At first we would like to thank Linksys for offering a sample of their EA7500 AC1900 MU-MIMO Gigabit Router for testing and reviewing.

 

 

 

About Belkin International:

 

“At Belkin International, we create products that help people realize the power of technology and make people’s lives better, easier and more fulfilling. This has been Belkin’s mission since our inception in 1983.

 

Belkin was founded by CEO, Chet Pipkin, in his parent’s garage. Even back then, Chet’s passion was driven by solving customer’s needs. He manufactured computer cable assemblies in the evenings and on weekends, and sold them to local computer manufacturers and dealers in response to the burgeoning personal computer market in the 1980’s. Since then, we’ve kept our southern California origins and are based in Playa Vista, right in the heart of the Los Angeles tech center.

 

Today, Belkin International has three brands – Belkin, Linksys and WeMo – to enhance the technology that connects us to the people, activities and experiences we love. Belkin products are renowned for their simplicity and ease of use, while our Linksys brand helped make wireless connectivity mainstream around the globe. Our newest brand, WeMo, is the leader in delivering customizable smart home experiences. Its product platform empowers people to monitor, measure and manage their electronics, appliances and lighting at home and on-the-go.”

 

Product Features:

 

NEXT-GEN AC DELIVERS POWERFUL WI-FI TO MULTIPLE DEVICES

 

The Linksys MAX-STREAM AC1900 features MU-MIMO, the latest advance toward uninterrupted, simultaneous Wi-Fi connections.

 

Devices such as HD streaming media players, 4K TVs, tablets, and game consoles use a lot of bandwidth. But with MU-MIMO (Multi-User, Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output) technology, the MAX-STREAM AC1900 sends advanced Wi-Fi to multiple devices at the same time and same speed. Your whole family can play, stream, and work at once, without experiencing lag or buffering - at up to 2x the speed of a non-MU-MIMO router

 

ENJOY COMBINED WI-FI SPEEDS UP TO 1.9 Gbps

 

Our MAX-STREAM AC1900 Multi User-MIMO Router offers two dedicated Wi-Fi bands that deliver combined speeds of up to 1.9 Gbps. It also allows you to make your time online more efficient: simply assign high-bandwidth activities, like 4K video streaming, to the high-speed 5 GHz band, and leave basic activities like email to the 2.4 GHz band.

 

POWERFUL PROCESSOR FOR IMPROVED PERFORMANCE

 

Enjoy fast-paced Wi-Fi activities such as online multiplayer gaming with the MAX-STREAM AC1900. Powered by a 1.4 GHz dual-core processor, it is capable of handling three simultaneous data streams. This results in improved Wi-Fi performance and faster Wi-Fi speeds to more devices.

 

HIGH-SPEED WIRED CONNECTIVITY WITH GIGABIT ETHERNET PORTS

 

Connect more devices and share files at speeds 10x faster than Fast Ethernet with four Gigabit Ethernet ports. Connect a storage device to the USB 3.0 port and quickly transfer files. Or, share devices such as printers across your Wi-Fi network using the USB 2.0 port.

 

IMPROVED Wi-Fi SPEED AND RANGE WITH BEAMFORMING

 

Direct Wi-Fi signals to each of your mobile devices to increase signal strength and coverage with our MAX-STREAM Wi-Fi router using Beamforming technology. Play video games, listen to music, check emails, shop online, stream HD movies, and more, without having to worry about dropped signals.

 

SMART WI-FI WITH NETWORK MAP LETS YOU VIEW ALL OF YOUR CONNECTED DEVICES

 

With the Network Map, you can:

 

See all devices on your network on a single screen

Track online status and signal strength of your devices

Create personalized names to easily identify your connected devices

 

LINKSYS SMART Wi-Fi

 

Linksys Smart Wi-Fi lets you access your network anytime, anywhere. Using your browser or the Smart Wi-Fi mobile app, you can:

 

Prioritize devices or websites for video streaming and online gaming

Control inappropriate or distracting content

Monitor network activity and speed

Turn Wi-Fi access on or off for any connected device

Create a separate, password-protected guest network

 

GET SMART IN THREE EASY STEPS

 

