Linksys Hydra Pro 6E - wireless router - Wi-Fi 6E - Wi-Fi 6 - desktop
$281.99
Mfg # MR7500
CDW # 6571537
| UNSPSC 43222609
Know your gear
Linksys Hydra Pro 6E unleashes Multi-Gigabit speed to more than 55 devices at one time. With extremely low latency and massive capacity, Linksys Hydra Pro 6E is an essential upgrade to any home that needs a reliable, high-speed Wi-Fi.
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Linksys Hydra Pro 6E - wireless router - Wi-Fi 6E - Wi-Fi 6 - desktop is rated
4.20 out of
5 by
49.
Rated 5 out of
5 by
KDunn from
Awesome
Great system and easy to install!
Date published: 2022-12-06T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
swissguard from
Issues integrating into an existing Velop mesh network
It is a great router. However the instructions to integrate into an existing Velop mesh is a little wanting. I have an existing Velop mesh and it does not integrate into it. Instead it creates a paralleled network and it does not explain how to become the primary network and have all the other nodes join this new network. I tried following the instructions but to no avail. There seems to show two routers. One for the existing Velop network and new one for the Linksys router.
Date published: 2023-05-22T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Jay from
Don't buy
After unplugging it to rearrange cabling, it could no longer connect even after resetting.
Date published: 2022-06-17T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Art from
Best and easiest set up ever
Easy set up works flawlessly found all my devices within minutes
Date published: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
RK from
Newly Update
The process to order this was very easy.
After setting up the router in my home and checking it's performance, I found almost double the wi-fi speed. Awesome!
Date published: 2023-03-15T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Budsmoker92 from
Awesome Router
Awesome Router, plenty of power had 2 4k streams, Fortnite, and live streaming going all at once with no buffer in sight. CON, no way to turn off wifi or individual wifi radios.
Date published: 2023-01-23T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
JP_L from
Very Disappointed in this "Pro" router
I purchased this based on past experiences with Linksys and this particular model because I wanted to be an early adopter of 6E. I wish I had done more research and even waited. This is billed as a "Pro" router and the price tag is $500+. What I found for that investment was only marginally better speeds than my Linksys AC router (yes my clients have AX adapters). The WAN port is still 1 GB despite rivals offering 2.5 & 5 GB WAN ports. Software/feature wise, this unit is locked down and feels like a router for those who do not want to use advance features. You cannot use VLANs, hide SSD, or manually adjust your wireless channels. There is very little advanced features so I am not sure how this is a Pro line model. I also hate the forced cloud login for management. I should have the option of only using local credentials instead of having my credentials go out and come back for authentication. How is this a good security practice? This locked down router may be fine for non-technical people who want plug and play but advanced users are going to be VERY disappointed.
Date published: 2021-08-07T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
rcrjr from
The jury is still out!
I bought this a few days ago when I saw it was on sale. Setup was very easy. The app does affect the battery life of my Iphone 12 pro dramatically so I sign out of the app completely that has seemed to help. Signal strength on a lot of the things in the house that require internet has not increased but I have noticed better performance on the smart TVs. Sometimes things that usually start automatically ie, security cameras don't and have to be rebooted. Maybe things will settle in a nit only time will tell.
Date published: 2021-08-22T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
ChalestonGeek from
WIFI Beast Mode
Once you get this thing set up, the connection speed is insane!
Future proof with WIFI 6E. WIFI 7 won't be here till late 2023/2024.
Upgraded from a Linksys WRT32X with Killer Prioritization (WIFI 5).
My connections average a 30 Mbps speed increase, but the range is almost double but it's mesh so you can just keep adding more.
We moved from a place with 1400 sq feet to over 3000 sq feet and Mesh seemed like the way to go. Two of these easily covered the entire property (not just the indoor space).
Setup was a little annoying, the router needs to be connected to the internet to be setup via the app. Adding the second mesh device could have been a bit more user friendly. Really though wasn't the worst WIFI router to setup.
Tip: Try to forget what you know from prior WIFI setups. Read the prompts carefully.
