Customer Ratings & Reviews

The nodes for this mesh router system dropped connections frequently and created more buffering than the router I replaced. I returned It

This mesh network system was just ok. It never really seemed to give us the coverage we expected.

I've heard great things about this router but not a fit for my household. I will be exchanging this item soon.

I've got Comcast Gigabit Internet and was worried that Velop wouldn't be able to handle it. I was worried needlessly. By connecting with an Ethernet cable I got the same 950 Mbps. speed as if I was connecting directly to the modem. My Wi-fi speed was equal to the Nighthawk router Comcast provided. As others have said, the connection of all three nodes was effortless. You need no technical skills whatever. Just follow the illustrated instructions on the free Linksys phone app. I had all three nodes operating in 15 minutes. All of my devices connected back to my network with no trouble and I've got a much better wi-fi signal all over my house. Two small negatives: 1) I wish I could manage my new Velop network from my desktop computer. When you sign in to the "Linksys Smart Wi-Fi" website with your username and password, you just see "Velop Wi-Fi can only be managed with the LInksys App" Disappointing. 2) The power bricks for the three nodes look like they're designed purposely to hog more than one AC outlet. Neither of these however would keep me from buying the Velop. It's great having high speed wireless connections all through the house with no coverage gaps like before.

These probably work fine but I didn't realize they were speakers only. I thought the wi-fi came with them so I returned the item.

Worked 3 months then one of the nodes stopped working. Won’t connect even when plugged directly to the modem. Waste of money.

I have approximately 2600 ft2 downstairs and have struggled with adequate wifi coverage for the last 5 years. I have tried extenders, boosters, electric line adapters, etc. Finally a system that works the way it should. I have comcast/xfinity isp with their modem/router located in the front corner of my house. I connected the velop system and spread the nodes downstairs, had comcast to turn off the wifi radio of my router to eliminate interference and I now get 230 Mbps download speed across my house as well as 100 ft into the backyard around the pool. Pricey system, but it does what was advertised. Only gripe is each node has two Ethernet ports, so I had to additionally purchase gigabit switch to handle the wired systems close to the router.

The performance of this mesh network was not what was stated. We returned them for the Eeros mesh system and are very happy now.

Purchased this product hoping for improved wi-fi. Not worth the $300 I paid. Did not receive much help when I called for technical support.

I was surprised how easy it was to set up. The key is to use download and log into the Linksys app, then follow the instructions. Don't unhook anything or do anything until first logging into the app. Made setup very easy. I was able to link all 3 extenders within about 20 minutes following the instructions on the app through my iPad. Connecting my printer and other peripherals was much easier than expected. I used this Linksys system to replace my Apple Airport system. It was worth the money. I have a 3800 sq ft home and I no longer have any dead zones. My smart tv's in all corners of the house connect at about 225-300 mgbps. My ISP gives me 300mgbps. I never got close to this with the Airports. It is definitely money well spent.

This system is fantastic! The range and speed are unlike any router I've seen before. Mesh networks are the future of home WiFi so this system is a worthy investment. The Linksys app is great and gets even better with every update. Linksys really put together an amazing product which is why they are still the king of home networking.

