Velop Pro WiFi 6E Mesh System MX6201-KE - Cognitive Mesh Router with 6 Ghz Band Access & 5.4 Gbps True Gigabit Speed - Whole-Home Coverage up to 3,000 sq. ft. & 200 Devices - 1 Pack

Before I start I will say that nothing will improve the broadband speed to your house other than obtaining a faster internet service. If you are limited to an ADSL service then really chances are whatever router box that was provided by the service provider is as good as it will get in term of broadband speed. What these devices can do it ensure the wifi network speed inside your house operates quickly and minimises dead spots where the wifi signal is weak. If you have ever looked at your phone an date wifi signal has one bar and the internet does not work it is in a "dead spot" I do not think these devices have an inbuilt ADSL modem so if you have ADSL broadband you will still need your current box to provide the connection to the internet. If you have Fibre then you can connect the Fibre modem straight into one of the Linksys devices. = Why get the Linksys Velop Pro WiFi 6E Mesh System then?= The main use is to replace your existing router with one of the units and place the other unit elsewhere in your house. They are not the smallest devices but the smallish towers are aesthetically neutral. They don't have multiple external antennas and with only two network ports on them and a power cable they are not going too have numerous cables attached to them. = Setting up the devices = This was relatively painless. You just need to make sure you have your existing broadband logon details and any specific settings you provided needs. They require an app available from apple/android stores and when they are first turned on they have a special wifi network you connect to to allow them to be set up. It pretty much holds your hand through the process. Just make sure you are next to two power outlets as You will be asked to turn on the second device so it can be set up and paired. Eventually you will create the wifi network for your house and the app will explain that you will be disconnected from the current setup wifi network and to reconnect to the one you just created. One both devices are set up you can switch of the second device and relocate dit to where you want it. Job Done. The app allows you to check the signal strength between the units so look for a stong signal between the two if you can. = The Wifi Network = No complaints with signal strength etc though be aware that passing through walls etc weakens it. Dont expect miracles and any device faces this challenge. The Linksys has three Wifi bands it uses 2.4,5,6 Ghz which wifi speed favouring the 5 + 6 bands. If your devices supports 6 or 6E wifi you will find your devices errs towards the best signal. For a modern device this will all happen automatically. = Whats Mesh = Essentially both devices create one wifi network in your house and as you move out of range of one device it swaps over to the other device to maintain a strong wifi signal on your device. You can if you want connect both Mesh devices together via a LAN cable. This helps avoid issues if the distance between the devices, or the physical barriers between them otherwise results in a weak connection. Using mesh you could also place another device in the middle point. My top tip. If you are buying a new house are gutting a place out. Put in a cabled network with network ports on the walls in rooms (Like phone sockets). It's not that common but will ensure your house is best set up for internet connectivity.

This MX6203 system was delivered in the 25th September and it worked flawlessly for 10 days and my thought was that this was a great system. Easy to set up and working as expected and Smart home items working flawlessly. On day 10 the network started being slow and smart home devices not responding or constantly saying "updating" and not reachable, Restarted the router and this seemed to work for about an hour, Devices then started to disconnect and a message appear suggesting the password was incorrect for the network. Bearing in mid no config updated had been made and devices had been working perfectly for 10 days this was starting to be a little concerning. I have tried to contact Linksys support but their web chat just fails to connect and their online help is non existent. They have a reddit link but that has this issue known for a long time with people posting there with this error for the last 2 years and some setting to try and help resolve the issue. I have tried the fixes for now and it seems to have resolved the issues but for how long remains to be seen. If I was looking for a new router I would avoid this at all costs knowing this now and I do have the option to return the item up to 24th October so this may still happen if the issue returns. For now its a very poor 1 star review

