LinkSys Velop AC6600 Mesh – Speed and Coverage Test

Testing the LinkSys Velop Mesh Router System

The stability and connectivity of the internet in your home or office environment is a subject that is becoming an increasing concern (and cause of frustration) in many home and offices around the world. Because we rely so heavily on the internet in our everyday lives, whilst still wanting mobility and ease of access for our mobile and portable devices, the importance of a strong and healthy WiFi signal is of the utmost importance. Though many users will only ever own domestic routers for Wireless coverage that are supplied by their internet service provider (ISPs) included with a contract, these are not really suitable for the kind of coverage that we need. Out of this, many brands have popped up with their own solution and the LinkSys Velop is a fine example. Although many users are not used to actually BUYING a router, the idea of buying multiple routers is an idea that they really want to take some time on. Who can blame them, all the popular Mesh routers from Netgear, Google, TP-Link, Synology and Fritz all make some bold promises about what their device can do? So, I am going to make my way through as many mesh routers for home and business that I can, compare the cost and see how good their coverage is. Today I am focusing on the LinkSys Velop mesh router and how well it can work in a multi-floor office environment, with 3 routers in a mesh network.

PROs of the LinkSys Velop AC6600	CONs of the LinkSys Velop AC6600
Good Price VS AC per node Nice Setup options Fast Mesh Recovery Easy and unintimidating setup Higher Coverage Distance than many competitors	Mobile Only Setup, web UI is unintuitive and more of a workaround Parental Protection and higher tier security is behind a subcription payment service (Linksys Shield) Poor LAN Support Weaker Overall Upload/Download Speed compared with similar Price point mesh in the market

The LinkSys Velop – What is a Mesh Router?

There are actually very few physical differences between a regular router and a mesh router, such as the LinkSys Velop. In Brief, the difference is to do with coverage over a greater area. In the case of any WiFi point, the further you get from the router (or if the distance between you and the router contains physical barriers like walls, furniture, etc), that signal will get weaker and with it, the strength and speed of your internet will decrease. There are many ways around there and till the arrival of the LinkSys Velop and other mesh devices, you could use a powerline adapter to run internet (network really, but let’s oversimplify) via your mains power to another point in the house and create a new wifi hotspot far away in your house. To learn more about the difference between Powerline adapters and mesh, watch the short video below:

 

Now, the biggest issue with a wifi powerline adapter is that although your coverage now potentially 2 times bigger, if your device is in an area covered by both WiFi points, your phone, laptop, TV, Tablet etc will often get confused and connecting to one of the other intermittently, or worse sticking attacked to a weaker point as you walk away from it, but not being smart enough to move to the stronger access point. THIS is the whole point of Mesh routers like the LinkSys Velop and why they were designed. The mesh system uses multiple smaller router points that all have their own WiFi hot spot, but also have an additional node/antenna that is ONLY used to communicate with other wifi points. With this, your connected device is moved between mesh points fats and unnoticed by you or your device. This ensures that you are ALWAYS connected to the strongest wifi point and will ensure your connectivity is uninterrupted. The speed and distance of coverage for the LinkSys Velop, like many mesh routers, is defined by the number of antennas and the bandwidths supporting your network, so what is the difference between the network and the internet?

The LinkSys Velop Mesh Router – Understanding the Difference between the Network and the Internet

Those who are new to networking devices will look at the LinkSys Velop and it’s the use of words like ‘network’, ‘internet’ and ‘bandwidth’ and get very confused. It is actually amazingly simple to understand the difference. The Internet is the flow of data OUTSIDE of your home/office/etc. In more basic terms, think of the internet as someone who is calling your house phone. The network is the data that is being sent/received INSIDE your home/office – think of that as an intercom that allows people in a building to communicate. The network is the circle in your home/office that your devices connect onto and that Network is then connected to the internet (via a port in your home/office). That is it! So, when a mesh router promises speeds and coverage, remember that this is just affecting the strength of the connection to the NETWORK and your overall maximum speed is still governed by the internet connection from your internet service provider (general measures in Download and Upload speeds). Bandwidth is the weight of traffic on your network. The bigger the bandwidth, the more devices can use the network (for accessing the internet) as the same time for greater speed. I hope that cleared up the difference between network, the internet and bandwidth, and why this is important when considering the LinkSys Velop mesh router in your environment.

