Tani waa markii ugu horeysay ee aan fursad u helno inaan tijaabino oo aan dib u eegno router ka Linksys iyo, nasiib wanaag, waxaan dib u eegaynaa model premium kaas oo ballan qaadaya waxqabad weyn iyo astaamo badan: Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 router. Sida aad filan lahayd, kani waa router-dual-band ah oo taageero u ah heerkii ugu dambeeyay ee isku xirka wireless 802.11ac. Iyadoo la tixgalinayo inta aqoonsiga sumadda Linksys uu ku leeyahay goobta isku xirka, waxaan aad u xiisaynnay inaan barano sida uu u wanaagsan yahay aaladda iyo haddii ay ka soo baxdo ballanqaadyadeeda. Akhri dib u eegistan si aad u ogaato waxaan ka baranay.

Furitaanka Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 Router

Gudaha sanduuqa Linksys EA6900 router, waxaad ka heli doontaa kuwan soo socda: router, saddex anteenooyinkooda dibadda ah, adabtarada korantada, hagaha habaynta degdega ah, fiilada shabakada iyo saxan ay ku jiraan dukumeenti ku qoran luqado badan. Ma jiro saxan dhaqameed oo la heli karo Sida aad arki doontid mardambe, habaynta oo dhan waxa lagu sameeyaa biraawsarkaaga webka iyo fiilada shabakadda ee lagu bixiyo baakadaha routerkan.

Si aad u hesho tafaasiil dheeraad ah oo ku saabsan waayo-aragnimada feerka-fududeynta, ha ka waaban inaad aragto fiidyaha kooban ee hoose:

Tilmaamaha Hardware

Aynu eegno sifooyinka ugu muhiimsan ee ay u soo bandhigtay Linksys ee routerkan:

Marka hore^(First) , Linksys EA6900 waa router-dual-band ah oo taageero u ah heerka isku xirka wireless 802.11ac. Waxay gudbisaa calaamadda wireless-ka labadaba inta jeer ee 2.4 GHz (taas oo ay u ballan qaadayso wax soo saarka ugu badnaan ee 600 Mbps ) iyo 5 GHz (taas oo ay ballan qaadayso ugu badnaan 1300 Mbps ). Waxay leedahay saddex anteenooyinkooda dibadda ah oo la hagaajin karo kuwaas oo si fudud loo xiri karo. Nasiib darrose weligood ma dareemaan xasillooni, iyadoon loo eegin sida aad ugu xirto xagga dambe ee router-ka.

Marka la eego isku xirnaanta fiilooyinka, router-kani wuxuu leeyahay 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports. Waxa kale oo ku jira laba dekedood oo USB ah: hal USB 3.0 iyo hal USB 2.0 . Maadaama kani yahay qalab qaali ah, waxaan filan lahaa laba dekedood oo USB 3.0 ah.

Sida dhammaan jiheeyayaasha casriga ah ee qiimahan kala duwan, waxa ku jira astaamo ay ka mid yihiin taageerada baahinta DLNA , Tayada^(Quality) Adeegga ( ^(Service)QOS ) iyo kontaroolada waalidka.

Waxaad ka heli kartaa liis dhamaystiran oo faahfaahsan halkan: Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router EA6900 .

Dejinta & Isticmaalka Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 Router

Markaad dejinayso Linksys EA6900 markii ugu horreysay, marka hore ku xidh anteenooyinka xagga dambe ee router-ka. Ka dib, ku xidh meel koronto ah oo ku xidh fiilada internetka^(Internet) ee dekedda ku calaamadsan Internetka^(Internet) . Ku xidh router-kaaga PC-gaaga ama laptop-kaaga adigoo isticmaalaya fiilada shabakadda ee laga helay gudaha sanduuqa. Sida cad, waa inaad ku xirtaa mid ka mid ah afarta dekedood ee Ethernet ee ku yaal gadaasha router-ka.

Kadibna, sug inta uu routerku bootin doono. Inta lagu jiro nidaamka boot-ka, iftiinka korontada ee ka horreeya router-ka ayaa shidmi doona oo dami doona si aan kala go' lahayn. Marka router-ku dhameeyo bootinta, laydhka korontadu waa adag yahay.

