Linksys EA8500 routers include a very basic firewall that helps protect your home network form unwanted access from the internet. Since this firewall blocks incoming connections you may need open a port through it for certain games and applications. This process of opening a port is frequently called a port forward, since you are forwarding a port from the internet to your home network.
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The basic process to open a port is:
- Setup a static IP address on either your computer or device that you want to forward a port to.
- Login to your Linksys EA8500 router.
- Navigate to the port forwarding section.
- Click the Security link.
- Click the Apps and Gaming link.
- Click the Port Range Forwarding or the Single Port Forwarding button to forward ports.
- Create a port forward entry.
While these steps might seem difficult at first, we will walk you through each step for your Linksys EA8500 router.
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Step 1
It is important to setup a static ip address in the device that you are forwarding a port to. This ensures that your ports will remain open even after your device reboots.
- Recommended - Our free program will setup a static IP address for you.
- → Download Network Utilities today!
- Or follow our Static IP Address guides to setup a static IP address.
After setting up a static ip address on your devices you need to login to your router.
Step 2
Now we are going to login to your Linksys EA8500 router. Your router has a web interface, so you will login to it using your web browser.This can be either Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Edge. It usually does not matter which browser you choose to use.
Open up your web browser and find the address bar. It should look something like this:
In the picture above the address bar has 192.168.1.1 in it. Just replace all of that with the IP address of your Linksys EA8500 router.Your router's IP address can also be refered to as your computer's default gateway.
By default the IP address is set to: 192.168.1.1
After entering the IP address of your router you can simply press enter. If all goes well you will see the following screen:
You should see a box prompting you for your username and password.
- The Default Linksys EA8500 Router Username is: created in initial setup
- The Default Linksys EA8500 Router Password is: created in initial setup
Enter your username and password, and then click the Login button to log in to your Linksys EA8500 router.
Linksys Usernames and Passwords
If your username and password do not work then please visit our Default Linksys Router Passwords page.
If you still can't login to your router because you forgot your Linksys EA8500 router username and password, use our How to Reset a Router Password guide to set your Linksys EA8500 router back to its factory settings.
Step 3
Now we need to find the port forwarding section in your router. Here's how you do it. Starting from the first page in your router:
Click the Security link near the left of the page.
Click the Apps and Gaming link near the center of the page.
This router has two different sections that allow you to forward ports. One section allows you to forward a range of ports, and the other allows youto forward a single port. To forward a range of ports, click Port Range Forwarding. To forward a single port, click Single Port Forwarding.
Step 4
Here are the ports to forward for Xbox Live:
TCP Ports: | 3074 |
UDP Ports: | 3074 |
If you are looking for the ports for a different application you can find it by either:
- Browsing our List of Games
- Check out our our List of Games by Genre
- See our List of all Applications
Forwarding a Single Port
Click the Add a new Single Port Forwarding button.
You need to name this entry in the Application Name box. The name does not make any difference in the forward; it's just there so that you can remember later why you setup this forward.
Enter the port to forward into both the External Port and the Internal Port boxes.
In the Protocol box select the protocol that you want to forward these ports over.
Enter the IP address that you want to forward these ports to into the Device IP# box. Note that if you are forwarding ports so you can run a program on a device other than your computer then you can enter your device's IP address into that box instead.
Put a checkmark in the Enabled checkbox.
When you are finished, click the Save button.
Forwarding a Port Range
Click the Add a new Port Range Forwarding button.
Enter the name of the program into the Application Name box. It doesn't really matter what you put into this box, but something that will remind you why these ports are being forwarded is be a good idea.
If you are only forwarding a single port number then enter that number into both the Start Port and the End Port boxes. If you are forwarding a range of ports separated by a hyphen then enter the lowest number of that range into the Start Port box and the highest number of that range into the End Port box.
The protocol that you want to forward is selected from the Protocol box.
You need to enter the IP address that you are forwarding ports to in the Device IP# box. It's possible for this to be either the IP address of your computer or any other IP address on your network that you want ports forwarded to.
Put a checkmark in the Enabled checkbox.
When you are all done click the Save button.
When you're finished, click Ok near the bottom of the screen to save your changes.
Test if Your Ports are Open
Now that you have forwarded ports on the Linksys EA8500 you should test to see if your ports are forwarded correctly.
To test if your port has been properly forwarded, you can use our Network Utilities tool, which includes a free Open Port Checker.Our Open Port Check tool is the only online port checking tool with Guaranteed Results.
Linksys EA8500 Router Screenshots
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The Linksys EA8500 Max-Stream AC2600 MU-MIMO Gigabit Router is the first router to use Qualcomm MU/EFX Wi-Fi technology, which promises better performance for a crowded mixed network. And in my testing, it delivered.
The speedy router proved especially good when hosting a network that consisted of mixed 5GHz Wi-Fi clients, enabling each device to connect at its top speed. In addition, it also had excellent Wi-Fi coverage and stable Wi-Fi signals. Best of all, when coupled with external hard drive, the EA8500 delivered the network storage data rate by far the fastest to date among routers, rivaling that of even high-end dedicated NAS servers.
On the down side, the EA8500's Wi-Fi performance on the 2.4GHz band is below average and it network storage feature doesn't support Time Machine backup. Furthermore, at $280 (£177, AU$350, converted) it's one of the most expensive routers on the market. The the Asus RT-AC68U, for example, costs just around $200 and will offer similar Wi-Fi experience, without great storage and mixed Wi-Fi performance.
