Review: Linksys Atlas Pro 6 Dual-Band Mesh WiFi 6 System (3-Pack)

Linksys is a brand that has been known for top-notch networking products for years. The company was also the innovator of the mesh Wi-Fi system in early 2017. A few weeks ago, the company sent us the Linksys Atlas Pro 6 for a test drive, and we are impressed by the overall performance.

The Linksys Atlas Pro 6 is powered by the company’s own Velop Intelligent Mesh system. The variant we received was a 3-pack system – and each node is a dual-band WiFi 6 router that simultaneously delivers much-needed uninterrupted bandwidth for streaming, gaming, and even video calls to more than 30 devices with coverage up to 2,700 square feet per node.

That means, the 3-pack system we received can technically provide connectivity to over 90 devices and can offer coverage for an area of 4-5+ bedrooms – now, that’s huge!

The Linksys Atlas Pro 6 is designed to be an affordable alternative to the Velop AX4200 Mesh System, even though the top speed it can offer 5.4Gbps, compared with the 4.2Gbps of the Velop. There is a major difference between the two, though – while the Atlas Pro 6 uses a dual-band Wi-Fi 6 system, the Velop uses a tri-band Wi-Fi 6 system.

Each of the Atlas Pro nodes comes packed with a 2.4GHz radio rated at 600Mbits/sec and a 5GHz radio, which is capable of sending and transmitting data at up to 5.4Gbps. It also uses the 160MHz channel width, which allows the maximum amount of data to be transferred at once.

In terms of design, the nodes of the Linksys Atlas Pro 6 are a bit similar to the original Velop. The I/O ports are now at the rear of the nodes – these include three gigabit LAN ports and an “Internet” port, which can be used as a fourth LAN connector for the second and third nodes in the 3-pack variant.

There is also a single LED up top – now this glows purple when setup is required, blue when everything’s fine, and red when there’s a problem. On the bottom of each of the nodes, you get the WPS and reset buttons, and an on/off switch. All in all, the devices offer a minimalist design that will go well with any decor.

Inside the box, you get the three nodes, three power adaptors, a LAN cable, a documentation CD and the quick start guide. Setting up the devices is a walk in the park. Download the Linksys app from your favourite app store, and follow the onscreen instructions.

First, you will need to connect one of the nodes to a power outlet and then use the LAN cable to connect the node to your router. Next, switch on the device and follow the onscreen instructions to create a Wi-Fi network and complete the setup process.

Once everything is completed properly, the LED indicator on the top of the node should glow in blue. The app further allows you to connect additional nodes to the mesh network you just created. With the app, you will also be able to decide on the best place to place the node all over your house.

The Linksys smartphone app does a brilliant job of detecting and configuring the Atlas Pro 6 system. Inside the app, you also get Parental Control settings – this can be used to set access schedules for individual devices. In addition, you can also block specific devices from accessing specific websites.

Once you connect to the web interface of the admin panel of the nodes, you will also be able to configure your DHCP settings, set up port forwarding and MAC filtering, and nominate up to three devices for traffic prioritisation. It also offers a built-in channel chooser, which scans the airwaves to find the clearest radio frequencies for your network. In addition, you also get remote access capabilities to check on your network, when you are not home.

In order to test the performance of the Linksys Atlas Pro 6, I placed one node in the living room, one in the first bedroom, and one in the second bedroom, of our 2BHK apartment. We have a wide range of devices connected to our home network, including two NAS devices, both of which are placed in the second bedroom, which also doubles up as my home office. Usually, the connection in the second bedroom, with our existing setup is a bit erratic and we use extenders to extend the connectivity.

To test out the performance, I started copying a mix of files that included Word files, spreadsheets, videos, audios, zipped files, and so on. While the files were being copied to my laptop from the NAS, I started moving around the house to check whether there was a drop in the speed or in the connection. I am happy to report that the connectivity was very strong with no drops whatsoever. I was able to experience consistent connectivity and speeds, which is what users want today.

Our household has two NAS devices, a smart TV, four laptops, three tablets, four smartphones, a wireless doorbell and security system, a printer, a gaming console, a desktop PC, and a few IoT devices such as smart assistants, robotic vacuum cleaner, smart bulbs, a smart air fryer and so on. Considering such a setup, you would require a very stable home wireless network in order for it to endure connectivity and bandwidth requests.

The Linksys Atlas Pro 6 held its ground when it came to sheer performance. If your household has lots of devices competing with each other for connectivity and bandwidth, the Linksys Atlas Pro 6 is for you. The Linksys Atlas Pro 6 is highly recommended.

Price: AED 1699 (3-pack variant)