Linksys Velop Pro 7: One-Minute Review
Linksys initially introduced the brand new Wi-Fi 7 model of its Velop Pro mesh system again in October 2023, however the closing technical particulars of the Wi-Fi 7 customary weren’t truly ironed out till the official announcement at CES earlier this yr.
So, like a number of different Wi-Fi 7 merchandise, it’s taken a short while for the Velop Pro 7 router to truly go on sale. It’s a welcome arrival, although, as whereas the Velop Pro 7 isn’t precisely low cost, it’s significantly inexpensive than among the different Wi-Fi 7 mesh methods and routers that we’ve seen up to now – ushering in some hope that Wi-Fi 7 is beginning to change into just a little extra inexpensive for strange residence customers.
It’s not a top-of-the-range Wi-Fi 7 system, thoughts, providing tri-band Wi-Fi with a prime velocity of simply over 10Gbps. That’s truly pretty mid-range for the blazing quick Wi-Fi 7 customary, but it surely’s nonetheless greater than quick sufficient to deal with most home broadband companies and duties corresponding to on-line gaming or streaming 4K video.
Wi-Fi 7 can also be backward-compatible with older PCs and cellular units that use Wi-Fi 5 or 6, so that you don’t have to fret about compatibility issues should you determine to improve with a Wi-Fi 7 system such because the Velop Pro 7. And, as we’ve seen with earlier Velop methods, you should buy both one, two or three Velop mesh routers to swimsuit the scale of your house.
Linksys Velop Pro 7: Price And Availability
- How a lot does it value? $699.99 / £749.99 (round AU$1,060)
- When is it out there? Now
- Where are you able to get it? Available within the US and UK
Each Velop router unit can cowl an space of round 3,000 sq. ft, so individuals in smaller houses will in all probability discover {that a} single router meets their wants completely nicely for a worth of £399.99 / $349.99 (round AU$530).
However, the two-piece system that we examined prices £749.99 / $699.99 (round AU$1060), and there’s a three-device possibility additionally out there for £999.99 / $899.9 (round AU$1,365). The Velop Pro 7 is at the moment out there within the US and UK, though – as we’ve seen with different Wi-Fi 7 merchandise – poor outdated Australia appears to be a little bit of a Wi-Fi deadspot, having solely lately caught up with last-gen Wi-Fi 6E.
That’s nonetheless pretty costly, in fact, however the Velop Pro 7 is just round half the worth of rival Wi-Fi 7 mesh methods corresponding to Netgear’s extravagantly costly Orbi 970, which prices a hefty £1,499.99 / $1,699.99 (round AU$2,600) for the same two-piece system – and a whopping £2,199.99 / $2,299.99 (round AU$3,475) for a three-piece system.
Linksys Velop Pro 7: Design
- Slim, compact design
- Lots of Ethernet ports
- Available with one, two or three routers
The design of the Velop Pro 7 might be acquainted from earlier Velop fashions, with every router consisting of a slim white tower, topped off with the Velop’s trademark tapered ‘teardrop’ form on the highest panel.
The router units are slim and lightweight sufficient to suit simply onto a shelf or desk – though the peak of every unit, at 221mm, means they’ll want a little bit of headroom if you wish to place them on a bookshelf or one thing comparable.
Linksys Velop Pro 7: Specifications
Wi-Fi: Tri-band Wi-Fi 7 (2.4GHz/5.0GHz/6.0GHz)
Wi-Fi Speed: 10.7Gbps
Ports (per router): 1 x 2.5Gb Ethernet (WAN), 4 x Gigabit Ethernet (LAN)
Processor: Qualcomm 1.5GHz, quad-core
Memory: 1GB SDRAM
Storage: Unspecified
Dimensions: 221 x 95 x 95mm, 0.95kg / 2lbs
The Velop routers are similar, so you may join one in all them to your present router to make use of your broadband connection, after which place the opposite router(s) additional away to increase the mesh community proper throughout your house or workplace.
