I would recommend the Linksys Max-Stream EA9300 AC4000 with one caveat. There seems to be bad out-of-box hardware copies in the supply chain for this model. Thoroughly test it as soon as you get it. If you notice disconnection, reboot, or configuration issues, replace it with a new copy.
I bought the Linksys Max-Stream EA9300 AC4000 as an upgrade from a Linksys E8350 AC2400. The old router started having disconnection issues with my Vonage VOIP phone system as well as other devices. It seemed to be on it's last legs so it was time for a replacement.
I had problems out of the box with the first EA9300 router (which is why I removed a star). It would reboot every time I made a change or plugged in a network cable into the back and would randomly disconnect from the network until it was rebooted again. Upgrading the firmware didn't fix this behaviour and it became clear to me that it was a hardware problem. I went through Amazon's replacement process (within 30 days of the sale) and had the replacement in 2 days.
The replacement EA9300 router has worked perfectly right out of the box. It has been running constantly for the last three weeks with no issues. All of my devices connected, WiFi and Wired, including my Vonage VOIP phone device. I have Comcast Xfinity with 250Mbps Boost Internet Service. This router handles the speed with no problems, everything is just faster.
Update 2018-10-26
It's been about a month and no issues with the replacement router. Internet access and streaming from multiple devices has been flawless. Everything is just faster.
As advertised the Linksys Max-Stream AC4000 Wi-Fi router has great range and should adequately cover most homes. I installed the router in a fairly centralized location and have good coverage throughout my two story 2500 sq. ft. home. If you are not familiar with networking and want a standard setup, the automated setup Linksys uses will quickly guide you through getting the unit up and running.
However, it you already have a user configured network, as do I, the automated setup process will not allow you to manually configure either the WAN or LAN side of the router during the initial setup. The setup process required me to reconfigure my network to their standard settings, go through the setup process, then reconfigure everything back to my original settings. Hence the four stars vs. five stars. For a router this expensive and capable, Linksys should provide the option of manually changing the WAN and LAN settings during the initial setup.
I have a 3,000 sq foot house on 3 levels.
At any time there can be between 12 and 15 devices or more attached to my wireless network.
Everything from phones, gaming systems, computers and security devices.
My work computers needed to be isolated from the traffic coming from the other items. This wireless router does a good job of Isolating the gaming systems from the TV streaming systems and my work computers. It also has guest network capability so people that come over to visit can connect to the internet with out having access to the home network.
It is easy to set up and works very well.
Extremely pleased with the ease of setup of this device, range of signal, and the speed of my devices on this network! This is the ONLY wireless setup that took me literally less than 20 minutes to get up and running. In fact, I had planned to tackle this project over the weekend when I had more time. However, I wanted to get a preview of what was in store so I started the process this evening. Like I said, I was very surprised that it literally was plug and play. This setup would have gone faster if I didn't attempt to do the initial setup wirelessly first. Once I connected directly via ethernet cable to do the initial configuration, the wireless was up and running in honestly could have been less than 10 minutes. The user interface is very intuitive and easy to understand. The app works great. Devices work great on the system. Linksys Max-Stream AC4000 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi Tri-Band Router, Works with Amazon Alexa (EA9300)Very, very happy with this product!
I returned a netgear nighthawk that never seemed to be happy. I bought this refurbished and it looked absolutely new for 150$--nearly 100$ off! You did not have to sit through the awful router reboot every time you touched something. I set it up in under 40 minutes and couldn't believe I hadn't missed anything. The Nighthawk seemed to have more remote functions but I wanted a locked-down device with a media server for two drive and several devices. I couldn't be happier. The Nighthawk also couldn't see all my directories. Out of the Box it is also HFS+/Mac happy although an older Mac drive and the device do not like the drive's format. PS. You can't use a hub like the Nighthawk for drive sharing but it has 2 usb3 ports instead of a usb 2 and a usb 3.
I still love this device but was really concerned when I discovered I could not get Apple Time Machine Backup's onto it. I'm tenacious and tech savvy. I could NOT get my mac to see the device. I won't even go into what I tried because it is a long list. Here IS what I did. I still had my old Airport Extreme -N. I shut off DHCP, WIFI, and routing (passthrough) and pointed a static address via cat6 cable to the linksys. Basically, the Airport just serves up time machine via the Linksys. It is not a set back because the WIFI speed makes the backups so much faster. I also needed to backup a windows machine to the same drive. Ugh. Airport can read ExFAT (not a great choice for backing up NTFS) but thr Linksys can not read ExFAT. Here's what you can do to back up a windows PC to your airport if you are using the airport as your backup. Create a virtual disk via SMB to the apple HFS+ drive on your time machine. All the permissions are kept inside the virtual disk.
