I was just on the phone with a friend, who couldn’t get his new D-Link router working. He was on the phone a few days ago too, concerning the same router. This time, he concluded – “Why are these things so unreliable??”
I had to fight back an instinctive urge to defend wireless technology, brought on by my techno-geek spine. It is actually true that wireless networking is less reliable and more difficult to set up than it should be. That goes for most wireless products I’ve tried. However, some are worse than others, and the D-Link my friend consulted me about wasn’t the router I recommended to him.
In fact, I recommended the Linksys Compact Wireless-G Broadband router. After reiterating my recommendation to my friend and commenting that D-Link is crap, I decided I should give the Are Wold Seal of Approval to the Linksys Compact Wireless-G Broadband router in the hope that more people will buy decent, high-quality networking products.
If you are looking for more specific reasons to get it, I’ll offer the following:
– Stable/reliable
– Reasonable cost
– Very small!
– Good range
STOP THE PRESS! Preliminary testing indicates that the Linksys does not pass the Torrent Test ™. The Torrent Test involves me and at least one other person maxing out our 3,5 Mbit connection with 3-6 bittorrent streams. So if you are torrenting heavily over a line that’s this fast, the Linksys might not be for you. I’m looking into this – our modem could also be the problem. (April 2., 2007)
The first one of these is actually the most important. I have used both Linksys and D-Link routers which have caused me a lot of pain because of unreliability. Sadly, you can’t reason that since one Linksys router is good, another will be decent too – that’s not how it works. However, this specific router is really the first one I’ve had no complaints with whatsoever. Well done, Linksys.
Norwegian readers can check the product page for the Linksys Compact Wireless-G Broadband Router at Komplett.no, which also includes some consumer reviews.
Are about everything 
January 9, 2007 at 10:43 am |
? I’ve set up both D-Link and Linksys wireless routers without any problems. The D-Links are known for being simple to configure, next to plug and play if you don’t want any security. I have a Linksys myself.
One tip, though: Don’t use the CD that comes with the router, it’s mostly crap. Use the web configuration.
January 9, 2007 at 11:49 am |
Well, I have personally used three D-Link wireless products, and have had problems with all of them. A couple of years ago I owned a 802.11b+ card and router from D-Link, and had problems with both, especially when enabling encryption. (And encryption is a pretty important feature – in my opinion all wireless routers should come with wireless enabled and WEP encryption on, with the WEP password stamped on the router itself.)
The last product is a D-Link GamerLounge “high performance” router, which I am using now. It is pretty solid, except that it can’t relay web-TV without making it choppy, which is quite a drawback, especially for a router touting QoS as a selling point…
In addition to my own D-Link issues, I know at least two other people who have run into problems with their D-Link routers.
The two 3Com products I have owned have also had issues. The OfficeConnect router started lagging me in games when I enabled encryption, and the OfficeConnect USB adapter has a tendency to drop out and back in, which I think is caused by problems in its construction.
I’m sure there are D-Link wireless products that DO work – I’m just not willing to sift through the stuff that is not working to find it.
Which D-Link models have you had happy moments with?
January 9, 2007 at 2:31 pm |
It’s probably just your negative aura influencing the D-Link products :P I guess you could take that as a sign for the lack of quality/robustness in the products (“my aura isn’t that strong” hehe).
I agree with you that encryption is important, but it doesn’t matter if the encryption is turned on or off from factory for a non-computer guy. All the people who don’t know the importance of encryption and how to turn it on wouldn’t (know how to) change the default encryption password anyway. I would go for WPA, though, not WEP, if I could.
At my parents house there’s a neighbour with an open wireless network without any encryptionm, which I use from time to time. They haven’t even changed the default administration password on the router, so it can easily be hijacked (until the physical reset button is pressed, of course, which they probably don’t know). But that’s just sad. I don’t know which neighbour, by the way.
I’ve been using two (I believe they were the same, at least similar) D-Link AirPlus G DI-524 Wireless Router. One here in Norway and one in Vietnam. No problems so far. I will be first to know when the one here in Norway breaks. I’ll keep you posted :)