Linksys recently announced the global launch of the company’s first WiFi 6 EasyMesh router, the E9450 (AX5400) Dual Band WiFi 6 router, in Singapore, and the router will be available exclusively to Singtel fibre customers till the 21st of January 2021, when it will then be available from Linksys retail channels. 
If you haven’t updated your home wireless router in a couple of years, you might have missed the adoption in 2019 of the WiFi 6 standard, which was formerly called 802.11ax. This change in naming was to make it simpler for consumers to differentiate the different specifications easier, so where in the past a wireless router would have the designation ‘802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax’, it is now simply called ‘WiFi 6’.
WiFi 6 brings a number of advantages over WiFi 5, and that’s not just about higher data rates (which are great)! You can not only achieve up to 9.6Gbps WiFi download speeds (assuming you have a 10GB broadband connection), but the standard was also created to meet increased loads from multiple devices, and WiFi 6 routers will intelligently recognise different types of devices connected to your wireless network, such as a temperature sensor or smart TV, and prioritize data deliver, and with MU-MIMO, WiFi 6 routers are able to communicate with up to 8 devices simultaneously, so you won’t experience bad connectivity while in a Zoom conference when your son goes online on his PS5.
With WiFi EasyMesh, consumers get the added convenience of a simple to install and use router, with network setup and device management through a common webpage. Once established, an EasyMesh network self-monitors to ensure optimized performance with features such as WiFi certified agile multiband to provide consistent WiFi service.
Unlike the Linksys MR9600 WiFi 6 router that we reviewed last month the E9450 is designed to be a bit less ‘router looking’ and as a result won’t look out of place on your TV shelf next to your cable TV or smart TV box. In fact, there is a strong resemblance to the Sony PlayStation5 (which is WiFi 6-enabled) in colour and form, though it is a lot smaller.
For size comparison, you can see that when compared to a Sony PlayStation 4, the E9450 is much smaller and takes up very little space, with its five Ethernet ports (4 WAN and one network) single USB 3.1, WPS button and power line all located at the back of the device. Our only gripe is that the open nature of the router’s fixed base, which was probably designed for air-flow, makes it a dust trap and is a little hard to clean as it is not removable.
As a WiFi 6 router, the E9450 gains the benefits of ODFMA, which streamlines data so you get a more efficient WiFi experience, and 4×4 MU-MIMO, which enables up to four devices to upload and download simultaneously, which means your family of four can all play online games, stream 4k videos, attend a Zoom meeting and watch a YouTube video on making egg fried rice at the same time. For enhanced security, the E9450 has WPA3 protocol which provides more secure encryption of your WiFi network.
For the purpose of this review I was sent two E9450 routers as EasyMesh routers are not compatible with other Linksys router families, and quickly configured one as the Parent Node and the second as an access point, placing them in the same positions as my existing Linksys MR network (refer to the MR9600 review) for comparison.
Setting up the E9450 as a Parent Node is quite simple – all E9450 routers come with an initial WiFi password attached to its Quick Start pamphlet for initial access, and there’s a simple setup guide in web admin. Adding an additional node is simple as well, just press the child node’s WPS button to start the EasyMesh pairing feature. For more advanced setup, the web admin enables a host of settings and diagnostics, which is great for advanced users to customize their systems.
My initial Speedtests didn’t gain fast results, which I then realised could have been due to running two separate WiFi nodes side-by-side, but when I ran them separately I gained almost identical results, around 700mbps average on my test device – a Huawei P40 Pro (note I am on a 1gbps broadband plan). With the child node installed there was no lag when I walked around my apartment while playing Genshin Impact on my smartphone, simultaneously streaming Netflix’s Crash Landing on You on my 4K Smart TV for my mum.
The E9450 Dual Band WiFi 6 router is fast, easy to connect, has four LAN ports for cable connections to your gaming PC or console, and has an extensive web admin that is scalable for first-time users and tech geeks.
The Linksys E9450 Dual Band WiFi 6 router is now available for purchase by Singtel Broadband customers for an additional $14.00/mth (U.P.$16.00/mth) with Singtel fibre plans.
From 22 January the Linksys E9450 will retail for S$399 at the Linksys Official Store on Lazada, the Linksys Official Store on Shopee, Challenger and Hachi.tech.
Rating: 4.5/5
We Say
A very simple and easy way to start a WiFi 6 EasyMesh WiFi network, and at a reasonable price!
