(Discontinued by Manufacturer) Linksys Velop AC1200 Dual-Band Whole Home WiFi Intelligent Mesh System, 3-Pack Black

I live in a two story home and use my phones, tablets, computers and many other connected devices thoughout the 3400 square feet. I have an Xfinity modem/router located upstairs in my media room. When we moved in, the wifi signal from the modem/router would disconnect frequently from my downstairs office laptop, making work challenging. I tried several different wifi extenders, but none of them were consistenly good. And when I was in my backyard, trying to get my phone to control my Sonos speakers , it worked only about 50% of the time. Frustrating!So, last year, when mesh wifi systems became popular, I did my homework and ended up buying the Google Wifi mesh system. It installed effortlessly and has been consistently great. I've had to call Google Support a couple of times, but it provides a good, strong signal throughout the home.I was provided an opportunity to try the new Linksys Velop AC3600 mesh system and tested some raw speed and signal strength tests agains the Google system. My verdict: The Linksys system is pretty darned good - with one exception, it nearly matched my Google mesh system overall. In one room, it sent a slightly stronger signal.Here is what I found:SETUP: The setup is fairly straightforward. Plug one module into your existing modem or modem/router and install the app from the App or Play Store. I used the Android app to perform the setup. However, the first module would not connect to the internet. I called Linksys tech support for help. Now mind you, I used Linksys tech support several years ago for help in setting up a wireless router and had a horrible experience.... poor English skills (hers, not mine!) prevented me from completing the task and resulted in a return and refund. This time was much better! Steven spoke great English, realized that the module I was having trouble with needed to be reset and everything went smoothly from there. The first module set up and the app guided me to set up the next two. With the second module, I had trouble getting it to connect to the internet the first time I tried, but it found its connection on the second attempt. The third module connected fine on the first attempt. Even including the support call time, I was up and running in about 25 minutes.APPEARANCE: This is a nice looking system. The modules are about 5.5 inches tall, slighly tapering from bottom to top and have a LINKSYS logo on the front. On the bottom, there is a reset button and an on/off switch. On the back, there is a power connection and two ethernet ports. I did not test them, but I assume that for your remote modules, you could connect at least one ethernet connection for a printer or computer. For the module that is closest to your modem, you use the provided ethernet cable to connect it to your incoming internet signal.WIFI RESULTS: As mentioned, I have an existing Google Wifi mesh system that I am happy with. I tested the Linksys system in the same rooms that I have the Google system in with varying results.Media room: (where both the Google and Linksys systems are connected directly to the modem/router.)The signal strength, measured with Network Cell Info Lite (available from Google Play Store) provided virtually identical data for both systems. Speedtest measurements (by Ookla) also matched download speeds and gave a slight edge to Linksys on upload speeds in this room. RESULT: TIEFamily room: (The farthest from the modem)The signal strength favored the Google system with a range of -40 to -44 db vs -60 to -64db. The speed test was very close, with a slight edge to the Linksys system. RESULT: TIEOffice:This one puzzles me. The office is downstairs about about 40 feet from the modem/router, but with some walls in between. The Google system provide a somewhat weaker signal -40 to -44 db, but a much faster stream ranging up to 97 mbps. The Linksys struggled. While getting a signal strength of -30 to -36 db, it never streamed more than 28 mbps on three attempts. RESULT: ADVANTAGE Google.RECOMMENDATION: Linksys has corrected several of the issues that an earlier version of this Velop mesh system encountered with other Amazon reviewers. I never had to key in long serial numbers into the app to set up the system and once set up, the system provides fast and reliable wifi throughout my home. If I didn't already have the Google mesh system, I'd be thrilled to have this connecting my many home appliances, security cameras, tablets, phones and televisions to the outside world. While setup was not a breeze, it was not the nightmare that others have described. Support, when I needed it, was pleasant, thorough and helpful. The appearance is good - but not quite as cool looking as my Google "pucks" - so if you don't want a tech company logo in your living room, don't buy the Linksys. But, all in all, this is a much improved mesh system by a company steeped in home networking.

So far, the setup is a pain in the neck!!! I am not impressed at all with how difficult it is to set up these nodes. I bought the 3 node set to do my 3000 sq ft home and the nodes keep telling me they are too far apart! They are not over 30 ft apart!!! I was hoping that these would be simple to set up to cover my entire house. I even have 2 nodes connected to the Internet and one still will not connect. I am starting over again on the other two nodes. Nothing like taking hours to get something that is supposed to be simple up and running!**Update 7/12**. Finally got all 3 nodes set up throughout my house. Signal seems to do far better than the range expander that I had on top of the modem’s Wi-Fi. Still taking 2 stars for a pain in setup.**New Update 7/15** Trying to set the IP address so that anything connected to Velop will work on my network. So far, NO LUCK! Velop continues to default to whatever IP address it wants to give out! Taking another star off, I am not impressed at how difficult it is to use this system. It is as difficult as routers are!!..............Had to put in Bridge Mode to get it to work correctly with my network, but lost control over devices connected. And still, have to have nodes less than 30Ft from each other!!! That doesn't cover 3000 sq ft if nodes are so close together!! Trying to decide if all this pain is worth keeping these units or if I should send them back. It is working better than range expanders, but the pain of having them so close together gives me less coverage area.

These are great. If you need to cover a big house these are the ticket. Easy to setup and good tech support.

Easy to set up and with an excellent, strong and broad signal and coverage

Problems with the Velops start almost as soon as you open the box. First of all, the initial setup of the mesh network is apparently dependent on running either an iPhone or Android app. Something problematic since I don't choose to be assimilated into Apple or Google's quest for world domination. Why Linksys would choose to carry water for Apple and Google is a mystery.Linksys tech support was also laughably inept at getting a clear answer to the simple question: Is having an iPhone or Goo Goo toy mandatory, or is there a workaround buried somewhere online in tech docs?I really wanted the Velop mesh to work. It didn't.

Very easy to setup

Adios a las zonas muertas donde el WiFi no llega, el sistema alcanza todos los lugares y con velocidades excelentes.Tenia un extensor de WiFi y era un problema porque no daba ni siquiera un 40% de la velocidad que tengo contratada, también era un problema porque los dispositivos no se cambiaban entre señales al moverme por la casa.Todo muy fácil, desde la instalación física, de nodos y de configuración WiFi. La aplicación para móviles que ofrecen permite controlar todo, e incluso recibir notificaciones si algún nodo no tiene internet. Recomendado!

La configuracion no tardo mas de 30 mins, facilisima la haces desde tu mobil por medio de la app de linksys, el cambio se nota drasticamente no hay picos ni perdidas de señal, lo tengo en un casa de 3 pisos y tengo un repetidor por piso la misma app te dice donde posicionarlo para optimo funcionamiento lo recomiendo ampliamente