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Linksys Velop AX4200 WiFi 6 Mesh System Now Available
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About 4 or 5 days but seems solid so far. Sometimes the lights change instantly but Siri is saying ‘ working on it’ before confirming it’s done 10 seconds later. But presume that’s Siri being Siri. mostly works well and using the control panel or HomeKit works instantly 100% of the time so don’t think the occasional voice delay is a router issue.
I installed Velop MX4200 (2 pack from Costco)
Fairly large 5000+ sqft house.
I have had a very good experience.
Set and forget.
I have a 3TB Extreme also connected (now with WiFi turned off -- it used to be my WiFi router) for Mac backups. I will direct connect a newer larger SSD/HD for backups at some point. I have multiple AppleTVs, many devices, Hue lights, Arlo cameras, Wyze items, and a MyQ (HomeKit) bridge for the garage doors. All work.
I do need an extender, not to extend, but to get a port near my basement 2nd Yamaha receiver that doesn't have WiFi built in. I'm waiting/learning on what to use/get so it doesn't create an EXT network and hopefully for less than $100.
———————
As for the Eero.. It was my leading candidate until I read the below review. Being that Eero is Amazon, I really didn't like knowing that Amazon basically had access to my router activity.
dongknows.com
Fairly large 5000+ sqft house.
I have had a very good experience.
Set and forget.
I have a 3TB Extreme also connected (now with WiFi turned off -- it used to be my WiFi router) for Mac backups. I will direct connect a newer larger SSD/HD for backups at some point. I have multiple AppleTVs, many devices, Hue lights, Arlo cameras, Wyze items, and a MyQ (HomeKit) bridge for the garage doors. All work.
I do need an extender, not to extend, but to get a port near my basement 2nd Yamaha receiver that doesn't have WiFi built in. I'm waiting/learning on what to use/get so it doesn't create an EXT network and hopefully for less than $100.
———————
As for the Eero.. It was my leading candidate until I read the below review. Being that Eero is Amazon, I really didn't like knowing that Amazon basically had access to my router activity.
"You can’t even set up or make changes to your eero Pro 6 without going through eero’s server! ... the eero seems more like a scheme to harvest user information. Yet, you have to pay for it."
eero Pro 6 vs. Linksys Velop MX4200: An Easy Choice | Dong Knows Tech
Amazon eero Pro 6 vs. Linksys Velop MX4200, which tri-band mesh router/system is better for you? The choice is much easier than you think.
dongknows.com
Great review. I was tempted to get an AX4200 to add to my MX5300 but as I’m in no rush I’ll wait for the summer launch of the already announced AXE4200. I have no wifi 6E devices of course but might as well plan ahead lol.I installed Velop MX4200 (2 pack from Costco)
Fairly large 5000+ sqft house.
I have had a very good experience.
Set and forget.
I have a 3TB Extreme also connected (now with WiFi turned off -- it used to be my WiFi router) for Mac backups. I will direct connect a newer larger SSD/HD for backups at some point. I have multiple AppleTVs, many devices, Hue lights, Arlo cameras, Wyze items, and a MyQ (HomeKit) bridge for the garage doors. All work.
I do need an extender, not to extend, but to get a port near my basement 2nd Yamaha receiver that doesn't have WiFi built in. I'm waiting/learning on what to use/get so it doesn't create an EXT network and hopefully for less than $100.
———————
As for the Eero.. It was my leading candidate until I read the below review. Being that Eero is Amazon, I really didn't like knowing that Amazon basically had access to my router activity.
"You can’t even set up or make changes to your eero Pro 6 without going through eero’s server! ... the eero seems more like a scheme to harvest user information. Yet, you have to pay for it."eero Pro 6 vs. Linksys Velop MX4200: An Easy Choice | Dong Knows Tech
Amazon eero Pro 6 vs. Linksys Velop MX4200, which tri-band mesh router/system is better for you? The choice is much easier than you think.