Marka xigta, fur biraawsarkaaga aad jeceshahay oo aad http://www.linksyssmartwifi.com ama 192.168.1.1 (Ciwaanka IP-ga ee router-ka ee caadiga ah) oo raac saaxiraha dejinta.

Nasiib darro, haddii aad isticmaalayso isku xirka Internetka ee PPPoE^{(PPPoE Internet)} sidaan annaguba u isticmaalno, Linksys EA6900 way^{(Linksys EA6900)} ku guul daraysatay inay si sax ah u ogaato. Tani waxay ka dhigan tahay inaad wakhti yar lumin doonto dejinta oo ay tahay inaad sameyso hab habayn ah oo ku saabsan xidhiidhkaaga internetka^(Internet) .

Arrin kale oo aan helnay ayaa ah in saaxiraha dejinta uu ku jiro tallaabo qasab ah oo lagu hubinayo cusboonaysiinta firmware-ka ugu dambeeyay. Aragti ahaan tani way fiican tahay, laakiin kaliya marka ay ku guulaysato inay si sax ah u dejiso xidhiidhkaaga internetka^(Internet) . Nasiib darro, jeegaan waa la dhaqan galiyay xitaa marka xiriirkaaga intarneetka^(Internet) aan si sax ah loo aqoonsan. Tani waxay la macno tahay in aad waqti badan lumin doonto, ilaa uu routerku fahmo in aanu ku xidhnayn internetka^(Internet) oo aanu soo dejin karin firmware-kii ugu dambeeyay. Tani waa nasiib darro waxaana rajeyneynaa in Linksys uu sameeyo saaxir dejin ka wanaagsan.

Marka lagu xiro internetka^(Internet) , waxaad bilaabi kartaa habaynta router si faahfaahsan. Kuwa idinka mid ah oo aan aad u farsamo ahayn, Linksys waxaa ku jira kaar leh magaca caadiga ah ee shabakadda wireless 2.4 GHz iyo erayga sirta ah. ^(GHz)Waxaan kugula talineynaa inaadan isticmaalin waxyaabahan cilladaysan, maadaama ay ka dhigan yihiin khatar amni. Sidoo kale, way fiican tahay in la habeeyo goobaheeda si aad u isticmaali karto heerarka isku xirka wireless-ka ee aad u baahan tahay, u hesho ammaan wanaagsan iyo xawli fiican markaad isticmaalayso shabakadda.

Linksys EA6900 waxay siisaa taageero 22 luqadood. Waxaad ku arki kartaa iyaga oo ku qoran sawirka hoose. Nasiib darro taageerada luqadaha badan ee Linksys EA6900 way ka daciifsan tahay ta tartamayaasha tooska ah.

Bogga guriga ee guddiga kantaroolka ee router-ka wuxuu u eg yahay saaxiibtinimo wuxuuna u muuqdaa mid fudud in la isticmaalo. Waxaad haysataa tiir leh dhawr qaybood oo bidixda ah iyo dhawr widgets oo leh xog toos ah dhanka midig. Waxaad si fudud u shidi kartaa kana dami kartaa widgets-kan ama ku dari kartaa kuwo cusub.

Waxaan barannay in ikhtiyaarrada laga helay qaybta Smart Wi-Fi Tools ay guud ahaan saaxiibtinimo yihiin oo ay fududahay in la isticmaalo. Iyaga, interface interface waa mid fudud waxayna bixisaa dhammaan xogta iyo fursadaha qaabeynta ee aad filan karto.

Meesha daciifka ah ee is-dhexgalka isticmaalaha waa qaybta Settings Router^{(Router Settings)} . Waxa jira goobo badan oo la heli karo oo mar walba laguma kooxeeyo qaab saaxiibtinimo ama macquul ah. Way camiran yihiin oo ay adag tahay in la helo. Si aan ku siiyo dhawr tusaale: ikhtiyaarka dib-u-kicinta waxa uu ku qarsoon yahay Troubleshooting -> Diagnostics . Waxay nagu qaadatay waqti aad u dheer inaan helno.

