Linksys VELOP MX5500 Series User manual

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USER GUIDE
VELOP
MX5500 Series

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Table of Contents
Product Overview___________________________________________________________________________________________3
Front/top ______________________________________________________________________________________________________3
Back ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________4
Bottom _________________________________________________________________________________________________________5
Where to find more help ____________________________________________________________________________________6
Set Up _________________________________________________________________________________________________________7
Velop System Settings______________________________________________________________________________________9
Log in to the Linksys app____________________________________________________________________________________9
Dashboard___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10
Devices_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 11
To view or change device details____________________________________________________________________________________ 12
Wi-Fi Settings _______________________________________________________________________________________________ 13
Advanced Settings____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 14
Connect a Device with WPS _________________________________________________________________________________________ 15
Guest Access_________________________________________________________________________________________________ 16
Speed Check_________________________________________________________________________________________________ 17
Parental Controls___________________________________________________________________________________________ 18
Device Prioritization_______________________________________________________________________________________ 19
Notifications_________________________________________________________________________________________________ 20
Velop Administration______________________________________________________________________________________ 21
Advanced Settings__________________________________________________________________________________________ 23
Internet Settings______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 23
Port Settings __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 24
Wi-Fi MAC Filters ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 25
My Account __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 26
Feedback_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 27
Help___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 28
Connect Directly To Velop_______________________________________________________________________________ 29
Velop admin password ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 30
How to restore factory defaults________________________________________________________________________ 31
Specifications______________________________________________________________________________________________ 32
Linksys Velop _______________________________________________________________________________________________ 32
Environmental______________________________________________________________________________________________ 32

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Product Overview
Front/top
The light on the top of your node gives you
information about the node’s operation.
Light
description
Status
Blinking blue Starting up
Solid blue Connected
Blinking purple Setup in progress
Solid purple Ready for setup
Blinking red Disconnected
•Child node: too far
•Parent node:
unplugged from
modem
Solid red No internet from the
modem
Solid yellow Weak connection
•Child node only

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Back
Ethernet ports—Connect ethernet cables to these Gigabit ethernet (10/100/1000) ports and to
other wired devices on your network. If you have more than one node in your Velop system, use one of
these ports to connect to your modem or modem-router.
Note—For best performance, use a CAT5e or higher rated cable on the Ethernet port.
Internet port—Connect an ethernet cable to the yellow gigabit (10/100/1000) port, and to a
broadband internet cable/DSL or fiber modem. If you are using this router as a child node in a mesh
Wi-Fi system, you can use this port to create a wired connection to another node.
Power port—Connect the included AC power adapter to this port.

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Bottom
Reset button—Press and hold until the light on top of the node turns red, fades and flashes bright red
again to reset the node to its factory defaults.
Wi-Fi Protected Setup button—Press to connect WPS-enabled network devices.
Power switch—Slide to | (on) to power on the node.

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Help
Where to find more help
•Linksys.com/support/Velop
•Linksys app help (launch the app and click Help in the main navigation menu)
Note—Licenses and notices for third party software used in this product may be viewed on
http://support.linksys.com/en-us/license. Please contact http://support.linksys.com/en-
us/gplcodecenter for questions or GPL source code requests.

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Set Up
IMPORTANT—Velop nodes can be set up as primary nodes or child nodes. A primary node must be
connected with an ethernet cable to your modem or modem router. Once set up wirelessly, secondary
nodes can be connected to another node wirelessly or with ethernet cables.
If you are adding this new node as parent node to an existing Velop whole home mesh Wi-Fi system,
factory reset all nodes and add them to the system after the new node is setup and working.
Download the Linksys app. You need this app to set up Velop.
Go to the app store for your device and search for Linksys.
Install the app, open it and follow the instructions.
Note—The app works with iOS 11.4 and later, and Android 6 and later.
You will create a Linksys Smart Wi-Fi account so you can use the app to view or change your Velop
system settings from anywhere you have an internet connection.
Among the many things you can do with Linksys Smart Wi-Fi:
•Change your Wi-Fi name and password
•Set up guest access
•Connect devices to Wi-Fi with WPS
•Block internet with parental controls
•Test your internet connection speed
Note—During setup we’ll send a verification email. From your home network, click the link in the
email.
Other than plugging in the power and the ethernet cable, the app-based setup process does the work
for you. Once connected, use the app to personalize your Wi-Fi by giving it a name and password. You
also can give nodes names based on where they are so you can identify them in the rare case where
things need attention.

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Print this page, then record your Wi-Fi and account settings in the table as a reference. Store your
notes in a safe place.
Wi-Fi Name
Wi-Fi Password
Admin Password
Guest Access Name
Guest Access Password
Linksys App Login Email
Linksys App Password

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Velop System Settings
Using your Linksys app, you can view or change Velop system settings to make your Wi-Fi more
secure or to work better with a device or game. You can access settings from anywhere in the world if
you have an internet connection. You can also access settings using your router password when
connected to your home network even if you do not have an internet connection.
Log in to the Linksys app
1. Open the Linksys app.
2. Enter the email address you used when creating your account.
3. Enter your account password.
4. Tap Log in.

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Dashboard
Dashboard is a snapshot of your Wi-Fi. See how many devices are connected to your Velop system.
Share Wi-Fi password and allow guest access to your Wi-Fi. Dashboard also shows you if any devices
have parental controls on them or have been prioritized for Wi-Fi access.

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Devices
View and change details for all devices connected to your Wi-Fi. You can view devices on your main
network and your guest network, or display information about each device.

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To view or change device details
From the Devices screen you can edit device names and change the device icons. You also can
prioritize devices, set parental controls, and see Wi-Fi details. Tap on any device to see details.

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Wi-Fi Settings
View or change your Wi-Fi name and password and connect devices using Wi-Fi Protected Setup™.

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Advanced Settings
Advanced users can change the default security type and Wi-Fi mode. Do not change these unless
you have a lot of experience with Wi-Fi networks. Channel Finder will search for the most-open Wi-Fi
channels in your area to ensure you get the best performance from your Velop system. If you have
more than one node in your Velop system, Channel Finder will find the best channel for each node.

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Connect a Device with WPS
Wi-Fi Protected Setup allows you to easily connect wireless devices to your Wi-Fi without manually
entering security settings.

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Guest Access
Use your Guest Access to allow guests to get online while restricting their access to other resources
connected to your Wi-Fi. Send the password by text message or email.

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Speed Check
Run a speed check to make sure you are getting the speeds you are paying for. Speed check also
helps in Device Prioritization because results determine how Wi-Fi is distributed to the prioritized
devices.
•Download speed is the rate at which internet content is transferred to your Velop system.
•Upload speed is the rate at which you can upload content to the internet.
Note—Internet connection speeds are determined by a variety of factors, including ISP account
type, local and worldwide internet traffic, and number of devices in your home that are sharing
the internet connection.

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Parental Controls
Parental controls allow you to control when your kids are online and what they’re doing there. Pause
internet to specific devices, or block specific websites.

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Device Prioritization
Choose up to three devices for priority usage of your internet connection. Those devices – wired
and/or wireless – always will have the best access when connected. Velop runs a speed check to
determine how to best distribute Wi-Fi to prioritized devices. Other devices will share the leftover
capacity. Prioritized devices appear on Dashboard.

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Notifications
If you have more than one node, Velop can notify you when secondary nodes in your system go offline.
Secondary nodes are any that are not wired to your modem. You have to turn on notifications in your
mobile device settings to allow Velop to notify you.