Feature Product
- Intelligent Tri-Band router with Net Gen. "1.8GHz Quad-Core" CPU and 3 offload processors to release your Wi-Fi performance and provide 3 Ultra-high-speed Wi-Fi bands up to 4 Gbps
- Next-Gen AC Wi-Fi + MU-MIMO + Airtime fairness improves network efficiency and provides ultra-fast Wi-Fi speeds to all your home and home office devices at the same time, same speed; "Smart Connect" intelligently selects the best radio band for your wireless device
- Advanced Beamforming with 9 high power amplifiers extend and maximize performance and coverage for both 2.4GHz & 5GHz. Minimum System Requirements:Latest versions of Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari (for Mac and iPad), Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer version 8 and newer
- 6 active high gain antennas expand Wi-Fi range throughout a large-size home; 5 Gigabit Ethernet ports for wired speeds 10x faster than standard Ethernet for printers, game consoles and Smart TVs
- Auto firmware updates always keep your router updated with latest features and security measures
- Works with Amazon Alexa
Description
The high-speed Max-Stream AC4000 MU-MIMO Tri-Band Router (EA9300) gives everyone in your home binge-worthy Wi-Fi to multiple devices at the same time, same speed. With MU-MIMO technology, numerous devices receive blazing-fast speed without buffering, keeping every movie lover and multi-player gamer in your family happy, even while you video conference. Tri-band technology provides an additional high-speed 5 GHz band for total combined speeds up to 4.0 Gbps. Pair this router with a Max-Stream Range Extender for Seamless Roaming so your device is always connected to the strongest Wi-Fi signal and you can video chat and stream throughout your home without lag or buffer. The Linksys App allows you to control and monitor the EA9300. Kindly refer to page 14 in the User Manual for troubleshooting steps.
Finally leaving a review since I've had enough time with this router to give an appropriate opinion. Bought this bad boy back on Oct '17, so far with no issues. Handles 2 phones, 3 tablets, 1 wired smartTV, 1 wireless smartTV, 1 wireless bluray, 2 laptops, and a desktop like a champ! Since this router has 2 frequencies, I have certain devices connected to either 2.4 or 5.0. It does have a third 5.0 frequency, but preferred having one strong 5.0 frequency instead. Well worth the investment. HIGHLY recommend this router to families with multiple devices!
I bought this to replace a Linksys 1200 wireless router I used with 2 (yes 2) WiFi external range extender units.
This MIMO has 2 cpus and 2.2 GHZ with 6 extended range antennas for our 2-story + basement house.
I have D-LINK cameras including one external that now are more reliably networked to the AC4000 whereas the prior configuration dropped signal and cpu cycles way too slow.
I looked at other LinkSys multi-antenna (8) with faster cpu (2.4GHZ) but opted for this unit for better price and for some reason the remote app access to control/configure did not seem to be fully functional with the higher number model.
ONE COMMENT: The Linksys smartphone iOS app seems to allow only ONE wireless server to be on the account at any given time. This is disappointing because I have a wireless router I installed for my kids at college, and as soon as I connected to my residence MIMO the access to the college unit was deleted.
Ugh I hate routers. This one the other day decided to do away with my 3 bands and turned on all guest networks with no password. When I noticed it I reset it. Had to use the app iOS to set half of it up and my browser on computer. Ridiculous. Having said that it's back working good and it plays well with Apple homepods which is something not all routers play well with. I have about 50+ devices connected to it. Sometimes I have to restart it to get a TV to connect to the router. It's like the router stops letting connect and I have to turn it off and on again to get the party started. All routers (consumer) have good and bad parts. I am coming from synology which broke apart, the antennas were a piece of junk and the intrusion software (beta) never worked right which would have been nice. It's a good router though. I'd buy another over linksys but I'm going to rock this one out because I'm not having airplay 2 issues with homepods with this tri-band router
I have Comcast 150 Mbs blast plus. I needed to upgrade my older equipment as I was only getting 70Mbs wired, 60 Mbs over Wifif in a crowded town home complex. Changed out my older zoom modem 8*4 3.0 to a Motorola 24*8 3.0 . boosted to 103 mbs wireless. Then upgraded from an older linksys (1200AC) to this Tri Band 4000ac. Hugh difference, Hitting 160sMbs plus wired and 153Mbs wireless. Even my 2.4g devices (Alexa tp-link Bulbs) are responding quicker. About time getting the internet speed I pay for. Wireless speed checked on an older HP running a Realtek usb antenna
Just installed the AC4000 model, replacing an older Linksys. Note I also recently upgraded our modem and internet bandwidth from 200MBS to 1GBS, upgraded cables from Cat5 to Cat6, so all together, a major upgrade to the network.
Very easy setup, simply validated the power supply after reading other reviews, connected the new cables, stepped through the online guide for updating the software, then ran a speed test. After the network/internet upgrade noted above, we were still experiencing a 5 to 15MBS download speed, afterwards, it speed tested at 892MBS. Note this is just the first test, and within an hour of setting up everything, so I'll have to update this review after a few months of usage.
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