Nooca firmware-ka uu isticmaalo router-ku waa qayb muhiim ah oo macluumaad ah oo laga yaabo inaad rabto inaad ogaato. Nasiib darro, si aad u barato, waxaad u baahan tahay inaad tagto Sign Out -> About . Waa maxay sababta macluumaadkaan loogu muujin waayay bogga guriga ee guddiga kantaroolka ee router? Ama ugu yaraan hoosta Help -> About , sida kiiska marka la isticmaalayo software nooc kasta ah?

Isagoo ka hadlaya firmware-ka, waxaanu u cusboonaysiinay Linksys EA6900 una cusboonaysiinay noocii ugu dambeeyay ee jiray wakhtiga tijaabadayada: 1.1.42.158863.

Arrin kale oo la xiriirta firmware-ka oo aan aqoonsannay ayaa ah in marka aad tagto website-ka Taageerada Linksys^{(Linksys Support website)} oo aad rabto inaad soo dejiso firmware-kii ugu dambeeyay, waxaad baran doontaa inay jiraan laba nooc oo hardware oo kala duwan oo router ah. Nasiib darro ma jirto hab sahlan oo lagu sheegi karo nooca aad haysato mana jirto hagitaan ay bixiso Linksys . Mar haddii qaabkayaga tijaabada uu yahay qalab cusub oo la soo saaray, waxaan u qaadanay inaan isticmaaleyno nooca 1.1. Nasiib wanaag, firmware-ka aan soo dejinay si fiican ayuu u shaqeeyay.

Ka dib markaad router-ka u cusboonaysiiso firmware-kii ugu dambeeyay oo aad gacanta ku dejiso wax, waxaad ogaan doontaa in wax walba ay si aad ah uga fiican yihiin marka loo eego marka la isticmaalayo cilladaha.

Markaad dhex dhexmarayso dhammaan liiska qaabeynta, waxaad ogaan doontaa in qaar ka mid ah sifooyin waxtar leh ay dameen, oo ay ku jiraan diiwaannada. Anaga, qaabkan fudud ayaa qiimo leh in la fahmo waxa ka socda shabakada iyo qalabkeeda. Ha iloobin inaad shid haddii ay adigana waxtar kuu leedahay. Sifooyin kale ayaa laga yaabaa inaysan ku siin qiimo, waxaana fiican inaad damiso.

Layliga fudud ee dhex mara dhammaan goobaha la heli karo ayaa kaa dhigi doona inaad aqoon u yeelatid dhammaan sifooyinka uu leeyahay router-ku waxaadna awoodi doontaa inaad ka dhigto mid u shaqeeya sidaad rabto, sidoo kale waxaad curyaamisaa waxyaabaha aadan rabin inaad isticmaasho. .

Mar haddii wax walba la habeeyey, router-ku wuxuu u shaqeeyay sidii aan filaynay mana la kulmin wax kutaanno ama arrimo yaab leh. Sidaa darteed waxaan u dhaqaaqnay qiimeynta waxqabadka uu bixiyay Linksys EA6900 router.

Waxqabadka Shabakadda Wireless

Marka hore, aan eegno aqalka aan ku isticmaalnay imtixaankayaga iyo sida loo dhisay. Waxaad arki kartaa in router la dhigay qolka fadhiga. Cabbirradayada , waxaan barbar dhignay Linksys EA6900^{(Linksys EA6900)} ka dhanka ASUS RT-AC68U (tartamaheeda ugu weyn) iyo ASUS RT-N56U ka weyn oo aan dhowr sano ku isticmaalnay shabakadeena. Tijaabadayada waxaa lagu sameeyay iyadoo la adeegsanayo isku xirka internetka 1 Gigabit^{(Gigabit Internet)} oo degdeg ah (haa, si sax ah ayaad u akhriday).