Managing your network with Linksys Smart Wi-Fi is fast and easy:

Step 1 Set up your wireless home network

Step 2 Sign up for a Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Account

Step 3 Customize your network with the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi apps

 

 

Product Specifications:

 

 

 

One of the latest routers which has arrived to our labs is the EA7500 AC1900 MU-MIMO from the well-known manufacturer, Linksys. With its 1.4GHz dual-core CPU at its core, the product promises 3x3 AC data streaming for faster performance when performing different activities, good coverage all-around the house, easy product management via the Smart Wi-Fi website or mobile application, but also sports Beamforming technology or MU-MIMO for simultaneous streaming to multiple devices. The product is shipped inside a medium-sized cardboard box, which has a photo of the product in operation on the frontal side, along with some of its highlights:

 

 

 

On one of the box sides, Linksys has included the list of package contents, minimum system requirements but also some technical specifications, in different languages:

 

 

 

The opposite side has a photo of the rear router interfaces, for an easier identification:

 

 

 

On the back side of the box, the manufacturer informs us on the benefits of using the new technologies:

 

 

 

After lifting the top cover, we will get to see the documentation, along with the installation disk, on top of the main product:

 

 

 

The documentation tells us on how to proceed with the hardware and software installation in order to get everything up and running fast:

 

 

 

Each antenna offered as bundle is individually packed, and we will also receive one power adapter alogn with a LAN cable:

 

 

 

The power adapter is rated on the output as 12V at 3.5A:

 

 

 

The three dual-band antennas are fully detachable and are also pretty rugged:

 

 

 

 

The EA7500 AC router from Linksys does come with a modern, sleek design which is also very well ventilated; the middle area, which is made from glossy black plastic, is further protected by a transparent film, which must be removed before the first use:

 

 

 

The top manufacturer logo also acts as a status LED (white color):

 

 

 

The glossy plastic layer extends to the front, while to the sides we will get to see ventilation grills:

 

 

 

Ventilation spaces are also prepared on both sides of the router:

 

 

 

The back area of the router does come with all available interfaces:

 

 

 

From left to right, we’ve got one antenna port, an USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0 port, a WPS button, one Reset button, but also a WAN port:

 

 

 

Moving on, we do have an additional antenna port, four LAN ports, a DC-IN 12V power port, an On/Off button and also the third antenna port. In normal usage environment, we have found that the On/Off button is a little bit too close to both DC-IN and last antenna port (especially when the antenna and power adapter cables are installed):

 

 

 

A warranty sticker is placed on the chassis in the USB ports area:

 

 

 

To help device ventilation even further, most of the bottom chassis area is composed from a grill; in the center we have some additional stickers which sport the product serial numbers along with the initial login credentials:

 

 

 

In the corners, Linksys has used rubber feet:

 

 

 

Here is how the device does look like with the antennas installed:

 

 

 

EA7500 initialization begins with its Smart Wi-Fi Setup wizard, which needs an Internet connection to proceed further; otherwise can choose to configure the router manually:

 

 

 

The software has the ability to update itself overnight, so we will be always online with the latest security and bug fixes:

 

 

 

We will be then asked to personalize our network name, choose a password and also define a new router login password:

 

 

 

 

Smart Wi-Fi setup continues with the prompt for creating an online account:

 

 

 

 

 

An email check is required in order to complete the process:

 

 

 

 

With this new feature, we will be able to access our router configuration from anywhere when connected to the Internet; we do also have an option to connect locally if we are on the same LAN as the router:

 

 

 

Linksys have opted for a clean, easy to access graphical user interface, which includes widgets on the right side; in order to open the configuration menus, we will have to click on the desired option placed in the left column:

 

 

 

Network Map will practically inform us which devices are currently connected to the router, via WiFi or wired; additional information is supplied when clicking on an item:

 

 

 

Same thing goes for the Guest Network:

 

 

 

Guest Access options can be configured from the next menu:

 

 

 

Parental Controls are also available in a separate section and per station:

 

 

 

QoS prioritization is here for us when we need it, in a simple-to-use interface:

 

 

 

The Speed Test menu makes use of the OOKLA platform:

 

 

 

