Getting to know the Linksys EA6900 AC1900 Dual-Band Smart WiFi Wireless Router

The Linksys EA6900 AC1900 Dual-Band Smart WiFi Wireless Router is a simultaneous dual-band 3x3 gigabit router with two USB ports that supports a maximum of 600 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and up to 1.3 Gbps on the 5 GHz band. 

It comes with three external antennas for better coverage and range. This is ideal for media-centric applications such as streaming video, gaming, and voice over internet phone (VoIP).


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The router can create three simultaneous yet separate wireless networks:
 

  • The 2.4 GHz Network caters to devices in your network that are 802.11n (N-only) and 802.11g (G-only) or a combination of both using Mixed mode. The wireless network settings include Mixed mode which will allow backward compatibility with Wireless-B/G/N devices.
 
  • The maximum speed that your devices can achieve with an 802.11n adapter on the 2.4 GHz band is up to 600 Mbps.
 
  • The 5 GHz Network will only be able to cater to devices in your network that are Mixed, N-only, and AC-only. The Mixed mode will still allow backward compatibility for 802.11a devices.
 
  • Connecting a device with an 802.11ac wireless adapter on the 5 GHz network that is set to AC-only will enable you to achieve up to 1300 Mbps speed. However, by setting your network to AC-only, all other Wireless-N/G/B devices will not be able to connect.
 
  • Guest Access is an additional wireless network feature that allows your visitors at home to access the internet but not your local network (i.e., shared storage devices, printer access).


For your connected home, you may use the 2.4 GHz network to connect your wireless devices to surf the internet and email, share files and print. The 5 GHz network is best for heavy applications including VoIP calls, online gaming, and streaming high-definition videos. 


Linksys EA6900 features
 

The router has built-in USB ports that can easily add gigabytes of storage space to your network by connecting a hard drive or USB flash disk. The dual USB ports also allow you to set up two USB printers at most on your network.


You can easily set up and manage your router, device, and wireless network with Linksys Smart WiFi. Alternatively, you may opt out of a Linksys cloud account but may still be able to configure the advanced settings on your router via the Local Access link. To know more about this feature, click here.


The router is built with security features to control and protect your router and your home network. One of the security features is its software-based firewall which is IPv4 and IPv6 compatible. These Internet Protocols have their own firewall protection, which are enabled by default. To learn more about the Security Tool, click here. Since this firewall has been set to prevent most programs or applications, you will have to manually configure your router’s settings to allow programs or applications you want to use by setting up Port Range Triggering.


Visit the Linksys EA6900 Product Page to read more troubleshooting articles, downloadable user guides or firmware updates and other support information related to this product.


Top panel
 

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On the top panel, the indicator light stays steadily ON while powering up, flashes slowly during boot up, firmware upgrades, and factory reset.


NOTE: A steady indicator light also means that a successful Wi-Fi Protected Setup™ (WPS) connection is established. The light flashes quickly when there is a WPS error.


Below are the summary of the LEDs and what each indicates:

 
LightColor(s)ActivityDescription
Power / Wi-Fi Protected Setupâ„¢ (WPS)WhiteOFFPower OFF
Pulsing (0.4 Hz / 2.5 s)Booting / system self-test / firmware upgrade
Blinking (1.2 Hz / 0.8 s)WPS error or session overlap. Up to 2 minutes then back to solid white.
Pulsing (0.5 Hz / 1.7 s)WPS in progress. Up to 2 minutes.
SolidPower ON / device is ready / WPS is successful
Ethernet / LANYellow / GreenOFFNo physical link on LAN port
Flashing (yellow)Data is transmitting through LAN port
Solid (green)Physical link is up on LAN port
InternetYellow / GreenOFFNo physical link on LAN port
Flashing (yellow)Data is transmitting through LAN port
Solid (green)Physical link is up on LAN port
 

IMPORTANT:  In case the indicator light does not flash like any of the behavior stated above, you need to observe your connection first. If the connection works fine, the unusual activity of the indicator light only pertains to an active network connection. However, if you start experiencing intermittent to no connection, you may need to power cycle your router for 1 to 2 minutes. If this does not fix the problem, you might need to update the firmware and reconfigure the settings of the router. To download the router's firmware, click here.


Back panel
 

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Adjustable External Antennas

This router is shipped with three adjustable external antennas and built-in adjustable ports. These should be connected to the router before powering it ON.  To connect the antennas, twist the antenna connector clockwise onto the antenna port on the router.

 

In order to connect to the antennas, make sure you hold them by the end of the connector (see green arrow) as you are twisting them in. For optimal performance, the middle antenna needs to be pointed straight up and the side antennas should be angled outwards at +/- 30 degrees (see back panel screenshot).

 

Ethernet 1-4 (Yellow and Green)

These ethernet ports connect the router to computers and other devices on your wired network using ethernet cables.

 

The yellow light flashes to indicate network activity over that port. The green light turns ON when the local network port is connected to a 10/100/1000 port.


Internet (Yellow and Green)

Using an ethernet cable, the internet port connects the router to your internet connection, which is typically a cable or digital subscriber line (DSL) modem.


The yellow light flashes to indicate network activity over that port. The green light turns ON when the internet port is connected to a 10/100/1000 port.


Wi-Fi Protected Setupâ„¢ (WPS) button

If you have client devices, such as wireless printers, that support Wi-Fi Protected Setupâ„¢, you can press the WPS button to automatically configure wireless security for your wireless network. To know how to connect devices using the WPS feature, click
here.


USB Port

The two USB ports connect to a printer or a USB storage device. The USB port supports FAT, FAT32, NTFS, and HFS+ for data storing formats.

 

The Linksys EA6900 has one USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0 USB ports. The USB 3.0 port is blue.

Reset

This button allows you to reset the router to its factory defaults including its IP Address, passwords and other settings. Press and hold the Reset button for approximately 10 seconds. As an alternative, you can restore the defaults using the Linksys Smart WiFi. Click
here for instructions.


Power

The power port connects to the power adapter that comes with your router.


NOTE:  For European Linksys EA6900 models, you may use the Power switch to power ON/OFF the device.
 

System Requirements
 

Browser Minimum Requirements
 

  • Internet Explorer® 8
  • Safari® 5
  • Mozilla Firefox® 8
  • Google Chromeâ„¢
 

Operating System (OS) Minimum Requirements (For Printer Utility)
 

  • Windows®

 

  • Windows 10
  • Windows 8.1
  • Windows 8
  • Windows 7
  • Windows Vista® with Service Pack 1 or later
  • Windows XP with Service Pack 3

 

  • OS X®​

 

  • Yosemite 10.10
  • Mavericks 10.9
  • Mountain Lion 10.8
  • Lion 10.7 or later
  • Leopard 10.5.8 or later
  • Snow Leopard 10.6.1 or later
 

Find out more:
 

Linksys EA6900 AC1900 Smart Wi-Fi Dual-Band Router Frequently Asked Questions

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