Iyada oo la kaashanayo aalad lagu magacaabo inSSIDer , waxaan ku cabbirnay xoogga signalada shabakadda wireless-ka ee 2.4 GHz waxaanan diiwaangelinay sida ay qol ilaa qol u beddesho. Sida aad ku arki karto jaantuska hoose, xoogga calaamaduhu guud ahaan wuu wanaagsanaa laakiin ASUS RT-AC68U waxay soo bandhigtay xoog signallo wanaagsan qolalka intooda badan.

Isbeddel la mid ah ayaa la dareemay markii la cabbirayay xoogga calaamadda shabakadda wireless 5 GHz . Awoodda calaamadda ay bixiso Linksys EA6900 waxay ahayd mid wanaagsan laakiin maaha tan ugu fiican.

Kadibna, waxaanu wadnay SpeedTest^(SpeedTest) si aanu u cabbirno xawaaraha soo dejinta iyo soo dejinta labada shabakadood ee wireless-ka. Shabakadda wireless -ka ee 2.4 GHz , Linksys EA6900 waxay siisay xawli-soo-dejin wanaagsan oo guriga oo dhan ah. Laakiin mar labaad, ma ahayn tan ugu fiican oo ASUS RT-AC68U waxay bixisay soo dejin degdeg ah oo ka wanaagsan qolalka badankood.

Marka la eego xawli- kordhinta shabakadda wireless- ka ee 2.4 GHz , Linksys EA6900 waxay ku guulaysatay inay ka sarreyso ASUS RT-AC68U^{(ASUS RT-AC68U)} qolalkaas oo ka fog router-ka. Qolalka u dhow router-ka, ASUS RT-AC68U waxay sii ahaan jirtay hogaamiyaha xawaaraha.

Marka la qiimeeyo waxqabadka shabakadda wirelesska ee 5 GHz , natiijadu ma cadda. Qolalka ugu dhow router-ka, Linksys EA6900 waxay soo dejisay si ka dhakhso badan ASUS RT-AC68U . Marka laga reebo hal (jikada), qolalka ka fog router-ka, ASUS RT-AC68U ayaa hogaanka qabatay.

Marka la eego xawaraha gelinta ee shabakada 5GHz, guushu waxay mar kale noqotay ASUS RT-AC68U . Waxaan ku aragnay inay tahay wax laga walwalo xitaa ASUS RT-N56U router-keena hore inuu ku garaacay Linksys EA6900 inta badan qolalka.

Tijaabadayadu waxay muujisay in marka la eego waxqabadka shabakadda wireless-ka, Linksys EA6900 waa router karti leh oo bixiya xawaaraha soo dejinta wanaagsan ee labada shabakadood ee 2.4 GHz iyo 5GHz. Router-kani waxa uu iftiimaa marka ay timaado xawliga lagu shubo ee lagu bixiyo shabakada 2.4Ghz halka shabkada 5GHz ee bilaa-waayirka ah ay ka sare marayso xataa router-yadii hore.^{(Our testing has shown that in terms of wireless network performance, Linksys EA6900 is a capable router that delivers good download speeds on both 2.4 GHz and 5GHz wireless networks. This router shines when it comes to upload speed provided on the 2.4Ghz network while on the 5GHz wireless network it is outperformed even by older routers.)}

Waxqabadka Shabakadda Wired

Si aan u tijaabino tayada xidhiidhka fiilsan ee Ethernet , waxaanu isticmaalnay kombuyuutar (Desktop) ah oo uu ku rakiban yahay processor sideed-core ah, 8GB oo RAM ah^(RAM) iyo darawal aad u dheereeya ADATA SX900 SSD , iyo sidoo kale laptop duug ah oo afar-core leh. Processor-ka iyo SSD drive ka RunCore .

Marka hore, waxaanu cabirnay xawaaraha soo dejinta iyo soo dejinta anagoo adeegsanayna SpeedTest . Waxaa la yaab leh, Linksys EA6900 waxaa ka fiicnaaday labada router ee ASUS marka loo eego xawaaraha soo dejinta. Waxay ahayd 18% ka gaabis ahayd ASUS RT-AC68U - hogaamiyaha tijaabadan.

Marka la eego xawaaraha rarka, Linksys EA6900 wuxuu ahaa router-ka ugu wanaagsan, isagoo maareynaya inuu ka sarreeyo ASUS RT-AC68U^{(ASUS RT-AC68U)} 5%.