But whereas the Velop Pro 7 routers look similar to earlier fashions there are some important variations. The Velop Pro 6E that we reviewed lately solely included two Gigabit Ethernet ports on every router, with one required for the connection to your present router and solely the second port out there to offer a wired connection.
In distinction, the Velop Pro 7 routers all have 5 Ethernet ports – a 2.5G port for a high-speed Internet connection (WAN) and 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports to offer wired connections for units corresponding to a video games console or laptop computer.
There are not any USB ports, although, which might can help you join a tough drive or different storage machine to your community, however that’s not more likely to be a deal-breaker for many customers.
It’s just a little odd, although, that Linksys avoids any point out of the Velop’s velocity on its web site, preferring to easily state that Wi-Fi 7 is quite a bit quicker than Wi-Fi 6 (gosh, actually?). After just a little digging, we discovered a reference to a velocity of ‘over 10Gbps’ earlier than finally finding a datasheet that specified a velocity of 10,680Mbps (or 10.68Gbps).
Linksys Velop Pro 7: Features
- Tri-band Wi-Fi 7
- App feels just a little unfinished
- Parental controls are nonetheless in beta
As talked about, the Velop Pro 7 supplies tri-band Wi-Fi 7, utilizing the two.4GHz, 5.0GHz and 6.0GHz frequency bands, which might be greater than quick sufficient to deal with most residence and workplace broadband connections.
Getting began is pretty simple, though the method is just a little cumbersome at occasions. There’s a QR code printed on the bottom of every router, however this didn’t permit us to mechanically connect with the Velop community, as is the case with many rival mesh methods.
Instead, we needed to write down the community title and password that have been printed on the bottom of the router and enter these by hand, earlier than subsequently altering the community particulars and creating a brand new title and password of our selecting.
You even have to start out the setup course of with the 2 Velop routers positioned shut to one another whilst you create your new community, after which transfer the second router – known as a ‘node’ – to a different location as soon as that’s carried out. And, oddly, the app advised us a number of occasions that we had no web connection – though we have been already streaming the BBC News channel on an iPad utilizing the Velop community.
The app continues to be one thing of a blended bag afterward, as nicely. It creates a single community that mixes the three frequency bands, which does hold issues easy for brand spanking new customers – however extra superior customers would possibly desire to have higher management over the community settings.
The app does embody options corresponding to a visitor community, and the choice to create a schedule to manage your youngsters’s web entry. However, the parental controls are a piece in progress, with the app’s ‘Safe Browsing’ mode nonetheless being labeled as ‘beta’. This supplies content material filters that may block unsuitable materials, though this characteristic isn’t clearly defined within the app. Furthermore, at current it appears to dam content material for all units in your community, reasonably than permitting you to create completely different profiles and settings for kids of various ages.
Linksys Velop Pro 7: Performance
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- Top velocity of 10.68Gbps
- Good efficiency and vary
- Zaps via partitions and different obstacles
The Linksys app could also be just a little tough across the edges, however we didn’t have any complaints concerning the efficiency of the Velop Pro 7.
Our getting older workplace router can’t even deal with the complete 150Mbps offered by our broadband connection, and even units which can be in the identical room not often get greater than 100Mbps for both Steam downloads or the Ookla velocity take a look at. We even have a room behind the constructing that our workplace router can barely attain in any respect, forcing us to depend on Powerline adaptors to offer a wired connection for our workplace computer systems in that room.
Therefore, we arrange the Velop Pro 7 with the primary Velop unit linked to our regular workplace router, and the second Velop ‘node’ positioned in a hallway simply adjoining to that tough Wi-Fi deadspot within the again workplace.
