AC900 Wi-Fi Wireless Dual-Band+ Router, Smart Wi-Fi App Enabled to Control Your Network from Anywhere (EA6200)

UPDATE (2016-01-08): Please read the full review for my thoughts so far, as well as a few details on the dropped connections (on my end, at least). My rating will not apply for everyone, and my personal experience with this router so far is probably somewhat different from yours. I rate it a 5 out of 5 because it fulfills all the requirements for my own use case, but I have NOT tested all of the functionality as it is beyond the scope of those requirements. I will update this review again if the situation changes. ORIGINAL REVIEW: The reviews for this router seem rather mixed, so I was a little worried, but since it was on sale for $40, I figured I didn't have much to lose. I should mention my use case for this router. I needed it for a townhouse, which is already serviced by multiple routers and APs, and bought it to fix a dead area that used to be serviced by an old WRT54G. After it shipped, I dropped a February 2015 build of DD-WRT onto it and so far, it seems to perform quite nicely. I should mention that DD-WRT isn't officially supported on this router, but some builds of DD-WRT for the ASUS RT-AC56U work, due to the two routers having similar internals. Do a bit of homework on this before attempting, or you may risk bricking the router. Haven't done any speed tests yet nor do I plan on conducting any, since there are no specialized requirements here (yet). I'm not sure where the complaints about this router's range are coming from, actually. Granted, the range is nothing amazing, but it's hardly bad. My unit's range not only exceeds the original WRT54G's by a significant amount, it easily punches through the building's thick floor and walls. It's actually kind of overkill for its job. Maybe there are some quality control issues involved and I got a good unit, but I'm inclined to think that the complaints about range are highly exaggerated. I should also mention that I placed it on top of a table, which may be helping somewhat. I will update this review if the situation changes. UPDATE 1 (2015-09-19): I hadn't noticed before, but this thing gets awfully warm compared to the WRT54G. I'm not sure if it's a problem with DD-WRT or if the router naturally gets this warm, but based on other reviews and given that it's a lot faster than the WRT54G, I'm willing to assume it's the latter. It's a little bit worrisome, but I'm not seeing any performance degradation, so the rating stays put. I also had intermittent problems with Internet connectivity, maybe once every 5 to 10 minutes. I was actually prepared to knock out a couple of stars for that, but I did some research first, and after adjusting the wireless channels and firewall settings, it seems to be behaving itself now. The connection issues might have been totally unrelated to the router anyway. I will update this review if it starts dropping connections again. The USB printing doesn't work for me. Since I'm not running stock firmware, this is hardly surprising and I will not change the rating for that. The range of this router is also a bit lopsided, as some people have suggested. It seems to have better signal from the front of the router than from the sides. UPDATE 2 (2015-10-06): It still drops connection once in a while, but not so much that it's really problematic. The 4* rating stays and I think I can adjust the settings to resolve it. UPDATE 3 (2015-11-25): After some further assessment, it actually appears to be the WiFi driver on my computer that causes the dropped connections. This thing might be better than I thought it was. Still not willing to push it to 5* yet, though. UPDATE 4 (2016-01-08): Can all but confirm that the dropped connections are a result of my WiFi driver. For this price point, I'm going to increase it to 5*. Please note that this change of rating reflects how the router fulfills my own personal use case, and may not apply to you! It meets all the requirements that I had of it - a 802.11ac capable DD-WRT router that's inexpensive, stable, and has passable range. However, I still don't know how the router performs without DD-WRT, and I still don't know how well the USB port works (I have never needed it). Now that I know what's causing the problems on my end, I can resolve them.

Before I continue, ordered the Linksys AC900 and they sent me a Linksys AC1200. My friend ordered the same one (AC900) and also got the AC1200. So I’m not sure what happened but I’m definitely happy about it! The Linksys AC1200 is an excellent router for my apartment. I have a single story apartment/condo and this router connects several devices with no speed or connection issues (I have Xfinity with 50mbps download speeds). The Linksys app is great for managing passwords, devices, and some advanced admin tools. It’s so convenient to be able to go to the app and grab the password and send it to a guest via text message. Plus I can always monitor all the devices connected to the router and can block any device I want, or give them priority so more bandwidth goes to up to three devices, over any other device. I connect around 6 devices or more at a given time (2 iPhones, Apple TV, Nintendo Switch, Laptop, Baby monitor camera, etc) and they all work great. Our baby monitor camera only operates on a 2.4 Ghz connection and this router allows both 2.4 and 5 Ghz connections, with separate passwords and guest passwords. The only issue I’ve notice is when I play Rocket League on my laptop or Nintendo Switch, via a wireless connection I experience poor connection and “rubber banding”. I don’t think this router handles some games that require heavy duty connection. However, as soon as I plug in my laptop or Nintendo Switch via Ethernet cable, the router can handle the connection very well! I think it’s expected to use a wired connection for online gaming anyway, so this doesn’t diminish my experience with this router. Hopefully if you order this router, they’ll send you the AC1200 instead!

