Linksys MR9600

amazon Linksys MR9600 reviews

The Linksys MR9600 Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router costs $399.99 and represents Linksys’ current line of Wi-Fi 6 routers. It uses the latest 802.11ax technology to provide fast 5GHz transfer rate performance and stable file transfer speed. As with virtually all routers today, setup is easy, and the Linksys mobile app makes it simple to control everything with your phone. It is equipped with mesh technology that allows you to configure another compatible Linksys Mesh Router as a node easily and thus create a mesh network. However, in our tests, we found that it couldn’t quite match the overall performance of our latest Wi-Fi 6, the TP-Link Archer AX11000.

Design and Features

The MR9600 uses a black rectangular desktop case that measures 2.3 x 11.0 x 6.6 inches (HWD). It features a textured top, glossy black front panel, and four non-removable tuning antennas. The front panel has a status light that flashes blue on startup, flashes purple during setup, solid blue when everything is working, and turns solid red when the Router is down the Internet connection. There is also a WPS light that blinks white when WPS is in progress, flashes orange when there is a WPS error, and turns solid white when a WPS connection is successful.

There’s a WPS button on the right side of the Router, and around it are four gigabit LAN ports, one WAN port, two USB 3.0 ports, a reset button, a power port, and a power switch. For comparison, the Asus RT-AX88U Router is similarly priced, and the TP-Link Archer AX6000 and AX11000 Routers give you 8 LAN ports, and both TP-Link Routers are equipped with multi-gig LAN ports.

The MR9600 is a dual-band AX6000 Router that can achieve theoretical speeds of 1,147 megabits per second (Mbps) on the 2.4GHz band and up to 4,804 Mbps the 5GHz band. It is powered by a 1.8GHz quad-core CPU and carries 512MB of SDRAM along with another 512MB of flash memory. It uses the latest 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 technology, including support for OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access), 1024 QAM (Quad Amplitude Modulation), Target Wake Time, WPA3 encryption, 4X4 MU-MIMO data transmission, beamforming, and 160MHz channel bandwidth support. It also comes equipped with Linksys Smart Mesh technology, the same technology used by the Linksys Velop line of home-wide Wi-Fi systems. That will allow you to place compatible buttons around the house to eliminate dead zones and seamless roaming.

Like its sibling, the Linksys Velop AX MX10, which we reviewed, the MR9600 offers no built-in or bundled anti-malware tools and limited parental controls. You can pause Internet access, schedule pausing, and block specific websites for specific customers, but you don’t get the age-specific site filters you get with TP-Link Archer AX6000. However, the MR9600 doesn’t support Alexa commands that let you do things like turn on guest networks and pause internet access for specific clients just by using your voice.

You can manage the MR9600 using the Linksys mobile app for Apple iOS and Google Android devices or the web-based Linksys Smart Wi-Fi control panel. However, the app has a slightly different interface than what we’ve seen with the Linksys Velop AX MX10 system. Instead of opening the Control Panel screen, it opens the Router screen showing the Router’s name and its status (online/offline). There are two small tabs in the middle of the screen: one labeled Devices and tells you how many clients are currently connected, and the other labeled Router tells you how many Routers and nodes are connected.

When you tap the Devices button, you’ll be taken to a screen that shows the name of each connected device, how it’s connected (Ethernet, Wi-Fi), and the band it’s using. Tap any device to assign priority (up to three devices can be bandwidth prioritized) and specify parental controls. Clicking on the Router tab will take you to the Network Administration screen to change the Router password, enable automatic updates, view IP details, and reset the Router.

A Speed Test button below the Devices and Routers tabs uses SpeedTest to measure your Internet speed and uploads. A tab shows your five most recently connected clients, a button to enable Permissions parental controls, and a guest network permission button. To access Wi-Fi and Advanced Settings, tap the three-bar icon in the upper-left corner. You can change your Wi-Fi name and password, choose a security type (WPA2/WPA3). Use the Channel Finder utility to optimize performance, and enable DFS (Frequency Selection dynamic) to access previously unavailable 5 GHz channels and enable 160 MHz Channel Width. Other Advanced Settings include Port Settings (Port Forwarding, Port Enable), DHCP and IPv6 Settings, Copy MAC Address, and DNS settings.

While the overall look and feel of the interface are certainly easy to pick up, it doesn’t represent the breadth of tools, especially those related to gaming, that we saw in Our Picks. Editor Wi-Fi 6 Router, TP-Link Archer AX11000. That said, while it’s pretty fast, you wouldn’t classify the Linksys MR9600 as a gaming router or a budget router, based on its price tag.

Settings and Performance

Installing the MR9600 is quick and easy. We downloaded the mobile app, hit “Set up a new Wi-Fi network,” connected the Router to our modem, and powered it on. We confirm that the purple LED is blinking and prompts you to create an account. We then gave our new Wi-Fi network a name, set a password, assigned the Router to a room, and the setup was complete.

The MR9600 gave mixed results in testing. Its score of 111 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz proximity test (same room) is decent but not as fast as other Wi-Fi 6 routers, including TP-Link AX11000, Netgear Nighthawk AX12 RAX120, and Asus RT-AX88U. Range performance took a hit: the MR9600’s 38 Mbps score on the 30-foot test was significantly slower than the rest, while the Archer AX11000 led the way with 67 Mbps.

The MR9600’s 840 Mbps score on the 5 GHz proximity test is among the highest we’ve seen, beating the AX11000 and RAX120 by a few small points and beating the RT-AX88U by 58 Mbps. However, its score was 228 Mbps on the 30-foot 5GHz test, slowing the AX11000 by 100 Mbps. The RAX120 leads with a score of 417 Mbps.

The MR9600 delivers speedy file transfer performance that we measure by moving a 1.5GB folder of photos, videos, music, and office documents between the USB 3.0 drive connected to the Router and the machine. Our test station is to write and read speed. Its write score of 73 MBps is faster than the AX11000, RAX120, and RT-AAX88U, while its read score of 70 MBps is faster than the RAX120.

We use the Ekahau Sidekick Wi-Fi diagnostic device and the Ekahau Survey mobile app to measure signal strength. This combination produces a heat map showing the MR9600’s 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz signal strengths throughout our test house. The white circle represents the Router’s position, and the colors represent the signal strength according to the scale on the right side of the screen. Dark green indicates the strongest signal, yellow is weaker, and gray indicates no signal is received. As you can see, the Router’s 2.4 GHz signal is strong when measured near the Router but becomes weaker as you move further away. That explains the Router’s average 2.4GHz long-band performance in our transfer rate tests. Surprisingly, the Router’s 5 GHz signal coverage is wider than its 2.4 GHz coverage.

The Linksys MR9600 Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router is a good choice if you’re ready to upgrade to a Wi-Fi 6 router. It performed very well in our near 5 GHz range transfer rate test, and it’s near 2.4 GHz range performance was decent, but it struggled with the transfer rate tests our long-range. However, it delivers blazingly fast file transfer speeds, which means it should handle NAS tasks very well.

where can you get a Linksys MR9600 online

Linksys AX6000 Smart Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Router for Home Mesh Networking, MU-MIMO Dual-Band AX Wireless Gigabit Mesh Router, Fast Speeds up to 6.0 Gbps, coverage up to 3,000 sq ft, up to 40 devices (MR9600): Buy it now

LINKSYS MR9600-RM2 DUAL-BAND MESH ROUTER (RENEWED): Buy it now