D-Link DIR-655 Extreme-N Gigabit Wireless Router
by D-Link Systems, Inc.
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List Price: Our Price: $73.99 You Save: $51.00 (41%) Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Buy Used: from $45.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of D-Link DIR-655 Extreme-N Gigabit Wireless Router
Customer Review: Good for Comcast customers who want to upgrade!
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't know about some of these negative reviews, but mines seems to function according to specification. I believe that the negative reviewers did not take into accountability several factors: ISP's technological setup, Operating System Compatibility, Basic Knowledge of Networking, whether D-Link DIR655 will work together with cable modem, whether or not their home was built using plaster as this will cause interference with receiving wireless signals to other devices in the house, and location of router in house (should always be where signal can trickle down to wireless devices. I also believe that one reviewer did not take-off the plastic protective covering over the vents or did not set it where it could breath, and this is why it was "hotter than a firecracker."
My Uses (so far)....
Let me say this first...I have only utilized this for three days even though I've had it one week earlier. Even though I haven't used this for very long, I've done my homework before I went on to spend money upgrading from Comcast's crappy Netgear Cable Modem Gateway (an all-in-one wireless router and cable modem using Wireless G technology). The difference was very definite for me as I saw a tremendous boost in my signal, speed, and overall dependability (mostly due to my new Cable modem I purchased with this). I would recommend that Comcast/Cable Modem users buy the Motorola Surfboard 120 Cable Modem along with this because it uses DOCSIS 3.0, and even if you do not have the high echelon of speed from your Cable ISP, this will enhance your lower-paid speed as it did my 16Megs of speed on my (DOCSIS 2.0) connection. Many people do not research things, or go by the advice of others. Even if you read my comment make sure that you can afford the upgrades, research the compatibility of your wireless devices/computers, research the capabilities of your ISP, research how this will effect your Internet bills, research the make of you home as well as the layout, and research the frequencies of devices in your house that could interfere with your router. I would also recommend that if you upgrade from your current setup (if it was installed by a ISP technician) that you have a technician install your equipment (cable modem, router) if you do not have the technical expertise to do this on your own merit.
I would have to give another review later on regarding the overall reliability and USB Share-port technology (heard Share-port on this was not very great, but got the job done if you think of it on terms as a networked printer [only one person can use whatever USB device you hooked-up to this router at a time.]). My verdict, as of only three-day use...very good! Would suggest to anyone looking to upgrade their router to include this in their RESEARCH. Great value for the wallet, and great signal strength if upgrading from older equipment like I did. Wireless N technology sure does a hell of a job compared to Wireless G or even Super/Range-Max Wireless G. Great Job (so far anyways) D-Link!
Customer Review: Works fine with Mac OS X
Summary: 5 Stars
I'd like to address the previous rant/review. It took 10 minutes for me to configure this router with my Powerbook G4 running Tiger 10.4.9 (fully patched) using Firefox 1.5. I didn't experience any issues. I also connected to the router interface with my Powermac G4 MDD running 10.4.9 and Firefox 1.5 without any issues. I browsed all the panes since I wanted to check out all the settings and options. I'm not a fan of Safari so I don't generally use it but I fired it up to test the interface. I was able to connect and browse the management interface without any problems. Mileage may vary, but I couldn't duplicate the reported errors.
As for the general review, I'm happy with my purchase. I moved into a 3 story house last April and had been experiencing wireless connectivity issues with my Aluminum Powerbook and my old SMC wireless router located in my second floor office. I had limited signal strength on the first and third floors. There were a couple of 'sweet spots' where I could sometimes get 2-3 bars (roughly 25% signal strength)on either floor. I was ususally unable to get a strong enough signal to connect. I tried external antennas from various vendors and experienced the same problems. My new Xtreme D-Link DIR-655 (using only the built-in antennas) shows full bar strength throughout the entire house. Air Stumbler showed signal strengths between 50-85% throughout the entire house. I can even get a 70% signal strenght outside on our third floor deck.
