CES – Linksys Announces Velop Dual Band Nodes, New Software Features

CES – Linksys announced Monday several bits of news for its line of Velop Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi networking products. The company said it was adding less expensive Velop dual-band nodes to its already-shipping tri-band nodes. Linksys also announced Intelligent Mesh, parental controls, security features, and other software improvements.

Linksys’s 2018 line of Velop Mesh Networking Nodes, with Dual-Band on the left, and Tri-Band on the right

Velop is Linksys’s entry in the growing Mesh Wi-Fi field, which the company introduced last year at CES. I’ve been running Velop in my home since.

Dual Band Nodes

Linksys is adding dual-band nodes as a less-expensive option for building or extending a Velop network. Pricing hasn’t been announced, and the devices are expected to ship in the spring of 2018.

Intelligent Mesh

Linksys announced Intelligent Mesh, software that works on Velop nodes “to deliver Wi-Fi via the fastest path to the internet for the best experience possible.” That includes self-healing, self-optimizing, and self-organizing abilities.

Parental Controls

Velop already included parental controls, but Linksys said it was adding the ability to whole category filtering with both allow and block overrides.

Security

Linksys said security improvements included automatic network traffic security monitoring for malware and phishing, as well as blocking of malicious web sites.

Other Software Improvements

Velop networks will include Client Steering, meaning they will make sure devices are connecting via the best node available. Nodes will also include Backhaul Reconnect and Optimization, or the ability to reconnect a node to the internet if it fails.

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