Mesh Wi-Fi systems have come a long way in the past 5 years, however, an inevitable truth with these types of setups is the sacrifice you will have to make to keep your devices connected. In the age of tablets, laptops, smart homes, and streaming this all takes its toll on network performance and sadly with most mesh systems, it is usually a compromise on either stability, reliability, or speed. Rarely is there a triple threat that strikes the perfect balance between all three, until now. The MX5 Velop AX Wi-Fi 6 system by Linksys builds on the heritage of their Velop networking brand by delivering “more speed, coverage, and capacity than any Wi-Fi technology has before”.
For over two decades, Linksys has been bringing consumers products that can help keep them connected with a focus on a single ideology – that their products must enhance the technology that connects us to the people, activities, and experiences we love and make wireless connectivity mainstream around the globe. Linksys has made it even easier with their new MX5 Velop AX system, a system based on their intelligent mesh technology that makes getting online easier than ever.
The classic Monolithic Velop node form factor returns here complete with 4 embedded ethernet gigabit ports and each modular node covering approximately 2000 sq ft. Each satellite delivers 12 stream ultra-fast Tri-band Wi-Fi 6 technology with dynamic backhaul offering true gigabit speeds or AC5300. This equates to advertised speeds of up to 1147 on the 2.4Ghz band and 2402+1733 Mbps on the dual 5Ghz bands and Linksys claims it is up to 4 times faster than a traditional AC router which we have found to be very accurate in our testing.
The Velop also has a lot going on inside these units, starting with powerful 4×4 MU-MIMO technology beamforming, Next-Gen OFDMA which increases efficiency in high-density scenarios, and their seamless roaming technology that selects the clearest channel for your connected devices and will self-optimize connections between nodes to better meet the layout of your home. Powering each unit is an AX optimized 2.2Ghz quad-core processor for extremely fast data transfer over simultaneous data streams (wired or wireless) and their BSS technology works to minimize congestion by eliminating interference from nearby wireless networks to deliver a strong, clear wireless signal to your location.
Last but certainly not least is that we enjoyed the ease of set-up with this mesh system. The Velop app is intuitive and easy to navigate and par for the course offers some powerful parental controls and network customization features. The welcome Amazon Alexa integration is a neat touch and their commitment to a three-year warranty and three-year tech support plus regular firmware upgrades makes this a strong recommendation for the best mesh system of 2021.
The Linksys’ MX5 Velop AX Wi-Fi 6 system is what a good whole-home mesh solution should be – easy to set up, reliable and speedy and there is no better recommendation we can give than say it now powers everything we do here at One Cut Reviews.
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