Linksys EA8500 Max-Stream AC2600 MU-MIMO Smart Wi-Fi Router Reviewed

I haven't heard too much in the forums on this device...

So either;

a) works really well, or...
b) too expensive compared to other devices in the market, or..
c) Linksys isn't pushing it that hard compared to other devices with a lower BOM

I was just over at the local Fry's Electronics (Fry's is a brick and mortar store similar to BestBuy or FutureShop) - they have the WRT1900acV2's on sale right now for $189.00.. and the EA8500 sitting right next to that stack was $289.00

Hi All!,

This is my findings of my new Linksys ac2600 (EA8500) I wanted to wait but maybe some are curious so here goes…..

A little background, I had d-link, Netgear, apple, all were good except for Netgear had to reboot that POS, then RT-AC66R this was a good Asus router. Sold it.

I had the RT-AC68R, this was good at 2.4GHz but 5GHz sucked in range so 5GHz usability was useless for me, and it had awful USB support (problems) for me.

Now my RT-AC87R, where to begin….

I thought this would be my router for years (boy was I wrong)…

The 5GHz covered all my house inside, BUT, areas where I put my phone, (to do wifi to hardwired device remote control) just gave me constant problems, some days after a new firmware it seemed to work (sometimes) and I thought finally, then some day or days later BAM not working in those areas again. (Now before you think or say something, all I did was change to the Linksys router, NOTHING ELSE, more on that below).

The best I ever achieved from the 87r was about maybe a month with a firmware, before something went wrong, lag, wifi drops, etc.. I totally gave up on USB drives connected through it, now I have a NAS (Best purchase I have made in years)

Onto my new Linksys, in my case, this is my first Linksys router I have ever owned.

First what I read on it….

-I read the web GUI was slow, I find it supper fast, I have no idea why others complain about it at all.

I am getting used to the GUI on the Linksys as it is different than the Asus.

-Second is wifi range, well the Linksys is the same as the 87R with 2.4 GHz range, and noticeably better than the 87r on the 5GHz band.

-I read of a few having some kind of power down after 6 hours, I have not seen this at all.

Now my findings

- I no longer have my phone wifi to hardwired device control problems at all, matter in fact I had to purchase a new app because my old one was so bad it was useless on the 87r, but guess what…. Both apps work great and I checked for the last update on the first app that went wonky on the 87r and it was not updated for 30+ days, so the Linksys router just has no issues at all with either old app, new app, or any dead spots (that the 87r did have) (this was a major shock for me).

- I no longer have any lag (tho dd-wrt firmware on the 87r removed it usually all the time)

- Setup was simple, but I did do some reading into this before hand, so I knew what to tweak to get great performance out of the Linksys.

- I do have a HP wifi printer problem, FIXED I had to reset my network settings in my HP printer.

- I have no idea what my wifi connections are at ( meaning 100, 300, 400, or 800), Asus and dd-wrt gave me this info, nowhere found on the Linksys. (This would be my only wish, but not needed)

- I don’t have lights up front and I like that, I do have a Linksys light on top that is steady when connected to my ISP and flashing when not, I do like this also.

- Not a single wifi drop, unless I was outside in my weak zone (every router I owned to date had the same in this area, obviously the older the router the weaker in this area).

- Web page refreshes on wifi devices are the same as my Asus 87r (when it was working good)

- I do not like the fact I only get 90 days telephone support, BUT I never called any anyway, though I do not know how I get a replacement after the 90 days when I can’t call them?

- I use and love the way QOS is used on the linksys (I hated the Asus way, tried it and turned it off) call it personal preference.

- I can't find any WiFi deed spots in my house with this Linksys router to date on 5 GHz or 2.3GHz. (As I have had with the 87r in 5GHz, especially with my remote app)

So far I love this Linksys Router

Any changes to this I will post here as time goes.

