Customer Reviews

D-Link 4-Port RangeBooster Wireless-N Router

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

I've had this product for about a month. I did a lot of research, reading up on the technology and the reviews before I bought this router, and it won by default, because I wanted the new, longer-range 802.11n (draft) technology and all the reviews on existing products with "n (draft)" were just terrible, but this product was too new to have any reviews!

OK, not great reasoning on my part, but the other piece of my thinking was that maybe the latest to market had more time to correct the bugs of the other products...

Score! D-Link got it right with this baby.
It did take a while to get it set up, but I've found that's true of most wireless routers. Read the documentation carefully, follow the directions carefully, and then call tech support when it doesn't work!

But the D-Link support was helpful and got me through the problems. Oddly, it didn't seem to work consistently for the first day after setup and then it somehow just settled down, like it decided it liked this place or something. (It may also have been that I was actually too close to the router. It doesn't work well within about 6 feet.) After that first day, I haven't had one time-out, no need to re-boot, and no oddly lowered signal strength like I've experienced on other routers. I took my laptop outside and went for a walk with it and I live in the middle of the block and was able to get acceptable signal on either corner, half a block away! Across the street was a breeze.

Location matters. The manual says to pay attention to physical barriers and place the router so that the signal goes through them on the way to a receiver at close to a 90 degree angle, because a smaller angle means the signal has to travel through a lot more solid material. I also think setting it up on end in the stand that is included helped a little. Do try several different locations. I should also note that I bought this with a D-Link cable modem Model DCM-202 and they seem to work well together. I have NOT bought an "n" adapter card for my laptop, so all this great reception is with a "g" class adapter. Using an N-draft adapter should improve signal even more.

Note: don't be fooled by earlier "n compatible" routers. They aren't. If they don't say "n (draft)" then they WON'T be compatible with the final N standard, due out late this year or next year. Draft N routers should be compatible, but there are no guarantees.

I bought this to get the extra range and signal strength, and I'm glad I did, but don't get too excited about the extra speed, because your "high-speed" broadband provider is a bottleneck, unless you have fiber-optic to the door! The draft n standard is good for over 100 mbps, but I have the fastest Comcast cable service available and it's 8 mbps! The only thing the extra speed of the router is good for is transfering data over your own internal network. If you have to swap huge video files and the like between computers on your own home network, then you'll appreciate the extra speed, but you won't notice anything on the Internet.

It's pretty difficult to make a wireless network router simple to configure and operate for a non- (or anti-) technical person. As long as you go into a purchase of a router with this in mind, you'll probably be okay.

Personally my technical knowledge of network and computer operations is pretty high, so my experience with this product may be different than most. I have to say that I love this router. In the world of routers, this isn't a "top of the line" product (see the D-Link DIR-655 Extreme N Wireless Router for that) but it's just one click down from that. I can't really justify spending the additional $30-$50 for a few more esoteric options.

This router does wireless N and G very well. You will likely have to do some tweaking and pre-planning on your client side if you want to get wireless N to work. My wireless connections are always strong (I probably venture about 30-70 feet away from the base station) even through walls. I even have one wired connection on the router. I've never experienced a drop in the wireless signal or any sort of random reboot of the router.

One of the most important things you'll need to do, however, is to update the router's firmware as soon as you get it. Then create an administrator password to access the router's configuration. Then carefully take the time to set up wireless security of WPA or WPA2 strength. Unfortunately nowadays there are many free "hacking tools" available on the internet that can crack WEP security - it's just too weak regardless of the length of your password.

Some great features of this router: there is a built-in firmware update tool in the web-configuration that lets you click a button and check for the latest firmware. It also has a "WPA/WPA2" security setting that will force clients that support WPA2 to connect via WPA2, or if the client doesn't support WPA2, it will connect via WPA (if the client supports neither then the connection is refused). This keeps things a little more compatible, but still secure. The web-configuration also includes a setup wizard that will walk you through setting up all the security settings on the router, including the admin password and WPA/WPA2 access security.

I feel that this is a solid and secure router and highly recommend it.

