TechPhonesNetwork ProvidersLinksys Hydra Pro 6E review: home network Wi-Fi 6E on the cheapA router that handles Wi-Fi well and won’t cost you too muchWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictWith the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E, you’ve got a router that offers Wi-Fi 6E at a respectable price for 250 square metres of coverage – that’s an appealing prospect, though depending on your needs it might not be the very best Wi-Fi 6E router upgrade you can find.Reasons to buy+Affordable Wi-Fi 6E connectivity+Maintains good speeds at distance+Simple to get up and runningReasons to avoid-Lower speeds on older bands-Antennas aren’t detachable-Basic set of app featuresWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
TechPhonesNetwork ProvidersLinksys Hydra Pro 6E review: home network Wi-Fi 6E on the cheapA router that handles Wi-Fi well and won’t cost you too muchWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictWith the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E, you’ve got a router that offers Wi-Fi 6E at a respectable price for 250 square metres of coverage – that’s an appealing prospect, though depending on your needs it might not be the very best Wi-Fi 6E router upgrade you can find.Reasons to buy+Affordable Wi-Fi 6E connectivity+Maintains good speeds at distance+Simple to get up and runningReasons to avoid-Lower speeds on older bands-Antennas aren’t detachable-Basic set of app featuresWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
A router that handles Wi-Fi well and won’t cost you too much
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictWith the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E, you’ve got a router that offers Wi-Fi 6E at a respectable price for 250 square metres of coverage – that’s an appealing prospect, though depending on your needs it might not be the very best Wi-Fi 6E router upgrade you can find.Reasons to buy+Affordable Wi-Fi 6E connectivity+Maintains good speeds at distance+Simple to get up and runningReasons to avoid-Lower speeds on older bands-Antennas aren’t detachable-Basic set of app features
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
T3 VerdictWith the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E, you’ve got a router that offers Wi-Fi 6E at a respectable price for 250 square metres of coverage – that’s an appealing prospect, though depending on your needs it might not be the very best Wi-Fi 6E router upgrade you can find.Reasons to buy+Affordable Wi-Fi 6E connectivity+Maintains good speeds at distance+Simple to get up and runningReasons to avoid-Lower speeds on older bands-Antennas aren’t detachable-Basic set of app features
T3 VerdictWith the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E, you’ve got a router that offers Wi-Fi 6E at a respectable price for 250 square metres of coverage – that’s an appealing prospect, though depending on your needs it might not be the very best Wi-Fi 6E router upgrade you can find.
T3 Verdict
With the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E, you’ve got a router that offers Wi-Fi 6E at a respectable price for 250 square metres of coverage – that’s an appealing prospect, though depending on your needs it might not be the very best Wi-Fi 6E router upgrade you can find.
Reasons to buy+Affordable Wi-Fi 6E connectivity+Maintains good speeds at distance+Simple to get up and runningReasons to avoid-Lower speeds on older bands-Antennas aren’t detachable-Basic set of app features
Reasons to buy+Affordable Wi-Fi 6E connectivity+Maintains good speeds at distance+Simple to get up and running
Affordable Wi-Fi 6E connectivity
Maintains good speeds at distance
Simple to get up and running
Reasons to avoid-Lower speeds on older bands-Antennas aren’t detachable-Basic set of app features
Lower speeds on older bands
Antennas aren’t detachable
Basic set of app features
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Without excelling in any particular area, the router manages to cover all the key features, providing solid Wi-Fi coverage and speeds in our testing. The main focus is on the fastest 6GHz band, so check which of your gadgets at home also come with support for Wi-Fi 6E.
There are a growing number of products like this on the market: if you’re looking to upgrade your home networking setup, be sure to also check out our guides to thebest Wi-Fi 6 routersand thebest mesh network systemsbefore you start spending money.
Linksys Hydra Pro 6E: price & availability
Today’s best Linksys Hydra Pro 6E deals34 Amazon customer reviews☆☆☆☆☆$155.95View$158.34View$277.62ViewShow More DealsWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Linksys Hydra Pro 6E deals34 Amazon customer reviews☆☆☆☆☆$155.95View$158.34View$277.62ViewShow More DealsWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Linksys Hydra Pro 6E deals
34 Amazon customer reviews☆☆☆☆☆
34 Amazon customer reviews☆☆☆☆☆
☆☆☆☆☆
$155.95View$158.34View$277.62View
$155.95View
$155.95View
$155.95View
$155.95
$155.95
$158.34View
$158.34View
$158.34View
$158.34
$158.34
$277.62View
$277.62View
$277.62View
$277.62
$277.62
Show More Deals
Show More Deals
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Linksys Hydra Pro 6E review: design & setup
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
We’re not sure how many people buy a router based on its aesthetic appeal, but we’re guessing it’s not a lot. Nevertheless, the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E has a certain angular and business-like charm to it – it looks like a serious bit of networking kit, and it says to any visitors to your home that you’re not messing about when it comes to home Wi-Fi. Linksys has made a bit of an effort at style with the rounded, grilled cover, but generally speaking it’s just a black box the size of a large paperback. A small colourful LED light gives you some basic status information.
As with most routers (and indeed most devices in general), setup is handled through a mobile app on your phone. While we wish we didn’t have to sign up for yet another account every time we wanted to test another router, this is where we are now with new hardware – and the process of getting the router up and running is at least quick and straightforward. It’s one of the friendlier apps of this type that we’ve come across.
Basic device prioritisation and various other features are available through the app, and through a web interface once setup is complete. We like the ability to switch on a guest mode with a toggle switch, should you not want visitors to be able to access your main Wi-Fi network. The app reports details such as which devices are connected to which band, and it also comes with its own speed test utility.
