Linksys E8450 AX3200 WiFi 6 Router: Dual-Band Wireless Home Network, 4 Gigabit Ethernet Ports, Parental Controls, 3.2 Gbps, 2,500 sq ft, 25 Devices

As a matter of background information, the original model router that I received from Spectrum when I first subscribed to their service, was a very powerful 5G model. But after 4 years, I began getting dropouts and other issues with my streaming capabilities. We don't do cable TV, rather we do streaming via various ROKU sticks or boxes. Since all of my ROKU devices are connected via WiFi, it is essential that the signals stay strong for quality streaming. After the first router began malfunctioning, Spectrum provided another new router. Unfortunately, that was a weaker model and we began experiencing issues there also. That's when I decided to invest in a relatively inexpensive, yet superbly operating modem. After doing my homework and finding out that many review sites recommend the Linksys E8450 AX3200 WiFi 6 Router, especially for Spectrum, I purchased one - and it arrived the same day (talk about awesome). Hookup was quite easy actually - but just to be safe, I also called Spectrum Tech Support to inquire if there was anything else I needed to do. They replied that unlike a modem, which requires certification on their end, routers are technically no big deal and one can use any router. Setup was easy - after connecting the new Linksys E8450 AX3200 WiFi 6 Router to my modem, I then rebooted and reset the modem. After coming back on line, the modem easily saw and communicated with the Router. As part of the instructions, they also give you an address to type in your browser, which takes you to your router settings. Now here is where it gets nice. The first time you go to this router settings page, you are asked to provide your own settings - meaning name of device and the password you wish to use. So what I did was to use the same ID and password that I had for my previous router so I would not have to redo all the devices I own that use my WiFi - it was a cinch! But you do have to use a combination of caps, small letters, numbers, and symbols for the password. If your previous passwords (that you'd still like to use) don't have this combo, you'll have to change them to meet the Linksys requirements. Of course, then you have to redo the login on all the devices you use to connect to your WiFi. After connecting everything, everything worked superbly. My download speeds were fantastic (well, fantastic for me). I have the 500 Meg download service with Spectrum, yet with this Linksys E8450 AX3200 WiFi 6 Router, I am getting download speeds of 590 Megs per second and 25 Megs upload speeds - which is better than the service I'm paying for. Great job Linksys. Now obviously, this is a new router, and all I can report upon is what I'm experiencing now. Will check back in within 6 months or so to add more comments if things change. In closing, I tend to chuckle at those reviews where the reviewer states he/she had a hard time connecting, or setup was too complicated. That's because they are usually not literate when it comes to setting up anything with a computer - and it's not a Linksys issue. I'm no computer scientist, and everything connected perfectly and I had no issues.

Readers beware, this review is not reviewing the device at stock firmware If I were to review this product strictly on stock firmware it would be a solid one star because the configuration wizard was the slowest most garbage interface I have ever seen and the internet dropped constantly as soon as I configured a DMZ. That being said I didn't buy this device for its stock firmware, I bought this device for it's known compatibility with openwrt a custom firmware that gives many more options then stock firmware does. Once that was installed I have had no problems whatsoever, the internet hasn't dropped once on my end(ISP side however...) and the distance is absolutely amazing I can easily still have access to it in the further Garden roughly 100 yards out, and the speed is not too shabby. All in all I love this router as long as you're not using stock firmware on it and it has taken everything that I have thrown at it so far, I don't even believe I've had to restart it outside of configuration changes in the last month or two that I've had it

I brought this one due to the WPA3 security to extend the life of the product. I am only using the WPA2 right now. I will test WPA3 later. The 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz are good. I haven't enough space in my 2 Br 2 Bath apartment to discern the difference with the phone connections. They are certainly stronger than my previous system and data loads faster. It works very well at the farthest part of my apartment. Initial install was over the WiFi phone connection. Once that was done, I was able to bring up the administration on my desktop. The remainder of the procedure was easy.

