Customer Reviews

D-Link DWA-130 Wireless-N USB Adapter

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

I assumed when I bought this adapter that I wouldn't actually see the top speed any time soon, but after buying a TrendNet N-wireless/Gbit LAN I am happy to say it actually works. My local connection tends to register between 130 and 300Mbps according to the pop-up bubble in my taskbar (if you display your connections there as I do, you can hold the cursor over them to see what speed you are getting at any given moment).

Previously, with a regular wireless dongle I was getting 54Mbps tops. What an improvement. Increased local speeds have meant quicker video streaming and file copying for me. You have to have a router (or I guess maybe a cable/DSL modem directly connected to your PC) that will get N-wireless speed to do this so it won't do you much good if you use an older technology 801.11B/G with this dongle. And your Internet speed is more a result of your service provider so it may or may not help with that. But more speed is always better to me.

I use this on my laptop and I often shut the laptop so that it goes into Standby. I have had no serious problems reconnecting after coming out of Standby. I think once or twice I have had to "Repair" my connection from the taskbar. I don't even bother to use the little USB "stand" that comes with it since I can directly connect this to one of my USB ports, but this brings up a negative: This adapter is too fat for me to plug anything into the USB port that is adjacent to it. It's simply too wide. Unfortunately, especially on laptops where space is at a premium, the USB ports are not spaced well enough. I guess if I were traveling with the laptop that might become an issue since I might actually need all 3 of my USB ports and not want to carry around that little stand, but I think the compromise is worth it for the speed.

There is an amber light on the top of this dongle that goes on and off with network activity. Another negative that most other people may not have a problem with is that 2 out of 3 of my laptop USB ports are upside down. I have no idea why it was designed that way, but if I use those other 2 ports I obvioously can't see the light on the adapter. I like to know what's going on so this is not optimal for me.

Other than those two very system-specific issues, I love this adapter. It was easy to install with good directions (you have to run the CD prior to attaching it for a smoother install) and it appears to perform beautifully on my WinXP SP2 laptop.

Installed within just a couple minutes. Allowed to totally mypass my internal wireless card which is stuck at 11 Mbps, 802.11b and WEP only, and worked only half the time. I was considering getting a whole new laptop.

Don't worry if you don't have a 2.0 compliant usb. I don't and I still connect at between 162 and 243 Mbps. I should mention that I have the D-Link DIR-615 which is 802.11n compliant, so compatibility issues were nil.

It comes with its own cradle or you can plug it directly into the usb slot.

Even though it's small, it's still a bit bulky as it sticks out on the side and if you're mobile with it, you'll have to careful you don't bump or hit it.

Overall I'm very impressed. I didn't expect this kind of performance from a usb adapter over 1.1 usb at that.

I purchased this product and spent multiple hours trouble shooting why it wasn't working. After being cut-off after 15-minutes of worthless trouble-shooting with a technician on D-Links less-than helpful service lines, I dialed back in I was told by the next person that they do not support Windows XP SP3 and I was out of luck. No option but to set my PC back to SP2.

I rate the product a zero, and couldn't be more disappointed in this purchase. I also purchased the DIR-655 router, and wish I would have stuck with Linksys for both products.

Scott

the ad and product details include Vista - not 32-bit Vista only. Big surprise! bad surprise!

What they don't tell you is that they only make drivers for 64-bit Vista for the Revision B and C versions of the adapter, and apparently there is no way (at least that I've been able to find) to order a specific revision. Plus D-Link's policy is to not do exchanges if you have the wrong revision; they only do exchanges if an item is broken - I called D-Link to try and find out and had to explain the problem THREE times before they told me I couldn't trade it. I ordered one through a local business who didn't know about the different revisions, got an A, and they can't return it or order a specific revision. Another store I called told me they couldn't order a specific revision, either.

So if you have Vista, I'd only recommend purchasing if you have the 32-bit. I'm now looking for an adapter I can use with a Motorola SB5101 and a D-Link DIR-615 that I can find 64-bit Vista drivers for without having to worry about getting the right revision of the adapter.

I purchased this adapter because I have several computers, and one of them is a desktop tucked in the corner of my house. I figured a USB adapter would to perfect for this computer because I didn't want to "open its guts" and install wireless hardware. I also thought it would be great to be able to easily switch this adapter to my three laptops whenever I needed it.

This product did accomplish all the above, but in the end, I purchased two card bus adapters for two of my laptops for the following reasons. First, and obviously, the USB device sticks out on the laptop and you have to be very careful with it. I typically like to plop in bed and surf, but this adapter is just a disaster waiting to happen. You can't lay it on the bed without the fear of breaking it. And the cradle that comes with this device is awkward to carry while you are mobile. Second, it gets BLAZING hot. I knew that from reading all the other reviews, but again, the main reason I wanted this is for the desktop. Third, it's just not as fast as a card bus adapter. I have a D-Link Extreme N Router [DIR-655 - I highly recommend it BTW] and I typically get 130 Mbps with this USB device. While that's a good speed, I get 300 Mbps with the D-Link Xtreme N card bus adapter! Now that's fast! And finally, this adapter occasionally looses its signal and drops me, while the card bus never does.

So in summary, this is a great device for desktops, where you don't want to have to install anything internally, but if you can install a card bus device, then purchase that instead.

The adapter works fine once I got it up and running. The cradle is the key for making it work. If you plug it directly into the usb port of the tower, the signal was blocked and inoperable but having the cradle placed on the surface of the desk eliminates the problem. This was not suggested by the staff at the help desk.

KB

I bought this device hoping to get Wi-Fi Connectivity, to my upstairs room. I recieved the product 1 day late, but when I got it took it out of the box. I tried installing it but the disk would not run! untill I used Administrator account. Then I installed it and The Software Didn't even detect the Adapter! Then after an hour, I called Customer service and Tech Support, but They were Clueless! They just told me to buy a new one and return this one WHICH I bought on amazon. Just to let you know, they the drivers, are not Compatible with x64 bit Windows XP Pro Edition, and x64 Bit Vista! Other wise I used on a laptop and it works great! Better reception too!

I couldn't be happier with this little USB adaptor. It was a breeze to set up and works better than I'd expected (especially compared to the Linksys WUSB54GSC it replaced).

Initially I connected this to my a Linksys WRT54GX4 802.11g access point. Though positioned identically to the my original Linksys USB wireless adaptor, the D-Link DWA-130 often reported 100% singnal strength and data transfer rates were almost always right at 54Mbs. This where the Linksys adaptor had conectivity issues and often reported speeds of 1 to 5.5Mbs.

I recently upgraded the access point to a D-Link DIR-655. Once again, a breeze and now (for about what I spent on the Linksys components) I've gone from sub-10Mbs connecton speeds to speeds typically between 117Mbs and 130Mbs! This was the best $182 I've spent in awhile!

This is the second one of these I have purchased. I love it. I'm using XP, sp3.

Pros: It works for me when no other I've tried has because of the distance from and walls between my computers and the router. Without the D-Link software installed, this is the best wireless connection I've ever had.

Cons: I have not been able to get these to work well with the included D-Link software installed - the connection was always intermittent. Now I just plug in the wireless USB adapter and when prompted by Windows to install the new device, I point it to the drivers directory on the included CD (when the CD autoruns, I just hit exit). I then set up the connection using Windows and it works great.