A single MX5300 is doing great for me in a two bedroomed house. My phone is sometimes a little spotty in the bathroom as that’s an extension and right at the opposite end of the hosie with much brick and tiles blocking the signal so sometimes wonder about getting a cheaper tri-band AC Linksys to set up near there and see if it helps extend. But will likely wait for the AXE4200 to replace my MX5300 upstairs and then move the MX5300 downstairs.
HomeKit support is finally available for the Linksys Velop AX4200. Only caveat is that it's not yet available through automatic firmware updates, so you have to download the new firmware and upload it manually via the web interface. I just applied the firmware to my AX4200 and HomeKit support works fine. You can find the new firmware here.
Firmware version: v1.0.9.206360
Release date: May 19, 2021
- Added support for HomeKit
- Added support for application prioritization
- General bug fixes
"Application Prioritization" lets you prioritize video calls. Zoom and Microsoft Teams in particular according to this help article.
If you want to apply the new firmware, you need to login to your Velop's web interface which is usually 192.168.1.1 by default or myrouter.local and press the 'CA' button which can be found in the footer. Doing so will expose the manual firmware update functionality under Connectivity -> Basic. Upload the FW_MX4200_1.0.9.206360_prod.img which you just downloaded to start the process. Don't leave the web interface and don't reboot your Velop as this happens.
Proceed with caution if you truly wish to apply this new firmware now as there might be a reason Linksys still hasn't pushed it to all customers yet via automatic updates.
Firmware version: v1.0.9.206360
Release date: May 19, 2021
- Added support for HomeKit
- Added support for application prioritization
- General bug fixes
"Application Prioritization" lets you prioritize video calls. Zoom and Microsoft Teams in particular according to this help article.
If you want to apply the new firmware, you need to login to your Velop's web interface which is usually 192.168.1.1 by default or myrouter.local and press the 'CA' button which can be found in the footer. Doing so will expose the manual firmware update functionality under Connectivity -> Basic. Upload the FW_MX4200_1.0.9.206360_prod.img which you just downloaded to start the process. Don't leave the web interface and don't reboot your Velop as this happens.
Proceed with caution if you truly wish to apply this new firmware now as there might be a reason Linksys still hasn't pushed it to all customers yet via automatic updates.
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Oh yep, reported an issue a day after that Linksys was able to reproduce. It's been pulled, but the direct link for it still exists if you wish to proceed. I don't recommend it as others have reported the same issue, but if you do upgrade you can downgrade.
I recommend waiting for the next revision of the firmware otherwise you might only experience clients being unable to get IPs from the Velop. They will self-assign an IP address occasionally and happens randomly. I'm not sure how they didn't catch this bug during the many months of testing though. They labeled the firmware as production and is supposedly ready according to the L2 tech over the phone, but then this happens.
Can it be also related to the wireless card chipset or drivers? I'll wait for the auto-update.
I have AX4200 with firmware version 1.0.9.207019 and have not been able to get the Homekit integration to work. The "Apple Home Integration" view in the mobile app gives a message saying "Your mesh router needs to restart to turn on this feature. Go to Network Administration and tap Restart".
However, after doing this multiple times I still get the same message. Does anyone have any ideas about what could be the issue? Everything is up-to-date.
However, after doing this multiple times I still get the same message. Does anyone have any ideas about what could be the issue? Everything is up-to-date.
It’s not ideal, but you could try resetting it to factory settings and rebuilding your network with the same SSID. That might work?
I couldn't get HomeKit integration to enable as well. At the same time, I switched to mixed WPA2/WPA3 Personal from WPA2 Personal on all nodes after the firmware update. The mixed mode didn't perform well at all and I read the FAQ that HomeKit integration only works with WPA2 Personal. I switched them back to WPA2 Personal and the network is much more stable.
I'm having the same issue with enabling HomeKit. Has anyone tried restoring to factory defaults after updating?
I have tried it, but no luck. Still stuck on the same "restart the router" phase.
That's disappointing. I have a total of two nodes (1 parent and 1 child), I wonder how many do you guys have as there's a HK limitation? The re-release firmware added the 'Resolve wireless connectivity issues' line and HomeKit worked on the pulled firmware 'v1.0.9.206360' according to one reader.