amazon Linksys EA9500 reviews
Basically, the Linksys EA9500 Max-Stream MU-MIMO AC5400 is a second generation 802.11ac wireless router, which improves the overall performance and speed of Wi-Fi networks. While still providing dedicated bandwidth for each connected device that supports MU-MIMO as if each device had its own router.
First impressions as soon as Test Lab “canned” this product is the grandeur of the size and design, with a heavy weight (about 1.5kg) combined with 8 units. Antenna can not be disassembled.
The EA9500, however, allows for flexible rotation (180 degrees horizontally, 90 degrees vertically) for all antennas to suit the installation space as well as active wave direction.
Not only that, almost all the top and bottom of the EA9500 are used by the manufacturer as a heat sink, allowing heat to escape easily when the device is operating.
In addition, the LED strip is always bright after the device has “surfaced”, certainly brings a sense of encouragement when placing this router in the dark space.
Technically, EA9500 is powered by a 1.4GHz dual-core processor, triple band with a combined speed of up to 5.3Gbps (1000Mbps on tape). 2.4GHz and 2166Mbps in each band 5GHz1 + 5GHz2).
At this point, many will immediately ask: Why are there three bands?
You may find the following, besides a standard 2.4GHz wireless access point (2.4GHz SSID), the EA9500 will automatically generate two other SSIDs in the 5GHz band, and Linksys named 5GHz1 and 5GHz2 respectively.
In the 5GHz band, the Wi-Fi Router has the ability to automatically detect the type of device connected to “routing” to the corresponding frequency band.
Specifically, SSIDs corresponding to the 5GHz1 band are preferred for mobile devices such as smartphones and computers (laptops, desktops), while devices such as Smart TVs and gaming consoles can only be logged in. SSID – 5GHz2 band.
The purpose of this sorting and banding is basically to optimize bandwidth for all incoming Linksys EA9500 connections.
More specifically, according to the manufacturer, the MU-MIMO technology allows the EA9500 to stream multiple data streams using MIMO multi-antenna technology to eight devices at the same time.
In addition, EA9500 is equipped with 8 Gigabit LAN ports, Gigabit WAN port, USB 3.0 port and USB 2.0 port for connecting printers, external hard drives or other USB devices.
Simple configuration
Although designed with a “big” look and feel that this device is only for professional users, but in fact EA9500 configuration can be said to be very easy. Say no, even users unfamiliar with technology can still easily configure this device.
More specifically, after reading the accompanying documentation and connecting the network cable, Test Lab can configure this device with just a few simple operations.
Accordingly, users can access the configuration page of the router through the default IP address is 192.168.1.1 or direct links linksyssmartwifi.com.
The first time you use it, just check both options on the interface page just displayed and click Next, then follow the instructions given by the router to complete the configuration of this router.
More about linksyssmartwifi.com, which is a feature that supports remote access and management of the router through an account created on the login page of the device’s console. This will help users manage the router no matter where they are, of course, need to connect to the Internet. In addition, users can also download the LinksysSmartWifi application on both Android and iOS.
Once configured, at the login interface, you can create a Linksys account for yourself or click the For local access link and enter the default password “admin”. .
About the Home interface, the EA9500 is very intuitive, the box layout is quite clear features such as Wireless, Network map, Guest Access, …, help users can operate in the most convenient way. .
Accordingly, the Network Startus area will display green messages once the router has “surfaced,” the Network Map area will show how many devices are connected to the router on both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands. .
Also in the Network Map area, if you press the Add a Device button, the router shows some detailed instructions on how to connect the device via Wi-Fi or WPS. This way, you can connect other devices with ease.
where can you get a Linksys EA9500 online
Linksys AC5400 Tri Band Wireless Router, Works with Amazon Alexa (Max Stream EA9500): Buy it now
The WPS, EA9500, for example, also allows for three ways to connect: press the WPS button on both devices, enter the router’s WPS code on the Wi-Fi receiver or enter the WPS code of the receiving device on the router.
It can be said that allowing a WPS connection through code entry is considered a useful solution for users who want to connect to the router but can not press the WPS button because the router is placed in an inaccessible location.