Ordered this router as my frontier fios router wifi started to have hiccups and just getting old. I configure this router to run as an AP since cannot get rid of the fios router using coax cable for internet. I did a quick and simple setup. My wifi has much better coverage and faster speeds. I am running now both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz channels with no issues (it never worked well on Fios router G1100). I took the simple and easy route to setup. By running it as AP, You lose the router and firewall functionality but that is fine by me. Just keep that in mind. Overall, it is a nice looking router. Interface is simple and easy to understand. Even though it has AX capability, none of my wifi devices network cards can handle the new spec. I ve been using it for over 24hrs with not a single issue so far..... I remember the days Linksys was owned by Cisco. Comes to find out it is now Belkin Company. All brands perform the same more less. I am happy with it. Lets see how long it will last.... :-)

I would *not* recommend this router. I've had it installed for a couple of months and finally gave up and went back to my old Netgear Wireless-N router (slower WiFi but very stable.) WiFi connections randomly die for moments at a time. Ethernet connections randomly lock up (!!!!). The connection to the cable modem randomly disconnects for moments then reconnects. The web interface is not particularly user friendly. For me, this has been a bad experience and based on this I doubt I would ever buy another Linksys product. UPDATE 2021-07-12: I found there is a firmware update for the AX3200. To test, I reinstalled the AX3200 and updated the firmware. Knock on wood, the router has been running without fault for several days. The WiFi is behaving and running faster and smoother. So far, no lockups of any kind. UPDATE 2021-09-20: The 5GHz network quit working. It no longer showed up on available networks and could not be added manually. A very long story short, I checked the system status and the 5GHz network no longer had a mac address! Factory reset did not solve the problem. Web interface showed the firmware was up to date so it would not reinstall. I finally went to Linksys web site, downloaded the firmware and reinstalled it through the router web interface. That solved the problem - mac address restored and 5GHz back up and running. Question to Linksys: why does it take so long for this router to do *anything* - configuration changes and reboots take several minutes to perform. My ancient Netgear WNR3500Lv2 is superior in every possible way except not having a 5GHz network. I would think Linksys could do better than this.

Love this router. Very easy to set up and plenty of options available in the setup pages to configure the router exactly as you need. I've got this one set up in bridge mode so not taking full advantage of all the customizations. My 5g band coverage is good enough for my needs, as I'm getting a strong signal across a living room and two back bedrooms (~ 50 from the location of the router), without losing much in terms of speed or signal strength. Will likely buy a second to replace the cable company's router and save on the fees associated with using their equipment.

I bought this along with an arris to replace the rental box that came with my service. It's already paid for itself over time, and I don't really need to mess with it. When I do need to access the interface for port forwarding, wifi signal changes, wifi password changes, etc, it's super easy to navigate. From what I can look up, the security is pretty standard for home routers, but there are options to change how you would want to allow wi-fi connections. There's an option for network HDD, but I don't have an external drive to use with it to test it on, and I'm not confident enough with the security of it to use it anyway. In all, I am very satisfied with this purchase and I'd recommend it to anyone with a typical household usage to replace their rented router/modem setup. If you're not computer savvy, just make sure to buy a modem to go with it when you do, because it's not intended to work without a modem (and make sure it's docsis 3.1 modem).

The router works fine when it actually works but that’s the issue. Getting it to work is a tedious process. You have to use your computer and access the Linksys router page with the provided network access log in credentials. At first I was able to set it up and create my own 2.4 and 5Ghz networks. After that I upgraded the firmware and all was well. A few days later I had to reset my cable modem due to an outage and the router would not pick up the internet signal. I had to go through the router setup process once again and it took several tries to get it back online. A few days later I unplugged everything and had the same issue. When the router was rebooted it was lost and couldn’t get an internet signal from the cable modem. I got a TP Link Router instead and the thing just continues to get online after every reboot. My old Netgear that’s almost 10 years old connects to the internet without any issues. I’ve come to the conclusion that Linksys quality just isn’t what it used to be. They are now owned by Belkin and to No surprise I recall an old Belkin router that was down more than up. Sadly I won’t be purchasing any Linksys products in the near future. They look sleek and have a good reputation due to their name but this isn’t the same Linksys as in the past. I owned a WRT54G router before when Cisco owned them and it was a solid router. The only downside is couldn’t get the higher speeds provided by Docsis 3.0 cable modems, otherwise it was a solid router. I have this 3 stars because when it works it’s a solid router but problem is it’s very flaky. We all need a reliable connection and the ability to get back online quickly after a reset. Unfortunately this doesn’t do it for me.