Marka xigta, waxaanu isticmaalnay LAN Speed ​​Test Lite si aanu u cabbirno xawliga soo dejinta iyo soo dejinta marka aanu wareejinaynay fayl 350 MB ah laba kombuyuutar oo ku xidhan shabakada anagoo adeegsanayna fiilooyinka Ethernet . Imtixaankan, Linksys EA6900 wuxuu 3% ka gaabiyey ASUS RT-AC68U^{(ASUS RT-AC68U)} .

Isla sidaas oo kale ayaa run ku ah xawliga gelinta. Linksys EA6900 wuu ka gaabiyey ASUS RT-AC68U 7%.

Ugu dambeyntii, laakiin ugu yaraan, waxaan ku wareejinay fayl 883 MB ah oo dhan shabakada, oo u dhexeeya isla labada kombiyuutar. Nasiib darro xawaaraha soo dejinta aad ayuu uga hooseeyaa marka la isticmaalayo Linksys EA6900 router marka loo eego marka la isticmaalayo mid ka mid ah router- yada ASUS ee aan u isticmaalnay isbarbardhiggayaga. Linksys EA6900 ayaa 29% ka gaabiyey ASUS RT-AC68U^{(ASUS RT-AC68U)} router.

Marka la eego xawaaraha rarka, natiijadu way fiicnaayeen, laakiin Linksys EA6900 wali 3% wuu ka gaabiyey ASUS RT-AC68U^{(ASUS RT-AC68U)} .

Marka la eego isku xirka Ethernet fiilsan, Linksys EA6900 waxay soo bandhigtaa waxqabadka celceliska ah ee aan ku dhowaan ballankeeda 1 Gbps.^{(In terms of wired Ethernet connections, Linksys EA6900 delivers average performance that doesn't come close to its promise of 1 Gbps.)}

Tilmaamo Dheeraad ah

Linksys EA6900 waxay soo bandhigtaa astaamo dheeri ah oo xiiso leh oo faa'iido leh oo loogu talagalay qiimaha qaddarka ee ay ka weyddiiso iibsadayaasheeda:

Helitaanka martida^{(Guest access)} - waxaad martidaada u samayn kartaa shabakad wireless ka duwan si ay u isticmaalaan si ay u galaan intarneedka^(Internet) oo ay uga fogaadaan shabakadaada inteeda kale.

Xakamaynta Waalidka^{(Parental Controls)} - waa qaab fudud oo kuu ogolaanaya inaad xaddiddo gelitaanka internetka^(Internet) (maaha gelitaanka shabakad) mid ka mid ah aaladahaaga, waqtiyo gaar ah. Sidoo kale, waxaad xannibi kartaa gelitaanka mareegaha gaarka ah.

Kaydinta USB^{(USB Storage)} - waxaad isticmaali kartaa labada dekedood ee USB ee la heli karo si aad ugu xirto darawallada diskooga dibadda oo aad la wadaagto aaladaha shabakadaada. Waxaad ku xidhi kartaa gelitaanka aaminka ah adoo isticmaalaya magaca isticmaalaha iyo erayga sirta ah sidoo kale waxaad ku wareejin kartaa router serverka FTP ama server Media .

Media prioritization - with the help of the QoS feature, you can prioritize different devices, applications or online games. Setting up this feature is very visual and it generally works well.

Speed Test - this is a very basic feature that allows you to measure the download and upload speed available using SpeedTest. Unfortunately this widget is not customizable and you are better off using the SpeedTest website.

Smart Wi-Fi apps - Linksys provides additional Smart Wi-Fi apps for different mobile platforms. With the help of these apps you can monitor remotely what's going on in your network, share content with others or block devices. Unfortunately some of these apps cost extra while others are available only for certain platforms. Only iOS users get access to all the apps. In contrast, Windows Phone users get access only to one app.

Marka la barbardhigo tartankeeda, Linksys EA6900 waxaa ka maqan astaamo ay ka mid yihiin suurtagalnimada in lagu shaqeeyo VPN server-ka shabakadaada ama qaabka Dual-WAN ee laga helay ASUS RT-AC68U .