The units are well packaged, discrete, and easy to setup. The good: - Units look good. They are small and light. - System set up via the app is simple, but you need to place the units close but if they are too close multiple units don’t detect easily. - The app enables you to manage the network remotely which is helpful when you the family say it needs a reboot. App is very robust, works very well. - Reliability of the network is okay, I find the system needs a reboot every 2-4 weeks and sometimes a hard power cycle at the unit is needed to get everything working okay. We heavily use the network with 2 adults working and 2 children streaming/ gaming. - Reliability is better than my previous system (BT WholeHome WiFi Premium), my old system needed a hard factory reset every 6-9 months and this hasn’t happened with the Linksys Units. The bad: - Sometimes the app reports failure to add nodes but the unit light is white (ie working). A unit power cycle needed to get the app/ system working and reporting correctly. - Coverage: The units don’t seem to daisy chain very effectively in my 4-bed Victorian house, I had to buy more units to make them work for the full house without dropping signal or slow speeds. The most distant node kept trying to connect to the main unit rather than the intermediate unit. - Speed seems to work best horizontally, with speed drop offs on the fist floor and loft. - Casing feels a bit cheap, but only when you are holding the units. The ugly: - It’s expensive, especially with me needing 5 nodes to get acceptable signal in the house. - Add on subscriptions, I haven’t signed up for these but after spending so much money I felt annoyed by being asked to subscribe for extra security.

I was upgrading from Google nest WiFi which struggled to penetrate the brick walls in my house and led to painfully slow WiFi when my phone refused to switch between the closest WiFi points. Also having had the latest phone with 6e i wanted something that was going to be future proof. There weren't many reviews around in the UK site so i scoured US sites and ready others experience of the device and it did fill me with hope. What can i say other this lives up to expectations. The main router and nodes were set up easily enough. One node didn't connect properly and had to reset it and do it again but after that it was relatively plain sailing. One observation i had was that the parental controls are not great unless you are prepared to subscribe to their subscription service. I got round this by setting my own dns settings to 1.1.1.1. However, the android app suggests that one click save browsing is being introduced soon, and this was verified by the help desk. I did have one problem with the Internet. I have samsung soundbar, tv and projector but i couldn't get them to see each other. After trying a few things like testing the router i decided to phone the helpline. As this is the latest flagship router, i had to have my case diverted to the dedicated helpline and received a can within 30 minutes. They helped me sort the issue out by changing some of the channels on the router and after doing that it sorted it and my devices saw one another and i could listen to sound via WiFi without any problem.

It's only ok. It does solve the basic problem with congested 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands in our neighbourhood by auto-scanning channels and switching to less congested ones. 3 unit coverage around our 4 bedroom house is very good. That said, in bridge mode, a lot of functionality is lost. I cannot / do not want to use the Dynamic or Static IP mode, as I am not fond of double-NATting and renumbering my entire network, as I have around 50 devices connected at any time. I do have my own router, as well as a DNS and DHCP server, so I really don't need Velop to manage those services for me. Also, the device never seems to use any of the DFS bands - no matter what. No radars around - always selects a bog standard 5GHz band even when DFS is enabled. I do have the latest firmware.

Can’t complain as the item does what it says on the box and does not sideshare your data usage to some offsite location. Connection between nodes is strong and can help extend wifi range in larger areas or even smaller areas with compact spaces (like mine). The app works really well and 90% of what you might want to access is available, with the missing 10% being those options either unavailable to network professionals or restricted (such as the inability to name guest devices while connected to the network?!). The only thing to look out for is that if you are using a device that heavily requires stable connection, you might want to keep it near one of the nodes as permanently as possible, as once you move around it will automatically connect to the nearest node, and this can cause a little dropout. Particularly noticeable if you are using a gaming device, but in fairness it only lasts about 2 seconds and then reconnects itself. If you are playing competitively then it would be wise not to move around during these sessions. Otherwise it’s a great Mesh set up and I picked up the two pack version for a heavy discount during Black Friday, but expect to see similar pricing for January sales and other promotions throughout the year.