Date published: 2021-09-01T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
AndrewM from
Works great
Works great! I'm use to using DD-WRT, so a bit disappointed in the options for managing the device, but it works great!
Date published: 2021-05-14T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Eddie from
Simple Setup, Great Features, Excellent Speed!
Since receiving my Hydro Pro 6E in the mail, I have installed and used it for the past 2 weeks with excellent results! The setup process on this device was very quick and easy. I like the fact that I can use an app to check on the status of the device while I am away from the office as well! I have gigabit internet speeds and this device handles it with ease! All of my devices (over 9 of them in total) connect through this router and never seem to slow down at all, even while watching videos and sending files to the cloud simultaneously. I highly recommend this device to anyone who wants a secure connection, with blazing fast speeds and a completely easy setup.
Date published: 2021-05-14T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Jeff from
Another Great Router from Linksys.
I received this router as a free product. I can say this is another great router from Linksys. I have only ever bought Linksys. The only thing was the set up was a little challenging, but once I got the router set up its was easy to connect to and the wireless speed was really excellent. My Iphone 11 got 474 download and 28.6 upload.
Date published: 2021-04-24T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Joshua from
Powerful
Extremely easy to set up and works great. It is able to handle a large amount of devices that are streaming and gaming with no problems. The range is excellent and able to reach all areas of my property with no issues.
This is one of the best routers available to upgrade your house and handle all your smart technology.
Date published: 2021-04-24T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
FredF from
really fast great range
I received this router free as part of a beta test. I do agree it is pretty wide but you can mount it on a wall if you want. The 6E part is very important if you have a newer Samsung or Android phone. I have a S21 Ultra and my phone can see a WIFI 6 band that my wife with her new Iphone cannot see, it does use Wifi6 just not the E so you have the band all to your self. Close to the router 30' or so I can get 2GB speeds and close to 1GB pretty much anywhere in my house. I also have a wifi triband 3 unit mesh router that I am also using. The speeds are usually a little bit faster until I get further from the router but a lot closer to a satellite. If a 3 unit mesh was the same speed I would probably pick this due to the Wifi 6 bands. If I only had older devices I might go with a 3 unit triband mesh system just because with a larger house (3,200 sq ft) it is hard to beat a mesh system. I have 44 devices connected and have never had a speed issue. I have 5 FTP cameras that stream locally back to my server along with 7 cloud cameras that stream out to the internet.
The only thing I am not a big fan of is the phone apps from any vendor to tell the truth they really want you to use it but for me I use the web page other than quick things like turning on the guest network.
Date published: 2021-04-29T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
w32A from
WiFi speed 6e
What is the speed of wifi 6e with
2.4 GHz
5 GHz
6 GHz
Date published: 2021-07-07T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Kirti from
Problems UnLimited !
Linksys Hydra Pro 6E. MR7500. Purchased directly from LinkSys. Since day 1 .... we have had constant Problems. The Phones, TC, iPad all keep loosing Connectivity. We then have to remove the Network from the devices. And Reconnect to the LinkSys Hydra Pro 6E Router. For $499 .... this is an Expensive piece of Equipment that doesnot work. More Over when I called LinkSys Tech Support. They tries mant tines to change settings etc. The result is the same. The Phones, iPad, TV all loose Connection to the Network / Router. The Texch Suppot people at LinkSys are Quick to suggest to but a Node to add to then Network. Another $299. Well my Old LinkSys WRT3200 was solid, stable and worked ...... perfectly. Folks, save UR hard earned money.
Date published: 2021-07-11T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Saboken from
Prefomance is good shape I'm not a fan off.
It's almost perfect the flat shape not so much, if it was more of a tower shape like the Velop and Orbi it would be perfect they take up less space I find space has become more valuable since working from home I would have to put up a shelf to regain some desk real estate not that Its massive but I could fit 4 Velop routers in the same space.
Date published: 2021-04-26T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
skelsey1 from
Future Proofing Worth The Money
Even though it looks the same as the MR9600, this is so much more of a router. The 30-some devices (laptops, iPads, iPhones, Ring, smart home, etc..) have no trouble with signal strength or throughput. Working at home during the pandemic, I have had great performance on all of my Zoom and Webex sessions. “Remoting” into work has been a breeze.
