Linksys Launches All-New Smart Wi-Fi Smartphone App Experience

Linksys® today announced a whole new user interface, design layout, navigation experience, and new innovative features for its Linksys Smart Wi-Fi app. The newly designed app for Apple and Android smartphones 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 on the fly, ensuring your bandwidth-sensitive video calls and gaming sessions never slow down.

 

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

Parents can block websites or shut off Wi-Fi entirely for individual devices. Parents can also set up a schedule for blocking access for each device (available in an app update coming later this year). These parental control features will aid in making sure children use the internet appropriately, providing parents with peace of mind that there is also an ample amount of homework time without the distraction of 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 EA9500 router) 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’ internet provider

 

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) 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.