Finishing a few points behind the Linksys AC1900 WRT1900ACS, the Max Stream performs similarly when we tested throughput over both bands and when we compared ease of use and the various features, but it is far inferior in terms of range. New features and faster top speeds are nice to have -- but the fundamentals matter, too. Even worse: The band-steering that automatically routes your connection between the 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands as you move about your home continually got it wrong -- and that led the router to flunk my speed tests. By the way, again, you must use the mobile app to add a node to a Linksys Intelligent Mesh system. Further to the point about installing Linksys routers with their app. The Linksys EA8500 Max-Stream AC2600 MU-MIMO Gigabit Router is the first router to use Qualcomm MU/EFX Wi-Fi technology, which promises better performance for a … Like Michael I too have an old reliable linksys E4200 router that is still going. What’s most impressive, however, is its network-attached-storage (NAS) performance. Other than the hiccups in setting it up, the performance was quite abysmal. If the router doesn’t manage the dual home office traffic in my house very well, it’s being replaced by an Asus AX series. Without the support for the 160 MHz channel width, the router allowed my 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 test clients to connect at 1.2 Gbps. Far from it. I connected to the router only directly, and not by registering an account. The Linksys RE7000 Max-Stream AC1900+ Wi-Fi Range Extender ($129.99) is the latest range extender to support Multi-User Multiple Input, Multiple … The Linksys Max Stream EA9300 is a great router for any high-end users who need the very best from their network. Fancier routers might offer a multigig WAN port supporting speeds as high as 2.5 or even 5 Gbps, but it's not a surprise to be limited to a single gig of incoming speeds at this price. Typically in a 2-pack mesh test, I use an area of around 3000 square feet as the reference zone. Once your router is plugged in, you'll be able to set it up and manage it via the Linksys app on your Android or iOS device. Linksys just wanted to bullshit you there into thinking its hardware is smart. And that makes sense, Asus has been doing that with its AiMesh feature for years. Priced at $149.99, the Max-Stream AX1800 router is Linksys' most affordable WiFi 6 option. First things first, let's take a look at this router's specs, all of which are pretty standard for an entry-level Wi-Fi 6 router: As for the hardware itself, the MR7350 is relatively compact -- just 8 inches wide, 6 inches deep, and a little over 2 inches tall with the two external antennas folded down. Router manufacturer Linksys announced this week the arrival of the MAX-STREAM AX1800 Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Router (MR7350), a low-cost Wi-Fi 6 router. Like all things, it has both pros and cons. There’s no way to download and update a router’s firmware manually. The Linksys Max-Stream AX1800 (MR7350) is available to order today at Best Buy, and Linksys says it will hit other retailers soon.If you want a little more horsepower, the Max-Stream Dual-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 router is available at Amazon and Best Buy as well for $400. An AX1800 dual-band router (the "AX" part tells you that it supports 802.11ax, better known as Wi-Fi 6), the MR7350 boasts top speeds of 1.2 gigabits per second on the 5GHz band and 574 Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, where the range is better. Discuss: This budget Linksys router puts Wi-Fi 6 to waste with bad band-steering, Dual-band AX1800 router (2.4GHz up to 574 Mbps, 5GHz up to 1. After several days of tests, the MR7350 returned underwhelming average speeds throughout my house, where I have a 300 Mbps fiber internet plan. Wanting your advice and see if I should stick with linksys or make the jump to the highly touted Asus RT-AC88U or another router. No love for legacy devices. It’s now part of the Linksys Intelligent Mesh, which started with the Velop series. My average download speed in the living room during those near-to-far tests was just over 300 Mbps, which is basically a perfect score in my place. Turned out; it had been successfully added the first time around. You can’t back up and restore or router’s setting. And then I got an error saying the node couldn’t be added. While the steps are exactly the same as those of the Linksys MX5 Velop AX, what happened in each step was a different experience. Model: MR7350 SKU: 6408416. The well-designed Linksys app will walk you through setup and help you manage the devices on your network with parental controls and a basic device prioritization engine. Linksys promises up to 1,700 square feet of coverage from a single device, but you can add additional Linksys devices to your network to create a mesh and expand the range, if you so choose. One question: If one use ethernet backhaul to connect existing Airport Extremes (which I understand should be able to use in a Velop mesh setup) as mesh nodes, will WR7350 then free up the backhaul-mesh band to wifi clients? It’s a good idea you read my take on the MR9600 first. Doing so lets me track how well the router steers me between the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. And if you’re in the market for a Linksys mesh system, well, get a real Velop set instead. 🙂. Linksys launches the RE7000, a Max-Stream Wi-Fi extender with AC1900+, MU-MIMO, and seamless roaming technology. And the range was quite bad, too. It’s like they’re saying, Hi, ASUS, we’re going to send you all the customers in the WIFI router consumer market, now, because your products actually let the consumer improve their user experience. That said, in this review, I’ll focus on the Linksys Intelligent Mesh notion and differences between the routers, namely their performance. Between that and the fact that you can get a Wi-Fi 6 router from TP-Link with the same top speed of 1.2 Gbps on the 5GHz band for just $70, the value looks slightly questionable here. The Linksys MR7350 Max-Stream Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Router is the budget version of the MR9600. The app looks great and offers a good mix of entry-level features, including guest network management, device prioritization, parental controls and speed tests. The router also supports Amazon's Alexa -- make the connection, and you'll be able to say things like, "Alexa, enable the guest Wi-Fi" to manage your network with your voice. There's no support for new, Wi-Fi 6E connections in the 6GHz band, though -- we won't see routers like those until the end of 2020 at the earliest. So if you live in a home of around 1500 ft² (139 m²) or even maybe slightly larger, you can count on it. Today, we’ll be looking at the Linksys EA8500 Max-Stream and the Netgear Nighthawk XR500. 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