Linksys Velop Home Wifi System Review – Big Range, Much Speed
Are you troubled with lack of range of the WiFi router at home? Are you suffering from low speeds on WiFi? Linksys has brought the Linksys Velop Tri-band Mesh Wifi System to India and the company claims, the modular system will solve the range and speed issues that plague normal Wifi Routers. We at Businessworld have tested the Linksys Velop Tri-band System and here is our report.
Wifi routers work on 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz spectrum and these signals get blocked by the walls, metals and interference from wireless phones, microwaves and other electronic devices. The result is that the range of the router significantly reduces and with the reduced range the speeds on the wifi also reduce. There are multiple solutions for this problem – range extenders, adding another wifi access point etc. But implementing these solutions require a certain degree of technical know-how and time.
Linksys has now brought the Velop Tri-Band modular mesh Wi-Fi system to India. This system comes with an option of one, two or three wifi nodes, these nodes can be connected to each other and extend the range and speed of the wifi network through multiple floors or in a large area on a single floor.
The Linksys Velop Nodes are unconventional to look at, there are no external antennas sticking out, The nodes are shaped like a medium-sized rectangular tower, Each Node or Module has ethernet ports and can function as the main unit. These Velop nodes are meant to be placed around the house, in a bid to envelop your house in Wi-Fi and eliminate any dark spots.
The Velop modules include a 716MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor, three WiFi radios (one 2.4 GHz and two 5.0 GHz), 512MB flash memory, 512MB DDR3 memory, Bluetooth 4.0/ LE radio, and two auto-sensing LAN/WAN Gigabit ports. Velop contains six antennas and high power amplifiers.
Each Velop node is a Tri-Band AC 2x2 802.11ac Wave 2 with MU-MIMO radio configuration with combined speed up to 2200Mbps. Other features include airtime prioritisation, automatic updates, dynamic channel selection, and patent-pending spot finder technology that recommends the best placement for the modules to reduce latency, maximize throughput and improve range and signal strength around the house
Each of the Velop nodes is a powerful Tri-Band AC2200 device that can serve as a router, range extender, access point, and bridge. Setting up these nodes is very easy using the Linksys app available on Android and iOS both. One just needs to connect the LAN cable from the modem or router to one of the Velop nodes and the Linksys app sorts out the networking nitty-gritty in the background for you. Adding nodes to the main node is done seamlessly through the app. We connected the Velop system to Jio GigaFiber and it took us a total of 15minutes to set up each node. We spread out the 3 nodes in the ground, first and second floors of the house, the node closest to your device, or with the strongest signal connects to your device, thus giving the best possible wifi signal at all times. The app neatly integrates a bunch of necessary functions, such as parental control, device prioritization, guest network, speed test, and auto fix as well.
If you use video streaming devices or gaming consoles, you could prioritize these devices for bandwidth usage. Additionally, Linksys has partnered with Trend Micro to integrate security features. The subscription software service allows Velop Tri-band users to block unwanted content/category and provide an additional layer of digital protection.
In terms of coverage, Linksys says that a single Velop module can cover an area of 185 square metres (2,000 square feet), adding a second increases their reach up to 370 square metres (4,000 square feet), and a total of three should be good for a house around 557 square metres (6,000 square feet). In our testing, we found that the Linksys Velop System was easily providing Wifi Range all over three floors of the house including the roof.
The Velop Tri-Band AC2200 WHW0301 (standalone) is priced at Rs. 19,999, Velop Tri-Band AC4400WHW0302 (pack of 2) is priced at Rs. 34,999, and the Velop Tri-Band AC6600WHW0303 (pack of 3) is priced at Rs. 49,999. It is available on Amazon.in and partnered stores. At this price, we feel the Velop system from Linksys is on the expensive side, but the ability to add multiple nodes as and when required to increase range is a good thing. The ease of use of the system is commendable, anyone with zero knowledge of networking can also set up and manage this system. The Range and Wifi throughput was very good and if you are ok with price, you get a good looking and feature-loaded idiot-proof wifi system with the Linksys Velop Home Wifi System.
