Routers

Routers take the cake when it comes to lengthy product names and here’s a prime example: Linksys just released its new EA8500 Max-Stream MU-MIMO Gigabit Smart Wi-Fi router. In this case, the extended name actually means something, because this router is literally packed with the latest technology. But from this point forward, I’m just going to call it the Linksys EA8500 Max-Stream for short.

Linksys was founded in the 1980s, previously owned by networking giant Cisco and is now under the ownership of Belkin. It’s probably best known for producing the top-selling router of all time, the blue and black Linksys WRT54G series. I’ve reviewed several Linksys wireless routers this year, including the WRT54G’s successor —the WRT1900AC— and always come away impressed. This is a brand that consumers and small business owners can count on for being at the centre of their high performance Wi-Fi network.

After several years of relative Wi-Fi happiness, I suddenly hit a performance wall with my home network. I happened to have a new Linksys EA 7500 router to test for an upgrade, but the real difference was when I plugged in the Max Stream AC1900+ Wi-Fi Range Extender.

When it comes to home and small office Wi-Fi networking, speed has always been important. But optimization is increasing becoming an even bigger deal. The Linksys ac3200 Tri-Band Smart Wi-Fi router is the latest model from this leader in wireless networking and this one combines speed with optimization, making it ideal for congested networks.

I was really looking forward to getting my hands on the new Linksys WRT 1900AC wireless router. It’s not just the buzz that’s built up since it wowed attendees at CES 2014 or the black and blue shout to the iconic Linksys WRT54G —the best-selling wireless router of all time. My own wireless network is at a crossroads. As high definition streaming video and a swarm of mobile devices combine with Wi-Fi dead zones to overpower what was once a pretty robust network, I was anxious to find out if the latest generation of Wi-Fi routers could provide the power to make things feel snappy once again. After swapping out my existing router for the Linksys WRT 1900AC review unit, I can say that thanks to the killer performance of this retro-styled rig, Wi-Fi Nirvana is once again within reach.

You’ve heard the rumours: Linksys is a releasing monster new Wi-Fi router. The most powerful to hit the market yet, featuring four antennas, a dual-core 1.2GHz CPU, 256MB of DDR3 RAM, Wi-Fi speed of up to 1,900 Mbps, eSATA and USB 3.0 ports, plus support for Linux and open source firmware. The highly anticipated Linksys WRT1900ac is expected to launch on April 10 and you can get it first at Best Buy! You can beat the rush and pre-order the hottest home router ever starting today. To tide you over, here’s a quick preview of what you can expect from the iconic black and blue beast —look for a review here in April.    

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Despite making a router that looks more like any standard one from Linksys, the company has also kept the MR8300 open to mesh Wi-Fi setups.

Smart thermostats, smoke detectors, door locks and appliances have gone mainstream and are finding their way into more homes than ever. What sometimes gets lost in the list of cool things those smart devices can do is that they are connected. Without an Internet connection, most of them fizzle. Poor Wi-Fi means a poor user experience and for many people, their wireless router is the weak link in the smart equation. In this post, I’ll review the network and computer essentials for a smart home that lives up to the billing.