The LinkSys Velop Mesh Router- Hardware and Software Specifications

Although the technology behind Mesh routers is still relatively new, the difference in hardware between the LinkSys Velop and other mesh routers is surprisingly vast. The overall coverage is measures in ‘AC’ and this number is the total of all nodes/routers (once connected) available for all devices, across all frequencies (normally 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz to support new and old devices). This is further supported with a CPU and Memory (like most modern technology) as the device will need software to handle data transactions, assign device priority, maintain security and other more brand specific software tasks in the LinkSys Velop. The specifications that are relevant to the LinkSys Velop mesh test are as follows:

• Model: Linksys Velop Mesh Node System
• Linksys Velop WHW0301: 1-pack starter / Add-on unit
• Linksys Velop WHW0302: 2-pack
• Linksys Velop WHW0303: 3-pack
• CPU: Qualcomm IPQ4019 (Quad-core Wave2 2T2R abgn/ac WiSoC)
• Flash: Samsung KLM4G1FEPD (4GB eMMC), RAM: 512MB (DDR3)
• 2.4GHz Radio: Qualcomm IPQ4019 + 2x MSC5533621E (2.4GHz PA)
• 5GHz Radio #1: Qualcomm IPQ4019 + 2x Skyworks SKY85408-11 (PA)
• 5GHz Radio #2: QCA QCA9886 (2T2R) + 2x Skyworks SKY85408-11 (PA)
• ZigBee: Silicon Labs EM3581 (SoC) + SiGe SE2432L (2.4GHz FEM)
• LAN speed: 10/100/1000
  LAN ports: 1
  WAN speed: 10/100/1000
  WAN ports: 1
• Bluetooth: CSR (CSR1021/CSR8510 ?) Bluetooth 4.0 LE SoC
• Switch: Qualcomm Atheros QCA8072 GbE (1x LAN/1x WAN)

The LinkSys Velop Mesh Router – Test Area

Testing the LinkSys Velop mesh router is something that is a lot tougher than you might think. For a start, every home or office is different and the larger the area, the more nodes you need. The thicker the walls, the more tactical you need to be with node placement. In order to get a fair test of typical day-to-day coverage offered by the LinkSys Velop, I am using a typical office environment that covers two floors. I have used a combination of WiFi testing tools for a mobile device, as well as filming my movement in real time throughout the test.

I conducted the test in two main parts. The first part was using a single LinkSys Velop router, set up at the internet access point and then walked around the offices and corridors, to see how this affected the overall coverage and strength of connection to the LinkSys Velop. Then I set up 3 LinkSys Velop node points at points approximately 8-10 metres apart (with walls and doors in between), then conducted the same walk through the building. The video detailing this is below, so you can either watch this or you can read through the results a little lower down

The LinkSys Velop 1 Mesh Router Node Test Results

When conducting the first test using just a single LinkSys Velop router, without a mesh setup in place, the results were obviously very good when directly next to the router, but the decrease in coverage when I reached the 8 metres (2 walls, 1 door) was clear.

Then I headed to the furthermost point, around 8-9 metres from the LinkSys Velop and with 4 walls between us to see a big, big drop in coverage – as you would expect.

Then I headed to the kitchen area, which is closer to the LinkSys Velop, but features 4 walls again in a much tighter formation (thicker too, as one is a supporting wall) and although the signal improved, it was no-where near perfect.

Finally, I headed for the heavily concreted stairwell, as this is by far the thickest physical barrier point between me and the LinkSys Velop, featuring thick concrete walls and a floor/ceiling. At this point, the connection was very poor indeed, despite the fact that I was only technically 5 metres away from the LinkSys Velop.

All in all, the results of a single LinkSys Velop router access point were about what you might expect. Though you might only notice this decrease if you were consistently connected to the network (maybe downloading a large file over time), it is worth noting that it would definitely add time to loading a typical web page or social media platform. So, let us move over to the mesh network test of the LinkSys Velop.

