretty decent, sort of semi-Enterprise level.

Ruckus is overkill and it is very Enterprise focused.

yeap, we had AP-LR before. love it. As for nanoHD, i think Sublime doesn't carries one over here, and yes, might be ultra overkill for us.


Also, I just found out about TP-Link RE650 AC2600. Not much review yet, but thing looks promising. I guess any router/wifi that has AC2600 and above should be able to beam up 800Mbps over wifi, no?

1 question. The equipment listed are achievable speeds through LAN or WiFi?
Why i ask this is because there a many out there that could easily misunderstood the info eg; Asus RT-AC68U can reach 800Mbps through LAN but it is listed under 500Mbps table.

Range extender will halve the bandwidth though.

You are right, AC2600 devices should not have issue unless there is a design failure.

This is over wireless. Most AC1750 devices should not have issue getting get over LAN unless specifically stated.

It has gigabit ethernet and can be used as AP too. guess I'll pull the trigger on this one then.

Still wouldn't recommend a repeater on your network as it slows it down, but it is ultimately up to you.

I got turbo to 500Mbps. I can achieve 500Mbps on my RB2011UiAS-2HnD-IN from TM speedtest using Cat 5e cable on Gigabit port after enable FastTrack. Can you share your firewall rules (IP > Firewall > Filter Rules)?

i already got the message saying that my plan has been upgraded, but the maximum speed i get thru wired connection is 260Mbps, could it be the limitation of my old BTU ? I planning to get a better router, but before i get a new router...i want to be sure that my BTU is supported and this is the picture of my BTU (curi from lowyat forum)

You find the nanoHD from Sublime store at Lazada. 😀

blacktubi thanks a lot, but non of them help for me as im still stuck with 10Mbps T.T in midst of negotiating better deal

Thank you bro blacktubi for sharing this extended knowledge on networking

really appreciate it

i dunno what the problem...using tenda AC18 cannot get up to 800mbps... only half the speed but full speed for upload...

when i run concurrent pc and hp, still the speed total both only up to 400mbps+ only...

already change the cable to cat6(supply by aztech router fg7008gr) still not setting yet using that router...

Click on the link on my signature to read more.

You mean WiFi? Hard to get 800Mbps on WiFi, and your device needs to have 4x4 MIMO at least,

yes bro i also read that

thank you very much coz i learn something

and it is better DIY before call TM 100

not on wifi... on lan....

Turbo-ed & need to spend on a good router. This thread is very helpful.

The router probably could not handle it for some reason, or it is on TM side.

Click the link on my signature too. It will def help you.

need to change aztech fg7008gr... already put username and password for pppoe but failed to connect/still connecting... IPTV smooth... hahaha

maybe this weekend can usik2...

How u get the iptv to work?!? I can only get internet working haha, same as @soonwai and some others

Our other thread has guide for normal internet

This post has been edited by miloaisdino: Sep 18 2018, 11:45 PM

straight of the box... but internet not working....that is more important...hahaha

straight of the box, i can see all 3 setting with all vlan 400, 500 and 600 respectively for voip, internet and iptv...

Can share config plzzzzzzz thks

i dunno what happen suddenly my router hang/ no responsive after i change pppoe setting...

try to reset still not avail to get factory default... lan give ip range 169.x.x.x... no idea how to get into the default setting....

Factory reset should do the trick.

already push the button....it seem not to be reset as the wifi still the name i put...not as aztech....

push 10sec, more than that still the same...sigh...

Parking

Could be your area. I have no issues getting almost 800Mbps with my AC18.

U have to do 30/30/30 broadcom reset (google it)

another thing is, the gigabit port on my mikrotik would stuck at 100mbps for some reason. do i need to disable the rest of the unused port?

here's the config, should be correct i think.


i'm planning to plug in the cable from the router and set is as access point mode. should be good, no?

hmm, weird. i can only find nanobeam and such.

Yes, that should be good.

i reversed my setup last nite after the fibernation upgrade - my VOIP did not work anymore.

Before: BTU - Asus AC66 (Router and WIFI) - Thompson TG784 (VOIP)

< after last week fibernation upgrade - VOIP on Thompson did not work>

Now: BTU - Thompson TG784 (Router and VOIP) - Asus AC66 (WIFI in AP Mode)

Seems to be stable and able to take in the 100 DL and 20 UL

Hi blacktubi, based on my reading on your website and want to confirm with you again, all Netgear router must set VLAN manually. Is it possible can tag HyppTV Vlan to other than primary WiFi? Thanks.

Not optimal but at least it works for now as the routing capabilities on the Thompson is kind of terrible.

Possibly they change something in their end.

Yes, I do not try Netgear routers for a really long time now so I am not sure if they upgraded.

Only D-Link routers can tag VLAN to WIFI..

that looks good. better test all gigabit port if able to achieve 1Gbps and not 100Mbps.

I have the same BTU as this.

My speed lagi kiok...On WLAN (AC-1200 router) MAX is 100MBs only (speed ugraded to 500).

On LAN, not yet confirm

Check the cable. This port connected to what? Check that port too.

And no need to disable unused port not the Mikrotik.

Ok. Thanks for the answer.
Now, I'm using AC68U but cant achieve 800mbps on wifi.
Time to research about Dlink as I want the wifi function for HyppTV if possible.

Anyone using homeplug with their turbo-ed speed? How’s the connection?

I’m currently using old asus rt-n12hp router on a 500mbps unifi. Going to replace all the cables to cat6 today.

High end powerline can't even go more than 200Mbps

I am using the same BTU, as for the wifi router i using TPlink Archer C7 v2.
After upgraded to 500mbps, i test the wifi speed and got the following speed, you may check the screen shot.The speed test was done using Note 8.

