Linksys Atlas 6 Dual-Band Mesh Router Review

TweakTown's Rating: 89%

The Bottom Line

The Atlas 6 is entry-level perfection, allowing consumers to buy into an ecosystem under $200 and expand it as their needs grow!

Buy at Amazon

Atlas 6 is the latest from Linksys and together with the Atlas Pro 6, fills any voids left in the product portfolio. For Linksys, Atlas 6 is its entry-level mesh solution built on the new Qualcomm Immersive Home platform. This new platform includes a dual-core SoC that operates at 1GHz paired with 512MB of memory and 256MB of flash.

Further hardware includes a dual band radio system that supports 600Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 2400Mbps on the 5GHz. 160MHz channels are supported for 5GHz along with OFDMA and WPA3.

The Atlas 6 is broken down into three packages at retail, including one, two, and three pack kits. The flagship three-pack carries an MSRP of $349.99, while the single unit kit comes in at $149.99. All kits carry a three-year warranty.

Packaging and the Hardware

15

Packaging for the Atlas carries a lighter colorway than we saw with the Max 6e, though we do have an image of the nodes.

15

The back lists features of the Atlas with a port diagram below.

15

Included in the box are ethernet cables and power adapters for each node.

15

Like the Atlas Max, the 6 shares the same aesthetic, including carryover from the Velop series. The top shares the single LED that denotes the status of the kit.

15

The I/O includes four LAN/WAN with power below.

15

The bottom of the Atlas 6 includes the WPS, reset, and power switch alongside password and recovery for the router.

Linksys App and Setup

15

The app above has been used for the last few years to set up and manage Linksys platforms.

15

Setup will start by you selecting the type of device you are setting up, and this is categorized by family, with Atlas 6 using Velop setup like the Max 6e did previously.

15

Dashboard will give you a quick overlook of the status of the router and its nodes, including the device list and ISP speed in the center.

15

Controls include device setup alongside parental controls, Wi-Fi settings, and guest network for basics. You can go further into configuration with device prioritization and advanced settings.

15

Device prioritization is a feature the Atlas 6 does take advantage of, allowing you to choose devices on the network that should be above all others.

15

Speed test, too, allows you to monitor ISP speed. Ours can be seen above.

15

Channel Finder will search surrounding airspace for other devices and then choose the best channel available for each node on the network.

Test System and Results

• System: Lenovo ThinkPad Extreme
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro (buy from Amazon)

15

Testing used our Lenovo X1 notebook. At 10-15ft, we saw performance hovering around 140Mbps when using the 2.4GHz band. There were some anomalies where performance would test at 300+ but was never repeatable.

15

In 5GHz, performance was higher, as expected. 717Mbps was our peak in testing though we did see a few cases where it crept closer to 800Mbps.

Final Thoughts

Going from the Atlas Max 6e in my home network to the Atlas 6, flagship to entry-level, I did notice a few differences in feel when using devices. The main thing was more latency in my home network. Mainly when multiple devices were streaming, it took longer to buffer streams. Outside of that, daily use, the Atlas 6 works well, we have two nodes set up currently, and that seems to cover a typical two-story Midwest home quite well.

As for testing, the Atlas 6 was up to par with the XE75 from TP-Link that we just finished testing for an upcoming review with slightly better performance vs. older Wi-Fi 5 devices. At peak, I think we pulled around 140Mbps real-world from the Atlas 6 in 2.4GHz mode. 5GHz gave us a solid boost up to 717Mbps, which is just under the wired capabilities of this solution.

Being entry-level, the performance is acceptable and perfectly fine for a home with under 100 devices. Once you start to tag on extras like security cameras or smart home devices, you will want to move to a higher-end solution like the Atlas Max. The application for setup and management is fantastic, and while it does not offer all the high-level management features, you can use the Web GUI if needed.