Setting up which devices get higher priority (QoS) is simple too with a drag-and-drop action. Linksys should add an option to display an “access is blocked” page or something though. It’s simple to set it up and worked when I tested (came up with “page could not be displayed” error on my browser when I wasn’t supposed to have access. With parental controls, you can set certain devices (such as your son’s phone, for example) to not have any internet access at certain days and hours. Here, you can manage a few things up like the Parental Controls or Guest Access to your network. A nice looking home screen with all the crucial info is displayed when you go into the router’s interface. The admin interface of the XAC1900 is fairly simple to understand and hides all the advanced stuffs with networking jargons like DMZ, IPv6 or IPv4 settings, and so on. There are also some Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Apps available for you to play around with. It’s quite handy when you need to change some settings or access while you are away from home. If you have a Linksys Smart Wi-Fi account, you can access your router from anywhere, including from a smartphone. It’s perfect for non-technical consumers. It did take some time for the router to finalise (a few minutes) but you did not really have to muck around manually. It will also provide you with an Australian’s ISP to choose from and set everything up. Assuming you have hooked everything up correctly, you only need connect to its default wireless network SSID, and then follow the step-by-step wizard. Setting up the XAC1900 for the first time did not take long and pretty much automated. You do have options to turn an FTP server on and a few other settings to set if you want to. Sharing your media files on your home network can never get this easier. There is no confusing setups with networking jargons and you don’t need to install any additional software on your desktop. Just plug a USB flash drive or an external hard drive to one of the USB ports and you can instantly access the files through your Windows Explorer. I’m actually amazed at how simple it is to setup NAS (Network Attached Storage) with XAC1900. The XAC1900 is equipped with four fast Gigabit Ethernet and 2 USB ports as a network storage (1x USB 2.0 and 1x USB 3.0 ports). The XAC1900 gets a –57 dBm, whereas my older router gets a –47 dBm (a slightly better signal): I do get a really good signal with the XAC1900 in my bedroom, which is separated by thick walls to where the router is. In my experience, the signal strength is quite decent though not the strongest even with the antennas attached (compared to my old modem router with no external antennas). The XAC1900 looks similar to their older models (like the EA4500 I reviewed a couple of years ago) with 3 adjustable, external antennas to further strengthen the wireless signal. They’ll only think of themselves and wonder why do they need an extra bulky box to hook in. Again, most consumers won’t probably care. ![]() This way, Linksys can also focus on releasing upgraded routers chipset with newer technologies faster and in a more effective manner. However, by adapting to this model, consumers can simply buy newer routers in the future without having to spend the extra cash from getting a combo modem router (which is normally more expensive than a dedicated router). This may or may not be widely accepted by consumers who prefer simplicity (not to mention the saved spacing area from just having one device). It’s somewhat different from the traditional “modem router in one” that most have gone to. The XAC1900 is pretty much the EA6900 router with specific firmware installed plus a separate Linksys’ self-powered modem (the APM105). The now common AC1900 standard (with transfer rates up to 600Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and 1300 Mbps on the 5 GHz band) in new wireless routers means that you will get the latest and greatest from the Linksys XAC1900 (802.11ac, backward-compatible with a/b/g/n devices). About a month ago, a range of new wireless routers and extenders from Linksys were launched in Australia, including the XAC1900 that I have here. Linksys XAC1900 Review – With Australia NBN (National Broadband Network) coming and the number of devices we have these days, one needs a high performance router to make these work.
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