If we have external storage connected to the EA7500, we can configure it more in the respective menu:

 

 

 

The Connectivity menu offers us basic options for configuring the Wi-Fi interface credentials, modifying the router password, configuring the router firmware update procedure, adjusting the time zone and so on:

 

 

 

 

In the Internet Settings tab of the same menu, we will get to configure the WAN port depending on our ISP settings and here we will also find the option to set the MTU or clone the MAC Address:

 

 

 

LAN settings can be configured in detail from the next tab:

 

 

 

Advanced Routing section is next, which allows us to enable NAT or RIP but also specify static routes:

 

 

 

VLAN has a separate section available in the Connectivity menu:

 

 

 

We do also have an Administration tab handy, where we can configure access modes to the GUI, UPnP and more:

 

 

 

The Troubleshooting menu gives us the status of connected stations and we can also access the DHCP client table:

 

 

 

Diagnostics menu allows us to send Ping commands on the network in order to find the issue, perform traceroutes right from the GUI, Reboot the system, share the diagnostic info with the manufacturer and more:

 

 

 

Logs can be also enabled when needed:

 

 

 

Next we do have the Wireless menu, where we can configure in detail both 2.4GHz and 5GHz interfaces:

 

 

 

MAC Filtering can be also applied here;

 

 

 

If we do use WPS, we can customize its settings from the next tab:

 

 

 

We even have a Wireless Scheduler available, where we can specify on the calendar when the wireless networks should be on and when off:

 

 

 

 

The Security menu comes with its own sub-sections; first we have Firewall tab with its specific settings:

 

 

 

DMZ can be set by configuring the source and destination addresses:

 

 

 

Apps and Gaming have the usual options included here like DDNS, Single Port Forwarding, Port Range Forwarding or Port Range Triggering:

 

 

 

Wired Station

 

CPU: Intel I5 3570K Retail

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14

Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z77 Professional

RAM: GeIL Black Dragon 2x4GB DDR2133 (@1600)

Video: Sparkle X560 Calibre

Power Supply: Cooler Master 850W

HDD: Crucial MX100

Case: Cooler Master ATCS 840

For this new breed of routers, we have used a mix of PerformanceTest 8.0 and LAN Speed Test in order to test performances. Our wired server had a public shared folder on it and with the help of the wireless station (i7 6700K, ECS Z170 Claymore, 8GB RAM DDR 2133MHz, OCZ Vector SSD) we have operated the test software (LAN Speed Test for measuring wireless download/upload and PerformanceTest 8.0 for checking out the wired station-to-station switch performances).

For the wired client tests, both stations were linked to the router via UTP wire.

 

Wired Test

 

 

 

We have tested the router while using all available modes from the interface, on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies:

 

 

 

 

To test the USB Storage speeds, we have connected one Corsair Flash Voyager GTX USB 3.0 Flash Drive to the router and performed file transfers both ways. The resulted transfer speeds are decent, but cannot recommend it as a NAS replacement.

 

Copy

Read

 

The EA7500 AC1900 MU-MIMO router from Linksys impressed us positively regarding the overall system stability, performance and ease of use thanks to the well-elaborated graphical user interface. Right from the start, the router proposes us to use the Smart Wi-Fi setup which also gives GUI access from the Internet to the registered account; this is really handy when we would like to perform a modification and we are not currently in the same location as the hardware.

 

MU-MIMO is the replacement of the older SU-MIMO and can actually break the bandwidth into separate streams that each share the connection evenly; with the older standard could use only one stream at a time but in a very rapid succession. The current drawback of this technology is the fact that both router and Wi-Fi card must support it in order to be used, and on the wireless card front there are very little models supporting this standard.

 

Besides the fact that this router can sustain high transfer rates on the AC standard (5GHz band), it is also able to cover medium-sized households thanks to its powerful antenna system so we would rarely need a wireless range extender in over to cover dead Wi-Fi spots.

 

The Linksys EA7500 AC1900 MU-MIMO is available online for about 170 Euros, a decent asking price considering what we have offered.

Linksys EA7500 AC1900 MU-MIMO Gigabit Router is Recommended For:

 

We would like to thank again to Linksys for making this review possible!