Linksys Releases The Max-Stream EA7500 AC1900 MU-MIMO Router

[Guest]

Linksys's Max-Stream line of Wave 2 802.11ac MU-MIMO devices gets a new AC1900 router: the Linksys EA7500.

Linksys Releases The Max-Stream EA7500 AC1900 MU-MIMO Router : Read more

 

[ubercake]

I'd say let other people try these things out before you buy them. As an owner of the EA6500 AC1750 router, I know what it's like for the 2.4 and 5GHz bands to sporadically drop out on you whenever. Look at the EA6500 reviews on the egg and various other sites. When they run, they're fantastic, but they are completely unreliable. The 5GHz band was less trouble than the 2.4GHz, but I could be sitting at a PC a wall+20 feet away from the router and the signal strength would vary from 1-4 bars with the speed going from 1.3Gbps down to 214Mbps-ish with no one else in the house and no other wireless gadgetry running.

I had the same issue with the Netgear C6300 (another AC1750 device). The 2.4 and 5GHz bands would dropout (even with the indicator lights for the bands simply shutting off).

I'm not sure if it's the "beamforming" that's not quite perfected and causing the dropouts or what, but to me it seems they are having some kind of issue with these higher-end AC routers that include the "beamforming" (not part of the AC standard, mind you) technology.

I plugged my trusty old Netgear WNDR3700 N router in and it runs like a champ in the exact same environment.

I guess what I'm trying to say is if you buy these things, save your receipt and be ready for a trip back to the store or an RMA if the bands begin dropping out on you within a week.

 

[dark_lord69]

I'd say let other people try these things out before you buy them. As an owner of the EA6500 AC1750 router, I know what it's like for the 2.4 and 5GHz bands to sporadically drop out on you whenever. Look at the EA6500 reviews on the egg and various other sites. When they run, they're fantastic, but they are completely unreliable. The 5GHz band was less trouble than the 2.4GHz, but I could be sitting at a PC a wall+20 feet away from the router and the signal strength would vary from 1-4 bars with the speed going from 1.3Gbps down to 214Mbps-ish with no one else in the house and no other wireless gadgetry running.

I had the same issue with the Netgear C6300 (another AC1750 device). The 2.4 and 5GHz bands would dropout (even with the indicator lights for the bands simply shutting off).

I'm not sure if it's the "beamforming" that's not quite perfected and causing the dropouts or what, but to me it seems they are having some kind of issue with these higher-end AC routers that include the "beamforming" (not part of the AC standard, mind you) technology.

I plugged my trusty old Netgear WNDR3700 N router in and it runs like a champ in the exact same environment.

I guess what I'm trying to say is if you buy these things, save your receipt and be ready for a trip back to the store or an RMA if the bands begin dropping out on you within a week.

I wouldn't touch a Linksys since they've been bought by Belkin. I would expect exactly that type of quality...

ASUS makes some excellent routers now though.

 

[jojesa]

Wasn't the EA6500 AC1750 router released before Belkin got Linksys, while under Cisco.

 

[Guest]

Don't things like normal geomagnetic fluctuations and solar flares continuously affect these radio waves? Never expect hardline predictability with a wireless anything. That a module is continuously above 214 Mbps is great, and more than anyone truly requires from wifi.

 

[ubercake]

Don't things like normal geomagnetic fluctuations and solar flares continuously affect these radio waves? Never expect hardline predictability with a wireless anything. That a module is continuously above 214 Mbps is great, and more than anyone truly requires from wifi.

When the 5GHz hadn't completely dropped out, 214 was ok, but in games such as BF4, I knew my speed was down because the packet loss icon was coinciding with the loss of bandwidth.

And like I said, I plugged my trusty old Netgear WNDR3700v2 N router and no problems from cosmic interference. It runs like a champ. It is also dual band, but does not offer the same maximum speeds. It offers 100% reliability and I'd rather have that than an occasional 1.3Gbps data rate.