Xukun

Linksys Smart Wi - Fi EA6900^{(Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900)} router waa qalab wanaagsan oo si fiican u shaqeeya soona bandhiga waxqabad wanaagsan, iyada oo aan wax cillad ah ama dhibaato ah la kulmin. Waxaa isticmaali kara kuwa cusub iyo isticmaalayaasha aqoonta leh labadaba waxayna ku siinaysaa ikhtiyaarka habeynta ee aad ka filayso router-ga qaaliga ah. Waxaa jira qaar ka mid ah dhibaatooyinka isticmaalka marka ay timaado interface user laakiin dhibkeeda ugu weyn waa in aysan ka soo bixin tartanka. Qiimaha sare ee sumadda ay waydiisay LinksysWaxaad helaysaa waxqabad wanaagsan, wax-ka-beddelid iyo astaamo laakiin ma jiraan wax weyn ama aan caadi ahayn oo ku saabsan. Qiimo isku mid ah waxaad ku heli kartaa router ka wanaagsan oo leh astaamo badan, iibiyaha kale. Taasi waa sababta aan kugula talineyno inaad marka hore tijaabiso oo aad aragto haddii aad ku faraxsan tahay waxa ay keenayso. Haddii aadan ahayn, isku day qaar ka mid ah router-yada kale ee aan tijaabinay.

Reviewing the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 Router - Is This a Smart Router?

This is the first time we get the chancе to test and review a router from Linksys and, luckily, we are reviewing a premium model which promises great performance and plenty of features: the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 router. As уou would expect, this is a dual-band router with support for thе latest 802.11ac wіreless networking standard. Сonsіdering how much brand recognition Linksys has in the networking space, we were very curiouѕ to learn how good this device iѕ and whether it delivers on its рromіses. Read this review to discoνer what we have learned.

Unboxing the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 Router

Inside the box of the Linksys EA6900 router, you will find the following: the router, three external antennas, the power adapter, a quick setup guide, a network cable and a disc with the documentation in multiple languages. There is no traditional installation disc available. As you will see later on, the entire setup is done using a web browser and the network cable that's provided in the packaging of this router.

For more details about the unboxing experience, don't hesitate to view the brief video below:

Hardware Specifications

Let's take a look at the most important specifications promoted by Linksys for this router:

First of all, Linksys EA6900 is a dual-band router with support for the 802.11ac wireless networking standard. It transmits the wireless signal both at the 2.4GHz frequency (for which it promises a maximum throughput of 600 Mbps) and at 5 GHz (for which it promises a maximum throughput of 1300 Mbps). It has three adjustable external antennas which are easy to plug in. Unfortunately they never feel very stable, no matter which way you connect them in the back of the router.

In terms of wired connectivity, this router has 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports. It also includes two USB ports: one USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0. Since this is a premium device, I would have expected two USB 3.0 ports.

As with all modern routers in this price range, it includes features like support for DLNA streaming, Quality of Service (QOS) and parental controls.

You can find the complete list of specifications here: Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router EA6900.

Setting Up & Using the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 Router

When setting up the Linksys EA6900 for the first time, first connect the antennas to the back of the router. Then, connect it to a power outlet and plug in the Internet cable in the port that's marked with the label Internet. Connect the router to your desktop PC or your laptop with the network cable that's found inside the box. Obviously, you should plug it into one of the four Ethernet ports on the back of the router.

Then, wait for the router to boot. During the boot procedure, the power light in front of the router will turn on and off intermittently. When the router has finished booting, the power light is solid.

Next, open your favorite browser and go to http://www.linksyssmartwifi.com or to 192.168.1.1 (the default IP address of the router) and follow the setup wizard.

Unfortunately, if you are using a PPPoE Internet connection like we do, Linksys EA6900 fails to correctly detect it. This means that you will waste quite a bit of time setting it up and you have to perform a manual setup of your Internet connection.

