Linksys Max-Stream EA9300

amazon Linksys Max-Stream EA9300 reviews

Designed for large homes that need a lot of bandwidth for video streaming and online gaming, the Linksys Max-Stream EA9300 uses three radio bands to combat congestion on your home Wi-Fi network. It supports all the latest 802.11ac technologies, including beamforming and band control, and it can handle Alexa voice commands. It’s easy to install and manage using the Linksys web console or mobile app, and it’s a solid performer.

Choose your Band

The EA9300 has the same black textured design as the Linksys EA9500 we reviewed but at 2.5 x 9.0 x 11.6 inches. It has six adjustable antennas that can’t be moved. The top has a small control panel with an illuminated Linksys logo, WPS (Wi-Fi protected setup) activity LED, and LED indicator. Lights up when there is a problem with the internet connection and LAN cable. Surrounding it are four gigabit LAN ports, one WAN port, two USB 3.0 ports, a reset button, the power jack, and the power switch. The WPS button is located on the right side of the Router.

The EA9300 is an AC4000 tri-band router capable maximum data rate of 750Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 1.625Mbps on each of the two 5GHz bands. It is an 802.11ac Wave 2 device that supports MU-MIMO (simultaneous) data transmission, direct signal transmission to clients (beam). Smart Connect technology (band control) allows the Router to choose the best radio band, like network traffic and available bandwidth. This Router also supports seamless roaming when paired with a Linksys Max-Stream range extender. It is equipped with a 1.8 GHz quad-core CPU, 512 MB RAM, and 256 MB flash memory.

You can manage the Router with a web-based control panel or the same Linksys iOS or Android mobile app used to manage the Velop range of mesh Wi-Fi systems. The app has the same functionality as the web console, but the dashboard gets more granular control. For example, you can set application priority and downstream bandwidth limits with the web console but not with the application. Additionally, the web control panel offers some advanced options that you don’t get with the app, including VLANs, Wireless Scheduling, Airtime Fair settings, and Speed ​​Test, allowing you to measure Router’s internet upload and download speed.

The mobile app opens a Dashboard screen showing the network name, internet connection status, and some connected devices. It also displays the name (SSID) of each band on the main and guest networks. Tap any group to grant access to users via email or text message. The message contains the SSID and password for that particular band. To display a list of connected clients, tap Devices, then tap any device name to apply parental controls or provide bandwidth priority for the device.

Parental controls are limited. You can block websites and create schedules to limit access to the internet, but you don’t get the age-appropriate filters you get with the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AC5300 and the Netgear NightHawk X6S AC4000 (R8000P). You also don’t get the built-in malware protection that comes with the Asus Rapture Router. However, the EA9300 doesn’t support Alexa voice commands that let you turn on guest networks and adjust certain Wi-Fi settings with voice commands.

To access Router settings, tap the three bars in the upper-left corner of the Dashboard screen. Here you can edit the SSID and password, configure the security type (WPA/WPA2 Mixed Enterprise, WPA/WPA2 Mixed Personal, WPA2 Enterprise, WPA2 Personal, WEP), configure channel and width settings channel, and enable/disable Band-Driving. Advanced settings allow you to configure Port Forwarding and Port Triggering, set up MAC filters, and configure DHCP and DNS settings. Use the Admin settings to upgrade the firmware, set the time zone, view the Router’s IP address, and restart the Router.

Keeping up with the race

Installing the EA9300 is quick and easy. I started by downloading the mobile app and creating an account. After plugging in the Router, I clicked Launch Setup and selected All Other Routers from the list, and followed the instructions in the app to connect to the Router using the phone’s Wi-Fi settings with the SSID and password found on the base of the Router. Then I hit Find My Router and was immediately taken to the EA9300 Setup screen. I pressed Continue and was prompted to personalize my network by creating a name for each band (you can choose to use one name for all three if you’re using Smart Connect) and entering a new password. I created an admin password to access the Router’s settings panel, and the installation was complete.

The EA9300 delivered good results in our throughput performance tests. Its score of 95Mbps on the 2.4GHz proximity test (same room), similar to the Netgear NightHawk X6S R8000P but not as fast as the TP-Link Archer C5400X (113Mbps). Asus Rapture GT-AC5300 leads the way with a score of 128Mbps. On the 30-foot test, the EA9300’s 69Mbps score was a bit behind the competition, but not by much.

In our 5GHz proximity test, the EA9300 hit 485Mbps, beating the Netgear NightHawk X6S by 23Mbps, but falling behind the Archer C5400X by about 100Mbps. The Rapture GT-AC5300 notched 601Mbps, the fastest score we’ve seen so far from any router. At 30 feet away, the EA9300’s 305Mbps is nearly identical to the TP-Link Archer C5400X (306Mbps) and 35Mbps faster than the Netgear Nighthawk X6S. Asus Rapture GT-AC5300 leads the way with a score of 330Mbps.

The EA9300 performed excellently in our file transfer tests, where we used a USB 3.0 hard drive and a 1.5 GB folder containing a mix of photo, video, music, and document files to measure read and write speed. Its score of 78MBps is the fastest we’ve seen so far, beating the Netgear NightHawk X10 R9000 (77MBps). TP-Link Archer C5400X and Asus Rapture GT-AC5300 for write speeds of 35MBps and 39MBps, respectively. The EA9300’s 80MBps read score is excellent but slightly below the Netgear NightHawk X10 (89MBps). However, it is significantly faster than the TP-Link Archer C5400X (40MBps) and Asus Rapture GT-AC5300 (42MBps).

Three Bands, but not the best

The Linksys Max-Stream EA9300 is a solid choice for busy home networks requiring the third band to handle video streaming, online gaming, and torrenting tasks. It’s not the fastest Router out there, and it’s expensive considering its modest feature set, but it delivers relatively good throughput and file transfer speeds. However, you don’t get anti-malware protection, and parental controls are limited to scheduling access and blocking websites for more powerful parental controls, built-in protection against viruses and other malicious threats, and the fastest 5GHz throughput performance we’ve seen.

where can you get a Linksys Max-Stream EA9300 online

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