Linksys "E7350", a dual-band Wi-Fi 6 router that challenges battles around 10,000 yen with EasyMesh as a weapon

Standing ahead with 'compatible mesh'

Entry-level Wi-Fi 6 routers are currently a hotly contested battleground.

Roughly speaking, TP-Link's "Archer AX20" (actual sales 6800 yen), safe and stable Buffalo "WSR-1800AX4" (actual sales 8800 yen), I-O Data equipment "WN-DAX1800GR" (actual sales 7480 yen) and "DEAX1800GR" (actual sales 7200 yen), Netgear with high brand power "Nighthawk AX1800 RAX20" (actual sales 7182 yen) are all talented. there is

The Linksys E7350 featured in this article was introduced to these classes at the end of 2020. Linksys is now a brand under Belkin, but as a long-established Wi-Fi router, it is a brand that has a special resonance for some users.

Compared to the competing products mentioned above, at the time of its debut at the end of 2020, I had the impression that it was buried in other products in terms of price (actual selling price: 10,800 yen) and functionality. However, as "EasyMesh" became supported by a firmware update after the release, it became a remarkable product due to the feature of "compatible mesh".

EasyMesh is a standard for ensuring mesh Wi-Fi compatibility defined by the Wi-Fi Alliance. Currently, general mesh Wi-Fi is implemented with mesh functions provided independently by each manufacturer (chip vendor), so basically it can only be connected between products of the same model or the same manufacturer. Can not.

On the other hand, EasyMesh allows any manufacturer's Wi-Fi-equipped PC or smartphone to connect to any manufacturer's access point. It is said that mutual connection is possible (as described in detail later, the reality is quite difficult, but ...).

With this EasyMesh support, the E7350 is not the cheapest, and even without special additional functions (security functions and VPN server functions), it has a great appeal of mesh compatibility that can connect to any product. .