Customer Reviews

D-Link DIR-685 Xtreme N Storage Router and Photo Frame, 2.5" Drive Bay, 3.2" LCD, Draft 11n

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

As a database administrator and programmer, I tend to enjoy tech toys. I have a D-Link DIR-825 Xtreme N Dual Band Gigabit Router sitting on my desk, and was excited to be offered the D-Link DIR-685 Xtreme N Storage Router as a more visually appealing and versatile router.

The D-Link DIR-685 Xtreme N Storage Router offers high speed wired and wireless n connections. Wireless connections can be managed by zones including guest connections. Unlike most routers, the DIR-685 includes network-attached storage (NAS) capabilities and a digital picture frame.

The initial set-up was simple to complete, however testing revealed the network didn't set up correctly. My PC can connect directly to the network, but cannot access any wireless networked devices even though I can ping them. I called customer support, only to be given the run around by people who didn't understand my problem. I asked my other half who is more familiar with networking to speak with customer service. This is when they admitted they didn't understand the problem and escalated to a specialist who would call back later. When the specialist called, the result was basically since I can ping the devices it's not a router problem. So I'm stuck with a network which doesn't work properly and have no clue how to fix.

The router frequently freezes up and drops connections. Freezing is obvious thanks to the digital picture frame as the images just stop rotating. It is not uncommon for me to unplug the router three times a week or more to unfreeze. Meanwhile there is no telling when this unstable router will drop a connection. Since the router sits on my desk, it's easy enough to disconnect and reconnect the network cable, but I'm tired of listening to my other half's constant valid complaints.

The digital frame is a nice touch; however it is way too small. For proper viewing the router would need to be pretty close to the viewer. This may cause a conflict between viewing and placing the router in an appropriate spot for wireless connectivity. Anyplace with too much distance makes the photos too small to distinguish.

I really enjoy using the frame channel with the digital photo frame. Setting up an account at the frame channel website was simple. I was able to sign up for news, weather, sports, stocks, and magazine sites as well as images from my facebook friends.

With the digital picture frame, the router includes an intuitive menu selection for showing stats and settings. The NAS drive (hard drive not included) was also simple to install and put to use.

As a techno-geek I was excited to try out this router. However my network isn't working properly, while D-Link customer service was unwilling to help resolve the problem. The router freezes and drops connections regularly. If I weren't having connectivity and freezing issues, I'd be willing to invest more time determining the networking issue. This problem is huge for a router and overshadows the digital picture frame and NAS system. This router has potential to be a fun versatile device, but I cannot recommend purchasing an expensive product which fails at its primary purpose.

PROS:
Frame channel
Intuitive on-board menu display
NAS (network-attached storage) system

CONS:
Never got it to work properly
Customer service not helpful
Digital frame too small
Regularly freezes and drops connections

This is a very innovative product that does a lot of things. But unfortunately it does many of those things badly.

First of all, it is a horrible router. You might have read other reviews on other respected "cool gear" sites that would testify otherwise, but hear me out. If you are using a broadband internet connection that is slower than 8MBits probably you cannot figure out what's wrong with the router. I have a 36MBits cable connection and this router can only utilize 8MBits of down traffic, while my old Linksys router (SRX400, doesn't even have gigabit ports) can easily max out my connection speed. I've run countless tests, upgraded D-Links firmware from 1.0 to 2.0 etc with no change in performance. So this router doesn't do one of its very essential functions well.

Although I didn't have any problems connecting to its wireless network, I found it pointless to run any tests against it to see if it works fast enough. However Tom's Hardware actually reviewed this router and didn't find its wireless performance very promising compared to other routers at its price point. You can read the article here: [...].

Another problem is the price/performance. At this price level almost any other N router out there have dual radios for better performance. DIR-685 does not have a dual radio, and it only operates at 2.4GHz.

One thing I really liked about this router is its virtual USB capability. The router has two USB ports and you can plugin HDD or printers on these ports. When you install the driver software provided for MAC and PC, the driver attaches these devices to your computer as if they are directly attached to your computer via USB cable. This allows you to use the full capabilities of these devices. For example if you have a multifunction printer with scanner, you can scan documents wirelessly. Although this is good for printers, it is flawed when it comes to HDDs as the device cannot keep up with the bandwidth demands accessing a HDD can generate.

I didn't even bother to test the picture frame capability. You can get a bigger size digital picture frame for about $49 that would do a better job.

As I said earlier, DIR-685 does a lot of things but it doesn't do any particular thing well. Especially, it is not a good router which is suppose to be its first and foremost functionality.