This post has been edited by justin78: Sep 19 2018, 03:11 PM


Attached thumbnail(s)

How about this one from TP-Link? Planning to buy this for my unifi 800mbps usage.

https://www.tp-link.com/my/products/details...A8630P-KIT.html

If you really want to utilize your connection well then don't consider any powerline.

Just realized that AN5506-04-BG, the BTU that is currently being issued by TM for some users, are capable of gigabit speeds as well, so you might want to add it to your list. Blacktubi

I reviewed this before. Peak speed is around 300Mbps even at super optimal condition.

https://www.blacktubi.com/review/tp-link-tl...30p-kit-review/
Added, thanks!

260Mbps is the result of first day i test after i got the sms after that my speed cant never go beyond 170Mbps already

Alright, thanks for the info will try to factory reset my router tonight

asus rtn14uhp support or not turbo speed?
mine upgrade to 500 but since in the middle of the month...need to wait until salary time....

on cable test only 100mbps
or this model not support even 300mbps...
tq

This post has been edited by dark lenanza: Sep 20 2018, 12:11 PM

no
go read the 1st page of the main unifi thread

Hi guys, need some advise. I have recently been turboed to 500Mbps.
My hardwares setup are :-
1) BTU - Alcatel Lucent I-240G-P (been with me since 2010 or 2011)
2) Wifi Router - TP Link Archer C7 V2
3) Cable from BTU to Wifi Router - Cat 5E

Problems:-
1) Tested WIFI speeds on Samsung Note 4, Ipad Air, Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 with Ookla on 5G band but could not achieve more than 180 Mbps download Wifi speeds. Have tried contacting TM but the technical department says due to recent upgrades, the speed are still not stable and ask me to be patient and will re-fresh my connections to see if there is any improvement which it did not. - Are my hardwares ready for 500 Mbps and are my WIFI testings accurate?

2) Bought a Cat 6 cable (brand - U Green) but when connected from BTU to Wfi Router, the WIFI connections becomes erratic, sometimes online, sometimes offline. I changed back to Cat 5E and it becomes stable. Is the Cat 6 cable not compatible or defective?
note - The Cat 6 cable was bought online and was quite cheap, maybe that's the problem.

This post has been edited by matow: Sep 20 2018, 12:46 PM

Did you buy from ugreen flagship store on lazada? get the round cat 6 from them.

Yes, it was bought from Ugreen flagship store in Lazada and it was the round one. Funny thing is that compared to the Cat 5E cable, the Cat6 cable looks thinner...lol.

It was on flash sale at that time and only cost RM4.08, I bought 2.

This post has been edited by matow: Sep 20 2018, 01:00 PM

Have u try different location server?
Sometimes the auto server does not choose the best

Mine 100mbps achievable when manual select Shah alam server, the auto server always choose Kuala Lumpur which only around 80mbps

The same round cat 6 15M seems to work fine and stable for me, I'm using on the tp link archer 7 v4 + connected to gigabit switch. LAN to LAN connection can achieve 920+Mbps, speedtest 500+Mbps

Yes, have tried to manually select the nearest server, still not getting more than 170 Mbps.

So, you think that my hardwares are ok to achieve 500 Mbps?

Do read the guide on the Unifi thread first page. You'd probably want to get a better router.

The Archer C7 V2, after I bought it and set it up last year, I did not do any firmware upgrades after that.
Do you think I need to do any firmware upgrades or other settings?

If this is the case, I rather downgrade it to 100 Mbps. 500 Mbps is a overkill for me.
Thanks for your guidance.

before that, check if you enabled QOS, disable it if it's on.

For 5Ghz wifi, set to 80mhz and test again. For example, Redmi Note 5 won't go more than 300Mbps

This post has been edited by xperiaVuser: Sep 20 2018, 01:22 PM

D-Link has released their recommendation too


Attached thumbnail(s)

V2 is considered old. It is already V5 now.

No point setting to 80MHz, if your device does not support the MIMO required for the turbo speed.

park

Isn't parking a kopitiam culture not suitable for a serious topic?

Yup not a lot of phone/tablet has 2x2

This post has been edited by xperiaVuser: Sep 20 2018, 02:03 PM

Do you guys know any sellers for the Tp-link Archer C3150 V2? Went to a number of shops, cant seemed to find any selling it.

Currently out of stock in the entire market. Somehow the demand for this model is super good.

Haha. was afraid of that. Heard it is quite affordable for the performance it is giving

What do you think of the Archer C5400? How much of a performance upgrade can I expect from the C5400? Does it have a further house wifi coverage (both 2.5ghz and 5ghz) with all those antennas it has?

C5400 is actually my daily driver for a long time now.

C5400 is literally the C3150 with an extra 5Ghz band, they are very similar device but with beefier specs.

It comes with 8 antennas. To be frank, the signal output is rather similar with C3150, what it excels is the performance when you have many devices connected.

I sold this almost 10 units to all VIP client they all love it :-)

This post has been edited by MX510: Sep 20 2018, 08:56 PM

Plenty of sellers HERE

Yes, try Lelong.com.my. Still lots of sellers there.

Plenty if sellers on Lelong.

Good stuff, mind to link me with UBNT Malaysia so I can get a unit to play?

Anyway, why this instead of their normal line of APs for your clients tho?

Thanks for the tips.

No worries. Glad to help

He recommended the AmplifiHD as it is the first UBNT product for home networking, instead of their normal line of APs, which could require a steep learning curve in learning and configuration, while this is designed for straight out of the box use, similar to other consumer routers. So, this is like getting an enterprise product but having the ease of use of home networking product.

See here for a comparison between this product and their enterprise product, the UniFi: https://michaelkummer.com/technology/amplif...s-unifi-review/

This post has been edited by SilentVampire: Sep 20 2018, 09:35 PM