Linksys EA6500 Dual Band AC Gigabit Wireless Router IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n Linksys EA6500 Dual Band AC Gigabit Wireless Router IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n

Pros: None. Fussed with two separate devices. Spent countless hours on the phone with support, upgraded the firmware. It never worked.

Cons: Here's a policy feature: if you get an RMA number for this defective hunk of junk and get a new hunk of junk sent to you, YOU HAVE WAIVED ANY FUTURE REFUND RIGHTS!

That's right. Ask for an RMA...and you're no longer eligible for a refund!

Other Thoughts: This is a terrible product. Cisco should be ashamed of their product quality, support and policy.

Shame on you Cisco.

Pros: Wired connections are great....when the router isn't constantly rebooting.

Wireless is fast and has good range.......assuming it doesn't randomly disconnect you.

Remote cloud management is nice, and there are full featured apps available to manage it with your phone.

Cons: This router was a significant upgrade from my old WRT54GS. I wanted to future proof my network since I was upgrading to gigabit ethernet, and this was one of only a handful of 802.11ac routers available at the time of purchase. Most of the reviews I read also spoke favorably of this router, and my past experience with Linksys/Cisco has been positive so I purchased it.

The router was great at first. Wireless was significantly faster, but then the disconnects started. They occur at random on the 5ghz, and 2.4ghz networks. I've noticed this happens especially with heavy downloading on all of my wireless devices.

I'm not sure if that's more annoying, or the random reboots. I've noticed this router will almost always reboot itself once a day, if not more. At least the wired connections work when the wifi drops.

Another issue I've noticed is that the device list displays multiple IPs and MAC addresses under a single device. This effectively eliminates the possibility of using QoS or parental controls.

I was hoping these issues might have been due to a bad router, so I purchased another one to test with. Within a week it was having the same issues so I returned it. I wish I was able to return the first one I bought because at this point it's worthless to me with all of these reliability issues.

Maybe these issues will be fixed with a firmware update. Unfortunately updates have slowed to a trickle since this was released. The multiple IP/MAC address listed under a single device issue has been present for at least 6 months now and it still hasn't been fixed. The last firmware release was in March at the time of this review.

For a flagship residential router with a $199.99 MSRP I expected perfection. Instead it appears I'm being paid to beta test dodgy software and hardware. Thanks Cisco, you've lost a customer.

Other Thoughts: If you're looking for an 802.11ac router look elsewhere. The speed is great, but it's worthless without the reliability. My old WRT54GS might not provide the speed, but at least it can remain up for weeks at a time without dropping connections or rebooting.

Manufacturer Response:

Hi there R.C.!

Thank you so much for your very detailed feedback about the router. Would you mind sending us your case number or contact information through the official Linksys Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/linksys)? Please send it through private message. We would like to take a look at your case. We eagerly await your response.

Thanks,
Linksys Support
http://support.linksys.com

Pros: Fast, when it works.

Cons: Does not maintain wireless connection. Wired connection will sometimes connect within five seconds of startup, other times takes from three to five MINUTES to establish connection. Tech support wants to randomly change settings, but won't take ownership for problem. Tech states "if problem continues, contact us again and we'll work with you on it". I told them I want the device replaced and they simply refuse. Updated to the latest firmware shortly after purchase and it worked reliably for about 30 days and then the problems began.

Manufacturer Response:

Hi PC,

Thank you for taking the time to write a review about our product. Could you provide the case number that was given to you when you called our support line so we can further check on your concern?

Thanks,
Linksys Support
http://support.linksys.com

Pros: EA6500

Cons: Everything is going well. So far, so good .

Pros: The Good: It's fast, the user interface (once you get it working) is slick, and it comes packed with options.

Cons: Web based UI, Firmware doesn't update, Tech support has no solutions, drops wifi network every night requiring you to power cycle the unit every morning.

Other Thoughts: My biggest complaint, and why the unit was returned for and ASUS unit, is that every night it would drop the wifi network. The hard connection remained, but the wifi network would stay down until I power cycled the unit. I dealt with tech support three times over this issue, there solution was to change random settings each time. Eventually they tried to cast blame on a microwave or cordless phone, but none of those are within 40 feet of the unit (we don't even have a cordless phone), and weren't running during the outage.

It's my belief that the firmware is causing the problem because the unit is running the old firmware and will not update to the latest version. I went over this with tech support each time, but they skirted the issue, opting to change settings again. It's my belief that the only way to update it is through a command line process that the average customer won't be able to do (myself included) and they know this.

The unit comes with no physical instructions like most units do. A simple sheet of paper with a quick start guide would have saved at least one online tech support chat. The most confusing thing for me was that between this router and my last Cisco router they've done away with a software based UI for a web based solution. A simple piece of paper outlining that would have saved more than they paid in tech support than they saved by not printing the paper.

My frustration with this unit led me to look up articles on routers and I found that the comparable ASUS router is much faster. I've had it hooked up for three days now with no sign of the dropped network issue that the Linksys was plagued with leading me to conclude that the problem was not environmental as Linksys tech support wanted me to believe, but instead was caused by the router itself. It was as if they just wanted me to get comfortable with the idea of needing to power cycle the unit every morning when I got up, as if that was a good solution for a router this expensive.

