Question 1

I have a cable modem to a Linksys router WRT 1900 ACS.  Do i add these three mesh units to the router?  or does it replace the router?

Accepted Answer

Great question! You will stop using your WRT-1900 ACS and instead connect one of the Velop units to your router. That will become your "main" WiFi access point. You will download an app to your smartphone that will help you decide upon the placement of one or more additional Velop WiFi access points. The app measures the signal from the main WiFi access point and identifies the optimal placement for the additional Velop unit or units, depending upon the size of the building and the composition of the walls, etc. Whether you end up with two or three Velop units in your setup, they will seamlessly talk to one another and provide a "mesh" of WiFi that covers the area you need to cover. Using one login and password, your tablet or other device can move throughout the house and stay connected, switching automatically from one Velop to another. Hope that helps!

Question 2

In addition to the wifi devices, I  have to Connect 5 LAN devices which are wired. How many LAN ports are there on the base station? Will I have to add a separate router? If so which one do you recommend?

Accepted Answer

I installed 3 nodes - and while each has only 2 Ethernet ports, together I have 6 available.  A cool thing is that I chose a node that had the most room, and cabled my old Apple AirPort Extreme to it (in bridge mode), to be able to easily network a Hard Drive that I’d had connected to the Extreme.  So you can distribute your LAN devices around the nodes, and should be no problem.

Question 3

I have a duplex and would like to have two APs in the rear unit.  Can i add a fourth AP?

Accepted Answer

As long as the new AP isn't too far away from the rest of the mesh network (the setup app will tell you whether or not it's close enough for a good connection), you can install as many as you want. The base kit comes with three but that doesn't mean that three is all you can use. A mesh network is scalable to any installation. You can have just one (but why) or as many as you like as long as you can afford them and as long as the farthest AP is close enough to the next-nearest one for a strong connection. Hope this helps.

Question 4

2000 sq feet. That's a 25 foot radius. Is it really that bad??

Accepted Answer

We have 2 units set up 35' and two block walls apart with consistent good connectivity.  Get signal 2 floors up from base unit - both floors are 6" concrete (condo building).

Question 5

What is the speed in mbps of this?

Accepted Answer

This is very likely going to be impacted by your internet connection more than by the wireless mesh network. Just ran a speed test on our network (our internet connection is very good) and it came back with 632 Mbps down and 590 Mbps up.

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