This router will be relevant for a good 3-5 years, and with firmware updates, I think the feature sets will likely only improve for the next number of years.
My only WiFi-6 device is my iPhone 11 Pro, and in my testing I was able to max out the cable bandwidth at over 230 Mbps.
I have always liked the Linksys GUI, and have regularly used the Linksys mobile app for setup and for regular administration. I really enjoyed using the local GUI on my WRT3200AC, but it seems Linksys is trying to get us to only use the app, or perhaps just make the web GUI just like the app. Either way, I miss the GUI of the good old days (for us advanced admins).
Anyway, this is to me the best router Linksys has put out in a very long time. You will not be disappointed when you buy this router.
Date published: 2021-05-23T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
wpwatts85 from
Most Advanced Router
This is a top of line AX Router. Setup was super easy. Speed and range are excellent.
Date published: 2021-05-03T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
TerryWoos from
Awesome Speed Jump
Received as a pre-order quite a bit earlier than expected. Replaced a Velop MX4000 series Node as my parent node to take advantage of the multi gig WAN Port.
Seeing impressive download speeds with Comcast's 1 Gig connection, which is now over-provisioned to around 1.4-1.5 depending on your market. I am able to saturate the modem for the first time ever thanks to the capabilities of this router.
As for WiFi, having the usually first few day adjustments as the Velop nodes balance after this replacement. Speeds to my iPhone 11 Pro Max top around 600-700, Apple TV around 900, and my hardwired desktops max out their gig connections no problem.
Only reason for the lower overall score is the Linksys app. In trying to make it consumer friendly, they have eliminated many features I think are crucial to network management and troubleshooting, including per device bandwidth monitoring, total network data usage, node health reports, WiFi frequency scanning. Sure we all would love a network that you setup and forget because it works so well, but that isn't reality so give us the tools to troubleshoot!
Date published: 2021-04-23T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Glen from
Fast, faster, fastest!
I was able to hook up this router up within five minutes without any issues!
It has three bands, 2.4ghz, 5ghz and 6ghz. I only have one device that is 6ghz compatible and that is my iPhone12. The speed on the phone is noticeably faster than when I had my old router (linksys AX4200). I didnt have any complaints with the old, however the Hydra Pro 6E is faster, easier to set-up and seems to have slightly better range. I would highly recommend this product to people with larger dwellings. You can always add a Node to extend the range but out of the box I am able to have flawless streaming inside, outside and in the basement of my home.
The last mentionable about the Hydra Pro 6 is that I am future proofed seeing how 6ghz was just approved for use by the FCC.
The router is a little pricey, but the speed, set-up, functionality and future proofing all make it well worth the little extra money.
Date published: 2021-04-28T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Joey5280 from
Fast!!!
This is definitely the fastest access point I have ever used you can now get the more value from Ting without plugging in to the wall. Yay!!!
Date published: 2021-04-29T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
RJustice03 from
Great new addition to the Linksys Family!
The Linksys Hydra Pro 6E, aka the MR7500 arrived well packaged and boxed. I have had this router in use for almost 2 weeks now. The setup was very easy, as the GUI for this product is very similar if not identical to previous Linksys router GUI's. I had to add all of my port forwards, DNS information, static IP assignments and clone my MAC address from my old WRT1200AC, which took a few minutes to get through. The Wifi range of this router, at least for me in my home, is exceptional. I don't currently own any Wifi6 devices so I cannot comment on that capability. Of note, I was sad to see that Linksys did not keep the OpenVPN capability that I had with my WRT1200AC, as that, at least for me, is a nice feature to access my home network remotely. I generally have, on average, about 40-50 devices connected on my home network, about half of those via wifi and the remaining via cable. I also have a line speed connection via fiber to my home and using the old WRT router, I was hitting speeds, at best, of 550mbps. With the MR7500 I am consistently hitting over 700mbps. That might have something to do with the 5gig internet port on this device. I don't mind the "box" look of the device but I could see something a little less "obtrusive" and appealing being desired by some. Overall I am very happy with the MR7500 so far, no issues of any kind. This Linksys MR7500 was provided to me for my use and honest review.
