Categories
gadgets

Set Up Linksys Velop Mesh Home WiFi System

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(Update 11-16-2025) Last few days I have encountered some intermittent issues on this Velop Wifi. And unplugging followed by plugging back in didn’t do the trick this time. So I did a reset, basically I factory reset every node to factory setting, and setup the Wifi network again. It seems now the WiFi is working as expected. A bonus point is this time I was able to add the 2nd child node successfully.

I also updated the firmware for one of the nodes. Now I feel like a network engineer 🙂

I also noticed that sometimes the LinkSys app will hang, and my workaround is to delete the app, and installed the app again. It seems did the trick. I did tried to close and re-open a few times. Sometimes that would work too. But “delete and re-install” did solve one hanging issue for me. I know it’s a bit extreme. Overall the app is not the best quality, let me add.

(Original 02-25-2025) I bought the system a while ago from Woot: it’s a refurbished product. Today I decided to set it up.

It’s done mostly via the Linksys app (iOS, android). I only have iOS so I can only comment on iOS: I think it’s good. It prompt me for the 1st node I just plugged in, and the node was also connected to the Internet (via the modem). Mainly I just tap and follow along.

The tricky part is add the 2nd node, my refurbished pack has 2 nodes total. Initially the app cannot find the child node (the 2nd node). Took me a while to realize I need to move this node closer to the parent node, and I did. After that I can see the 2nd node had the “Solid Purple” which means Node is ready for setup: and the rest is the history. Here are the explanations for the different colors.

After the successful pairing I can move the child node upstairs: and hopefully it can make the overall WiFi situation better at my home. Earlier I did try the “repeater mode” for my older Linksys WiFi router but it had some issues.

PS: I found out by default wordpress will use a very old timestamp for my post – it was year 2013 because I just reused it here. Then I updated it by just updating the timestamp.

PS (02-03-2025) I decided to get another Linksys VLP01 unit from eBay as I think it may improve the coverage when I work at front yard.

Categories
Life Tips Saint Louis

Wifi hot spots and plan

Reading Time: < 1 minuteMobile broadband (3G) is getting popular these days, but for most people (esp. consumers) that’s still a bit too expensive. At this time I think the good old Wifi is more suitable for me and many working from home (Starbucks, Panera Bread, Borders, Barnes Noble, or McDonald) type.

I used to use Free Wifi at Panera/St. Louis Bread Co. But “free” usually comes with a price, such as the new policy of “limit to 30 minutes use” between 11 AM to 2 PM. I have used two Wifi plan so far, T-mobile hotspot (Borders) and Boingo (many airports, Starbucks, McDonald). Let me compare those two plans:

Cost: T-mobile $19.99 per month for everyone ($9.99 for T-mobile wireless users, like me); Boingo costs $9.99 per month (US)

Coverage: Boingo wins this one because it is available in most Starbucks, McDonald, and airports. T-mobile hotspot is available in Borders bookstore, and it has a free roaming agreement with Starbucks (using AT&T Wifi), but I got some connection problem in one of my two visits to Starbucks. Of course the downside of Starbucks and McDonald is it’s more noisy than Borders (usually).

BTW, I found the iPhone Wifi Finder to be cool.

Categories
Business Fun

iTune at Starbucks

Reading Time: < 1 minuteThat’s the new services to be offered by two great companies: Apple and Starbucks. According Seattle Post Intelligence:

Apple’s new wireless iPod music player, iPhone or any laptop computer running iTunes will automatically recognize the iTunes store without a connection fee when customers enter a Starbucks shop that has Wi-Fi access.