Edit 8/17/15 I fixed my HP printer problem (see above)

Second edit for today:
It's Monday night and my online gaming with Asus routers on Monday night were all horrible, so bad that I usually shut down my PS4, now when I play and use party chat well on a Monday, I am usually always at the bottom of the list (more lag).
So here I am on a Monday night with party chat and guess what I am still at or near the top, matter in fact something that has NEVER happened with Asus routers, my party chat game audio was cutting out to give me near lag free gaming on a Monday night.

If this stays like this, I have the best router made to date!
This is how a router should work, perfectly. NOT half baked!! (I am now going to sell my 68r also) I will keep this post and thread updated.

sfx2000 said:

I haven't heard too much in the forums on this device...

So either;

a) works really well, or...
b) too expensive compared to other devices in the market, or..
c) Linksys isn't pushing it that hard compared to other devices with a lower BOM

I was just over at the local Fry's Electronics (Fry's is a brick and mortar store similar to BestBuy or FutureShop) - they have the WRT1900acV2's on sale right now for $189.00.. and the EA8500 sitting right next to that stack was $289.00

Click to expand...

Why would you buy this if you had an AC1900 router that was working well?

sfx2000 said:

I don't think so... the Linksys folks, I think were a bit surprised when I pointed that out... went well beyond the normal point of contact, and I get a direct response from Engineering. There's nothing in the Mamba GPL code drops in the Linksys code that suggests it, so it must be in the Marvell driver code if it exists - or it's a bug in the driver as a missed bit setting for the beacon.

In any event, should matter, as MU-MIMO is a dynamic feature, and perhaps the chipset will elect not to do it.

Click to expand...

Mamba GPL code is fully Libre and supported by the community. But when you mix proprietary Marvell driver code incompatibility happens.
I personally stay away from any products that contains Marvell products manufacturing, their code is "dark matter", and proprietary, not in full GPL COMPLAINT! No matter how great the product is, if the code cant not be read and modified by everyone, Ill stay the hell out of their Waves.

thiggins said:

Why would you buy this if you had an AC1900 router that was working well?

Click to expand...

The post is actually targeted towards folks that might be considering AC1900 (e.g. WRT1900acV2) or the EA8500...

Both seem to be pretty decent - I can speak towards the WRT1900acV1, which, IMHO, is one of the better solutions of the AC1900 class...

I am now a week and a day into the Linksys EA8500 (AC2600).... (This is in continuation from my post last week above)

My download speeds since I installed this are better hands down
-Any router before (including the rt-ac87r) I got a max of 30-32 down now with the Linksys I always see 34-35, this is just mind blowing.

-Lag = the absolute best I have ever achieved with any router, practically no Lag, except my IPS lag at nights, but it is so minimal now, again mind blowing.

-Absolutely no dead wifi spots with the Linksys, super fast connection from my wifi app to wired lan control device, again mind blowing.

-I have adjusted some things in the settings and unlike the 87r, no firmware degradation at all......
Meaning every time I rebooted (I owned 2, first one died due to overheating) the ac87r = the 87r would perform worse and worse (more problems, etc..)after every reboot, no matter what firmware I used, until I flushed the ac87r and started from scratch again, I call that a POS router, it happened with both of them, I have complained about this from time to time.
Nothing at all like this on the Linksys, the Linksys just works like it should and rebooting does nothing bad at all to it, again mind blowing.

-WiFi drops = absolutely none with the Linksys on either band, the Linksys just works and works perfectly.

-The IOS app to configure the router does not work with IOS 9 beta yet, expected as it is a beta IOS, it does work from my android note 10.1 version 1 perfectly. (I use the web GUI anyway, but I don't have to go into that often at all due to the Linksys just working).

I don't have absolutely nothing bad to say or found about this router, I keep looking for something, not performing properly, but everything I do with the Linksys = it just works perfectly, to date.

dfran1 said:

I am now a week and a day into the Linksys EA8500 (AC2600).... (This is in continuation from my post last week above)

My download speeds since I installed this are better hands down
-Any router before (including the rt-ac87r) I got a max of 30-32 down now with the Linksys I always see 34-35, this is just mind blowing.

-Lag = the absolute best I have ever achieved with any router, practically no Lag, except my IPS lag at nights, but it is so minimal now, again mind blowing.