Linksys Velop Pro 7 benchmarks
Ookla Speed Test – Single merged community (obtain/add)
Within 5ft, no obstructions: 150Mbps / 150Mbps
Within 30ft, three partition partitions: 150Mbps / 150Mbps
20GB Steam Download – Single merged community
Within 5ft, no obstructions: 150Mbps
Within 30ft, three partition partitions: 150Mbps
Unsurprisingly, the Velop simply hit 150Mbps for each Steam downloads and the Ookla velocity take a look at when connecting to units in the identical room. And, extra importantly, the Velop’s far-reaching community didn’t bat an eyelid as we picked up our laptop computer and wandered alongside the hall to that again workplace, persevering with to take care of a velocity of 150Mbps the entire time.
Should You Buy The Velop Pro 7?
Buy the Linksys Velop Pro 7 if…
You’re An Early Adopter
It’s nonetheless early days for this new expertise, however PCs, laptops and cellular units that help Wi-Fi 7 are already beginning to seem, so upgrading to a Wi-Fi 7 router or mesh system is an efficient approach of future-proofing your house or workplace community.
You Have A Large Home
You should buy a single Velop Pro 7 router by itself, but it surely’s actually meant as a mesh system that makes use of two or extra routers to cowl a wider space, as much as 6,000 sq. ft or extra.
Don’t purchase it if…
You’re On A Budget
The Velop Pro 7 is without doubt one of the most inexpensive Wi-Fi 7 methods we’ve seen, but it surely’s nonetheless fairly costly. Most home broadband companies simply don’t want the sheer velocity of Wi-Fi 7, so most of us can follow extra inexpensive routers that use Wi-Fi 6 or 6E.
You Only Have A Couple Of Bedrooms
Mesh methods like this are very a lot designed for bigger houses and workplaces. If you solely have a small household residence, or share an condominium with buddies, then a single, typical router might be all you really want.
Velop Pro 7: Scorecard
| Attributes | Notes | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Wi-Fi 7 continues to be costly and new, however the Velop Pro 7 manages to offer robust efficiency at a extra aggressive worth than most of its rivals. | 4 / 5 |
| Design | A wise, streamlined design is backed up by a lot of Ethernet ports to offer wired connections for PCs and different units. | 4 / 5 |
| Features | Some of the controls are nonetheless in beta however they work nicely sufficient within the app. | 3.5 / 5 |
| Performance | Linksys app might use just a little extra time to bake, however even this mid-range Wi-Fi 7 system can blow most older routers out of the water. | 5 / 5 |
| Final Score | Wi-Fi 7 isn’t a vital improve simply but, however the Velop Pro 7 is essentially the most inexpensive possibility we’ve seen up to now. | 4 / 5 |
Velop Pro 7: Also Consider
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Linksys Velop Pro 7 | Netgear Orbi 970 | Linksys Velop Pro 6E |
| Price (as reviewed) | £749.99 / $699.99 / AU$1,060 | £2,199.99 / $2,299.99 / AU$3,475 | £499.99 / $449.99 / AU$700 |
| Wi-Fi | Tri-band Wi-Fi 7 | Quad-band Wi-Fi 7 | Dual-band Wi-Fi 6E |
| Wi-Fi Speed | 10.68Gbps | 27Gbps | 5.4Gbps |
| Connectivity | Per Router = 1x 2.5Gb Ethernet (WAN), 4x Gigabit Ethernet (LAN) | Router = 1x 10Gb Ethernet (WAN), 1x 10Gigabit Ethernet (LAN), 4x 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet (LAN) Satellite = 1x 10Gigabit Ethernet (LAN), 2x 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet (LAN) | 1x Gigabit Ethernet (WAN), 1x Gigabit Ethernet (LAN) |
| Processor | Qualcomm quad-core, 1.5GHz | Broadcom quad-core, 2.2GHz | Qualcomm dual-core, 1.0GHz |
| Memory | 1GB | 2GB | 512MB |
| Storage | Not Specified | 4GB Flash | Not Specified |
| Dimensions | 221 x 95 x 95mm | 294 x 144 x 132mm | 194 x 95 x 99mm |