The LinkSys Velop 3 Mesh Router Nodes Test Results

In order to test the LinkSys Velop mesh coverage, I place two more additional node/routers into the office. The first LinkSys Velop from our previous test remained in place, but an additional unit was placed in the most distance office and another LinkSys Velop was placed in the kitchen (a central location and one that is heavily surrounded by physical walls – but the area we saw the most transitional coverage in the last test). From here, I conducted the same walkthrough as the previous LinkSys Velop test. I walked towards the office location found 8 metres away and in the coverage range of the 2^nd LinkSys Velop unit. The results were immediately improved (as you would expect) but you can also see on the WiFi-Tracker the point at which my device was pushed onto the 2^nd LinkSys Velop hot spot.

Then we made our way through and past the kitchen area, where our 3rd LinkSys Velop was set up and on the WiFi tracker, we can see that the high coverage was continued all the way through the mesh network, as I was passed from node to node, and as I made my way through to the furthest corridor, that was the only point in which we saw the decline in connectivity as we stepped out of the overlapping mesh network created by the LinkSys Velop and more than 7 metres and 3 walls from the nearest node.

At this point, I turned around and made my way back towards the kitchen LinkSys Velop node to see how quickly my coverage would return and if it would hold this connection as I passed and made my way towards that stairwell from the previous test. It grew quickly and connection to the node maintained right until the top of the stairwell (by a lift)

Finally, I made my way down the heavily concreted stairwell and I could see a jump in my connection as I was moved from the Kitchen node and on too the 2^nd LinkSys Velop node that, although still through the floor, was a great deal closer to my location than the very first LinkSys Velop access point. The result was that the connection level was maintained well and noticeably higher than that of the first test. In fact, I ended up continuing further (as the connection held for a great deal longer in the spiralled staircase beneath the 2^nd LinkSys Velop and I made my way to the 2^nd kitchen level on the lower floor, still maintaining a connection.

The switch between each LinkSys Velop was not only automatic, but the connection at no point dipped to worrying levels and had I been browsing google chrome or watching YouTube, I doubt I would have noticed any difference, as the connections were always enough to provide significant video buffering collateral to cover the dips that trigger a node jump in the LinkSys Velop network.

The LinkSys Velop Mesh Router Advantages and Disadvantages

The above testing of the LinkSys Velop clearly showed coverage improvements in using the 3 node setup over a single mesh point, but that isn’t the whole story. Mesh has already proven to provide better coverage compared with a single router and/or most ISP routers you are given for free. The question here is whether the LinkSys Velop is the right mesh router for you. Different manufacturers have approached the hardware and software abilities of a mesh solution in differing ways. Some focusing on lower hardware and purchase cost, but providing limited software abilities and more professional and analytical abilities behind a monthly subscription. Likewise, the opposite is true for some brands and this means the base cost of a mesh outer is higher. The Pros and Cons of a LinkSys Velop mesh router setup are:

PROs of the LinkSys Velop AC6600	CONs of the LinkSys Velop AC6600
Good Price VS AC per node Nice Setup options Fast Mesh Recovery Easy and unintimidating setup Higher Coverage Distance than many competitors	Mobile Only Setup, web UI is unintuitive and more of a workaround Parental Protection and higher tier security is behind a subcription payment service (Linksys Shield) Poor LAN Support Weaker Overall Upload/Download Speed compared with similar Price point mesh in the market

The Linksys Velop Mesh Router Conclusion

Ultimately, it’s this performance and the high price that makes the Velop a less tempting purchase than its competitors. If you can get by with two access points and want to replace your existing router, the Netgear Orbi has more features and better performance and is cheaper. However, I cannot ignore the limitations of the software in the Linksys velop are unfairly created to hide the useful protection features behind a subscription service, something that is included free and for the entire product lifetime of the Synology Mesh MR2200ac, TP-Link Deco and Google WiFi mesh solutions.

Best Mesh Router Guide – https://nascompares.com/2018/10/23/best-mesh-router-in-2018/

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