-Absolutely no dead wifi spots with the Linksys, super fast connection from my wifi app to wired lan control device, again mind blowing.

-I have adjusted some things in the settings and unlike the 87r, no firmware degradation at all......
Meaning every time I rebooted (I owned 2, first one died due to overheating) the ac87r = the 87r would perform worse and worse (more problems, etc..)after every reboot, no matter what firmware I used, until I flushed the ac87r and started from scratch again, I call that a POS router, it happened with both of them, I have complained about this from time to time.
Nothing at all like this on the Linksys, the Linksys just works like it should and rebooting does nothing bad at all to it, again mind blowing.

-WiFi drops = absolutely none with the Linksys on either band, the Linksys just works and works perfectly.

-The IOS app to configure the router does not work with IOS 9 beta yet, expected as it is a beta IOS, it does work from my android note 10.1 version 1 perfectly. (I use the web GUI anyway, but I don't have to go into that often at all due to the Linksys just working).

I don't have absolutely nothing bad to say or found about this router, I keep looking for something, not performing properly, but everything I do with the Linksys = it just works perfectly, to date.

Click to expand...

This is hilarious, I am dumping my POS 87r too. This very router is on its way in the mail to me as we speak.

spinkick said:

This is hilarious, I am dumping my POS 87r too. This very router is on its way in the mail to me as we speak.

Click to expand...

Really??
I can't wait to see what you think?
The setup is a little tricky for some
Make sure you pull power from your cable modem
Install
Put power back in to cable modem then power up router
The Linksys will ask you to power cycle modem and router (I think)
I did 2 things then skipped and continued configuring and all was is great
It seems the router never found my modem initially. You may have a different experience, but I thought I would share.

dfran1 said:

Really??
I can't wait to see what you think?
The setup is a little tricky for some
Make sure you pull power from your cable modem
Install
Put power back in to cable modem then power up router
The Linksys will ask you to power cycle modem and router (I think)
I did 2 things then skipped and continued configuring and all was is great
It seems the router never found my modem initially. You may have a different experience, but I thought I would share.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll let you know. I actually only use these things in AP mode, I have a firewall that I run. Glad to see you like it. I was a little pensive about going back to the linksys brand but asus really has messed up.

Still going strong? No weirdness like the 87u?

spinkick said:

Still going stro.ng? No weirdness like the 87u?

Click to expand...

I have been using this router replacing RT-AC87U(running too hot) I don't do any fancy stuff, just ordinary home network user. There was only one f/w update so far. It just chugs along without any issues. As usual I don't use supplied AC adapter. feeding it by bench lab grade DC source with plenty of clean reliable juice.

I am still running perfectly with the EA8500,
I still can not find or see any glitch at all.

My connection from my ISP is the best I had with any router to date

All that bloat asus puts on theirs causes issues for sure, besides build issues, no more asus for me or recommended by me anymore.

I received my Amazon $132 for the 87R last night, I am very happy with that, waiting for my $100 for the 68R from Amazon.

When I read through the lines, the 87r or u, negative comments from other such experts, such as transmission blobs, Lack of responsiveness or bad firmware nightmares, and I know for fact that static noise is from a fan club of users of Mr. Belkins Linksys devices.

Yet, I ask my self:
Are those routers really free?
Specially, from the gossip of back doors?
Are you really trusting and negotiating blindly your privacy to them?
Do you have the full rights to modified, study, change the firmware as you please?
After all you pay for it and you own it right?
Correct me, if I'm wrong?

Sorry, I still like Asus routers without Marvell allergenic issues.

red_pope said:

When I read through the lines, the 87r or u, negative comments from other such experts, such as transmission blobs, Lack of responsiveness or bad firmware nightmares, and I know for fact that static noise is from a fan club of users of Mr. Belkins Linksys devices.

Yet, I ask my self:
Are those routers really free?
Specially, from the gossip of back doors?
Are you really trusting and negotiating blindly your privacy to them?
Do you have the full rights to modified, study, change the firmware as you please?
After all you pay for it and you own it right?
Correct me, if I'm wrong?

