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Getting to know the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router, EA6500

What is the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router, EA6500?

The Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router AC 1750 HD Video Pro, EA6500 lets you access the Internet via wired and wireless connection.  The Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router, EA6500 is ideal for media-centric applications such as streaming video, gaming, and Voice over Internet Phone (VoIP). 
 

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The Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router, EA6500 can create three (3) 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 Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router, EA6500 wireless network settings include the Mixed mode which will allow backwards compatibility with Wireless B/G/N devices.

QUICK TIP:  The maximum speed that your devices can achieve with an 802.11n adapter on the 2.4 GHz band is up to 450 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 backwards compatibility for 802.11a devices.

QUICK TIP:  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.

  • The 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 Voice over IP (VoIP) calls, online gaming, and streaming high-definition videos.  To know more about the Connected Home, click here. 

Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router, EA6500 features

A new hardware feature of the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router, EA6500 is the built-in dual USB ports that can easily add gigabytes of storage space onto your network connecting two (2) USB 2.0 hard drives or USB flash disks.  The dual USB ports of the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router, EA6500 also allow you to set up two (2) USB printers at most on your network.

You can easily set up and manage your router, device, and wireless network with Linksys Smart Wi-Fi.  Alternatively, you may opt out of a Linksys Smart Wi-Fi 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.
 
A new Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Account feature for the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router, EA6500 is the SimpleTap™, a faster and easier way to connect your Near Field Communication (NFC) compatible smartphone to the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router, EA6500’s 2.4 GHz wireless network.  To learn about SimpleTap™, click here.

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The EA6500 is built with security features to control and protect your router and your home network.  One of the security features on the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi router 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 of the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi, click here.

NOTE:  Visit the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router, EA6500 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 of the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router, EA6500, the logo's LED indicates the following: 
 
 Purpose Light behavior Activity
Power (White)The light flashes slowly (every three (3) seconds)The router is powered ON, resets to factory defaults or upgrades its firmware
The light is continuously litThe router is ready for use
The light flashes quickly (every second)There is an error
Wi-Fi Protected Setup™ (WPS) Light flashes slowly (every two (2) seconds) for two (2) minutesWi-Fi Protected Setup™ process is active
The light is continuously litWi-Fi Protected Setup™ is successful
The light flashes quickly (every second) for two (2) minutesThere is an error

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 powercycle your router for one (1) to two (2) minutes.  If this does not fix the problem, you might need to update the firmware and reconfigure the settings of the router.

Back panel
 
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 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 Setup™ (WPS) button 
If you have client devices, such as wireless printers, that support Wi-Fi Protected Setup™, 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 (2) USB 2.0 ports connect to a printer or a USB storage device.  The USB 1.1 standard supports a speed of up to 12 Mbps.  The USB 2.0 standard supports speeds up to 480 Mbps.  The Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router, EA6500 recognizes USB 3.0 devices however it will force the device to run on 2.0 speeds.

QUICK TIP:  The Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router, EA6500 USB port supplies up to 1000 mA power on devices.  It is also FAT32, NTFS, HFS+journaled and non-journaled capable for data storing formats.

Reset 
This button allows you to reset the router to its factory defaults.  Press and hold the Reset button for approximately 10 seconds.  This button is located between the USB and Power ports.  You can also restore the defaults by accessing the Administration tab > Factory Defaults sub-tab in the router’s web-based setup page.

 Power 
The power port connects to the power adapter that comes with your router.
 
NOTE:  The Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router, EA6500's serial number and MAC address can be found at the bottom panel.  The Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router, EA6500’s serial number has 14 alphanumeric characters.
 
System Requirements

Browser Minimum Requirements
  • Safari® 4 or higher
  • Mozilla Firefox® 3
  • Google Chrome™ 10
Operating System (OS) Minimum Requirements (For Printer Utility)
  • Windows
o   Windows XP with Service Pack 3
o   Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 and later (32 and 64-bit)
o   Windows 7 (32 and 64-bit)
o   Windows 8 (32 and 64-bit)
o   Windows 8.1 (32 and 64-bit)
o   Windows 10 (32 and 64-bit)
 
  • Mac OS X® (For Printer Utility)
o   OS X Tiger 10.4.11
o   OS X Leopard 10.5.8
o   OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.1
o   OS X Lion 10.7
o   OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 
o   OS X Mavericks 10.9
o   OS X Yosemite 10.10
 
 Others
  • Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Account
  • Wireless adapter must support WPA/WPA2
 
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