

The MR9600 is a dual-band AX6000 router that can hit theoretical speeds of up to 1,147 megabits per second (Mbps) on the 2.4GHz band and up to 4,804 Mbps on the 5 GHz band. Moreover, the MR9600 lacks link aggregation capabilities. By way of comparison, the similarly priced Asus RT-AX88U router and the TP-Link Archer AX6000 and AX11000 routers give you 8 LAN ports, and both of the TP-Link routers are equipped with a multi-gig LAN ports. There’s a WPS button on the right side of the router and around back are four gigabit LAN ports, a WAN port, two USB 3.0 ports, a reset button, a power port, and a power switch. There’s also a WPS light that blinks white when WPS is in progress, blinks orange when there’s a WPS error, and turns solid white when a successful WPS connection has been made.

The front panel holds a status indicator that blinks blue during startup, blinks purple during setup, is solid blue when everything is working, and turns solid red when the router has lost its internet connection.

It sports a textured top, a glossy black front panel, and four non-removable adjustable antennas. The MR9600 uses a black rectangular desktop enclosure that measures 2.3 by 11.0 by 6.6 inches (HWD). However, in PCMag Labs tests, we found it couldn't quite match the overall performance of our latest Wi-Fi 6 Editors’ Choice, the TP-Link Archer AX11000, nor the speed, fit, and finish of the Asus RT-AX88U, our first Wi-Fi 6 Editors' Choice recipient. It is equipped with mesh tech that allows you to easily configure another compatible Linksys mesh router as a node and thereby create a mesh network. As with virtually all of the today’s routers it’s easy to install, and the Linksys mobile app makes it simple to control things using your phone. It uses the latest 802.11ax technology to deliver relatively quick 5GHz throughput performance and solid file transfer speeds. The Linksys Dual-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Router (MR9600) will run you $399.99 and represents the top of Linksys’ current Wi-Fi 6 router line.