Sorry, I still like Asus routers without Marvell allergenic issues.

Click to expand...

Whatever one has, (s)he has to get best out of it. Remember old saying? Poor craftsman always complains about his tool. Good tools only make the work easier. It is all matter of personal choice. Numbers and figures on the spec, sheet is not the only thing. Some are plug & players, some are tinkerers.

red_pope said:

When I read through the lines, the 87r or u, negative comments from other such experts, such as transmission blobs, Lack of responsiveness or bad firmware nightmares, and I know for fact that static noise is from a fan club of users of Mr. Belkins Linksys devices.

Yet, I ask my self:
Are those routers really free?
Specially, from the gossip of back doors?
Are you really trusting and negotiating blindly your privacy to them?
Do you have the full rights to modified, study, change the firmware as you please?
After all you pay for it and you own it right?
Correct me, if I'm wrong?

Sorry, I still like Asus routers without Marvell allergenic issues.

Click to expand...

Nothing wrong intrinsically with Asus routers - certain devices seem to be problematic, but that's a chipset issue, not an OEM issue. The AC68u series is a great router, the AC87u, well, perhaps less so...

Whether a router/AP is "free" or not, for many people this isn't a real problem - free is a relative term.

backdoors - most of the 'back doors' have been due to poorly written code - I'm personally not aware of any intentional backdoors from any vendor that could be attributed to three letter agencies, etc...

Trust - it's really up to the end-user for personal gear - just note that if your router/gateway is provided by the operator, certain information and access is a given - that's not a backdoor, that is a management interface - if you have a cable or DSL modem, it's there if not in your router.

Full Rights to modem/study/change firmware - again, for most folks, they have neither the technical skill nor inclination to get that deep into a product - for those that do, there are products out there for those who like to tinker about with things.

One pays and owns - for some people, the end is tinkering about with their devices, for others, these devices are a means to an end, and to that point, 99 percent of the market really just wants to plug in and it just work...

So I know a lot of peeps are bent on Linksys for the OpenWRT support on the WRT1900acV1, and the subsequent mess - old news... OpenWRT is available for that device, the developers are engaged, and if one wants, can download a development snapshot, or the full source tree, build a toolchain, and tinker to the end of time.

Well that was fun. If anyone needs to set this thing up as an AP, use "Bridge Mode" and plug the connection from your firewall into the ap's "internet" port. If you try to set it up as a AP and keep the router software running, you are gonna have a bad time.

spinkick said:

Well that was fun. If anyone needs to set this thing up as an AP, use "Bridge Mode" and plug the connection from your firewall into the ap's "internet" port. If you try to set it up as a AP and keep the router software running, you are gonna have a bad time.

Click to expand...

This is normal for current Linksys - not just the E8500, but I've seen this with the WRT1900ac as well...

Bit odd, but once aware of it... only hits one on setup if one is configuring it as an AP vs. Router...

I just bought a Linksys EA8500 today, coming from an ASUS RT_AC87U. Seems ok so far but it really seems to be lacking any sort of "Status" monitoring.
You can't see how much internet traffic is being used and by what device or CPU load, RAM usage, etc...
The QOS settings are pretty archaic too. They don't even list Netflix in the applications that you can prioritize.

sfx2000 said:

This is normal for current Linksys - not just the E8500, but I've seen this with the WRT1900ac as well...

Bit odd, but once aware of it... only hits one on setup if one is configuring it as an AP vs. Router...

Click to expand...

Yeah, now that I know what it does, it shouldnt be a problem. Very odd though , i havent had a linksys since the wap54g

I am still rocking with this very stable router.
- Linksys support is very great and responsive (from the printer issue I had, above).
- This router may not have the bells and whistles of other routes But this router is sure near perfect at the basic stuff, is rock solid to date, and faster download speeds than my previeus Asus routers or any before.
I would have to say that the 90 days of tech support Linksys offers is good enough, as their email and forum response is outstanding. If they had all the problems the other manufactures had, they most likely would be slow to respond.