Linksys E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 5 GHz router review, is it worth it?

The Linksys E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 (E5350) router released in 2019. It is powered by MediaTek MT7628DAN @ 580 MHz chipset, 64 MB of RAM and 16 MB of flash. The AC1000 router is compatible with IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac standards, and the maximum speed that you can get with E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 is 300 + 700 Mbps. The router has 1 x 10/100 Mbps WAN and 4 x 10/100 Mbps LAN ports.

The E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 supports dual-band Wi-Fi, offering both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Linksys typically provides warranties for their products, offering peace of mind and protection against manufacturing defects.

Table of contents:

• Linksys E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 specifications
• Linksys E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 pictures

Linksys E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 (E5350) specifications

Body

If you plan to move or travel frequently and need to take your router with you, the dimensions become important for portability. Smaller and more compact routers are generally easier to transport, while larger routers with external antennas or multiple ports may be bulkier and less convenient to carry. The weight of router is not typically a critical factor for most home or office setups.

System

The MediaTek MT7628DAN @ 580 MHz CPU provides processing power to handle various tasks and services within the E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 router. The router's memory (64 MB) cannot be expanded. When choosing a router, it is important to consider both the flash memory and RAM specifications. The E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 has 16 MB of flash. A larger flash memory allows for more space to store configuration backups. It enables you to save multiple versions of your router's configuration settings, which can be useful for restoring previous configurations or reverting changes if needed.

Within the E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 router's interface, look for a section related to firmware or system settings. The exact location and wording may vary depending on the router's make and model. The Linksys packages the E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 router with 12 V / 0.5 A PSU. A good PSU is an essential component of a computer or electronic device that converts electrical power from an outlet into the appropriate voltage and current required to power the internal components of the device.

Network

The E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 router supports multiple networking standards to ensure compatibility with various devices and systems. The IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses, represented as four sets of numbers separated by periods (e.g. 192.168.0.1). The E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 router also supports IPv6 protocol, allowing you to utilize the latest version of the Internet Protocol. The LAN ports are physical connectors on a E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 router that allow you to connect devices to your local network using Ethernet cables.

WAN ports are the entry point to your local network, making them a potential target for unauthorized access or attacks. It's important to secure your WAN connection by using strong passwords, enabling encryption protocols, and keeping the router's firmware up to date to mitigate security risks. The E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 is equipped with Fast Ethernet WAN port, which have a maximum speed of 100 Mbps.

Wireless

The 2 x 2 dBi, fixed antennas of E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 influence the quality and stability of the Wi-Fi signal. A properly positioned and well-designed antenna can minimize interference and signal degradation, leading to a more reliable and stable connection. This router is 2.4 GHz capable. The 2.4GHz band refers to the portion of the radio spectrum between 2.400 and 2.4835 gigahertz. This frequency range is unlicensed and globally available for various wireless applications, including Wi-Fi.

This router is 5 GHz capable. The 5GHz band provides faster data transfer speeds compared to the 2.4GHz band. This is primarily because the 5GHz band has more available channels and less interference from other devices like microwaves or cordless phones. The E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 Wi-Fi router supports multiple spatial streams, typically up to 4 streams. This allows for higher data throughput and improved performance, especially when multiple devices are connected to the router simultaneously.

The AC1000 is a performance indicator that represents the router's theoretical maximum speed. The theoretical maximum speed (300 + 700 Mbps) represents the highest data transfer rate that the router is capable of achieving under ideal conditions. The TX power of E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 can be adjusted by the user or set automatically by the router firmware. Higher TX power values indicate stronger signal transmission, which can result in a larger coverage area.

The E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 router offers several security protocols: WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPS. The WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) was the first security protocol for Wi-Fi networks but is now considered weak and easily compromised. It uses a static encryption key and has known vulnerabilities, so it is no longer recommended for securing Wi-Fi networks. The WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) was introduced as an improvement over WEP and provides stronger security. If WPA3 is not available, WPA2-Personal with AES encryption is still considered secure.

The E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 router offers WPS. The WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) provides a simplified and convenient method for connecting devices to a Wi-Fi network. Instead of manually entering the Wi-Fi network name (SSID) and password, users can use the WPS feature to establish a connection with the push of a button or by entering a PIN. The Linksys E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 router is capable of creating a guest network. Guests connected to the guest network usually have limited access to network settings and configurations. They are typically restricted from accessing devices connected to the primary network, such as printers, network-attached storage (NAS), or other shared resources.

Connectivity

The E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 router doesn't have file-server or print-server functionality.

Administration

The default IP address of this router is 192.168.1.1. Explore the router's configuration interface to access more advanced settings such as port forwarding, DHCP settings, parental controls, firewall settings, and QoS (Quality of Service) settings. Regularly changing the password is a good security practice to protect your network and devices from unauthorized access. It is also recommended to use strong, unique passwords for other devices and online accounts connected to your network for enhanced security. By changing the default password, you improve the security of your router and reduce the risk of unauthorized individuals gaining control over your network. It helps prevent unauthorized access to your router's settings, network configurations, and sensitive information.

The specifications above are based on the official data published by the manufacturer, but we also take user reviews into consideration. If you found an error or something lacking in the specifications above for the Linksys E5350 Dual-Band AC1000, then don’t hesite and signal the problem to us.

Linksys E5350 Dual-Band AC1000 (E5350) pictures

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