I've used a Linksys and Netgear Wireless routers and the D-Link DIR-625 has been by far the best to install and connect to. I've connected all of my devices (Xbox 360, HP 2700 printer, and my work laptop) wireless without a hitch. I'm using Time Warner Roadrunner cable service. The Network Magic software was easy to use. I get full connection bars with my xbox 360 and my family room downstairs used to be a dead spot but with the DLink wireless router I get an EXCELLENT connection!

I just replaced my semi-dysfunctional WRT54G Linksys router (2nd in a row) with this router, and I couldn't be happier. I've had several problems with the Linksys, and this router solved them all.

The web interface is easy to use, packed with features (such as auto-populating MAC address for assigning to a static IP on a LAN, support for DMZ, port forwarding, etc). The range is great - I previously needed extra antennae for Linksys to reach my living room, but this router reaches it just fine, with full strenght on my MacBook Pro.

If you need a powerful yet simple to use router - this one is great.

Highly recommended!

This router works flawlessly with wireless PCs, X-Box, X-Box 360, PS-2, PS-3, Wii, Nintendo DS (all versions), corporate VPN, and (of course) wired Ethernet. It never needs to be cycled or "bounced". (I have not tried the "N" protocol; I only use the b/g modes.) The router is in the basement near steel beams and a brick wall, but the signal is strong all over the house.

I have withheld the 5th star because the admin software is not well organized. I often find myself searching all over for this setting or that. Wouldn't you look under "Setup" for "Time Configuration" (choosing your time zone)? Well, it's under "Tools". Wouldn't the MAC filter go under "Access Control" since its purpose is to control access? It's not. Why is "Dynamic DNS" not under "Advanced" while simply setting transmit power is under "Advanced/Advanced Wireless"?

Also, you set up MAC filtering by selecting devices by their names (XBox, Wii, Laptop) but thereafter, only the MAC addresses are shown. The column that should show the clients' names says "Computer Name" on every line instead of the name computer's name. If you get rid of a device, there is no way to tell which entry to delete from the list. Lists of active sessions, connected devices, etc. are all just addresses, so you can't easily tell who or what's connected.

But, once you finish configuring, you forget about it and enjoy the way it provides stable, reliable service for every kind of device! [I still stand by this review as of 7/23/09.]

Bought a Linksys N router first, the WRT150N. Continuously disconnecting, poor range and needed to power down twice a week. I do not have a cordless phone in the house so I can't blame the problems on that. Had to return the piece of S--t. Bought the D-Link DIR-625. I have not touched it since I configured it and the range is awesome. Very happy!!!

Zero problems. Clear, easy to understand interface. Great wireless performance.

just purchased this after 4 previous routers to upgrade to the "N" draft...for the price($79) or any for that matter, now i have signal all over the house...basement office, main level, and all over the 3rd floor; the signal is strong at every level and i saw a dramatic increase in speed on my laptops; it took me literally 15 minutes to set up and it was very simple as you follow the step by step instructions of the disc.
so as a result of my upgrade, i get blazing speed, 3 times better range, and it was less than my previous "G" draft router...my only regret is that i waited this long...THIS IS A GREAT PRODUCT FOR THE PRICE...(hey dlink people should pay me for all this...)

Jack-atlanta

D-Link DIR-625 RangeBooster N Router Wireless Draft 802.11n with 2 Antennas
It works great with few problems. It sends out a strong signal throughout my house and it works great. I did have to download updated firmware from D-Link for it to work properly. Also, the WEP encryption would not work with my Windows Vista computer. But the WPA encryption has worked fine. I understand that the WPA encryption is supposed to be better anyway. Just make sure that the wireless adapters on your computers and other hardware support WPA encryption if you have Windows Vista.

After installation, the speed was decent but the connection was actually worse than my old 11b router.

I updated the firmware (I have revision C) to 3.04 and voila - connection is consistently Very Good (although, why an 11g device sitting next to it doesn't get Excellent connection is a mystery).

Speed varies from around 160 to 270 (I also have the rangebooster N usb adapter, on a pc in the basement). It's lower if I have any 11g devices connected, but still way better than the 54 of 11g. The 11g devices connect at 54 consistently.

The router menus are comprehensive, but would confuse the heck out of anyone not tech-savvy; however, router configuration IS very technical.