Another issue we have found is that the setup wizard includes a mandatory step of checking for the latest firmware update. In theory this is good, but only when it has managed to correctly set your Internet connection. Unfortunately, this check is enforced even when your Internet connection is not correctly identified. This means that you will waste even more time, until the router understands that it cannot connect to the Internet and download the latest firmware. This is unfortunate and we wish Linksys had made a better setup wizard.

Once you are connected to the Internet, you can start configuring the router in detail. For those of you who are not very technical, Linksys includes a card with the default name for the 2.4 GHz wireless network and its password. We advise against using these defaults, as they represent a security risk. Also, it is better to configure its settings so that you can use the wireless networking standards you need, get better security and better speeds when using the network.

Linksys EA6900 provides support for 22 languages. You can see them listed in the screenshot below. Unfortunately the multilingual support on the Linksys EA6900 is weaker than that of its direct competitors.

The homepage of this router's control panel looks friendly and seems easy to use. You have a column with several categories on the left and several widgets with live data on the right. You can easily turn on and off these widgets or add new ones.

We have learned that the options found in the Smart Wi-Fi Tools section are generally friendly and easy to use. For them, the user interface is simple and it offers all the data and configuration options you would expect.

The weak point of the user interface is the Router Settings section. There are lots of settings available and they are not always grouped in a friendly or logical manner. They are rather crowded and hard to find. To give you a few examples: the reboot option is hidden under Troubleshooting -> Diagnostics. It took us a very long time to find it.

The firmware version used by the router is an important piece of information that you might want to know. Unfortunately, in order to learn it, you need to go to Sign Out -> About. Why is this information not shown on the homepage of the router's control panel? Or at least under Help -> About, as is the case when using software of all kinds?

Speaking of firmware, we have upgraded the Linksys EA6900 to the latest version that was available at the time of our testing: 1.1.42.158863.

Another firmware related issue that we have identified is that when you go to the Linksys Support website and you want to download the latest firmware, you will learn that there are two different hardware versions of this router. Unfortunately there's no easy way to tell which version you have and there is no guidance provided by Linksys. Since our test model is a newly manufactured device, we assumed that we are using version 1.1. Luckily, the firmware we have downloaded worked well.

After you upgrade the router to the latest firmware and you manually set things up, you will notice that everything works much better than when using the defaults.

While browsing through all the configuration menus, you will notice that some useful features are turned off, including the logs. For us, this simple feature is valuable in understanding what is going on with the network and its devices. Don't forget to turn it on if it is useful to you too. Other features may not provide value to you and it is best to turn them off.

The simple exercise of browsing through all the available settings will make you familiar with all the features this router has to offer and you will be able to make it work the way you want to, while also disabling the things you don't want to use.

Once we had everything configured, the router worked as we expected and we did not encounter any strange bugs or issues. Therefore we moved on to evaluating the performance delivered by the Linksys EA6900 router.

Wireless Network Performance

First, let's take a look at the apartment we used in our testing and how it is set up. You can see that the router is placed in the living room. In our measurements, we have compared the Linksys EA6900 against ASUS RT-AC68U (its main competitor) and an older ASUS RT-N56U that we have used for several years in our network. Our testing was done using a fast 1 Gigabit Internet connection (yes, you read that correctly).

With the help of a tool named inSSIDer, we have measured the signal stregth for the 2.4 GHz wireless network and recorded how it changes from room to room. As you can see in the chart below, the signal strength was generally good but ASUS RT-AC68U delivered better signal strength in most rooms.

The same trend was noticed when measuring the signal strength of the 5 GHz wireless network. The signal strength provided by Linksys EA6900 was good but not the best.

Then, we ran SpeedTest for measuring the download and upload speed on both wireless networks. On the 2.4 GHz wireless network, Linksys EA6900 offered good download speeds across the apartment. But again, it was not the best and ASUS RT-AC68U offered better faster downloads in most rooms.

In terms of upload speeds on the 2.4 GHz wireless network, Linksys EA6900 managed to outperform ASUS RT-AC68U in those rooms that are further away from the router. In the rooms that are closer to the router, ASUS RT-AC68U remained the speed leader.