All things considered, though, this is a great router for homes with many clients of mixed Wi-Fi grades. And if you're also looking for a quick solution to share data and host media for local streaming, the EA8500 is as good as it gets.
For the alternatives that might meet your need and budget better, however, check out CNET's list of best home routers.
New Wi-Fi technology
The Qualcomm MU/EFX 802.11AC Wi-Fi chip features Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) technology, designed to handle Wi-Fi bandwidth efficiently, hence capable of delivering betters data rate to multiple connected clients at a time.
Specifically, existing 802.11AC routers (or Wi-Fi access points) employ the original MIMO technology (aka single-user MIMO) and that means they treat all Wi-Fi clients the same, regardless of their Wi-Fi power. Since a router typically has more Wi-Fi power than a client, in a particular wireless connection, the router is hardly used at full capacity. For example, a three-stream 802.11ac router, such as the Linksys WRT1900AC, has a max Wi-Fi rate of 1,300Mbps, but the iPhone 6 has a max Wi-Fi rate of just 433Mbps (single stream). (Read more about Wi-Fi standards.) When the two are connected, the router still uses the entire 1,300Mbps transmission to the phone, wasting 867Mbps. This is similar to going to a coffee shop to get a small cup of coffee and the only option is the extra large.
With MU-MIMO, multiple simultaneous transmissions of different Wi-Fi tiers are sent to multiple devices at the same time, enabling them to connect at the speed each client needs. In other words, having a MU-MIMO Wi-Fi network is like having multiple wireless routers of different Wi-Fi tiers. Each of these 'routers' is dedicated to each tier of devices in the network so that multiple devices can connect at the same time without slowing down one another. This is similar to having multiple coffee attendants in the shop who gives out all different cup sizes of coffee so that customers can get the exact amount of drink they need, faster.
At least this is what MU-MIMO promises to offer. In reality, in order for MU-MIMO to work at its best, the technology needs to be supported by both the router and the connected clients. And since most existing clients on the market don't support MU-MIMO, for now, you will not see MU-MIMO in its full benefit though it did help noticeably in my testing.
Powerful hardware
Other than the support for MU-MIMO, the EA8500 itself is a powerful router offering up to 1733Mbps on the 5Ghz band and up to 800Mbps on the 2.4GHz band. The router is powered by a 1.4GHz dual-core processor, 128MB Flash storage and 512MB DDR3 RAM memory, the most souped up hardware specs I've seen to date. On top of that, it has four Gigabit LAN ports, one Gigabit WAN (Internet) port, one USB 3.0 port and one USB2.0/eSATA combo port.
Design-wise, the EA8500 looks very similar to the EA8350 that came out last October, with four detachable antennas. These antennas are much larger and longer, however, promising better coverage. The EA8500 doesn't have any indicator lights, other than the power status light on top that shapes into the Linksys logo. While home users won't mind this omission, savvy users will likely miss the ability to troubleshoot the network by looking at little LEDs.
The new router is designed to stay flat on a surface, but it can also be wall-mounted, though it doesn't include any mounting screws.
Ease to setup, optional remote management
The EA8500 share the same Smart Wi-Fi firmware as the rest in Linksys' Smart Wi-Fi family, including the recently-reviewed WRT1200AC and the once-flagship WRT1900AC. This means it's very easy to set up, and use.
If you just want to use the new router right out of the box, there are default settings printed on its underside. All you have to do is connect its WAN (Internet) port to an Internet source (such as a cable modem) and plug it into power, and you're done. If you want to further customize (and you really do), you'll need to access the router's Web interface.
Locally, you can access the router by pointing a browser from a connecter computer to the router's IP address, the default is 192.168.1.1, and the default password to log in is admin. As you log in, the router will prompt you to opt for the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi remote management option. To do this you need to enter the credentials of a Linksys Smart Wi-Fi account (free registration available at linksyssmartwifi.com) and then associate the router with this account by typing in its admin password. After that one-time process, instead of using the default IP locally you can always go to linksysmartwifi.com, log in with your account and manage the router, from anywhere in the world.
Locally or remotely, the Web interface is exactly the same, well-organized and responsive. Those opted to use a Smart Wi-Fi account can also use Linksys Smart Wi-Fi mobile app (Android and iOS) to manage the router's settings and features, using their mobile device. The mobile app allows access to only a handful of the router's settings and features, however, and can't replace the Web interface entirely.
Keep in mind that as for any vendor-assisted remote management service, using Linksys Smart Wi-Fi means that you might expose your privacy to the vendor since Linksys can potentially know all of your online activities.
Familiar set of features
If you've used a Linksys Smart Wi-Fi router before, there's no learning curve with the EA8500. It shares the same interface as well as features as any Smart Wi-Fi routers released in the last five years. The Interface is organized with a list of items on the left and widgets in the main page. Each menu item or widget will take you to a feature or setting of the router.
The router has a Network Map that displays all connected clients sorted by connection type (wireless or wired) or device types (computers, mobile devices, printers, and others), each with its own icon. By clicking on an icon, you can quickly add or remove a connected client to an IP reservation/blocking pool, or view more information on it.
The second big feature is the Media Prioritization, which allows you to drag and drop connected clients between the High priority and Normal priority lists. (The former will have priority access to the Internet.) There's also a handy Internet Speed test (available only locally) and a simple Parental Control feature that allows you to block certain connected clients' access to the Internet or just to certain Web sites. You can also schedule the time when the blocking is in effect.