Customer Reviews

D-Link DIR-450 3G Ev-do 4-Port Switch 802.11G 108MBPS Mobile Router

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I'm one week into EVDO service and still learning new things every day in that regard. One thing I learned is that you need to choose equipment that is reliable, consistent and durable. Sadly, the D-Link DIR-450 is none of these things.

I looked into the D-Link model as they are the actual vendor for the Kyocera KR-1. The KR-1 is a highly regarded consumer grade model in what is admittedly a pretty small field. For most consumers it appears that the KR-1 is the default suggestion for those looking for a router solution for the EVDO service.

I should have been wary of the D-Link even before purchase as it did not support all of the same cards that its older sibling supported, but the most recent (and only) firmware upgrade added support for my card so I figured I was set.

Everything went well the evening I installed it and I went to bed with visions of salvation from satellite internet while stranded in rural American. Imagine my surprise when I woke up and could not enter the admin page using the password I set up. Then I could not access the router at all. I had to go into the crash firmware reinstallation mode to resurrect the box - with ~12 hours of ownership - Strike One.

Strike 2 was the painfully ill designed UI that requires arbitrary rebooting between setup steps. The rebooting process takes around 80 seconds, so even entering a small set of DHCP reservations is a time consuming chore. Half an hour later I had all my static IPs entered but on the next reboot carried out by the UI all of the settings were reset to default...

Strike 3 was today when it would reset the subnet I had setup back to the default. Doing this ate my DHCP settings, but I thought I had outsmarted the demon box and backed up the config using their UI option. Oddly, the restore seemed to only affect the wireless and basic network settings and did not include the DHCP. I spent another 30 minutes entering the reservations when it both reset the password and on the following reboot reset the subnet again.

I have little doubt that D-Link will straighten this out, but am extremely surprised that they have a relatively new product in the field that is the mirror of a well established model *that they designed and support* and it is so flaky. In a rural setting, setting up EVDO can be challenging so having unreliable equipment is one extra headache you don't need. Wait for this product to mature slightly and check out other support boards to see how others are handling it in the field.

I purchased this as my notebook did not have a PCMCIA slot. I had to update the firmware, which was very simple, for it to recognize the 595. Once that was done and I configured the router on my main PC it was just a matter of plugging the card in, plugging in the router and waiting about 30 seconds for it to connect and I was up and running. It has never failed and is the perfect solution for wireless access for multiple computers on one EVDO card.

I purchased one of these routers after reading some good reviews and ignoring the bad reviews. The good reviews must have simply come from the lucky few who received working units.

I ordered a DIR-450 directly from a D-Link authorized distributor, Ingram Micro. (I own a small computer shop near Pittsburgh). The router I received was packaged in a DIR-450 box, the router itself was silkscreened with the DIR-450 model number on it's face and it's serial/product label also indicated that it was a DIR-450. When I tried to set up the unit, I found that it had DIR-451 firmware/hardware inside. I contacted D-link tech support. It's obvious that D-Link is a company that does not want you to speak to a real person. They make every attempt to divert you to their website or pay-support. The person I spoke to told me the router had the wrong firmware and that it was not possible for me to flash it to a DIR-450. He told me to send it in and they would repair it within 7-10 days. I find that option offensive, so I declined. I RMA'd the product and sent it back to Ingram. I ordered a second unit from a different D-Link authorized distributor, D&H. I ordered the second unit from a different distributor just in case Ingram had received an entirely bad batch of these things. The new router arrived and guess what - the exact same condition existed. DIR-451 firmware/hardware in a DIR-450 branded and packaged box.

I have now ordered a Linksys router. D-Link products will never be found on the shelves of my store and I will always advise our customers to avoid D-Link.

After spending 4 hours on the phone with dlink support I was told the product was defective, so I returned it. I got my new router and again called for support, because the router would not upgrade to the 1.02, which was necessary to use the aircard that I own. After 6 hours on the phone they again tried to tell me the router was defective. At this point that is an unacceptable response. I am sending it directly to them so that they can do the upgrade and make the router usable to me. I have spent more than 11 hours on the phone with Dlink and I am still not sure that this router will ever be able to be used as it is intended.

I bought the DIR-450 and it came with the DIR-451 firmware ! Too Bad ! I cannot change the firmware because it gives the message that it is not compatible.

I will return it to Dlink. I don't recommend you to buy it !

I called the Dlink support and they don't have any solution.

Bad product, bad support ! Waste of money and time !

The DIR-450 seemed to work at first, but within 1 hour it went into power reset/cycling over and over. Hard reset, power off/on, nothing worked. D-Link tech support worked with me for 25 minutes and gave up. He said the unit appeared to be defective and told me to return it to the store (Fry's).

From the other postings, a DOA unit seems to be way too common. I am looking for a different manufacturer now.

I have a Sprint Novatel S720 card. The 1.01 firmware supports it, but the unit I got from Amazon had the 1.00 firmware loaded. Therefore, the first thing I had to do is to upgrade the firmware. The user guide, even the one that comes in the enclosed CD, was worthless. It gave no indication of how long a firmware update should take (up to 15 minutes), nor did it say anything about what the front panel lights would do (if all is going well a RED light should be BLINKING). Thinking that the process had failed and that the blinking red light was a sign of that, I disconnected it and tried to reboot it. Unfortunately, the router crashed. Again, the user guide was completely useless. However, the D-Link support page had instructions for restoring the unit's firmware... which have so far failed to work. It looks like I'll have no choice but to send this back and try the Linksys alternative that Sprint sells. Unlike other reviewers here, I had been a D-Link fan before (my entire network is set up with D-Link hardware). Unfortunately, I don't see how I'd ever trust D-Link again.

The box and the product shellcase were labeled DIR-450. In reality I received a DIR-451. I ended up sending it back after wasting much time trying to solve the problem. Quality control at this company is very poor and the technical help isn't much better. This product deserves no rating in my opinion. Don't buy it.

Confugured the router in under 5 minutes. It worked for less than one hour. Stopped working, could not set the router back to factory default. Called D-Link support, they were clueless, after 30 minutes of troubleshooting, with an Entry level support person, then was bumped up the ladder to spend another 10 minutes with a Level 2 support rep before they decided the unit was a "LEMON", and authorized me to send it back to Amazon, who gladly shipped another unit. The second unit was DOA, which I returned to Amazon as well, after which I decided to buy a competing product.

The Customer support at Amazon was excellent, who not only refunded my credit card for the purchase, but the overnight shipping that I paid for the original purchase. Hats off to Amazon !!!!

The D-link Mobile router has been one of the best tools for my business. I needed a device that allows me to connect several IP devices to a network and connect them to my office in Austin in order to demo our capabilities. I now have a mobile demo kit. Installation was very easy.

Great product!!!