Date published: 2021-05-02T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
jacuff from
Future Looking Good
I've been evaluating this over the weekend. It's be stable and very similar to the MR9600 I've been using but it does seem to have some advantages. The addition of the 6GHz band will be great for when I actually have devices that can use that band. Right now, I'm only able to use the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. I wish there were an easier way to drop it in place of the current MR9600 I'm using. Instead, I'll just need to setup all my Velop child nodes to connect to this new master node.
The upgrade of the WAN port is nice. My service is a 2GB Fiber, so the 5GB WAN port will allow me to maximize speeds.
Setup is very similar to other Linksys products as of late. You must use the phone app. Previous workarounds like removing portions from the URL do not work. You just get redirected back to the blocking page. So plan to set it up with the phone app before you can more customize it with the WebUI.
Date published: 2021-04-28T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
cpeterson70 from
Excellent coverage
This router is awesome. It handles all of the wireless needs and is super fast. Would be an excellent choice for anyone working from home and with lots of streaming going on.
Date published: 2021-05-03T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Craig from
Devices, devices, and more devices!!
The Hydra Pro is the perfect name for this router. Just as the Hydra has many heads this router can handle many devices. At any given time my network can have 20 or more devices accessing the bandwidth, this router has handled it flawlessly.
Setup was a piece of cake using the Linksys app. I have had zero problems or technical issues since setup. Monitoring the health and settings of the router is fairly simple using the app as well.
Date published: 2021-05-15T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Carlos from
Outstanding
This router made switching quick and easy took all of 5 minutes or less. Noticed an immediate difference in speed on all Wi-Fi devices. Using the app or website has the same functionality, i would definitely recommend this router to anyone looking for more speed and reliability.
Date published: 2021-05-02T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
llo2 from
Returning this machine
Bought the Hydra Pro 6E with great expectations. The model I finally received does not have the USB port described in the Linksys website. I bought this model based on specs . After trying in vain to reach support, disconnected four times, I have to return this equipment. I have always used Linksys products but this experience has changed my mind
Date published: 2021-05-08T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Chaz1049 from
Solid Device
I have an approximately 3200 sqrft ranch with walkout home. This was placed near one end of my house in the basement. I do not have any devices that take advantage of WiFi 6 right now. Using the 2.4 and 5 GHz radios, I was able to get full or near full internet speeds from the same room and adjacent rooms, but from the far side of my house 45'+ it had dropped off to about half the speed. Setup was pretty easy. I don't have any other velop nodes, but this could easily cover a house that was more stacked than mine like a 2 story home with basement and a central location of the router. Still wish routers that were this expensive would include PoE.
Date published: 2021-04-28T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Jjmerry9 from
Easy set up and Great features!
I bought this router a few weeks ago and it is amazing. The set up was so easy and simple but the part I like most is the range and how easy it was to set up my nodes. The WiFi 6 is perfect for all my WiFi needs. Great router, love it!!
Date published: 2021-04-26T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
John from
Fast wifi with some future proofing
As with all the Linksys products I've used setup was quick and easy. I literally plugged it into the wall, plugged it into the modem, and with the linksys app connected to the router. Naming the 3 bands was easy in the app. The only issue I have is I can't hide the ssid, at least not in the app.
The speed is great, the picture with the lower speed was across the street with my tablet. I did the test again later with my phone and got a much higher speed but didn't take a screen shot. The hydra pro 6e has eliminated dead spots anywhere on my property.
I tested it with 10 devices connected with no noticeable drop in speed and with the three bands including 6ghz there's some future proofing.
