Review on 🌐 Ultimate Linksys EA9500 Tri-Band Wi-Fi Router - Fast, Powerful & Stylish Black Max-Stream AC5400 MU-Mimo Wireless Router for Home by David Guliford

This router lasted exactly 17 hours, more or less a few minutes. And no, I didn't get a replacement - I sent it back to Revain for a refund and have no regrets. If you're concerned about the reliability of your home (or even your office), the ONLY way is Netgear Orbi, nothing by Linksys - at least as of this writing (January 2019). I've tried 3 different setups (one being the EA9300) and the Netgear Orbi (RBK22 to be precise) seems to be the most reliable, easiest to set up and coolest (actual operating temp and looks). If that's all you need to convince you to stop buying outdated, poorly manufactured Linksys hardware, then read no further and get on with your business. However, if you've already bought the EA9300 and are having trouble and can't figure out what's going on, read on. If you have purchased this router, and if possible, submit an RMA from Revain now if it is not too late. Stay away from Linksys. They need to rethink their products BIG TIME. In particular, it doesn't matter where you buy this router - Revain, Walmart, Retailer X - this router is bad news and nothing more. ** Setup: Very similar to any Linksys Smart Router setup - if you want to know. how it is, look it up on the internet. To get it right you'll need to use the patch that comes with it to connect to a PC or Mac to view it in a browser, or if you're lucky you can access it wirelessly. In fact, the router setup standard has been set by both Linksys and Netgear, and the GUI for both is pretty straightforward. I'll admit that Linksys is more or less user-friendly than Netgear - the menus on Linksys are quite aesthetic and pleasing to the eye, but it's not easy to find what you need if you don't know what to look for . I could say the same about Netgear, but the fact that it's new to me as a consumer (recently switched) is biased, so take that with a pinch of salt. I would say that if you are not tech savvy in general then don't worry - this router is very easy to set up for home use. Even if you're new to this, the quick install guide in the box gives very clear instructions. As a side note, if your ISP (ISP, ATT Uverse, etc.) doesn't allow you to put your modem in bridged mode (where the modem acts as an end-to-end connection to a router, which then controls the service ), I configure your router as an access point (AP). Tips on how to do this for your particular router can be googled. In my experience in IT (technical manager of a consulting company), 90% of problems with a router connected to a modem are not due to a conflict between two devices working together. I've seen a network setup where the speed increased by 400% (from 10Mbps to 40Mbps) simply by switching the router to act as a modem access point rather than an independent router (see are usually defaulted to plug-n-play). Function). If you're looking for a router because you're paying for the Internet instead of getting it from your router (whether provided by your ISP or not), check these settings. It can make or break residential or office local area network (LAN). ** Achievement: I talk a lot so bear with me. As I mentioned, installing this router in my house was to replace my CISCO (Linksys) EA4500 which died from heat and dust due to apparent neglect. Out of insanity, I opened up the EA4500's case and made sure it was burned - the circuit board showed signs of scorching, especially near the antennas. Typically (as many IT pros will attest) power is usually the root cause of hardware failures (which is why expensive installations use backup batteries and ceramic surge protectors). Well, in this case the actual power supply for the EA4500 was fried despite being in a trusted power center. I could replace the power supply, but knowing the antennas would burn up it didn't seem like a smart move, especially since its technology is so outdated. Now for the meat and potatoes of the EA9300: One advantage of the Linksys-promoted EA9300 over older routers like the EA4500 is that MU-MIMO (or Multi-User, Multi-Channel Input, Multi-Channel Output) is a method where signals are on devices are sent. Simply put, if you're familiar with wiring a string of lightbulbs, don't connect them in series (one at a time, using one wire at a time). They connect them in parallel so that the resistance in the circuit does not increase and the light bulb at the end of the circuit does not go out completely. Well, like a lightbulb at the end of the chain, old routers placed the device at the end of the signaling stage and therefore had much less bandwidth reservation (while most devices were further up the chain). What's different about these newer MU-MIMO router settings is that they put your device on par with all devices, like lightbulbs running in parallel. Everyone