Linksys Hydra Pro 6E review: features & performance
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
As that ‘6E’ in the name tells you, this supports the latest Wi-Fi 6E standard – it’s the fastest and offers the most network capacity, but the jump from Wi-Fi 6 isn’t a massive one, and all your other devices (from smart speakers to tablets) need to be Wi-Fi 6E-compatible to get the best performance (older Wi-Fi standards are still supported of course, but you won’t get the same speeds).
Priority is given to the fastest, newest, shortest range 6GHz band, which offers speeds of 4,800Mbps (megabits per second) – compare that to 600Mbps for the 2.4GHz band and 1.2Mbps for the 5GHz band. Bandwidth is also more limited on the slower bands, so this is going to have the most appeal for those who have mostly new tech at home. Of course those speeds are theoretical, and won’t magically improve the broadband speed you’re paying for from your supplier.
Testing Wi-Fi is always tricky because everyone’s setup is different – devices, positioning, broadband speeds, even the materials in your walls and how many fish tanks you’ve got – but with our Wi-Fi 6E-enabledPixel 7 Prophone we got decent speeds throughout the home. If you’ve bought your hardware in the last few years it will probably be able to take advantage of Wi-Fi 6E, but it’s worth checking what you’ve got, as the mix of gadgets you’re connecting to the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E could make a difference.
Linksys Hydra Pro 6E review: verdict
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
If you want to future-proof with Wi-Fi 6E, then this is one of the most affordable devices around that fits the bill. While other Wi-Fi 6E routers and even some of thebest Wi-Fi 6 routerscan beat it in terms of speeds and coverage, especially on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, we don’t think the average home user is going to hit the upper limits of what the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E has to offer.
Just about every tech purchase is a balance between performance, features, and how much you’re actually going to have to pay, and that’s no different when it comes to wireless routers. The Linksys Hydra Pro 6E gets that balance more or less right we would say, and in our own testing – which of course may or may not match up with what you want to put the router through – it didn’t disappoint.
There’s nothing in the way of malware protection here though, and only the basics as far as parental controls go, so you’re not exactly blessed with a huge number of extra features – again an indication that you’re shopping at the more affordable end of the scale as far as home routers go. The parental controls here do include the ability to block certain devices from the internet at certain times, for example, but you can’t do anything as fancy as filter out specific websites.
Another question you need to ask yourself is whether it’s worth upgrading to the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E from whatever router your internet provider has given you – in some cases the benefits might not outweigh the costs. It’s also worth noting that the router has been out since 2021 in the US, and so is starting to get a little bit older: and with Wi-Fi 7 around the corner, you might decide to hang tight for a while.
Also consider
If you’re got a bigger property to blanket in Wi-Fi then maybe you want to explore the mesh router option, and theHuawei Wi-Fi Mesh 7can certainly help here: you’re limited to Wi-Fi 6 rather than Wi-Fi 6E, but the asking price is a reasonable one, and there is tri-band functionality here for superior performance. The three units can cover up to 600 square metres and handle up to 250 devices.
If you absolutely want to make sure you get Wi-Fi 6E then consider theAmazon Eero Pro 6E. It’s not the most powerful mesh networking system on the market, but in line with previous Eero devices, it is very simple to set up and manage – you get support for 100 connected devices and a coverage area of some 560 square metres, so it might suit your needs better than the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E we’ve reviewed here.
Today’s best Linksys Hydra Pro 6E, Huawei Wi-Fi Mesh 7 and Amazon Eero Pro 6E dealsLinksys Hydra Pro 6E (AXE6600)$158.34ViewSee all pricesAmazon Eero Pro 6E$249.99$189ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Linksys Hydra Pro 6E, Huawei Wi-Fi Mesh 7 and Amazon Eero Pro 6E dealsLinksys Hydra Pro 6E (AXE6600)$158.34ViewSee all pricesAmazon Eero Pro 6E$249.99$189ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Linksys Hydra Pro 6E, Huawei Wi-Fi Mesh 7 and Amazon Eero Pro 6E dealsLinksys Hydra Pro 6E (AXE6600)$158.34ViewSee all pricesAmazon Eero Pro 6E$249.99$189ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Linksys Hydra Pro 6E, Huawei Wi-Fi Mesh 7 and Amazon Eero Pro 6E deals
Linksys Hydra Pro 6E (AXE6600)$158.34ViewSee all pricesAmazon Eero Pro 6E$249.99$189ViewSee all prices
Linksys Hydra Pro 6E (AXE6600)$158.34ViewSee all prices
Linksys Hydra Pro 6E (AXE6600)$158.34ViewSee all prices
Linksys Hydra Pro 6E (AXE6600)
Linksys Hydra Pro 6E (AXE6600)
$158.34View
$158.34
$158.34
See all prices
Amazon Eero Pro 6E$249.99$189ViewSee all prices
Amazon Eero Pro 6E$249.99$189ViewSee all prices
Amazon Eero Pro 6E
Amazon Eero Pro 6E
$249.99$189View
$249.99$189
$189
See all prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts
Ring announces first ever smart smoke alarms in collaboration with KiddeRing partners with Kidde on smart smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
Ring partners with Kidde on smart smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
This E Ink notebook can replace your Kindle and Chromebook in oneBOOX’s new E Ink tablet can turn into an Android-powered laptop too
BOOX’s new E Ink tablet can turn into an Android-powered laptop too
Sky Stream gets a great new trick that unlocks long hidden potentialA Sky Stream puck update gives you a host of new channels
A Sky Stream puck update gives you a host of new channels