Date published: 2021-05-06T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
shad295 from
Blazing Fast and Excellent Connectivity
I received my Hydra Pro 6E about a week ago and set it up immediately. Setup was a breeze with the Linksys app took about 3 minutes to be up and running once everything was connected. Although the instructions do recommend to setup in an open space, I still get great reception and performance from having it behind my television. This router quickly reminded me of my old EA9500 because it's a powerhouse with the exception that the Hydra pro is wall mountable and aesthetically pleasing. Coming from an AX4200 Wifi 6 Mesh node, Linksys continues to impress with every product release. The Hydra Pro 6E is noticeably sending a stronger signal and I was able to tell because I setup a wireless security camera at a distance that would only receive intermittent connectivity from my AX4200, where as now I get 1 to 2 bars at a 60+ feet distance from my router (distance picture attached). My kids have also noticed an improvement in connectivity saying their pings or relatively smaller and their wireless connections are getting on average +30 to +50 MBPS when they run speed tests, WPA3 encryption is nice to have for a more secure network as well. I've recently upgraded my home with a good of amount of smart home tech and I'm running close to 40 devices on this one router without any issues. I love the Linksys app which allows me to have full control over all devices and parental controls to keep the kiddos safe. Restarting the router or changing configs is only a few finger taps away. Definitely thankful for the added efficiency I only need one router now for what would've required at least a wall extender with my old EA9500.
Date published: 2021-05-01T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Hassan from
Great Speed
This router is great for more devices and gamers. It is fast and easy to manage with the Linksys app. The range is not that great but is compatible with other mesh nodes and that extends with better range and speed.
Date published: 2021-05-03T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
mistanave from
Better performance than our MR9600
I swapped this out with our main MR9600 router which features the WiFi 6 technology. Though the MR9600 has been a solid performer, I have noticed a jump in realized WiFi speeds through my other node and E7350 that is in wireless bridge mode in my office. The MR7500, though offering less overall coverage (per the box features), is performing well in areas where the range of the 5GHz channel fell off with the MR9600. Although my current internet speeds are 500/10, I am getting close to the upper 400s and 9s for download and upload speeds. I plan to upgrade to gigs last once our two year contract expires in June.
Visually, the MR7500 appears to share the same shell as the MR9600 though the insides differ some. It has one less USB port than the MR9600 but features a 5 gig internet port. Also the MR7500 is a tri-band versus the MR9600 being a dual band.
Set up was a little tricky as the app seemed to “miss” the other router. First couple of attempts the first night were not successful as it just couldn’t connect properly. I tried again the next evening and was finally able to get it to connect. Reconnecting my node to the MR7500 was simple and then I connected the MR9600 as a wireless node as well without issue. I then tested my speed in the office with the E7350 and noticed much faster speed (previously in the 200s but now getting 400s).
Overall, I am impressed with this router and look forward to upgrading my service. I currently have 50+ devices connected ranging from smart tv’s, IP cameras, iPhones, iPads, laptops and PC’s, home automation devices, and even our washing machine and have not experienced any issues with connectivity or speed. I would recommend this for those needing the coverage and performance for multiple users and devices.
Date published: 2021-04-30T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
bick182 from
Future Proof Your Home
Hardware: 5*
Software: 4*
Installation: 3 1/2*
Overall, this router is very solid and I would recommend purchasing it. It offers all of the latest technology needed to keep your network at peak operations for the next 5 years, including wireless 6E wireless, tri-band, and mesh technologies. It handles my work at home video conferencing needs, along with my children's streaming and gaming hobbies seamlessly. I currently only have a few devices operating on the 6GHz range, but that number will only increase as more devices implement this technology. I appreciate that this router will handle these, along with my smart home devices that operate in the 2.4 GHz range, without a hiccup. While the hardware checks all the boxes, the software does have a couple of GUI options and installation quirks that diminish the overall product.
When initially installing the router via the Linksys app, I had no issues. However, when I tried to link a Velop node from my previous setup I ran into some problems. When trying to do a final connection check, the screen said it could not find the node, but I had a solid blue connection light on the node. After three unsuccessful attempts, I could only get to a screen with a phone #. I could not back out or cancel the installation. Going into the router web screen, the node did appear that was connected.
That takes me to the web view screen. Instead of giving the user more options than the app, it appears they are going backwards and are trying to make the web setup more like the app. I still cannot find where to setup the default DNS on the router. If advanced users are smart enough to get to 192.168.1.1, then they should be able to access advanced features not available to novice users that have to use the app.
