Mesh Wi-Fi systems use multiple devices to blanket your home in a high-speed signal. Each hub acts as its own router, and all hubs work together to keep your home’s connection seamless. If one of the hubs is acting up, the others will pick up the slack and create the most efficient signal pathway to keep everything up and running.
If you have to choose between Asus or Linksys mesh Wi-Fi systems, keep the Asus RT-AX92U and the Linksys Velop in mind. With Asus the internet will be faster and with Linksys it will have a more secure connection.
The Asus RT-AX92U mesh system has a much better upload and download speed than the Linksys. It has up to 4,804 megabits per second wireless backhaul and a lot of bandwidth. You’ll be able to connect a multitude of devices thanks to the low-latency subchannels it creates.
This mesh system was meant for people who care about reducing latency in their games. As a result, it focuses on a fast signal at the expense of having a more stable connection. The hubs have multiple channels and subchannels, letting you connect a large number of devices at once. The faster the internet, the better they perform, so a mesh system turns the entire house into a hub of high-performance internet.
The best part of this system is its speed. Not only does it provide a strong signal, it’s extremely easy to manage. It comes with an app that displays your system in a clear, organized way and lets you configure it how you want. It ensures that all of your connected devices enjoy the best possible speed, letting you watch smooth 4K streaming and do online gaming at the same time. It’s also good for lan parties, as each hub comes with ports and the large bandwidth is meant to accommodate multiple people.
It’s a gaming router, which might affect the price because of how it looks. It looks weird, too, because it has so many antennae and looks like it has three different textures, making it a bit gaudy. These nodes are only about the length of a dollar and seem flimsy and light.
Many customers reported that they were frustrated that, although it has a lot of speed, the speed drops drastically when you add nodes. Wi-Fi 6, the next generation of Wi-Fi, also has problems with this system.
Finally, this mesh system only comes with two nodes, which won’t provide a signal to as wide an area as the Linksys Velop and might not be suitable for a larger home.
Linksys Velop smart mesh whole home Wi-Fi systems are known for being secure and stable. Linksys was founded in 1988 in California and has since become one of the most trusted names for Wi-Fi. Linksys routers have good throughput over medium range and utilize strong dual-core cpus to broadcast fast signals over wide areas.
Lately, Linksys has been overtaken by the competition and is falling behind in terms of ability to create systems with faster speeds, but it’s excellent for easy configuration and for having unwavering signals. It has an app that lets you manage your devices from anywhere, making setup quick and painless.
Original reviews said the Linksys Velop smart mesh system was overpriced even though it had good performance. Now its price has dropped, making it a great deal. Each node supports a bandwidth of 2,200 Mbps and covers up to 6,000 square feet. Inside each Velop are six antennas, two for each network. The Velop has impressive Wi-Fi 6 performance thanks to its tri-band technology.
The Velop has a simple box design with hidden antennas. The nodes aren’t very large and look like black rectangles that could fit anywhere inconspicuously. You’ll have your new mesh network up and running in a matter of minutes.
The Linksys Velop has been reported to behave inconsistently across many configurations. It can push nearly 600 Mbps when around 15 feet away from it, but barely gets 300 when you’re close to it, so at that point you may as well connect with ethernet.
The Velop is still expensive even though it has recently gone down in price, but if you want a high performance Wi-Fi 6 router it’s going to cost at least this much.
If you are the kind of person who plays a lot of games and likes to watch movies in high definition, then you should get the Asus mesh Wi-Fi system because of the faster upload and download speed, as well as the low latency channels and the large amount of bandwidth. Multiple people will be able to play games and perform all kinds of tasks without much strain on the network. Asus makes good quality networks and the RT-AX92U can handle Wi-Fi 6, which will ensure lightning speed.
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If you’re the kind of person who has a large house and a big family, the Linksys Velop makes more sense. The speed isn’t as impressive as Asus’ but it’s still good, and the dedicated connection between devices ensures optimal performance. It has a better signal when farther away than Asus.
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Sam Bramlett writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.