By Tara Richter…
I honestly didn’t think much about wireless connectivity in my home – that is until it wasn’t working. Then I would turn into a mad-woman trying to figure out why until I’d ultimately just unplug it all, and hope that upon powering up things would return to normal. Eighty percent of the time they did, the other 20% I continued to behave like a madwoman. The Linksys SMART Wi-Fi Router (EA6300 series) may just signal the end of days to that crazed woman. Like most electronics I own, I don’t want to spend a whole pile of time figuring out a bunch of menus and options. I do have to say the little bit of time I had to put into setting up the Linksys SMART Wi-Fi Router as well as setting up my personal Linksys SMART Wi-Fi Account has been greatly worth every moment. The features and accessibility are pretty awesome! If you do run into any problems, they have a great LIVE chat support available to walk you through the set-up, or any other issue as well.
Logging into my personal account online, I’m presented with a dashboard of options related to my router and able to set up preferences for the network to my liking. One of the best features as a parent are the parental controls, which allows me to limit connectivity to my sons iPod and PlayStation to only certain times of the day and/or day of the week, after which they simply just won’t connect to the Internet. The Linksys SMART Wi-Fi Account also allows you to see the number of devices connected to the router, the number of USB storage devices connected, as well as guest access. Gone are the days of providing everyone who comes to your home the router password. Now you can simply give a guest password that can be disconnect or changed at anytime.
The Linksys SMART Wi-Fi Router also provides the user with access to a growing number of apps. The most basic of course is the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi App which enables smart phone users, from anywhere, to view and modify all the same content about their router as they would from logging in on the web. A couple of the other available apps include Netproofer/Access Control to restrict access to certain sites, and Device Monitor to allow you to see in real time what devices are on your network at any given time. Other apps allow for sharing content stored in various places, as well as a means to access and share pictures and video.
Quite frankly most of the time I don’t even think about the new router because it just plain and simple does it’s job. However I’m thankful to have access to it when I hear from company “can I have your wireless password?” or when I’m tired of my son playing on his iPod, or even just to ‘test’ the connectivity. Everything I need is right at my finger-tips and under my control.
Have someone on your list that needs to get connected? The Linksys SMART Wi-Fi Router makes a perfect gift for anyone with multiple wireless devices (or people) in their home all sharing one network. Having this router is like having a command station so that all devices work together well. You can order online or shop for it locally at stores including Best Buy, Future Shop, London Drugs, The Source, and Staples.
Looks great item to have in the home. Aps and control are always an added bonus.
hi tara…great product!!
Looks good
Good Product.
This looks like such a awesome item! I def need one of these!
This sounds like a great idea.
Oh We have rural internet, and the parent controls would be a blessing I am sure. If you can set a timer so it won’t work for certain devices after say 9pm that would be a blessing with 2 teenagers who use up my limited amount of internet after I goto bed. If I forget to unplug it I am in DEEP trouble at the end of the month!!! I soooo want to look for this! THANK YOU for the review!
This is a great idea. We’ve had all kinds of issues with our wireless router and I’ve been researching other options. Thank you!
Awesome idea
I Like It
love the parental locks on other devices very cool. should do that with my hubby he hogs the internet. 🙂
Really great idea
Looks really good…I like some of the connectivity features…but my wirless company supplies my router…have to use theirs.
We love Linksys routers! Loving the smart phone feature though!
Very informative
This sounds like a great product ! thanks for sharing !
I have try many routers and It frustrates me when they don’t work so I’m going to have to try this one
thats awesome. i have been having so much trouble lately with my wifi network. its not strong enough to reach the bedrooms and when we are all on it it seems to slow right down so i have this on my list of things to by sooner than later. Not knowing anything about routers, i appreciate this review and the major selling feature if the option of controlling how and when the kids can connect to it from their ipads. Awesome thanks!
great product
Love the idea that you can control your wifi network from your phone!
Thanks for sharing this, good info to know.
Sounds like a one-stop router & is like having a command station so that all devices work together well. Plus parental control which now-a-days is a MUST!! You never know who your child is talking to on the information highway!
This looks really good
I love this! Super great idea.
Looks like a GREAT product for SURE!
I’d like to have one of those to limit my hubby’s cell phone game playing usage..LOL
parental controls are great… all the technology can be scary for a parent , hard to keep up with it all!
This sounds like a great router and love that it has the option for parental controls. Might have to pick one of these up.
excellent parental control feature. i really could use this with my sons!
amazing product!!
This is so neat, my kids are soon going to be at the age where they are all going to have their own devices and this looks like it can handle them all!
My husband is a Cisco genius 🙂 It feels like we are surrounded by their products at home too. The router being one of them, though, unfortunately, it doesn’t have the parental control feature.
I like that there’s parental control on this wifi. Keeping this one in mind when we need a new router.
We could really use some parental controls when it comes to video games around our house
This was an enlightening article!
Parental controls is a great idea to have on the router
This seems like a great product. I just can’t believe how much technology has advanced and all the awesome things we can do these days with technology. Parental control is great to have with kids growing up as fast as they do!
what a fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing
I am still surprised when I can find an unsecure home wireless network while travelling
will remember this product when the need arises. great review.
Pretty cool!
Looks like a great product! 😀
Hmmm sounds interesting, especially the parental control part
What a handy lil tool!!!
With three kids in the house I find this very informative! Thank you.
We are in the market for a new router and this sounds great!
Thank you for the review on this. Definitely a product I am going to have to look into purchasing, especially after reading your review. My 10 year old has just started using the internet more frequently for homework and such, both on the computer and the tablet she received for her birthday. The parental controls would certainly help give me some peace of mind, knowing that the content she is viewing is appropriate 🙂 I do spot checks right now, but this would help to curb that
Will need this soon once my son is a bit older!
Parental controls are sooo important!! Thank you for the wonderful review & great pictures!
What a smart device! It sounds easy to use. Parental controls are a definite must
That is one cool gadget.
Don’t currently need to worry about my kiddo being online, but I certainly hope there is something like this around in another 5 years or so!
I love this , I have teens and a little one and sometimes we actually go as far as unplugging the router to control usage , this would be so much simpler
Thank you for the information. Now that I am a mother I realize the extreme importance of on-line safety for children. Thanks!
We have had to really keep an eye on the usage in our home, the kids have a tendency to plug in all their techy stuff and have their friends over too. I like this devise and will look into it for sure.
very cool! I love how technology is developing.
what a great post and so informative. opens my eyes right up ty
Awesome article. Really opened my eyes.
Nice! Good to hear that routers are keeping up with the technological advances. The Device Monitor allowing you to see in real time what devices are on your network at any given time is fabulous! Nice and easy too! Win win. 🙂
I like this will have to consider changing once my son is old enough to use the computer!
Thanks for posting. Definitely going to look into it.
Very simply put for those of us that aren’t tech savvy. Right now, parental controls are not an issue for me. But I would strongly recommend it for my niece’s family. She is 13 and well…curious of all things. Not yet on facebook or owns a cell phone, it is just a matter of time.
Anyone who has children old enough to be using the internet needs to have parental controls in place. I do keep an eye on our usage and I will look into this router.