Customer Reviews

D-Link 4-Port Wireless-G 54Mbps Router

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(54)

 

 

I got this item for "free" as a promotion. Free, it's not, having cost me literally hours of troubleshooting. I have installed the latest firmware, 1.04 A1.

1) Hangs up for minutes at a time, seemingly randomly. You have to power cycle, or wait and it MAY recover.

2) Randomly won't let you log in, keeping you at the login screen. Have to power cycle, or reset to factory settings. In the latter case, you lose all your settings. This bug is reported consistently in forums you can find with a web search.

3) Many features are incompatible with wireless clients that work perfectly with other wireless routers. WEP and WPA would not work with two of my wireless cards. Auto Channel Scan fails in conjunction with WEP. It took a full afternoon of experimentation to discover which features are compatible with each other and with various clients. In the end, I had to use MAC filtering to enable any type of security that would work for all clients.

5) Static (in range) IP addresses fail for every client, while the router provides no way to link MAC addresses to a particular IP. This renders port forwarding useless.

5) Web interface and documentation is unclear and full of errors, from misspellings to inconsistent terminology to factual errors. The overall impression is of sloppy, haphazard engineering.

6) Technical support is provided by very polite folks in India, who will run you through their standard procedure over and over without actually solving the problem.

If you want a router that works, or if your time is worth anything, then don't buy this one.

I thought I got a great deal on this from a big name electronics store (won't say who). I needed something to connect my G5 iMac and my PS2. I bought it, brought it home and set it up on my lunch break and STILL made it back on time (1 hour total). I was very impressed with myself. I set up all the encryption and security features, and changed all the default names/pw's. It worked great, so I left to go back to work. When I got home 5 hours later it was still going strong. BUT then it started needing to be reset (the router) every couple hours because it just "lost" connection with my iMac. No big deal, I'll just have to reset it a couple times a day. It only takes 20 seconds to reset. BUT NOW, only 2 days later, the wireless function barely works, and the biggest problem is that no matter what I set the settings too, they change on their own almost instantly to some network name I have never entered, with all the security features turned off. This all seemed to happen after I upgraded the firmware (which I never should have done since it was working fine in the first place, but everyone always tells ya to get the latest firmware so you won't have problems). Anyhow, it is a piece of shat, I am currently NOT using the wireless feature and am planning to return it ASAP (if they let me). DO NOT BUY THIS. EVER. Unless you just need a router (not a wireless router). Gonna go try a Linksys...

This particular router, with the latest firmware (v1.02 beta as of right now), is running fine for me. However, a friend of mine has the same one, and it cannot even run one night without crashing. Said friend isn't as computer-literate as I am and doesn't know too much about fixing router unreliability, so I'm the one who ends up doing it most of the time. And let me tell you, I would not recommend this router to anyone. Although mine's been reliable, something "disagrees" with his internet setup (could be the difference in broadband connection - I'm running Comcast cable with a Motorola modem, whereas he's got SBC DSL with a Siemens modem) and it can't go four or so hours without crashing, necessitating a reboot. The lack of reliability on the part of this piece of junk is appalling. Even after installing an 80mm fan on the router to cure any potential overheating problems (voiding the warranty in the process), the crashing still persists. So I've pretty much determined that whatever makes it crash isn't heat-related (although I don't want to sell this thing short - it still gets waaay too hot) and must lie in either poorly engineered firmware or hardware, not environmental conditions. Consumer-grade wireless routers are truly one area where the phrase "you get what you pay for" truly applies, and this product is solid proof.

This is basically the same old router from D-Link. The DI-514...remember that piece of garbage?

This does have the basics and some minor content filtering/parental controls but good parental control software would be a better and smarter choice if you need it.

There is already a firmware update to fix WPA and Network settings issues. That is pathetic but common with D-Link equipment. I see it regularly. They release a new piece of junk, make the consumer suffer then release a firmware update to fix things. They seem to do this with almost every single router and firewall.

This box runs hot too! The WiFi range is pathetic. I set it up outside with no obstacles and could barely get a decent signal at 50 feet. Any $30 Linksys WiFi Router will give you atleast 75 feet!

THe worst thing of all about this router is that you cannot dedicate specific IP Addresses to specific computers. If you need to do remote access, use DynDNS, use P2P applications, etc you will regret not having this feature!

Do not bother. Pass this piece of junk over. If you need a good budget WiFi router with excellent performance...get the Linksys WRT54G. You can find it in sale for $30-$45!!

I've had this router for a year or so and have been frustrated with it and D-Link customer support since I bought it. It was very troublesome to install as the set-up wizard did not work properly. After an hour on their tech-help line, I got it going. But after being powered on for more than 24 hours, the router would not work anymore. And simply unplugging the power for a minute did not work, I had to restart my desktop too in order to get the router functional again. Thus, for the last year I have been powering down my entire system and restarting it every morning in order to keep this router functional. I have faithfully upgraded the firmware every time there has been a new release, but it has never helped with any of my connection problems.

And in the last month it has started dropping the signal every day with increasing frequency, whether I reboot all of my hardware each morning or not. Finally, this morning it won't work at all anymore. And to use customer support after 30 days, you have to pay for it. I'm putting the money towards a new router instead. And it won't be from D-Link!

This router has been a problem from the moment I took it out of the box. I was always warned to buy equipment by weight, and this thing weighs less than the package it came in. It's cheap, cheap, cheap. I have been plagued with download stalls since installing this. Thank God I didn't toss our old Netgear router in the trash, because it's been very handy to have it standing by when the DLink's wireless isn't absolutely necessary. Looking at the two side by side, the DLink is pathetic -almost comical. Its status lights blink pointlessly denoting practically nothing other than the fact that it's sucking power. The Netgear router on the other hand, is sturdy metal, solidly built, and has never failed. I'm off to buy one of *their* wireless routers. It's too late for me to get my money back on this piece of garbage, but it's not too late for you. RUN!

What a terrible product. The setup "wizard" was completely broken, the clock kept resetting the date back to 2002 (despite correcting it multiple times), and it would only allow one wireless connection at a time -- when one computer connected, the other would get mysteriously disconnected. I wish I'd read the other reviews before buying ... this thing is going straight back to the store.

I bought this two weeks ago. I have constant problems with signal loss. The router needs to be rest about every 15 minutes. Their "tech support" is completely useless. Ihave spent a total og eight hours on the phone with these people in the last week. Nothing they advised worked and it actually seems to have made the problem worse. Plus, I waited on hold for an average of ten minutes and on one occasion the call was dropped after being on the phone with a "priority specialist" for 1/2 hour (and about 15 minutes on hold). The first question they ask your for is your phone number. If the call is dropped-they DO NOT call you back. Whatever you do-don't buy this "product".

The "new" firmware on this, 1.03, will cause the router to forget the admin login information, forcing the user to reconfigure it. This happens after a day or so of use.

Do a search for: d link firmware 1310 1.03 bug

The clueless boneheads at Dlink that let this firmware go out act just as clueless about this issue, even though it has been reported by at dozens of users. The bug has been out for 6 months, and no fix from them, so you know what kind of company you are dealing with here.

I will never again purchase anything made by this sory excuse for a tech company.


KP

If you set this puppy up manually it works great. The included CD with the wizard is a waste of time. The Pure network application bundled with it is a piece of shi... you don't need to install anything. Just plug it in and use the admin page to set it up. You need to be a little technical however. I have a 12mb/s Cable connection and this little router delivers the goods at full speed no problems. The coverage is surprisingly good. Works through the whole house.