When evaluating the performance of the 5 GHz wireless network, the results were not as clear. In the rooms that are closest to the router, Linksys EA6900 delivered faster downloads than the ASUS RT-AC68U. With one exception (the kitchen), in the rooms that are further away from the router, ASUS RT-AC68U took the lead.

In terms of the upload speed on the 5GHz network, the winner was again ASUS RT-AC68U. We found it worrying that even our old ASUS RT-N56U router managed to beat Linksys EA6900 in most rooms.

Our testing has shown that in terms of wireless network performance, Linksys EA6900 is a capable router that delivers good download speeds on both 2.4 GHz and 5GHz wireless networks. This router shines when it comes to upload speed provided on the 2.4Ghz network while on the 5GHz wireless network it is outperformed even by older routers.

Wired Network Performance

In order to test the quality of the wired Ethernet connection, we have used a desktop PC, equipped with an eight-core processor, 8GB of RAM and a very fast ADATA SX900 SSD drive, as well as an old laptop with a quad-core processor and an SSD drive from RunCore.

First, we measured the download and upload speeds using SpeedTest. Surprisingly, Linksys EA6900 was outperformed by both ASUS routers in terms of download speed. It was 18% slower than the ASUS RT-AC68U - the leader in this test.

In terms of upload speed, Linksys EA6900 was the better router, managing to outperform ASUS RT-AC68U by 5%.

Next, we used LAN Speed Test Lite to measure the download and upload speeds when transferring a 350 MB file to and from two computers connected to the network via Ethernet cables. In this test, Linksys EA6900 was 3% slower than ASUS RT-AC68U.

The same remained true in terms of upload speed. Linksys EA6900 was slower than ASUS RT-AC68U by 7%.

Last but not least, we transferred an 883 MB file across the network, between the same two computers. Unfortunately the download speed was much lower when using the Linksys EA6900 router than when using any of the ASUS routers we used for our comparison. Linksys EA6900 was 29% slower than the ASUS RT-AC68U router.

In terms of upload speed, the results were better, but Linksys EA6900 was still 3% slower than ASUS RT-AC68U.

In terms of wired Ethernet connections, Linksys EA6900 delivers average performance that doesn't come close to its promise of 1 Gbps.

Extra Features

Linksys EA6900 delivers some interesting and useful extra features for the premium price it asks from its buyers:

Guest access - you can set up a different wireless network for your guests so that they can use it to access the Internet and remain isolated from the rest of your network.

Parental Controls - a simple feature that allows you to restrict Internet access (not network access) for any of your devices, at specific times. Also, you can block access to specific websites.

USB Storage - you can use the two USB ports available to connect external disk drives and share them with the devices on your network. You can set up secure access with a username and password and also transfer the router into an FTP server or a Media server.

Media prioritization - with the help of the QoS feature, you can prioritize different devices, applications or online games. Setting up this feature is very visual and it generally works well.

Speed Test - this is a very basic feature that allows you to measure the download and upload speed available using SpeedTest. Unfortunately this widget is not customizable and you are better off using the SpeedTest website.

Smart Wi-Fi apps - Linksys provides additional Smart Wi-Fi apps for different mobile platforms. With the help of these apps you can monitor remotely what's going on in your network, share content with others or block devices. Unfortunately some of these apps cost extra while others are available only for certain platforms. Only iOS users get access to all the apps. In contrast, Windows Phone users get access only to one app.

When compared to its competition, Linksys EA6900 lacks features like the possibility to run as a VPN server for your network or the Dual-WAN feature found on the ASUS RT-AC68U.

Verdict

The Linksys Smart Wi-Fi EA6900 router is a good device that works well and delivers good performance, without any bugs or issues. It can be used by both novices and knowledgeable users and it offers the customization options you expect from a premium router. There are some usability problems when it comes to the user interface but its biggest problem is that it doesn't stand out from the competition. For the premium price tag asked by Linksys you get good performance, customizability and features but there's nothing great or extraordinary about it. For the same price tag you can get a better router with more features, from another vendor. That's why we recommend that you test it first and see if you are happy with what it delivers. If you are not, try some of the other routers we have tested.

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