Linksys Reinvigorates The Linksys Smart Wi-Fi App Experience For A Better And Easier Way To Manage Home Wireless

PLAYA VISTA, Calif., July 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Linksys®, a leader in networking solutions for the home and business as well as a pioneer for router apps today announced a whole new User Interface (UI), design layout, navigation experience, and new innovative features for its Linksys Smart Wi-Fi app.  The newly designed app for Apple and Android smart phones provides a more intuitive layout with simple-to-navigate options that enable millions of Linksys Smart Wi-Fi users to simply monitor, manage and control their home networks while at home or away.

New and Improved Features launched today:

• New Contemporary User Interface
• New Organization For Simpler Feature Discovery And Use
• Intelligent Router Offline Notification (Initially Available On Ea9500 Router)
• Easily Share Guest Wi-Fi Name And Password – Tap And Text Or Email
• Guest Access Now Supports Up To 50 Guests
• Prioritize Internet Bandwidth To Chosen Devices
• Parental Controls To Block Specific Sites And Internet Access For Selected Devices On A Schedule
• More Device Icons To Associate With Client Devices
• Easily View How Much External Hard Drive Space Is Available

"Being first to market with a router app for managing and monitoring a home network, we wanted to continue to advance the software for a more intuitive approach to make it easier to use and find tools that will make managing and sharing a home network easier," said Dan Albertson, Linksys senior product manager. "What separates good routers from great routers is the software.  The Linksys Smart Wi-Fi app clearly differentiates its home router solutions by providing all the basic and advanced management and control features but also continues to add new features that leverage the intelligence of the home router."

Whole New Look and Feel with New Features

The app has been completely updated and redesigned, providing simple utility such as looking up and sharing the wireless credentials for up to 50 guests with a few taps on a mobile device.  The app will also enable users to change bandwidth prioritization quickly and easily.  This feature enables users to decide which 3 clients get priority with their wireless bandwidth.  Maybe it's the smart TV, the home office PC and the family tablet one day, and then another day its Mom's smart phone, Dad's tablet and the X-Box®.  Users can easily change the products that get the priority of bandwidth, while still allowing other clients to connect to the wireless network.

In addition to dozens of new icons to assign to clients' devices, the app shows how much hard drive space has been used and how much is still available on external hard drives connected to the router.

Parental Controls

Parental Controls is one of the most used tools on the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi app because it enables parents to shut off Wi-Fi devices while at home or away, and also enables them to block websites to individual devices.  Parents can also set up a schedule for blocking access for each device (which will be available in an app update coming later this year.). These parental control features will aid in making sure children are using the internet appropriately, as well as providing parents with peace of mind that there is also an ample amount of homework time without the distractions the internet.

Introducing Notifications

A home network is dynamic, and notifications can alert users and provide insight on changing conditions. The new router offline notification feature (initially supported with the Linksys Tri-Band AC5400 802.11AC Wave 2 MU-MIMO router (EA9500)) is the first notification feature available that will detect when the router has lost its connection to the internet for any reason, and alert users with a notification on a mobile device. This feature is useful when users are away from home and could be an early warning system for:

• Phone calls from upset household Internet users that the router went offline and there could be a potential issue with the internet connection.   
• Ensuring access to critical wireless devices remotely, such as door locks, IP cameras and smart thermostats
• A potential problem with the users ISPs service provision.

Other Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Features

The main dashboard provides an immediate glimpse into the current status of the home network.  It shows the current connection to the internet and the number of connected devices, as well as quick access to the wireless password and options to reset it or share it.  Parental control options from the main dashboard make it easy and fast to change settings as well as the device prioritization features and external storage visibility. 

• Devices
• Wi-Fi Network
• Guest Access
• Parental Controls
• Device Prioritization
• External Storage (if any external hard drives are plugged into the router)

Advanced settings are also available in the app.

• Single Port Forwarding
• Port Range Forwarding
• Port Range Triggering
• MAC Filtering

Availability

The Linksys Smart Wi-Fi app (v2) (Available for all Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Routers) is planned for availability in the Google Play Store on Friday and in the iTunes App Store (pending approval), for no cost.

About Linksys

The Linksys brand has pioneered wireless connectivity since its inception in 1988 with its leading innovation and engineering strategies, and best-in-class networking technology, design, software and customer service. Linksys enables a connected lifestyle for people at home, at work and on the move, and with its award-winning products, simplifies home control, entertainment, security and Internet access through innovative features and a growing application and partner ecosystem. For more information, visit linksys.com, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or watch us on YouTube.

© 2016 Belkin International, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Linksys and many product names and logos are trademarks of the Belkin group of companies. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.  Specifications are subject to change without notice.

SOURCE Linksys

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