Even with these annoyances, I respect the fact that Linksys doesn't try to push you to have to subscribe to a security feature like other brands do.I also love that it has a USB connection that I can setup my NAS storage on. The other brands still refuse to add this seemingly obvious addition to their lineups. This makes Linksys the goto choice for me.
Date published: 2021-05-19T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Irken Skoodge from
Great Router
Setup was super simple using the Linksys app and I was up and running in a couple of minutes. Coverage is really great, it covered my 2 story house perfectly. Speeds over WiFi are really good on my devices. I only have 1 WiFi 6 device, which is an iPhone 11 Pro Max. Speeds were even better on that device. I’m also really glad the wan port can support up to 5 gigabit for the future. When all the devices that my family use are connected, this router is amazing at keeping up. The three dedicated bands 2.4ghz/5ghz/6ghz really help when many different devices are connected. Controlling the router through the app is simple and easy to do at home or away. Overall really great device that is ready for all the future WiFi 6 products you may have.
Date published: 2021-04-24T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
TheGreener09 from
Clean design, easy setup
I paired this with my Velop system and checked performance. Setup though the app was a breeze and only took a few minutes. The speed test showed slightly faster upload speeds as just a node which is quite good. My next comparison will be between it and the MR9600 as the head of my system. So far, I'm very happy!
Date published: 2021-05-03T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
gambo01 from
The future of Routers is here
This router is super fast. It can easily handle 50+ devices and multiple protocols. My last router suffer from speed but this router so far its been solid. I have multiple ZigBee and z-waves devices in addition to all my WIFI product and this router seen to be working perfect. I do live near an airport so I'm curious to see going forward ho it handle some of the interference.. I'm assuming since this have so many channel to choose from it should be ok. Setup of all Linksys router is super easy. This has never been issue for me or anyone of my friends and family. My only issue Im notice right now is that the range seen to be less than my last router.. I will continue to play with the channels to see if I can find a better one..
Date published: 2021-05-01T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
tjm77 from
Extremely Disappointing
Setup was quite simple using the app, but the initial speed test on my Fios connection showed an incredibly poor upload speed of less than 15mbps. My previous EA9500 was getting over 900mbps as does the Velop MR5300. I posted to the Linksys community and was ready to start the laborious troubleshooting with Linksys support, but they seem to have changed the site and my original post is gone and I can’t even login. So I’ve RMA’d.
Maybe others will have a better experience, but a $500 router shouldn’t be this bad.
I’ve since installed a two node MX10 Velop system (2 MR5300s) and it’s working quite well.
Date published: 2021-04-30T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Christopher from
Easy Setup, Low Latency, Great Speed
Setting up this router was extremely simple and was done in less than 5 minutes. Initial speed tests show a 7ms Ping, 957 Mbps down, 47 Mbps up on a Coax Gigabit service. All of our IoT and streaming devices immediately recognized the SSID and connected automatically.
This reaches fully across our 1800 sq. ft. split-level house and to the other side of our detached garage without any drops. I have it connected to a Linksys LGS124P switch and pull consistent high speeds even with Netflix and Hulu running in multiple rooms. Overall, we have about 35 devices connected to WiFi and haven't noticed any performance issues. This router is easily outperforming our Ubiquiti AC Pro access points to the point I ended up removing them.
My only real concern would be security features. I plan on adding an actual UTM firewall downstream on the network for when I work from home. For general home use, it won't be an issue.
Date published: 2021-05-01T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Boomer from
Solid, but expensive
Linksys Hydra Pro 6E: Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6E Router
Opened the box, and was excited to try this new technology item. That quickly faded away after 2.5 hours, and dozens upon dozens of failed attempts to setup this router with the app.
I contacted --- @ tech support; first step as usual was to do the “little red button” reset again, then to do a manual setup. I had already reset my device, a few dozen times and told her that I am trying to test the device, as a person would be setting up, who has no technical knowledge beyond plug and play. She then told me that I had to connect to the unit’s W-Fi setup in order to start the setup process. This is not how these devices are configured through the Linksys app and Bluetooth by default, those steps are for troubleshooting.
