Replaced our very old Linksys WRT610N with an Linksys EA6700. It was a toss up between the Linksys. EA6700 vs D-Link DIR868L vs Apple AirportExtreme. I decided to go with the Linksys because of the dual USB ports and because I was more familiar with the Linksys brand (this is my 3rd linksys router)
Setting up the EA6700 was easy enough using their web interface. I even got a bit playful with the SSID's I assigned hehe.
Unfortunately even with the new tech in the router 802.11ac WiFi coverage was still not good in our house. The house really is not wifi friendly. Too much concrete?
So I had to setup the old routers as wireless range expanders because wired expanders would be more of a hassle. Both the Linksys WRT610N & D-Link DIR600 were already using dd-wrt firmware. However the devices kept losing connection and I had to repeat the 30-30-30 factory reset & setup multiple times. I also had to setup these two with the MSI net book because the MacBook does not have RJ45 (hassle)
Our 6Mbps SkyCable connection is now being shared via 1 router on the third floor and 2 wireless range (repeater bridge) expanders on the second floor. Of course the speed is less than optimal.
Some caveats.
The EA6700 has two USB ports. USB 2.0 x1 & USB 3.0 x1
The Linksys-Cisco OSX app to connect printers is not working with OSX 10.9 Mavericks.
The router does not recognize Mac formatted drives (so Time Machine over WiFi is a no go) it did work with my Seagate 1TB drive that was in NTFS format. I did not do a lot of testing.
I am hoping to get help on getting the printer to work with the router via @linksyscares on twitter and should save up for a spare drive that I can leave attached to the router since I will retain the seagate as my local backup.
All in all spent about 5 hours fiddling with settings, flashing routers, plus moving around the range expanders.
Setting up wifi has got to be my least favorite part of being the unofficial tech support for family & friends. But hey somebody has to do it ;-)
--
Live to serve, Aim to please
Vincent Benedict P. Castro
Do or Do Not, There is No Try.
Comments
Post a Comment