Pros & Cons
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- Nice price.
- Blazing 5GHz throughput in testing.
- Easy to install and manage.
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- Middling file-transfer speeds.
- Non-removable antennas.
Linksys EA6350 AC1200+ Dual-Band Smart Wi-Fi Wireless Router Specs
| AC Speed | AC1200 |
| Anti-Malware Tools | |
| Beamforming | |
| Guest Networking | |
| IPv6 Compatible | |
| Link Aggregation | |
| Number of Antennas | 2 |
| Number of Bands | 2 |
| Number of USB ports | 1 |
| Number of Wired LAN Ports (Excluding WAN Port) | 4 |
| Quality of Service | |
| Supports DD-WRT | |
| Wireless Networking Security | WEP |
| Wireless Networking Security | WPA2 |
| Wireless Networking Security | WPA2-Enterprise |
| Wireless Networking Security | WPS |
| Wireless Parental Controls | |
| Wireless Specification | 802.11ac |
If you have a small home and run a modest network consisting of a handful of wired and wireless clients, you probably don't need to spend hundreds of dollars for a router with the latest Wi-Fi technologies. For only $89.99, the Linksys EA6350 AC1200+ Dual-Band Smart Wi-Fi Wireless Router gets you lightning-fast 5GHz throughput, as well as a nice assortment of management settings and I/O ports. It's $30 more than the D-Link AC1200 Wi-Fi Router (DIR-842) ($59.99 at Amazon) , but it's faster and has a USB port, so it's our latest Editors' Choice budget Wi-Fi router.
Design and Features
The EA6350 ($49.75 at Amazon) looks similar to the Linksys EA6100 AC1200 Dual-Band Smart Wi-Fi Router ($32.99 at Amazon) . Both use a black enclosure and have two non-removable antennas, which means you can't trade up to a high-gain antenna. The EA6350 measures 1.1 by 8.9 by 7 inches (HWD), and there's a strip of gray trim containing a single status light that dissects the top of the enclosure. The light blinks green during setup, and remains solid green while the router is powered up.
This dual-band 802.11ac router is powered by a single-core 800MHz CPU. It can achieve (theoretical) throughput speeds of up to 300Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and up to 867Mbps on the 5GHz band. The EA6350 supports beamforming, which sends wireless signals directly to each client rather than over a broad spectrum, but not Multi-User Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) data streaming. The back of the router holds four Gigabit LAN ports, a WAN port, a single USB 3.0 port, a WPS button, and a Reset button.
The Smart Wi-Fi Web console opens to a Home screen that has a list of Smart Wi-Fi Tools and Router Settings on the left and widgets for frequently used settings on the right. The Device List page displays all connected devices and their current status, and the Guest Access page is where you go to enable guest networking and set up passwords. Oddly, guest networking is only available for 2.4GHz clients. As with other Linksys routers that use this console, including the Linksys EA6100 and the Linksys EA7500 Max-Stream AC1900 MU-MIMO Gigabit Router ($119.99 at Amazon) , you get Parental Controls, a Speed Test that measures Internet upload and download speeds, and Media Prioritization settings that allow you to give network priority to gaming consoles and specific applications. External Storage settings let you determine folder access for attached USB drives and configure FTP and Media Server settings.
Linksys EA6350 AC1200+ Dual-Band Smart Wi-Fi Wireless Router
Router Settings include a Connectivity page, where you can change things like DHCP settings, enable Dynamic Routing, update the firmware, and change the router's password. There's also a Wireless Settings page, where you can create Wi-Fi passwords, choose a security mode, rename the SSID, and select a channel-width setting. This is also where you go to enable and configure MAC Address Filtering and enable/disable Wi-Fi Protected Setup for the router. The Troubleshooting page lets you view system logs, check the status of each client, and run network diagnostics, and the Security page allows you to configure Firewall, VPN Passthrough, and Port Forwarding settings.
Installation and Performance
With the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Web console, installing and configuring the EA6350 is quick and easy. Once the router is plugged in and connected to the Internet and your host PC, simply open a browser and type linksyssmartwifi.com in the address bar. This launches the Setup Wizard, which walks you through the basic Internet and wireless settings.
The EA6350's scores in our 5GHz throughput tests are the fastest we've seen from a budget router. Its score of 427Mbps in the close-proximity (same-room) test was much faster than the Netgear AC1200 Smart Wi-Fi Router (R6220) ($39.99 at Amazon) (331Mbps), the Linksys EA6100 (95.1Mbps), and the D-Link DIR-842 (332Mbps). At a distance of 30 feet, the EA6350's score of 199Mbps once again led the pack; the Netgear R6220 scored 104Mbps, the Linksys EA6100 gained 86.6Mbps, and the D-Link DIR-842 showed a throughput of 111Mbps.
The EA6350's scores in our 2.4GHz throughput tests were more in line with the other budget routers. It gained 72.5Mbps in the close-proximity test and 39.3Mbps in the 30-foot test. The Netgear R6220 had a throughput of 74.1Mbps (close proximity) and 48.3Mbps (30 feet), the Linksys EA6100 scored 77.4Mbps and 40.2Mbps, respectively, and the D-Link DIR-842 had a throughput of 75Mbps and 41.5Mbps.
To test file-transfer speeds, we connect a USB drive to the router's fastest USB port and move a 1.5GB folder containing a mix of photo, music, video, and document files between the drive and a desktop wired to the router. The EA6350's write score of 21.5MBps was a bit faster than the Netgear R6220 (17.6MBps), but not quite as fast as the Linksys EA6100 (27.4MBps). In the read test, the EA6350 scored 28MBps to the Linksys EA6100's 28.3MBps and the Netgear R6220's 25.6MBps. The D-Link DIR-842 was not included in these tests, as it does not have a USB port.
Conclusion
The Linksys EA6350 AC1200+ Dual-Band Smart Wi-Fi Wireless Router is an excellent choice if you don't require an advanced router. Ideal for smaller homes and apartments, it delivered very fast 5GHz throughput in our tests, and while its 2.4GHz performance didn't set any records, it was more than adequate for a router in this price range. As with most Linksys routers, the EA6350 is very easy to install and manage, thanks to the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Web console and mobile app. You'll pay around $30 more for this router than you would for the D-Link AC1200 Wi-Fi Router (DIR-842), but the extra money gets you much faster throughput and a USB 3.0 port.
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Further Reading
Final Thoughts
Linksys EA6350 AC1200+ Dual-Band Smart Wi-Fi Wireless Router Review
The Linksys EA6350 is a dual-band router that offers blazing 5GHz throughput speeds, four Gigabit LAN ports, and a fast USB port. And it rings up for less than $90, making it our top pick for budget Wi-Fi routers.