I had also ordered an internal Wi-Fi6E card so that I could test the new 6 GHz space, but that item failed to arrive, but since most people will add this or replace an existing router, I figured that I could still get good and valid data using my current devices.
I decided to try the installation the next day, and on the first attempt, everything worked. The setup yesterday always errored when it looked like it was trying to add the router to my online account, which leads me to think something was down with the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi logins. Anyway, setup went off without a hitch this time around. I was able to setup this router just as I had so many times before, and then reset it to do it again with different settings. Nothing seemed different from the many other Linksys router that utilizes this method of setup.
Once I had a stable setup experience, I added a USB drive with only 1 device connected, since I want to see the speeds of the onboard USB storage sharing. The resulting speed was almost on par, 85-102%, with a previous write speeds but only about 20% of the read speeds (utilizing the exact same USB device for all my previous tests). The specifications for this router do indicate that the WAN port is 5Gbps, but without multiple devices saturating that link I was unable to properly test it. That is a bonus for future WAN upgrades, since many on homes do have gigabit fiber, it will allow higher connectivity in the future.
I really tried to get this router to excel at anything that my existing devices could do to it, but nothing stood out as “I GOTTA HAVE THIS ROUTER” worthy. One thing that I really noticed when doing internal transfers over Wi-Fi, the speeds in almost every test seemed slower. The LAN connected tests did not show any type of restriction or slowdown.
Based on the SRP of this unit, I would have a hard time justifying this to anyone that is using older, non-6E devices, to connect, which to me would be most everyone doing an upgrade. The 5Gbps WAN port to me seems to be the greatest value added to this unit, but most consumers do not have higher than 1Gbps LANs in their home. I did receive this unit without cost for testing purposes, but I do not recommend this unit to anyone upgrading based on its current retail pricing. I will test the unit again with my 6E card when it arrives to see what speeds the 6 GHz band provides.
Date published: 2021-05-05T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
MDaniel22 from
Good stability, easy hook up and nice range.
I received and hooked up this product one week ago. I’m replacing a 2 year old Linksys AC2200 which worked pretty well, but suffered with speeds with devices that were further away. The new Hydra Pro AXE6600 has significantly improved the speeds of those devices further away from 5-10mb to over 50mb (kids rooms furthest away from from router). The devices that are hardwired and closer to the router in the same room or near it are constantly running speeds greater than 500mb. All the devices and router are in the same locations and the same Xfinity 800mb service is being used (single story 2300 sqft home).The system was up and running within 5 minutes using the app. It took me longer to hide my wires and plug everything in. The router can easily handle several devices connected as at any given time there are 20+ devices connected (TV’s, Tablets, Phones, Security Cameras as well as other smart home devices). Note, the app does recommend having the router in an open location during set up. I have mine in a basket on a shelf with the rest of my A/V equipment as I like to keep things hidden. I am overall happy with the upgrade and look forward to possibly adding a Node or two to increase the speeds at those far ends of the home.
Date published: 2021-04-29T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Piticli from
With great potential, the worst router ever
I can't believe it. I was aware of some limitations with 2.4ghz and 5ghz, but the 6ghz band was supposed to work as good as with the other players. Well, what's the point of having a fully capable 6ghz router if you can't manually set the channel bandwidth to 160mhz and then pick your preferred channel? The router only allows me to manually choose up to 80mhz bandwidth on 6ghz, which is extremely bizarre to say at least.
How can a $500 router be so extremely limited when it comes to settings? I don't even like to have many settings but to choose the channel width is something super basic and essential, plus if the router uses 160mhz automatically (but it picks the crappy channel 33), why can I set it up manually? Beyond absurd. Very upset because now I have to return a router that could have been awesome otherwise....