First, for those who are new to mesh Wi-Fi, it’s similar to using extenders/repeaters, but with a some differences. With extenders, each “node” has its own SSID (network name), and the nodes do not hand off when a connected device moves. This requires you to disconnect from router/extender, and connect to the extender/router. Another problem is they limit your connecting bands (2.4GHz and/or 5GHz) and/or cut your data speeds in half. Repeaters, on the other hand, are similar to a mesh system, handing off between router to repeater, except there’s also speed limitations, and you can only connect one repeater to a router. With small-to-medium size home, this isn’t usually a problem. For those with medium-to-large homes, that’s where mesh Wi-Fi systems have a huge advantage, as most handle as many as six nodes, and full-speed is maintained throughout the system. Setup & Configuration Installation & setup of the Velop system is very easy (except Wi-Fi security, as noted later), similar to Google Wi-Fi, Netgear Orbi, and Eero. Additionally, Linksys Velop is a tri-band system (similar to Orbi), and uses a dedicated 5GHz radio to communicate between nodes (Google Wi-Fi and Eero communicate between nodes via the same 2.4GHz/5GHz bands used to communicate with connected devices). It has three 2x2 radios (two uplink, two downlink) - one 2.4GHz radio, and two 5GHz radios (one communicates with connected devices, the other communicates between nodes). Traditional multi-band routers allow the user to decide whether to connect to the 2.4GHz band, or the 5GHz band. Most mesh Wi-Fi systems, on the other hand, automatically select/switch bands, depending on signal strength & distance. For some, this will be a good thing; for others (such as those streaming HD video), this could be bad. Unlike Orbi, which needs to have each node synced to the primary node, Velop has the advantage of using a peer-to-peer system (as long a one non-primary node is synced to the primary). Like other mesh Wi-Fi systems, setup and maintenance is handled by an app on your phone/tablet, as opposed to through a web browser. Also, initial setup/configuration requires the use of Bluetooth (similar to Google Wi-Fi). For some, this is an advancement; for others, a drawback. Either way, the Bluetooth setup does slow things down, especially when connecting additional nodes. Some companies, such as Asus, have routers with both abilities (browser and app), which I prefer over the ‘app-only’ method. As mentioned earlier, setup isn’t always easy. During setup of additional nodes, I ran into a problem (which has also been reported by others) – the Wi-Fi security was disabled. Resolving the problem was as simple as re-enabling it once each additional node was configured, but having to do this was a bit of a pain. I suggest checking the app’s Wi-Fi list every so often, to make sure the ‘lock icon’ is correct. Similar to other mesh Wi-Fi systems, ports have been stripped down to the bare minimum – two Ethernet ports, and a power jack. Since your modem needs to be connected to one port (on the primary node), if you want additional Ethernet ports, this forces you to connect a switch to the second port. Additionally, as there are no USB ports, this eliminates the ability to plug in an external drives for networked access. However, Velop does offer one “cool trick” which some will love, and others will see as a serious security risk – Amazon Echo/Alexa integration. On the plus side, you can do things such as verbally turning your guest access on/off, as well as have it speak your network security information. Unfortunately, that second “plus” is also a huge “minus”, as anyone within earshot of your Echo now has your network information. As for future “skills”, they are under development. Speed Testing To test the Velop system, I compared it against Google Wi-Fi and my Asus router (plus an Asus repeater, when conducting multi-node tests). Having run multiple tests, from multiple locations, the data transfer results have been rounded-averaged, due to the results being fairly close. As for the internet tests, due to the results being somewhat wider, I’m listing a rounded range. Starting with data transfer testing between devices, in testing a single node, while the Velop system was somewhat faster than Google Wi-Fi (550Mbps vs 500Mbps), my Asus router outperformed them both by a huge margin (600+Mbps). Moving to multi-node tests (using an Asus repeater for the Asus router), the Velop system easily bested Google Wi-Fi (300Mbps vs 175Mbps), but the Asus router/repeater combination, again, proved better (400+Mbps). Moving over to internet speed tests, the results were relatively close (possibly due to my internet bandwidth), especially where a single node was concerned. When connected to a single node, all tests produced results in the 80-90Mbps range. Moving to multi-node tests, the results started to vary. While Google Wi-Fi slowed down the most (60-65Mbps), the Velop system & Asus router/repeater combination were virtually identical (75-90Mbps vs 65-85Mbps). In real-world usage, compared to “controlled testing”, these differences are going to be barely noticeable (if noticeable at all) at lower bandwidth speeds, but as your bandwidth increases, the differences in internet speeds will be noticed, with (I’d predict) the Linksys Velop system coming out the clear winner. As a side-note, I forgot to perform signal strength tests. Previously, I’ve done such tests with Google Wi-Fi, as well as my Asus router/repeater, but, due to time constraints (as a chauffeur, my work hours can be all over the board), I just didn’t have the time. Also, the Velop system offers out-of-the-box MU-MIMO. True, there aren’t a lot of MU-MIMO devices currently available, but at least you won’t have to wait for a firmware update once more MU-MIMOP devices hit the market. Lastly, when it comes to warranties, the Linksys Velop has one-upped other manufactures by offering a 3-year warranty, compared to the 1-year offered by most others. THE GOOD: • 3-Year warranty • Tri-band configuration = the fastest speeds • Easy to set up, configure, and maintain • Amazon Echo/Alexa integration THE BAD: • Amazon Echo/Alexa integration • One of the most expensive home mesh Wi-Fi systems • No USB ports THE UGLY: • No built-in switch Conclusion Should you get the Linksys Velop Wi-Fi system? For those with a small house/apartment/etc, you will be better off with a stand-alone (ie. traditional) router. For those with a medium house, a router might still be your best bet, and, if need be, you can always add a repeater (I do NOT suggest, or even recommend, using extenders). However, for those with larger houses, as well as those with medium-sized houses, if you have a need for “full-area coverage”, and want that coverage to be as fast as possible, this IS the mesh Wi-Fi system you want…despite its high cost. Yes, there are less expensive, and more powerful (by features), mesh Wi-Fi systems available, but when you look at everything as a whole, this is going to be your best choice, hands down. Previously, I said something similar about Google Wi-Fi, but its price played a huge factor in that. So did the fact that Google Wi-Fi was released before Linksys had even announced their Velop system. Personally, there are only a few reasons why I wouldn’t continue to use the Velop system – no built-in switch, no USB ports, poor advanced features. While the lack of a switch is significant, I could always resolve it by plugging an 8-port switch into the primary node, and a 4-port switch into the ‘bedroom’ node, that would mean needing to purchase an 8-port switch (high-quality units are not cheap). As for the lack of USB ports, that’s a deal-killer for me. For others, it might not be, as most people don’t set up external drives for network accessibility. For those who have no need of a network-accessed USB drive, this is a moot point, and, as such, the Velop system is still an excellent choice. Lastly, as for the poor advanced features, while they don’t meet my needs, they will meet the needs of others. This is one major area where the Linksys Velop is superior to Google Wi-Fi – Velop DOES have MAC filtering, while Google Wi-Fi does NOT. If MAC filtering is important to you, this is another reason to get the Linksys Velop system over any other mesh Wi-Fi system. Disclaimer: This product was provided free, or at reduced cost, for the purpose of reviewing the product. Nevertheless, the above review, be it positive, negative, or somewhere in-between, is a 100% honest review, and the price paid played absolutely no part in my review.