Where to begin? This product is just so many things at once, that it's hard to be sure what parts are most important in a review! Perhaps the best thing to do is to first consider the D-Link DIR685 as a wireless router? Or perhaps as a NAS? Maybe as a digital photo frame? Or should I discuss the FrameChannel features?

OK, first, as a router this is top-notch once you get it going. The LCD screen provides status, which is a nice feature, and as an 802.11n router, it's faster than you'll probably need. Connection can take some time, but the browser configuration panel is detailed, and really gives a lot of options; Many of which I may never need, but that just shows the range of use this thing has.

Printer sharing on this is handled well via the SharePort utility. It installs easily and works as advertised. Very nice.

As a NAS, or iTunes server, or any of the other uses related to the hard drive, it's decent. Once configured, the hard drive is readily accessible. Unfortunately, the fan that cools the hard drive is exceptionally loud; I thought I had a first-generation Xbox 360 in my room again! It was so loud, in fact, that I opted to skip the internal hard drive and have gone with connecting a drive externally via SharePort. Still, mounting the drive inside is as easy as sliding it in, and the device automatically mounts and detects the drive, even asking if you'd like to format it.

As a digital photo frame, this is a bit small. It works very well, but you do lose some detail in your photos on the 3.2" LCD. I suppose it would be great for people who like a lot of family pictures in rotation, but for me it's not a hugely-desired feature. Using the associated software, you can sync up with just about any social site or online photo repository; Facebook, Photobucket, Flikr, etc. They're all here.

Doing so requires setting up an account with FrameChannel, which is quite worth it. Once established, it will send data to your DIR685 that works similar to desktop widgets/gadgets. Weather, news, social networking, photos, stocks, or pretty much anything you'd want will cycle on the router's screen, making it kind of like a "smart clock". You can customize the timing, priority, and other details. It doesn't seem to hinder the device or slow things down at all, and most of the Frame Channels look very nice on the screen.

The device itself has plain controls, but the on-screen menu works for basic functions; settings, status displays, etc.

Mine came with a small defect in the screen border, though. The rubber gasket around the screen was bent down at the top and covered part of the screen, requiring me to peel off the cover panel (not recommended) and reposition it. Everything went back together fine, but I shouldn't have needed to do it in the first place, so I would urge D-Link to step up the quality control on the LCD screen.

I should also note that the sticker on the back that is meant to prevent you from plugging things in before installing software is a real sticker and not a static-cling peel-away. It leaves gummy residue and peels off only with some effort. It's a bad choice for the function it fulfills.

These are minor complaints, of course; Hardware-wise, this is an awesome device. It's definitely worth consideration if you're looking for an advanced router, NAS, and digital photo frame.

PRO:
Great router! High speeds!
Easy connection, if you know what you're doing.
Decent screen.
FrameChannel works flawlessly, and is very useful.
Controls are simple.
Lots of advanced features.
USB SharePorts work perfectly for printer & hard drive.

CON:
iTunes server/NAS works, but the hard drive fan is too loud.
Quality control issues with LCD placement.
Rear panel had a sticker which, when peeled, left gummy residue.
LCD is a bit too small to be a perfect digital photo frame.

FINAL VERDICT: A very cool device that fills several roles, and is certain to please those experienced with networking. Those who aren't as skilled with networking may need to seek a little help with installation and set-up, however, and this will not replace a digital photo frame in your grandma's living room. It's a router first, and a good one. Consider the other stuff the whipped cream and cherry on top.

I have had this for 2 weeks and this was my 2nd router that does the same thing. The router will work great for about the first week then will stop assigning ip addresses. Even after I assign the ip for static router it will only stay up for day if I am lucky. I mostly use this with ethernet cables and 1wireless device. It fails as a router which why I bought it. I have now taken it back and ordered the asus Rt-56 from amazon. The asus works great without having to reset every day and some times every couple of hours like the dlink.

D-Link builds solid routers, this is no exception. It works well as a router with wireless-N for pretty decent download speeds. Setting up is becoming easier with every successive D-Link Router with included software. However, this router tries to give you too many bells and whistles in addition and ends up pricing itself out of the market. Why on earth would you want a router which has a photo frame and storage disc bay? Especially when it is $200 plus. You can get better versions all of these separately for less than $150.

