Linksys EA8250 Max-Stream AC2150 Tri-Band WiFi 5 Router Frequently Asked Questions

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
HARDWARE INFORMATION

1. 
What is the Linksys EA8250 Max-Stream AC2150 Tri-Band WiFi 5 Router?
2.  What are the features of the Linksys EA8250?
3.  What USB standard does the Linksys EA8250 support?
4.  What can I connect to the USB port of the router?
5.  What are the minimum system requirements of the Linksys EA8250?
6.  What do the lights on my Linksys EA8250 mean?
7.  How many antennas does the Linksys EA8250 have?
8.  Are the antennas detachable?
9.  What is the preferred antenna positioning for the Linksys EA8250?
10.  Can I wall mount the router?
11.  What processor does the Linksys EA8250 have?

SETUP AND INSTALLATION

1. 
How do I set up the Linksys EA8250?
2.  Can I set up my router using my smartphone or tablet?
3.  What are the default settings of the Linksys EA8250?

WI-FI CONNECTION AND SECURITY

1. 
What is the maximum PHY data rate for each Wi-Fi band?
2.  What is Band Steering?
3.  Does the Guest Wi-Fi support Band Steering?
4.  How do I configure Parental Controls?
5.  How many radios does the Linksys EA8250 support?
6.  How many Guest Wi-Fi can I set up on my Linksys EA8250?
7.  Does the Linksys EA8250 work with the Amazon Alexa?
8.  What is Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS), and does the Linksys EA8250 support it?
9.  Which channels on the 5 GHz of the Linksys EA8250 support DFS?

ADVANCED CONFIGURATION

1. 
Does the Linksys EA8250 allow VPN tunnels using IPSec, L2TP or PPTP to pass through the router?
2.  What DDNS providers does the Linksys EA8250 support?
3.  Does the Linksys EA8250 support Seamless Roaming?
4.  Does the Linksys EA8250 support Wireless Repeater or Wireless Bridge mode?
5.  What is Airtime Fairness?
6.  Does the Linksys EA8250 support Airtime Fairness?
7.  How do I enable Airtime Fairness?
8.  Does the Linksys EA8250 support Link Aggregation?
9.  Does this support IPv6 RD for its internet connection?

TROUBLESHOOTING

1. 
How can I reset my router to factory defaults?
2.  How do I upgrade my router’s firmware?
 

HARDWARE INFORMATION
 
1.  What is the Linksys EA8250 Max-Stream AC2150 Tri-Band WiFi 5 Router?

The Linksys EA8250 Max-Stream AC2150 Tri-Band WiFi 5 Router offers ample bandwidth for simultaneous 4K and HD video streaming, next-gen online gaming, and other data-heavy activities.  The router’s three dedicated bands help minimize lag even when multiple devices are connected.  To know more about the Linksys EA8250, click here.

2.  What are the features of the Linksys EA8250?

The Linksys EA8250 has the following features:
  • Tri-Band
  • 802.11ac
  • Smart Wi-Fi
  • Beamforming Technology
  • Seamless Roaming
  • Speeds of up to 2.1 Gbps
  • 2x2 simultaneous data streams for stronger and faster performance
  • One USB 3.0 port for sharing a hard drive or USB printer
  • Four Gigabit ethernet ports
  • One Gigabit internet port
  • Quad-core CPU
  • Wall-mountable
  • Power output:  12V, 2A 

NOTE:  To know more about the Linksys EA8250, click here.

3.  What USB standard does the Linksys EA8250 support?

The Linksys EA8250 has one USB 3.0 port that can support an external hard disk or flash drive with up to 1100 mA current draw.

4.  What can I connect to the USB port of the router?

You can connect an external USB hard drive or a USB printer to share your printer in the network.


5.  What are the minimum system requirements of the Linksys EA8250?

The Linksys EA8250 has the following minimum system requirements:

 
  • A computer (Windows® or Mac®), smartphone or tablet
  • For browser setup, latest version of:
  • Google Chromeâ„¢
  • Mozilla Firefox®
  • Safari® 
  • Microsoft Edge®
  • Internet Explorer® 8 or newer

6.  What do the lights on my Linksys EA8250 mean?

The lights indicate the different activities and behaviors of your router.  For more information, click here.

7.  How many antennas does the Linksys EA8250 have?

The Linksys EA8250 has four, external, dipole, and adjustable antennas.

8.  Are the antennas detachable?

No.  The four antennas are non-detachable.

9.  What is the preferred antenna positioning for the Linksys EA8250?

It is recommended to position the antennas all straight up.

10.  Can I wall mount the router?

Yes, the Linksys EA8250 is wall-mountable.

11.  What processor does the Linksys EA8250 have?

The Linksys EA8250 has a quad-core processor. 

SETUP AND INSTALLATION

 
1.  How do I set up the Linksys EA8250?

Setting up the Linksys EA8250 is made fast and easy using the Smart Setup wizard.  To learn how to set up the Linksys EA8250, click here.

2.  Can I set up my router using my smartphone or tablet?

Yes, you can use a smartphone or a tablet to set up your router.  For step-by-step instructions, click here.

