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Refurbished Linksys MX5503 Atlas Pro 6 AX5400 Wi-Fi 6 Dual-Band Mesh System (3-Pack)
$35
+ Free S/H w/ Amazon Primeat Woot!
Top Comments
AX5300 is a speed rating based on Wi-Fi 6 standard; if two different devices follow the same standard and have the same antenna setup (to oversimplify), then the AX number is exactly the same, even if devices have different ports and different chipset/CPU/RAM/ROM/GigE/USB/software/drivers, even if such changes mean that real-life performance would be different;
MX5300 device has 4-core CPU, 1024MB RAM, 5x GigE, 1x USB3;
MX5500 device has 2-core CPU; 512MB RAM, 4x GigE, 0x USB;
MX4300 (LN1301) had 4-core CPU; 2048MB RAM; 4x GigE, 1x USB3;
MX55EC3 is presumed to be a BestBuy SKU for 3x MX5500;
MX55EC3-RM2 is Linksys Certified Refurbished;
Community Reviews
This refurbished Linksys Atlas Pro 6 mesh kit is mainly valued as a cheap way to build or expand a Wi Fi 6 mesh, especially with wired backhaul. The hardware is described as solid for coverage and reliable operation, and the 4 by 4 4800 Mbps radio can still perform well when the nodes are split for mesh. It also appears compatible with older Velop gear and has OpenWRT or DD WRT interest for tinkerers. The main cautions are that setup can be fiddly, the app has frozen during provisioning, and the platform is older with no updates beyond 2021. A practical pick if you want inexpensive mesh hardware and do not mind extra setup work.
Common Questions (5)
AI-generated summary based on comments from the community. Updated ago
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65 Comments
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Update: I messaged and Woot allowed the order cancellation.
https://support.linksys
shows support through late 2025
MX5503 Downloads
https://firmware-selector.openwr
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Not sure if that's the best version to install but I didn't see it available for earlier OpenWRT versions for some reason. Anyway, I have it up and running and wireless mesh (no ethernet backhaul) setup. The throughput isn't very good and I'm struggling to get consistently high speeds. My cable service is 1Gbps down and 100Mbps up and I am nowhere close to hitting those speeds. I should probably plug a laptop directly in to confirm the download speeds of course but on my Nest, I was getting 400-500Mbps at times (everything tested through Fast and Speedtest). Right now I have my old Google Nest router in between so am "double-natting" I think, which I've heard can be a limiting factor. But before I decomission the Nest and create upheaval on my network, I am wanting to get the mesh network and throughput stable. I also tried plugging the Linksys directly into the modem and the download throughput was really bad (no more than 200-300mbps at the time but I was playing aroudn with SQM, etc. I've disabled SQM but have been playing around with the software flow offloading and hardware flow offloading. Software flow offloading doesn't seem to help as much as it hurts. Hardware flow offloading seems like it may give a slight speed bump but I've read that it can be unstable for the long term uptime. Right now flow offloading is off. I did enable Packet Steering for all CPUs.
Does anyone know the surefire optimized settings for stable high speeds on these units with OpenWRT (outside of ethernet backhaul...although in my case, my download speed at the main router seems to be problematic)?
Not sure if that's the best version to install but I didn't see it available for earlier OpenWRT versions for some reason. Anyway, I have it up and running and wireless mesh (no ethernet backhaul) setup. The throughput isn't very good and I'm struggling to get consistently high speeds. My cable service is 1Gbps down and 100Mbps up and I am nowhere close to hitting those speeds. I should probably plug a laptop directly in to confirm the download speeds of course but on my Nest, I was getting 400-500Mbps at times (everything tested through Fast and Speedtest). Right now I have my old Google Nest router in between so am "double-natting" I think, which I've heard can be a limiting factor. But before I decomission the Nest and create upheaval on my network, I am wanting to get the mesh network and throughput stable. I also tried plugging the Linksys directly into the modem and the download throughput was really bad (no more than 200-300mbps at the time but I was playing aroudn with SQM, etc. I've disabled SQM but have been playing around with the software flow offloading and hardware flow offloading. Software flow offloading doesn't seem to help as much as it hurts. Hardware flow offloading seems like it may give a slight speed bump but I've read that it can be unstable for the long term uptime. Right now flow offloading is off. I did enable Packet Steering for all CPUs.
Does anyone know the surefire optimized settings for stable high speeds on these units with OpenWRT (outside of ethernet backhaul...although in my case, my download speed at the main router seems to be problematic)?
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EDIT: as far as speeds, I think it may be a constraint based on the version/kernel of OpenWRT. Apparently, based on the chipset on this router, in order to achieve speeds consistently greater than 200-300mbps, you have to use an "NSS" kernel build, which it seems there's much less development around. Down the rabbit hole we go I guess... supposedly there are a few openwrt NSS specific builds/branches out there but not many. I think there may also be some DDWRT NSS builds available too. I will have to look into this more tomorrow and for days to come...
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