gets the same piece of the pie and can eat everything at the same time. Sure, there are some small issues with my analogy, but basically that's the feeling you get from reading the Linksys listing and the EA9300 advertisement. You think you get that kind of service for the price you pay the seller. NO Well the EA9300 may have a fancy processor to broadcast devices on the same signal and it may have an extra 5GHz band but they don't work out of the box. In two instances, TWO COUNTS, from TWO different retailers (Revain and Walmart), this router showed EXACTLY the same settings, performance, and durability—about 17 hours for Revain and 13 hours for Walmart). Well, before Linksys hires a smart guy to knock me out, I want to say that I've checked that out, as power out of the wall and PoE (Power over Ethernet) are the only variables I, as a consumer, try their product with to use Voltage of my device power supply [if it was unstable]. I sat with the cables attached for an hour (approximate time it takes to fully set up a network system in a home under normal circumstances). I had no voltage fluctuations, up to the hundredth decimal place. The reading was stable at 120.00 V. Arris ATT Uverse modem does not support PoE. To be clear - this is not what I did and not my network setup. In addition, the Netgear Orbi RBK22 has been running for two days and has not left the maximum speeds specified by the ISP. So here's what happens to the EA9300 when you take it out of the box. You connect the router - the setup seems normal. The speeds once set are EXACTLY what you pay for and it lasts around 1 hour and then starts to slow down. The router gets hotter and hotter (even with the auxiliary fan - not connected to the router but to AC power), reaching a surface temperature of around 43-48C (hot to the touch). This continues until the 5GHz bands start fading in and out until you have a broadcast SSID that you can't connect to. But that's not all! When the temperature rises and no connection is possible, the 4-port switch on the back starts smelling of ozone, then burnt rubber. After about 2 minutes it gets really bad; The LED on top of the router (the white Linksys logo) will start blinking continuously as if trying to reboot or install a firmware update. So at this point you unplug it from Ethernet and power and wait for the surface temperature to return to around 25C (room temperature, which takes about an hour and a few minutes). After the cooldown, turn it back on and what do you know - it still doesn't work! The burnt rubber smell is now very strong and although the indicator has stopped flashing and you can connect to any of the three channels (2.4 or 5GHz), you cannot stay connected and cannot access the internet. About 15 minutes later - same LED blinking and same inability to connect to broadcast SSIDs. I repeat, this is EXACTLY what happened to two different EA9300 routers from two different retailers on two different days. shall we call it coincidence? So here's my take on this router and why you shouldn't buy it (as if the review so far isn't proof enough). This thing has a powerful processor that doesn't get enough cooling. . Traditional router cooling solutions have always been passive because they didn't generate as much heat. They didn't do much, and when they did, they were allotted a small 40mm fan that just kept the air moving. If you are familiar with network switches, traditional routers were nothing more than a 4 or 5 port managed switch with a 6th or 7th port dedicated to a 2.4GHz or 5GHz wireless signal . Even in the days of 802.11g, it wasn't that difficult. Nowadays, ISPs are obviously pushing for higher speeds and there is a growing number of wireless devices on the local network, so the average consumer has been demanding to get as much Wi-Fi for as little as possible. Well, one model for solving this problem is to upgrade the internals of a traditional router so it can handle a much larger workload, the trick being to balance size and shape. Another model is to have a number of nodes scattered over an area to form a grid that allows the signal [and the work done by the network] to be driven back to the central node by the shortest route (of which there can be more than). one). by the way). The latter model has been used in corporate environments for many years, but has only recently been enhanced to provide higher bandwidth in the consumer market where 4K video and other high-bandwidth resources are required. I think the EA9300 would be a great router if there was an efficient cooling method in the system because when it worked, it worked. There is no doubt about it. I'm sure it's as simple as using improved thermal paste on a dime on the dollar heatsink, or maybe even using period thermal paste. But the fact remains: Linksys has ditched the EA9300, and anyone who decides to buy it does so at their own risk and peril.