As I stated earlier, configuring the router out of the box only took 10 minutes. This included MAC address filtering, WPA2, SSID, changing IP settings, configuring DHCP, and all the associated reboots. I thought it was silly that each saved change required a system reboot but the boot process is quick so it isn't really that much of an issue. The interface is pretty intuitive. I didn't look at the manual since I would have had to load the CD and open up the PDF file (doesn't come with a printed maual). The router shipped with the latest firmware so I haven't gone through the update process yet. Once you have the router configured, your are able to save the settings to a file that can be used for future recovery.
My only regret with this purchase is that I waited so long to upgrade my old SMC router. I'm not interested in the N functionality since I'm stuck with the Airport G card on my Powerbook. This is more expensive than the G protocol routers but the improved signal strength is worth the cost. The price is also more palatable considering the number of features that I haven't used yet (QoS, Port forwarding, etc.) I'd recommend Xtreme N to anyone hoping to improve signal strength issues. If you are serious about upgrading to the N protocol, you might want to wait a little longer to get a better read on when the standard will be established and to see if a firmware upgrade would bring the Xtreme N into compliance.
Customer Review: Setup was ok, works great
Summary: 5 Stars
My Netgear624 router, which had served me well for several years, finally decided it had handed out its last IP address. Since I had years of trouble-free service, I replaced it was a brand new Netgear624. This was a disaster. I finally put it out of its misery with a .357
I took a chance and bought the DLINK-655. I only use it for -g connectivity- none of my wireless nodes are -n, since I use wired connections for anything that I really need to be high speed.
The setup was a little hokey. Somehow or other DLINK managed to create an automatic router configurator which needs to be connected to the internet to work. I am sure it works great, but until my router is configured, I can't connect to the net...but at least it provided a good laugh.
My network is a little bit complicated. It has a 5 Windows XP compters, a Mac, a couple printers, a half-dozen NAS devices, a few SONOS boxes, network switches, subnets, a camera and an second wireless access point. It took only a few minutes to manually configure the router, and it seemed intuitive to work through the menus...although they are certainly organized differently than the Netgear interface I was used to. While I am an engineer by training, all of my network knowledge is self-taught, and I certainly don't consider myself an expert.
The router has been up about 12 weeks now, and has required exactly 1 reboot, and I think that was my ISP's fault. It has been rock solid, and I get good signal strength everywhere in my 2 story house, and about 100' out into the back yard.
The only flaws so far: The "list of attached devices" is really not a reliable source of info on what is connected, and the free Network Magic software that comes with the router seems pretty much useless, at least the free version. The manual also makes a big deal about adjusting the antennae, but it didn't seem to make much difference. It also seems to assign IP addresses "backwards", starting at .255 and going down. Not a problem, just one of those examples of creativity by some firmware designer that I could just as well do without.
Still, great product. Glad I bought it.
Update after 9 months:
Still running great. It probably "crashes" about once/month- where none of the laptops in the house can find its wireless signal...although it handles wired traffic just fine. Compared to other routers I have owned, this is great. It always boots up cleanly, doing all its IP address stuff with no fuss.
One caution-the range is longer than you might expect. My neighbors house is about 300 yards away from mine, and I can connect from their house-albeit with a low bandwidth. Make sure you have security enabled if you don't want to share.
I am of the "let sleeping dogs lie" school, so I have not updated its firmware.
Customer Review: "....Not the worst router I ever had......"
Summary: 2 Stars
Just wanted to share thoughts on my recent experience with the DLink Xtreme-N Gigabit wireless router.
This is the sixth router I have had to deal with at home the past few years, so I have had experience primarily with Netgear and Linksys wireless router products. Netgear was ok as far as user friendliness for set-up and performance; however, they seem to "burn-out" after 1.5 to 2 years. Linksys was more complex to set-up and seem to be prone to dropping connections; therefore, everyday performance was consistently unreliable.
Reason I bought the DLink DIR-655 was because...