In addition, you can easily reconfigure your Wi-Fi network on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands by clicking the lock icon on the Wireless area or the corresponding option on the left menu.
For the 5GHz band, the manufacturer has built-in Band Steering, which automatically switches between 5GHz1 and 5GHz2, depending on the user’s device’s ability to optimize bandwidth.
In addition, you can disable this feature to configure for each 5GHz band individually by checking the Off (individual networks) section. At this time, the EA9500 will allow custom SSIDs and passwords for each 5GHz band, encrypted standard, Wi-Fi standard, as well as set up channel with each level of bandwidth.
To test the ability of the Linksys EA9500 tri-band, Test Lab first turned off the Band Steering feature, then changed the SSID on both bands (5GHz), followed by smartphones and Smart TV to search the same wireless access in the 5GHz band, which specific SSID is named TestLab_Linksys_5GHz.
Actual results show that smartphone can see both 5GHz1 and 5GHz2. However, Smart TV only shows the wave of the 5GHz2 band.
Enough features needed to manage Wi-Fi for the home or office medium
Similar to the EA7500 previously reviewed, the EA9500 is also equipped with a host of features that help users easily manage their home and office Internet and Wi-Fi networks.
More specifically, for frequently visited areas such as the living room in the home, the meeting room or the office reception, users can enable the guest access feature on the 2.4-band Guest Access GHz and 5GHz to distribute Wi-Fi networks to everyone.
In addition, users can limit the number of specific (5 to 50) devices connected to the router to minimize the overload that makes use of the Internet becomes slow.
However, the limitation of this feature is that it does not clearly display the 5GHz band that will be used as Guest Access, even if the Test Lab has switched to dual band 5GHz isolation.
In addition to the ability to create and control Guest Access, the EA9500 also supports the Parent Controls feature, allowing users to proactively block the Internet of any device right on the home screen.
Accordingly, once the slider is activated and click to select the device you want to block, just select Always and OK is able to block the Internet connection of that device.
Not only that, the EA9500 also supports the scheduling feature, which allows you to set certain Internet access times for each device connected to the router. In this way, the administrator can more easily control the Internet access time of each member in the office or home.
Also similar to the EA7500 router, the Linksys EA9500 also directs users to the Media Prioritization interface, which is quite intuitive and easy to use. Not only that, the feature of this feature is that it is possible to configure the highest bandwidth priority for 3 devices or 3 applications, games (provided on the router).
The EA9500 also allows users to share data directly from USB via the External Storage feature. Accordingly, after the USB connection, the External Storage area will display the amount of space on this storage device. Also, if you slide the Secure Forder Access enablement bar in the Forder Access tab, you can customize the read, write and share options.
Note, after confirming the share, the path to this directory will be displayed by the router in the External Storage configuration interface. Furthermore, the Linksys EA9500 also requires users to log in using the corresponding account when accessing this directory, on both macOS and PC.
In addition to the easy-to-use, easy-to-use features introduced on the EA9500, the EA9500 also includes a host of features for professional users, such as MAC Filtering, Internet Settings, VLANs, Advanced Routing, and more.
However, the other limitation of the EA9500 is that it does not support administrator settings, such as allowing for a fixed password change after the initial configuration, backup configuration parameters….
Waves healthy, stable performance
Through practical use, Test Lab found that EA9500’s broad range of broadcasts.
More specifically, after connecting the smartphone to the router at a distance of 10 meters and obstructing a wall, Internet access went smoothly, browsing the web and playing videos on YouTube without the phenomenon of jerky).
In order to realize the strong wave power of the device, Test Lab chose to experiment in the environment as a 2-storey house using 30 Mbps FiberVNN (theoretical) transmission. With the SpeedTest dedicated tracking utility on Android, Test Lab decided to “light” the strengths of two Wi-Fi routers, the EA7500 and the EA9500 at 5 meters and 10 meters. Obstacles are the walls / bulkheads and the multiple “hybrid” SSIDs of other routers.
Not only that, Test Lab also uses the dedicated Wifi Analyzer utility on the Android device to measure the stability of the EA9500 waveform (with the SSID TestLab_Linksys) at 5 meters and 10 meters. The results show that the EA7500’s waves are still fairly stable, even at some point over time.