Update: it died in less than 2 years but out of warranty of course. Original review: The USB 3.0 port works great and was easy to setup sharing of my WD MyBook 3.0 for backups and as a media server. My entirely Gigabit Ethernet network is now blazing as is my wireless internet on all my devices that support AC protocols. The range is not nearly as good as on my old Netgear that this replaced.

As most of the people who bought this router commented, this router is highly unreliable. The router is easy to setup and also has a good feature to access the router settings through the linksys website. This also enables the router to be configured while you are not connected to it. While this router works, it is pretty good with an exception of a short range for the 5GHz band. Even in an apartment of 2 rooms the 5GHz range halves when access it from a 2nd room, and it drops to 1 bar when upon leaving the apartment. The 2.4GHz band however, has a solid range and I have no complains about it. The router provides a good speed on both the bands. The usb feature to access the external hard drive works flawlessly in my brief testing. All in all the router works fine when it works. The problem with this router is that the router just stops working after few hours. The only resolution is to reboot it. In my use I have to reboot it 2 times a day. This is very annoying and frankly was not expected from a product by Linksys. Just to be sure I am also on the latest firmware. I think I should better try my luck with a TP-Link router. Update: 9/22/2015------------------------------ After going back and forth with Linksys tech support the router is still dropping internet connection. Its time to send it back and going with other brand. Goodbye Linksys, you used to be a great brand!

Didn't have any issues with this one and I have had some in recent years with several Linksys WRT's since Cisco bought them. The distance seemed fair, but it was only covering a medium size apartment. Setup was easy for me as I'm very familiar with Linksys routers. Seems to stay up and I have not had to reset or have noticed that it needed resetting.

Update 09/09/16 This router was great for a couple of weeks but then it started losing signal strength drastically in all rooms except for the room that the router was in. The features on the router are excellent but I have to dock it 2 stars as it was unable to maintain a connection with devices that were more than about 15 feet away. Tried to see if it was a firmware issue but it was already on the latest firmware. Also, do not buy if you have more than 1 playstation 4 or xbox one because you will get a nat type of strict and will not be able to join a party or game with someone else who also has a nat type of strict. I ended up getting another router all together and this one now sits in the attic. Original Review I knew I was taking a gamble purchasing this router due to a fair amount of negative reviews, but I have to say that this is hands down the best router I have ever owned. I have had the router for over a month now and I have not had to restart it yet and have never had it drop the connection on any of my many devices. I have full signal in the living room and it only drops one bar in any of the other rooms and that doesn't seem to impact the speed in the least. I can easily pull down 85 mbps in the living room and 70mbps in the rooms furthest from the router, so that is a win for me. I love being able to use the mobile app from my smartphone to manage access for connected devices from anywhere. The router does run a tad warm, but it is no warmer than the wrt160n that it replaced. 5/5 would recommend.

If you purchase this router, it will automatically update to the newest firmware. I have not had any issues with it so far. The wireless range isn't that great, but I wasn't looking for that. I just needed it to cover the front of the house and porch. Ive already extended my network with two other routers so that my entire house and yard are covered. I am very happy with this router. Very fast when connected and the wireless is very fast too. I would for sure buy another one. I will report back if anything bad happens. ***Update: This is a great router. I don't know what all the fuss is about. The router will automatically go out and get the net firmware and install it. That was the issue from all the people with the low ratings. After the firmware update, you will not have any issues with this router. Wifi is good. Covered a 2900 sq.ft. house. If your looking for a strong home wireless router with great transfer rate, this is it. gig ports in the back and a usb. I still give it 5 stars.

I bought this router because my previous router was 15 years old and was outdated. I must admit it still worked, but since my house is upgraded (we stream for movies (got rid of cable over 2.5 years ago), all users have smartphones, kindles, and one heavy game player; we needed a router that was designed for streaming. I have had this router for over 2 months and can honestly say it does what is says it will do. The router went out once (within the first week) and has held nicely. My son who is a gamer plays on his Xbox does not interfere with me watching Netflix or Amazon. The guest account feature is also nice (this allows you to create a guest account for visitors, but note only 5 people can use at the same time. If more than 5 are in your house, the 6th person will bump the first one). You get 3 months free customer service with this purchase and the customer service is good based upon the two times that I had to call for assistance. Beware customer service will try and sell you an extended warranty. This router also seems faster too. Well worth the money.

Works well. Easy to use and configure. Not too much professional feature but enough for clever internet at home.