3.  What are the default settings of the Linksys EA8250?

The Linksys EA8250 has the following default settings:

 
  • Default IP address is 192.168.1.1
  • Default password is admin
  • Default Wi-Fi names:
  • ​​Linksysxxxxx (for 2.4 GHz)
  • Linksysxxxxx_5GHz (for 5 GHz)
NOTE:  The xxxxx represents the last five digits of the router’s serial number.  Also, the default Wi-Fi credentials are on the label located at the bottom of the router.
  • Default Guest Wi-Fi names:
    • Linksysxxxxx_Guest (for 2.4 GHz)
    • Linksysxxxxx5GHz_Guest (for 5 GHz)
NOTE:  The xxxxx represents the last five digits of the router’s serial number.
  • The Guest Wi-Fi is disabled out of the box.  It will be enabled after the setup process is complete.

WI-FI CONNECTION AND SECURITY
 
1.  What is the maximum PHY data rate for each Wi-Fi band?

The Linksys EA8250 has PHY data rates of up to 400 Mbps (2.4 GHz band, two spatial streams) and up to 867 Mbps for each 5 GHz band (5 GHz1 and 5 GHz2, two spatial streams).

2.  What is Band Steering?

Band Steering assigns Wi-Fi devices to the Wi-Fi band that can provide them with the best performance.  This feature balances your Wi-Fi devices across all three bands effectively reducing co-channel interference and increasing the available bandwidth for dual-band clients as the 5 GHz has more channels.  The router must have the latest firmware with All band steering support to enable this feature.  It is recommended to use the default All band steering option, however if you need to make any changes to the Wi-Fi Settings, click here to know how.

3.  Does the Guest Wi-Fi support Band Steering?

No.

4.  How do I configure Parental Controls?

The Parental Controls feature allows you to block a device by a specific time or to restrict internet sites on specific devices for users within your network.  To know how to block internet sites on specific devices in your network, click here. 

5.  How many radios does the Linksys EA8250 support?

The Linksys EA8250 supports three radios (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz1, and 5 GHz2).

6.  How many Guest Wi-Fi can I set up on my Linksys EA8250?

The Linksys EA8250 can support up to 50 clients.  The router allows you to have two Guest networks, one for 2.4 GHz band and one for the 5 GHz band.  With these, your visitors at home can access the internet, but not the local network (e.g., shared storage devices, printer access).

7.  Does the Linksys EA8250 work with the Amazon Alexa?

Yes.  To know more about this feature, click here. 

8.  What is Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS), and does the Linksys EA8250 support it?

Yes, the Linksys EA8250 supports DFS on the 5 GHz band.  DFS is a spectrum-sharing mechanism that allows wireless LANs (WLANs) to coexist with radar systems.  It automatically selects a frequency that does not interfere with certain radar systems, while operating in the 5 GHz band.

9.  Which channels on the 5 GHz of the Linksys EA8250 support DFS?

Channels 52-64 as well as channels 100-140 on the 5 GHz band are the DFS channels.

ADVANCED CONFIGURATION

1.  Does the Linksys EA8250 allow VPN tunnels using IPSec, L2TP or PPTP to pass through the router?

Yes, the Linksys EA8250 allows Virtual Private Network (VPN) tunnels using Internet Protocol Security (IPSec), Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) or Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) to pass through the router.

2.  What DDNS providers does the Linksys EA8250 support?

The Dynamic Domain Name System (DDNS) feature of the Linksys EA8250 supports Dyn.com and NO-IP.com.

3.  Does the Linksys EA8250 support Seamless Roaming?

Yes.  All Linksys Max-Stream routers support Seamless Roaming.

4.  Does the Linksys EA8250 support Wireless Repeater or Wireless Bridge mode?

Yes, the Linksys EA8250 supports Wireless Repeater or Wireless Bridge mode configuration.  Click the links below to learn how:
 
Configuring the Wireless Repeater mode on most Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Routers
Configuring the Wireless Bridge Mode on most Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Routers


5.  What is Airtime Fairness?

The slowest device in your network will not determine the Wi-Fi speed anymore.  With Airtime Fairness, faster devices transmit at faster speed.  Airtime Fairness gives equal amounts of air time (instead of equal number of frames) to each client regardless of its theoretical data rate.

6.  Does the Linksys EA8250 support Airtime Fairness?

Yes, the Linksys EA8250 supports Airtime Fairness.  

7.  How do I enable Airtime Fairness?

Log in to your Linksys cloud account and go to Wi-Fi Settings > Advanced and turn ON the Airtime Fairness option.

8.  Does the Linksys EA8250 support Link Aggregation?

The Linksys EA8250 router supports Link Aggregation on ports 1 and 2 only.  The router must have the latest firmware with Link Aggregation support to enable this feature.  To know how to set up Link Aggregation, click here.


9.  Does this support IPv6 RD for its internet connection?

Yes. It supports IPv6 RD and 6to4 tunneling.


TROUBLESHOOTING
 
1.  How can I reset my router to factory defaults?

There are two ways to reset the Linksys EA8250 to factory defaults:
  • Hardware Reset – Press and hold the Reset button on the back panel of the Linksys EA8250 for about 10 seconds.
  • Software Reset – Log in to your Linksys cloud account.  Under Router Settings, click Troubleshooting > Diagnostics.  Click Reset under Factory reset.
2.  How do I upgrade my router’s firmware?

Upgrading the firmware of your router allows you to fully enjoy its complete features.  The upgrade can be done either manually or automatically.  The Linksys EA8250 has a Router Firmware Update feature that can be set to Automatic to update the router automatically whenever there is a new firmware available.  Click on the links below for step-by-step instructions:
 

How to automatically update the firmware of the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Routers
Manually upgrading a Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router’s firmware

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