I've been a loyal Linksys customer for years, but it looks like Cisco rushed this to market a little too soon, the result of which was the loss of my trust in them as a customer.

Pros: Nice web interface, if you have no technical knowledge

Cons: Unreliable, unreliable, unreliable.
Disaster of a product. Poorly engineered (heat dissipation) and inadequate QA on firmware.
Speeds will degrade shortly after bringing it online, eventually losing connection altogether. Well documented on CISCO forums now, but no response/action from the company. You'll get the whole "have you tried resetting?" "Try the factory defaults"... etc.
Nothing useful from their "tech support". It is layered with folks who have no technical knowledge, just a handbook of comfort phrases like "let me assure you we will work to resolve this issue". Then back to "have you tried powering off....?" AAArgh.

Other Thoughts: I am genuinely surprised Cisco senior management has not briefed the exec level that they may have to recall... Just check their support forums: SEVEN PAGES of UNRESOLVED COMPLAINTS ON THE EA6500 in the PAST MONTH ALONE! That is an eye-watering, cataclysmic fail.
Think its just a few dolts who strangled their own bandwidth accidentally with mis-set prioritization? EEEEEEEH! Wrong. For a real confirmation, check CISCO's BBB rating now.... C+ and headed downhill fast.

Manufacturer Response:

Hi Rop,

We appreciate your honest feedback with the EA6500. Can you provide us the case number provided by the Support Team when you contacted them? If you haven't contacted our Support, can we get your contact information? You can give us a private message on our Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/linksys ). We'd like to assist you further with the device.

Thanks,
Linksys Support
http://support.linkys.com

Pros: In my review of 4/13, I mentioned that I would "try another one" and I have received it. I followed the advice of Linksys Customer Support and allowed them to assist me in my set up. The set up had to be completed manually. I'm not sure why. Maybe because of my security software. Anyway, it's up and running and it is extremely fast. I'm glad I decided to try another one. I've always used Linksys/Cisco equipment and I've found them to be very reliable.

Cons: I would suggest changing the advertised 'easy setup'. It wasn't easy.

Other Thoughts: Very fast and has very good range. I'm very happy with the product.

Pros: It looks kind of cool

Cons: WIFI didn't work, almost at all.

3 strikes you're out. Went through three of these before returning the last one and buying a Netgear R6200 instead. See other thoughts

Other Thoughts: First unit: wifi clients on either radio (2.4ghz/5ghz) would randomly disconnect, or remain associated but not pass any traffic.

Second Unit: would not broadcast SSID at all on either radio

Third Unit: Same behavior as the first. It wasn't just one device that would drop, but ALL of them ranging from mobile phones, to laptops to wireless printers.

Purchased a Netgear R6200, set my SSID and passphrases the same as they were programmed on the Linksys and all the devices connected on their own, and stayed connected.

Linksys is usually my first choice for consumer routers, I've never had an issue with them and i prefer their interface over the other brands, but this experience will have me thinking twice. It would be bad enough if this was on a bottom of the line device, but there's no excuse for this performance on their flagship consumer device, and yes, the routers were updated to the latest firmware.

Manufacturer Response:

Hi,

We sincerely regret hearing your difficulties with the router. The wireless connection should work as its supposed to. We would have suggested a few things to optimize your connection but you have already returned it. Please don't hesitate to consider Linksys in your next purchase and thank you for your honest feedback!

Regards,
Linksys Support
http://support.linksys.com

Pros: Well, it looked good on paper. Still waiting to see how it works in real time as mine showed up D.O.A. Actually the router did power up and all of my devices could connect to it, but the router never connected to the modem.

Cons: Showed up D.O.A. Spent two days with ISP techs (on my dime) for them to finally tell me the router does not make a connection, via the ethernet, to the internet modem.

Other Thoughts: I'll try another one.

Manufacturer Response:

Hi b_vaughan,

Thank you for letting us know your experience. Were you able to return the product to Newegg? Please let us know once you recieve the new one so we can assist you with the set up.

Thanks,
Linksys Support
http://support.linkys.com

Pros: On paper it looks good/great

Cons: It's performance and reliability are terrible.
names of connected devices get mixed up and you no longer know what devices are attached/working.
Local wifi network will over time not allow users to access the WAN/internet w/o hard rebooting the router.
Support is alright, but after speaking to Linksys support on more than 5 occasions. I also worked with Linksys's "local Sunnyvale" callback center; while they were friendly, they couldn't solve the problems I was having.
No wonder why Cisco sold off the Linksys business unit, they couldn't/can't even design a decent and reliable wifi router.
Linksys has gone from the best to the worst with one generation of products - sad really.

Other Thoughts: I will go back to my ancient but working EA3000 wifi router while I save up again for a new router that works.

Manufacturer Response:

Hi John,

Thank you for letting us know by posting your review. We would like to get the case number given by our Technical Support so that we can look it up in our record and provide you necessary assistance regarding your EA6500 router.

Thanks,
Linksys Support
http://support.linksys.com