The $399.99 Arris Surfboard Max Tri-Band AX6600 (W121) is a two-piece mesh Wi-Fi system designed to bring wireless connectivity to all corners of your home (up to 5,500 square feet). As is the case with most mesh systems, the AX6600 uses a mobile app and is easy to install. In addition, both the router and the node showed good signal strength and delivered solid throughput scores in testing. That said, you’ll get more features and faster performance in the same amount of coverage area with the $449.99 Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8, our Editors’ Choice winner for mesh Wi-Fi systems.
Fewer Features Than the Competition
The Surfboard Max AX6600 is a two-piece mesh system designed for homes up to 5,500 square feet. The white cylindrical nodes are identical. They measure 7.7 inches tall and 4.0 inches wide, and have a silver base surrounded by a thin LED ring that glows solid blue when everything is working properly, blinks green and white during setup, and glows solid red when the node has lost its internet connection. The base holds two gigabit LAN ports, one of which serves as a WAN port for the main router, and a power jack. There are no USB ports or multi-gig ports like you get on the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 components, but you can use the LAN ports for wired backhaul.
This is an AX6600 tri-band system that can reach maximum data rates of up to 600Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, up to 1,200Mbps on one of the 5GHz bands, and up to 4,800Mbps on the second 5GHz band, which is dedicated for wireless backhaul. It’s powered by a quad-core CPU and supports most (but not all) of the latest 802.11ax, or Wi-Fi 6, technologies including Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) data transmissions, 160MHz bandwidth, TWT (Target Wake time), MU-MIMO simultaneous data streaming, and direct-to-client signal beamforming. However, it doesn’t support WPA3 encryption, at least not yet.
The Surfboard system doesn’t offer a web-based management console. Instead, everything is managed using the mobile app, and your options are limited. General settings allow you to enable/disable UPnP (Universal Plug and Play), put the router in Bridge mode, enable/disable IPv6, and create Port Forwarding rules, but there are no firewall, port triggering, or VPN settings, nor are there any of the advanced wireless settings that you get with the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 that let you separate the radio bands, change channels, or configure things like RTS Threshold, Beacon Interval, and TX Bursting settings.
In the app, the home screen displays a network map containing the router, node, and any devices connected to the network. It also displays the results of the latest network speed tests and contains a Signal Strength Leader Board that shows you the signal strength of all connected devices and which radio band they’re currently using.
At the bottom of the screen are Home, Network, and Parental buttons. The Home button takes you back to the home screen, and the Network button opens a screen where you can enable guest networking and access the above-mentioned general settings. Here you can also access WAN settings (IP and DNS configuration), LAN settings (IP reservations, DHCP range, DHCP lease time), and Time Zone settings.
The Parental button takes you to a screen where you can create user profiles, assign access schedules for each profile, pause internet access, and block users, but there are no age-based filter presets and you can’t block access to specific websites. Missing are QoS (device prioritization) settings that allow you to allocate bandwidth to specific clients. Also missing is the anti-malware software that you get with the TP-Link Deco X60 AX3000 and the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8.
Good Signal Strength and Throughput
Installing the Surfboard Max AX660 system is fairly easy. I started by downloading the Surfboard Central mobile app and tapping Get Started. After granting the app permission to access location and network services, I tapped Continue, selected the W121 from the list, and tapped Sign Up to create an account. Once my account was verified, I selected Setup Network and followed the instructions to unpack the box, unplug my modem, and connect a Max node to the modem using the included LAN cable.
I powered up the modem and the Max router, and agreed to let the app join the Surfboard Onboarding network, and within 30 seconds the app was connected. I verified that the LED was blinking green and white, tapped Next, and waited several seconds for a firmware update. Once the router was updated, I was prompted to connect to its SSID using my phone’s Wi-Fi settings. I then gave the new network a name and a password and the router installation was complete. At this point you can watch a tutorial on how to manage your network, or skip it and move on to installing the satellite node.
Installing the satellite node was also easy. I tapped Install Now when prompted, selected the node device from the list, and followed the unpacking and plug-in instructions in the app. Once powered up, I verified that the node’s LED was flashing green and white, tapped Next, and within 30 seconds the node was connected. After a 60-second network optimization procedure, the node was connected and the installation was complete.
The Surfboard Max AX660 system performed admirably in our throughput tests. The main router node’s speed of 755Mbps on the close-proximity (same room) test was a bit faster than the Linksys Velop AX4200, but just a hair slower than the TP-Link Deco X60. The Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8’s speed of 860Mbps led the pack. On the 30-foot test, the Surfboard’s speed of 290Mbps was identical to the TP-Link Deco X60 and just 9Mbps slower than the Linksys AX4200, while the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 dominated with a speed of 347Mbps.
The Surfboard Max AX660 satellite node showed good throughput in our tests. Its speed of 628Mbps on the close-proximity test topped the Linksys Velop AX4200 and the TP-Link Deco X60, but couldn’t keep pace with the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8. Similarly, the Surfboard node’s speed of 488Mbps was faster than both the Linksys Velop AX4200 and the TP-Link Deco X60, but the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 beat it by 131Mbps.
To measure Wi-Fi signal strength, we use an Ekahau Sidekick Wi-Fi diagnostic device and Ekahau’s Survey mobile app. (Note: Ekahau is owned by j2 Global, the parent company of Ziff Media Group, the publisher of PCMag.com.) The software generates heat maps that display wireless coverage throughout our test home.
On the map, darker green areas indicate the strongest signal measurements, and lighter green and yellow areas show a weaker signal. The circles represent the location of the router and the satellite node. As you can see from the heat map, the Surfboard Max AX6600 does a good job of delivering a strong signal to the entire house and the garage.
Not for Tinkerers
Strong throughput performance and solid signal strength are both good reasons to consider the Arris Surfboard Max Mesh Wi-Fi System AX6600 for your whole-home networking needs. It’s also relatively easy to install and manage using the mobile app, and offers a dedicated 5GHz radio band for backhaul. Unfortunately, it lacks many of the features that you get with similarly priced mesh systems, including anti-malware tools, robust parental controls, and advanced management settings. For around $50 more, the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8 is a better deal: It offers the same amount of coverage with superior performance, multi-gig LAN, USB connectivity, and lifetime anti-malware and parental control software, so it remains our Editors’ Choice winner for Wi-Fi mesh systems.
