Linksys Dual-Band AC1200 Wi-Fi 5 Router review: Hassle-free surfing experience at Rs 3,699

Specs: Dual-band Wi-Fi router, Wi-Fi 5, over 10 devices, Speed up to 1.2 Gbps, WPS button, 1 WAN + 4 LAN ports, 4x internal antennas

In the box: Router, power cable with adaptor, LAN cable

An established name in networking devices, the Linksys E5600 is a good-looking dual-band router with a great coverage area which happens to be secure as well.

With a solid built, Linksys E5600 looks premium. It is class apart from the ones provided by the Huawei dual-antenna routers by Airtel. It looks superior over the Jio fibre hardware as well. The standing device with geometrical line design minus external antennas looks striking, doesn't consume much space and can easily blend with most interiors. There is no correct way to place the router as there is Linksys branding on the front, back, ports and button on one side (including a WAN port, four LAN ports, WPS and reset button) and the LED indicators on the other.

One does not need any technical knowhow to set up the Linksys E5600. Simply follow the instruction as mentioned on the documentation and the job gets done. It has to be plugged into the existing modem/modem-router using the ethernet cable bundled in the box. But before that, I had power on the router and connect on the wireless network using credentials provided by Linksys, following which I was able to complete the router setup by either typing 192.168.1.1 or http://myrouter.local/in on the web browser of the connected device.

Logging in using the default password, I was able to set up two wireless connections by adding name and password of my choice. While the default router password is admin, I was able to change it from the portal itself. Once the setup process was complete, the orange indicator on the side for the internet turned blue.

Using the Linksys E5600 was a delight. I added about five devices each on the 2.4GHz and 5Ghz which included a smart TV, FireTV stick, a couple of laptops, a tablet, smartphones along with IoT enabled lights and speakers, and all worked without hiccups. Tested on two connections, the router gave decent speeds of up to 35 Mpbs on the Airtel Broadband connection (40Mbps plan) and over 150 Mbps on Jio fibre (similar speed plan). The connection was stable throughout. Not even once did I experience any speed related issues. Even with internal antennas, the coverage range was impressive, good for a multi-story house. Placed on the second floor of the house, I was able to access the network on the terrace (third floor), first floor, ground floor and even outside the house. In addition, the WPS button was convenient to connect my review units to the network without keying in the password. In addition, the router even has parental controls.

Most of us rely on the not so good-looking modems and routers provided by our broadband/fibre operators and often struggle with the limited range, connection drop and slow surfing speed. However, the experience improved with Linksys E5600, which is a reasonably priced dual-band router with great looks and coverage area.

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