The LCD screen at 3.2" is too small to display pictures nicely, and I really want to hide away my router, not have it sticking out on the desk with ugly wires hanging from it! The storage bay is just a bay and you have to purchase the drive separately adding on to the cost. Right now, 500MB disk drives do not cost much and you can attach them to any router which allows you do do that. As a router its range is no better than some other much cheaper versions which come without the LCD screen or storage capability.

Integrating a storage drive with a router is a good idea but I don't really see the value of a LCD frame when you know there are going to be ugly wires around it and you can't really put it on your dresser!

Brought home the DLINK DIR-685 last night. At first all seemed to go well. Initial configuration was a breeze. Was able to quickly connect several PCs, NAS & VOIP devices. Right away I noticed that two wireless PCs were dropping their connections intermittently. Speed goes up and down considerably without moving wireless devices and with little activity on the network.

NAS performance is a disappointment. Even with a wired eth connection from the NAS to the router AND to the PC, the NAS drive was completely unusable (15+ seconds for a clicked folder to open only to have the NAS stop responding completely ... video streams freezing and dying). After poking around on support pages, I updated the router's firmware, which improved the NAS performance to mediocre. The same NAS performed better on my old Lynksys WRT54GS.

Using the print server is cumbersome. Was hoping to be able to drop print jobs from multiple PCs into a queue without having to fiddle around with another program.

I was planning on adding a 2.5" 1TB SATA drive to the router, but other reviewers' comments about the noisy fan leave me hesitant to do so. 2.5" drives are more expensive per GB, so if performance is not considerably better than a 3.5" USB or eth connected drive, the SATA port may not be much of a benefit.

I upgraded primarily to stream video and music from the NAS and now I feel like I may have wasted $200. If my impression doesn't improve in a few days, the router is going back.

EDIT:After 5 days a problem surfaced with the DHCP server that prevents several devices (previously assigned static IP addresses) from connecting to the network.

Solid little box that delivers tremendous performance in a very tiny and cheap package. I have this unit connected to a 60Mb metro-ethernet circuit (gigabit hand-off from the carrier). During testing when the carrier had rate limits disabled I was able to push this box to download at a rate of 500Mb and upload at 400Mb (using the default 1500 byte MTU). On LAN-to-LAN transfers it also performs extremely well.

Hang a few gigabit switches off of this unit and you have yourself a nice little router for a SOHO. I highly recommend this product.

I see a lot of complaints here about crashing and not vending DHCP addresses. If it's crashed and not working consider yourself lucky.

Problem #1 - With a 750GB HD installed it's painfully loud. It's the loudest computing device in my home and I have plenty. It uses a small laptop fan which runs at full RPM 24/7. I had to stick it upstairs in a hallway well away from the bedrooms to get any sleep when the thing is on. It's like a small jet airplane. I have two desktops and three portables running 24/7 in the office next to my bedroom & all of those combined don't come anywhere close to being as loud as this router!

Problem #2 - Here is why you are lucky if it crashes and stops vending DHCP addresses. Even with the latest, most up to date firmware, if you transfer more than a few GB's of data to the NAS or anywhere else through the router it will 'soft crash' and turn of WEP encryption! The embedded web server will show that WEP is configured and on, but the connection will be entirely in the clear, allowing anyone to connect to your wireless. I spent several hours with D-Link tech support as agent after agent claimed they'd never heard of the problem despite the fact others have complained about this very behavior on D-Link support forums since February of 2011. After wasting half a day with their support I spent another two days testing it & helping a friend (who also has one and noticed this behavior) to write up a vulnerability disclosure for the product which he turned over to the US-CERT.

Let me make this clear. The router can FAIL to a non-secure state & D-Link has yet to notify customers or provide a fix! Avoid this router at all cost - it is a dud & can put your entire network & the data on it at risk!

had to send the original back and get another and the new one still has issues like the frame channel wont show on it? and tec support is a joke, make sure you have a land line or lots of minuits on your cell plan if you call them!

Pros: Reliable, photo frame/ framechannel feature, Shareport, network scheduling, guest zone, WPS setup functions. Attractive design. Compact and easy to keep in a living room

Cons: Terrible touchscreen, Not a dual-channel radio router, not worth $300 MSRP. I was able to buy this from amazon new at half price, and I suggest you do the same.

I bought this router to replace an old/loud/overheating wireless G netgear MR814, and I was not disappointed. The router has served my 2 laptops, 1 desktop, and 2 mobile devices without a fuss once its been set up. Out living room is about half the size of a normal living room, so the small digital frame is still very visible even from the other side of the room.

Overall, I love the design direction that D-Link took with the DIR-685, and I hope more routers will follow the idea in the future.