These kept dropping out. Their reach really sucked. I would not recommend these.

I have a lot of items on wifi - computers, phones, tv’s, iRobot. I’m not sure I notice a difference. It did cost a lot.

the nodes won't communicate with each other, I had a hard time setting it up. The range was limited.

Worked for about a week then all of a sudden it kept dropping wifi signal couldn't stream a thing returned and got and ORBI

I had nothing but issues with this. I retuned for the eero pro system. Eero pro was better is every way.

First let's start with the boxing of this system which is top notch, each of the "nodes" is wrapped in a protective sleeve, there are 3 plugs, an Ethernet cable and a card that instructs you to just download the Linksys App to install. At first I thought oh boy here goes, they are making this appear to be easy but it's not going to be. Boy was I happy to be wrong, I downloaded the app and followed the instructions to install, first I plugged the first node into the wall, then connected to my router, within literally a minute or two, the first node was online, it asked me to custom name my system and generate my own password which is an easy alternative to some of the wacky preprogrammed passwords that wifi systems come with. Once the first node was online all I needed to do was find an appropriate spot for the second one (the first being in my home office) which I located in my basement, again within minutes, up and running, just following the prompts on the app, then for the third in a spare bedroom upstairs. There is also a check at the end of installing each node to make sure the signal is optimal and if you need to move the node the app will let you know, I didn't have to move mine. I have never, I repeat never had a setup of anything go so smoothly and be so easy, other than maybe plugging in a toaster. The great thing about Velop over a wifi system with an extender to augment your signal is this is all on the same network name whereas with an extender you always need to log on to the extended network and the speed is usually significantly slower than the original network. With Velop, it's a seamless transition all through your house on one network name with strong signal throughout the house. I speed tested the system and it was FULL speed throughout the house (150/150) and also reconfigured my Apple TV's etc onto the new network with no issues. I can't say enough about how happy I am with Velop, I have finally found my final whole house wifi system.

I set this gear up in a 2500 SF two level home. Noticed the downstairs family room / kitchen area showed immediate performance increase. Now have a strong and fast internet connection. Just as good as upstairs where the gateway is located. Will install a node in the living room today. Don't expect any problems.

Not worth it. Too slow and shuts off frequently bad item