What I like:
• I was impressed that, for a refurb, there were no scratches or dings. Looked like it was brand new (not even a fingerprint).
• Connected instantly to my Windows 10 PC. Setup was a cinch.
• Improved throughput X2 or more (compared to WNDR4500 it replaced).
• Everybody in the house uses the same SSID no matter what band (1 x 2.4GHz, 2 x 5GHz) they use.
• I can turn all its lights off. Sweet!
• Footprint is about 8" X 8" X 6" (w-l-h). Fits the shelf perfectly (see pic).
• This product met my expectations for its purchase - throughput in garden 100+ feet away doubled or more (depending on how many devices are connected - often up to 22, 18 typical).
• Client PLEX players never hiccup, Netflix never shows "loading" screen on 4K content, Chromebook feels faster.
• We live in a busy wi-fi neighborhood and this router seems to do a good job of sorting it out.
What I don’t like:
• Needed a range extender to cover the entire 2-story 2000 sq ft house.
This replaced a WNDR4500 N900 router (that gave EXCELLENT service for many years) that we now use as a range extender to the far side of the house. Wish I could position the EA8300 in a central location rather than inside the downstairs outside concrete wall where the modem resides - which means the router has to radiate to the entire house from one end. Not optimal. BTW, we’re just 12 ft away from our neighbor’s house.
Some reviewers mentioned short life as an issue. I've only had this a few days – so far, so good.
Product came in the condition it was described and maybe even better. Was extremely easy to set up both 2.4 and 5 ghz networks as well as guest networks. Setup from box open to walking away with new wireless network was maybe 10-15 minutes. We have a 1,900 square foot main floor ranch house and we have great signal everywhere.
Bought this to add onto my ATT router, since it was maxxing out the number of wifi connections and just dropping devices.
Took it out of the box, plugged the network cable into the back of the ATT router into this one. Then it connected and the router was ready to go. I was able to connect to the Linksys network and access the internet. The connection is now much more responsive and it doesn't drop, since it supports many more users.
Once I was up and running, I logged into the ATT router and disabled the WIFI connection. I renamed my Linksys wifi network name to what the ATT router was and changed the wifi password to match, so the rest of the family didn't have issues connecting to the network when they got home.
Finally, I am now able to use Parental Controls to restrict our daughter's internet usage based on the day of the week and time of the day. Really useful.
I really like this router. It has great performance. The MU-MIMO is great. With MIMO devices I can max out Spectrum at the 200 MB/s at more like 212 MB/s all day long (download speed). Of course your modem needs to be able to go that fast too.
I've taken my iPhone 100 feet away outside and I still have a great connection.
Linksys has one thing I don't like. The guest network isn't encrypted the same as the primary network. A password is required but I think the traffic is in the open so depending on your surroundings that could be a risk.
All in all a good solid router. The refurb thing is fine, I got a really good deal through it.
I have had the router one day and so far its great - only took minutes to set up. The refurbished model I purchased looks brand new and works like a charm, but keep this in mind... Since this is a refurb unit, the instruction booklet that came with it did not have the correct wi fi password as it was probably taken from another unit's box. No fear, the wi-fi password that fits your unit is actually labeled on the bottom of the router itself, so go with that one during setup. I was just about to call Linksys tech support since the password in the booklet wasn't working, until I flipped the unit over and saw the real password there, which of course did work.
Feature Product
- This Certified Refurbished product is manufacturer refurbished, shows limited or no wear, and includes all original accessories plus a 90-Day .
- Next-gen AC Wi-Fi - multi-user MIMO technology
- Combined Dual-Band speeds up to 1.7 Gaps for powerful Wi-Fi performance
- Beamforming technology focuses Wi-Fi signal to each device on your network
- Featuring a new look, smart Wi-Fi App provides parental controls, guest passwords and much more to fully manage your home Wi-Fi from a mobile device anytime, anywhere
Description
LINKSYS EA7300-RM AC1750 Dual-Band Mu-Mimo router (Refurbished)
This is a good refurbished router for the price of $99. I live in Central Texas and my internet provider is Grande Communications, i got the 600mgb plan with a modem DOCSIS 3.1 arris CM8200. This Router send via lan to my Windows 7 PC the amount of speed of 589mgb when is connected via ethernet. On WIFI mode it gives me a download speed of 330mgb to my iPhone 7 . I got 14 devices connected to this router from firesticks 4k to ipads and gameconsoles . When streaming a 4K movie on Netflix it gives me that resolution of 4K with no problem and with zero waiting time.I live in a single 3 bedroom house with 1750sq feet and it gives me a good signal in every corner, i also walk to the middle of the street to test the strength of the wifi signal on my iPhone 7 and the download speed was over 30mgb and we are talking that im away around 40 to 50 feet from the router. For the price of $99 dollars is a excellent router for the average American Home. Example: Daughter streaming Piano lessons on YouTube in living room at 1080P, other daughter streaming a movie on Netflix at 4K resolution in her room, son playing online on PS4 Fortnite in his room my Bluetooth speaker playing pandora 24hrs in my garage also the wireless HP printer connected plus all my family cellphones and ipads connected on WiFi and haven’t see loosing signal or reduced speed. This Router can handle all my devices .