1. Different vendor, different product features,
2. pre-N claims of more powerful and further distance,
3. my research gave me the feeling that DLink had somewhat better performance, support, reliability, and....
4. their marketing claims were matched by somewhat positive feedback and reviews by consumers.
My experiences...
1. Typical wireless set-up where I got confused by myriad of optional settings and configurations. Documentation was ok...but not easy for a home user to understand. Give it a "B-" for this initial step.
2. I got the installation to a point and needed to call DLink support. I must say the support person that helped was perfect. He spoke good english, had a good sense of humor, and guide me through the remaining installation/configuration process. Note: There was no way I could of gotten my DLink network up without the support person. Give it a "A" for this next step on my path to establish wifi in the house again.
3. DLink supplied "free trial" Network Magic software......forget it. It crashed both my sony Vaio laptops. They get a "F" for failure.
4. Maintenance. Because of the initial set-up issues, I am afraid to perform any maintenance as a firmware upgrade, enable other features, etc. DLink support told me not to upgrade firmware unless I have real problems. Huh? They just released version 1.10 firmware on 10/25/07 and my router is on 1.02. There is most likely benefits to upgrading; however, I am uncomfortable with tackling this at this time. Also don't want to agitate my wife! DLink gets a "C" for maintenance options.
5. Performance. I had a clunky Linysys router that I got free when I tried Vonage internet phone service. Quite honestly, it had drop outs, but at least the performance was consistent to all areas of our home. The DLink DIR-655 is all over the map performance wise. Some days I get two bars of strengh, sometimes four, but never five bars of performance. I even use the DLink Xtreme-N PCMCIA card adapter and still less than steller performance. Dlink gets a "C" for speed, distance, and overall performance.
All in all, I think I want to try a Belkin router next. Hope this helps everyone. DLink DIR-655 is a so-so.
Customer Review: Except for minor quirks, works great
Summary: 4 Stars
I originally replaced my 3 bridged Buffalo Technology Wireless-G High Power Router and Access Point with High Gain Antenna WHR-HP-G54 routers with 3 of Buffalo's Buffalo Technology Nfiniti Wireless-N Essential High Power Router & Access Point WHR-HP-G300N routers, since I was so happy with the WHR-HP-G54s. The new routers worked fine, except they absolutely refused to maintain a wireless bridge connection encrypted with WPA2/AES. It would work for a few minutes, then it would drop, and the client router would have to be power-cycled.
I returned those routers and replaced them with this one, plus two D-Link DAP-1522 Xtreme 4-Port GigaBit Selectable Dual Band Draft 802.11n N Duo Wireless Bridge/Access Points. They work great, and the signal strength, for whatever reason, is much better using these than I had with the Buffalos in the same place. It seemed silly to me to buy one router and two different devices that ONLY do bridging, but, since that's the setup I needed, I didn't care that much, as long as it worked, and as long as I could secure the wireless bridge with WPA2/AES.
My setup is working great - my main router is in an upstairs office in the middle of the house; one bridge is downstairs on the left side of the house; the other is upstairs at the other end of the house. There are just a few minor quirks that you should know about before getting this router:
1) If you're wanting to install DD-WRT, don't get this router. It apparently is not supported.
2) If using the built-in DHCP server, be aware that it will set your local domain to the domain that's provided to the router by your ISP, if you use DHCP to get your IP address. Even though there's a field to let you set your local domain for machines on your LAN that use DHCP, it apparently is always overridden if your ISP provides your router with a domain. This was annoying.
3) If using the built-in DHCP server, you can either enable "DNS Relay" which makes your LAN DHCP clients use the router as their DNS server, or you can disable it, which makes your LAN DHCP clients use the DNS servers from your ISP directly. There is no place to set a local DNS server you might have running for your local network.
While I found these things annoying, my network is small enough that it wasn't a big deal, just a little nuisance, to set my client machines to point to my local DNS server before the router. They otherwise work great, and the important thing to me was the secure bridge, so all in all, a router worth considering.