Date published: 2021-11-16T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Thanos from
EXCELLENT ROUTER. WOULD BUY AGAIN
I installed this on my Motorola MB8611 modem and connected through the Linksys app in minutes. My Linksys Hydra Pro 6E Router works like a charm. I had an old Nighthawk C7000 modem/router and would get maybe 300mbps tops. After the switch to my newer set up, I constantly got 700-720mbps and 24up on my Note 20 Ultra 5G and Ethernet connection from my router to the PS5 around 600-650mbps. I have a 600mbps plan through Xfinity and it goes above that. Plan to upgrade to Gigabit speeds soon and I'm sure it won't disappoint. I like that the Hydra is 6E capable and is future proof for now. Will add some devices soon to take advantage of the 6Ghz/6E soon. I would highly recommend this router. Very good signal throughout my home with fast speeds.
Date published: 2021-11-15T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Themize from
Sleek design & great performance
In my review for the MR7500 I will highlight 3 aspects of the router with the good and not so good.
1. Design & Hardware features
2. Software
3. Function and Reliability
Design - This router when comparing to my older router the monster EA9500 is very sleek and on has a much smaller footprint. The weight difference of this router to other Linksys routers I have had is noticeable – very light. The port layout has not changed you get (4) Gigabit LAN (standard) and (1) 5Gbps WAN(NEW), (1) USB 3.0, and (4) non-removable antennas. Overall, I am happy that Linksys kept the design simple and to the point, not flashy or UFO looking.
Software – So on the initial setup I used my iOS device, this went OK albeit it took a long time, which could be normal or based on my version of iOS, it went smoothly just took a while. Second time around since I wanted to test this router thoroughly, I used the older method of connecting my PC, this went a lot faster and there were no surprises. I have not run into any bugs/glitches in my setups, all the software from their app to online UI has been very smooth.
Function – I have all my (27) devices connected now for the past couple weeks and have not had one drop in connection, I am using the 5GHz band for phones and tablets, while my smart garage door and WEMO smart switches, and cameras connected to the 2.4GHz band.
Range does not seem to be an issue, although I initially ran into problems when I did not separate the bands and tried using the “Airtime Fairness” setting which caused issues with devices that were further away, it would disconnect them, so I disabled that feature. I would like to add a node and see how the range performs using both the MR7500 and say the MX4200.
Reliability – Like I said before I have not had a single disconnect with this router, overall a solid performance, but one you should expect from an expensive device at $500.
I would recommend this to anyone that can afford it and is wanting to future proof for a few years, since most devices out now do not even have the latest Wi-Fi that this router offers.
Date published: 2021-05-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
HR_ATL from
Amazing upgrade!
I received this new router courtesy of the Linksys Friends + Family program. Shipping was easy and it came in a non-descript box. Unboxing the router was simple. It only came with a quick guide - you will have to go to the Linksys site to download the full guide. Packaging was excellent. This router has 4 gig ethernet ports and one 5 gig port to either connect to your service provider or to add to an existing mesh network. We currently have the Linksys WiFi Mesh (MX5300) in bridge mode. I added this new router as a child to the existing mesh network with no issues, just followed the Linksys app to add a child node. I placed the router in my basement where I had the Linksys node (replaced it) and the speeds increased by 10%, both wired and wireless.
Next steps after testing for a week:
1) Use the Hydra as the parent node, still in bridge mode and test
2) Use the Hydra as the parent node, but removing the bridge mode and handling the WiFi management
Review to follow.
Date published: 2021-04-22T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Ant987 from
40 devices and 1.2gb down
Amazing router when properly configured. I have one as main and two as child nodes (both via Ethernet running as access points). No issues with my switches or POE equipment. Signal cuts through very thick plaster walls.
Date published: 2022-02-05T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Dave from
Awesome Router...
This is an absolutely great router. Super fast with consistent connections; no dropping out. Used largely for work from home so consistency is key. Easy to use and set up. I also added an MX4200 for a mesh network that easily extending my coverage.
Date published: 2022-01-10T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
ITSMLRTM from
Looses connection several times a day!
I bought this router thinking I’d get better service than on my EA9500! WRONG! The 3 days I had it b4 sending it back. I lost connection several time a day on anything that I had connected. I connected my EA9500 back and have not had any problems since
Date published: 2022-01-04T00:00:00-05:00