2019-04-05: This baby is still going strong. Glad we bought it.
2019-03-16: The day this was delivered and installed. We have an elderly grandparent, who lives in an apartment next to her sister. She has a very low tier of cable Internet service (but great for her basic needs at 11-12Mbps). The cable modem and router are at one end of her 2 BR apartment. Her sister lives next door. I found that the 5GHz signal reaches to the far end of her sister's apartment and has almost the same speed as she gets right next to this router. The signal is degraded by 35-40dB, but still works fine at these low speeds (fine for 720p streaming on 1-2 devices). Downloading a whole video isn't fun (takes a looong time), but not because of this router. The unit came of of the box spotlessly clean. It appeared that the firmware was the release before the latest, but very easy to update from this router's web interface. Even with her slow connection that took 3-4 minutes including reboot and auto-reconfig.
Glad I found this router (at least so far).
The setup interface isn't too slick, but has all the features she needs and more. I have an ASUS AC-3200 router that cost way more than this one, and is much faster and supports more devices and has a better and more feature-laden interface. But this is perfect for this application. If it holds up, I will be delighted. Best buy had it on sale (new) at almost 3x the price. But I like refurbished stuff at less than 50% of new. I'm an EE and know two important things. 1: Failure rate for semiconductor-based stuff is shaped like a bathtub (with high infant mortality rates, and high end-of life rates, and everything in-between is at a very low failure rate (typically over a decade or more). 2: Refurbished stuff is usually checked more thoroughly than production line stuff. Typically every unit has to pass tests, whereas production line stuff might not be tested at all, because they use statistical sampling methods. These are not true of every refurbisher. I notice for these routers, quite a few customers have complained of OOB failure.
So far, all is well. The router wasn't set to factory defaults upon receipt. With only a 90 day warrantee I am going to have to really run it through the wringer, so to speak...
I was hoping for better range than my old EA6350 router;so far only a little better. I do plan to set up my old router to give me a 5GHz access point when my family comes to visit.
I was able to setup my old router (EA6350 - AC1200 +) to act as an access point and it really works quite well and I am getting much better WIFI coverage than with just the new router alone. Setup is fairly simple and LinkSys has all the instructions on line that you can download as a PDF
Update 7/29/2018: Before I got this router I would have connection problems on my iPhone 6+ in some rooms of my house but not since. This unit appears to be much more stabile than the EA6350 - AC1200+ unit it replaced. Right now I have 8 Devices attached and don't see any performance problems. Originally, there was some concern that, being refurbished, there could be problems. I haven't seen any and the unit looks brand new.. Also it has much better ventilation than my previous routers which should help also because routers tend to get hot.
Update 9/06/2018: All is well still. I have ordered another faster refurbished router (AC2200) from Amazon so this one will be moved to be used as an access point.
Best purchase I have made all year hands down.
I recently moved and will looking to install Spectrum in my new home. I did not want to pay the $5 wifi charge since they usually just bring a modem/router that always has problems for whatever reason and the money I spend on the fee I can use to buy a better router.
So I went with this one and just had the tech hook it up with the modem. OMG. I'm actually getting more speed than I'm paying for. The range is so good as well. My place is small so I really care for the range as I'd get 5 bars regardless but I tested it anyway.
I live in the backhouse of a duplex with a large yard in between. I had to cross the street to get below 2 bars. Very impressed.
I specially recommend it from Amazon as the insurance is really cheap as well. Love it. I call it the Spaceship.
I've had this hooked up for around two weeks. No issues. I'm very glad I went the Refurbished instead of paying full price.
I replaced an older N unit that was okay, but struggling. This one is great. At any given moment we have 5-20 devices on the WiFi and it hasn't missed a beat. The living room TV used to start at 480 then make its way to 1080, on Netflix. This one starts at 720 and almost instantly goes to 1080. In the back bedroom, we couldn't maintain 720, on Netflix. It would bounce from 480 (most of the time to 720, and often less than 480). Now, it starts at 720 and very quickly goes to 1080; which it holds for the duration of viewing, once it gets it.
The range is very good, I can keep WiFi on my phone throughout the yard and I keep the router in the basement.
I also bought a Refurbished modem, the combination gives me a solid 90-110 MBPS through my cable internet rated at 100 MBPS.