Had to return this item due to it constantly dropping 5GHz channel Which result the mesh node disconnected

I can barely find the words to articulate the level of burning hatred for this product and the deep resentment I have after having spent as much as I did on something that persistently inspires thoughts of smashing the hardware up with a 10 pound hammer. TLDR; do not buy this under any circumstances but if you'd like to know why you will regret the purchase decision, read on. I should start by saying that I work in technology, software engineering specifically so my expectations are perhaps higher but then so is my technical ability. I would not consider a product of this type to require significant technical competence though to establish the network using the setup wizard. You may have more patience than me (I shipped from birth with nominal amounts, my wife would suggest a figure closer to zero) but you will need a lot of patience to use this product. It's not unreasonable to hope for ease of setup and stability in a network product at this price point which are its two greatest failings. In the world of working from home, dependability and resilience are paramount and it is not an unfair expectation that your entire day not be derailed by your network product failing to cope with a power cycle. I can assure you that there are dictatorships borne of the bloodiest of circumstances which offer greater stability than a network established atop a Linksys product. A precarious peace when the connection is working properly is generally short lived. I bought the system on the strength of WIFI6 to serve a property of over 3500 sq/ft and to replace the Netgear product whose stability and price resulted in similar levels of disappointment. The grass may have been greener on that one but money didn't fix the problem with an upgrade to WIFI6. To compensate for the flaws of the Netgear product, I over specified the network to ensure coverage. Even though WIFI6 is purportedly better at penetrating walls and thus has better range, the reality of this promise is not borne in what I've seen with how the nodes have connected to the router. I've tried varying placement options and used a signal strength tool to determine optimal position based on signal quality versus taking a place it and pray it works approach. More nodes equals more frustration when the network falls over it seems. Setup starts with the app. The app store offers promise with a 4.9 star rating averaged over 12k reviews. That's a promising endorsement. But to sort by latest reviews paints a picture of the most saintly and reserved customers being willing to raze the offices of LinkSys and all responsible in it. Setup is an excruciatingly painful and arduous once the app is loaded and one which relies upon a solid light on the node to be able to detect each node before it can be incorporated on the network. Trying to initiate a state where the node light isn't flashing is statistically less likely than predicting the next round of lottery numbers. Allow yourself a good amount of time. A week perhaps. Buckle up because the app will crash or serve you with an interface consisting of a status indicator floating on a white background innumerable times, so much so, it will be etched into your retinas and replayed in your most vivid nightmares (see attached image). Status indicators provide no interface feedback beyond a progress indicator that offers 'This could take a minute' which actually translates to 'There goes the next hour of your life'. In general, the app bears the same level of consideration to interface design and user experience logic that came to Twitter when Elon Musk took over i.e. absolutely zero. Coaxing a node light to turn solid for the app to detect it so configuration can even start consumes an ungodly amount of time and you may have the patience of a saint but the veil of red mist will assuredly come. The red mist will probably blink too just like the spiteful little node lights. When you have multiple nodes, feelings of elation at adding one will be displaced by the torture of adding another. While hoping the first doesn't lose connection. We suffer from auto-reclosing thanks to UK Power Networks in England. If you're unfamiliar with the concept, it's when the supply network detects an electricity supply anomaly, it then diverts power and this results in an intermittent interruption consumer side. It can range from 1-2 seconds or can be 1-2 minutes. But it completely throws out every single node, every single time. You'd think that a reset of each node or restarting the network would re-establish everything but no, red blinking node lights all round and only the node that is hard wired as the router remains solid white after multiple network resets (for the uninitiateid, this is Internet connected or the unattainable grail). The significant expense of uninterruptible power supplies on each node or having a master for the house is an option but compensates for the failure of the product to reestablish connection. The troubleshooting guide is a work of uselessness that offers the blithe suggestion that it's a simple matter of pressing a button and the magic of Linksys will seamlessly re-establish the network. I have manually reset, updated firmware, flashed the system by leaving it disconnected for 20 minutes. Every conceivable method that works with network hardware has been used. If the troubleshooting guide was to be believed, this would be a different review. It's a genuine miracle that one of the nodes has not found itself embedded in our walls for the sheer unfathomable logic which governs its addition to the network. You've heard that definition of insanity - expecting a different outcome from persistently repeating the same action? Not so if you have a Linksys product. Connection is apparently your reward for persistent, indomitable refusal to accept that it doesn't work and trying in the absence of any other option. Then seeing the node suddenly and inexplicably connect. I could go on in some degree of technical detail but take a look at the Apple app store. You'll find commentary that echoes my views from a wide range of people. This is the first and last Linksys product I will ever buy, don't make the mistake I did in becoming a customer in the first instance.