D-Link DI-624 Wireless Cable/DSL Router, 4-Port Switch, 802.11g, 108Mbps

I read reviews and decided to get this system with the D-link DWL-G650. I held my breath when I started setting it up. I was waiting for the minute when I would realize that I would need to call customer support. That didn't happen. This system did almost set itself up. I have a 2.4GHz phone and it doesn't seem to effect the range. I live in a brick house and I just went outside in my driveway, on the other side of house from where my wireless router is set up and I was getting almost 100% full signal strength. The online interface is very easy to use and the instructions are easy to follow. I did upgrade the firmware before I set up any of the hardware and the 108Mbps system is up and running. I can't say if this system will work tomorrow, but today I am very suprised at how it works.


Works perfectly   August 20, 2004
Milos Eric (Belgrade, Serbia)
68 out of 75 found this review helpful

Compatibility issues are always present and, depending on hardware you already have, there is a chance that any given router will not work for you. That said, I had a chance to test my DI-624 on four networks (both LAN/Ethernet and Wireless B/G) and it worked perfectly. Cable modems I've used were Motorola, Cisco and Netgear.

I know D-Link's tech support is somewhat sketchy in the US, but I don't think this is a product you'd need support on. It self-explanatory, really. You can access it's configuration interface from any PC that's connected to one of it's four LAN ports via Internet browser on 192.168.0.1. However, there's only wireless SSID and optional password to set, everything else in plug and play. Unless you want to customize firewall, DHCP and things like that. Actually, there's a demo of this interface on manufacturer's site so you can check it out yourselves.

Using DI-624 in a home network with 3 "wired" PCs and 2 wireless notebooks has been a trouble free experience. Suddenly, all 5 PCs were connected to the Internet and were in LAN. It's range is superb - I can connect to it from the parking, which is some 300ft from my builing, and router is on the 5th floor, behind a reinforced concrete wall. Of course, inside the apartment itself, reception is always perfect. I just had to set password, though, so I wouldn't provide free wireless Internet to entire building.


Great router, online in under 10 minutes   March 19, 2004
R. Reuben (San Francisco Bay Area, CA United States)
24 out of 26 found this review helpful

This router is my first wireless one ever and I am very pleased with the purchase. After a lot of research, I decided on the D-Link. I have read that LinkSys routers set the standard for ease of use, but I cannot really imagine how much easier installation and setup can get! Honestly, I had the router setup in under 10 minutes with my laptop connected to my cable modem and accessing the internet via the router's LAN port (i.e. ethernet cable). The router sports some nice firewall features. I was not too impressed with the online help however. Several options that the router offers for configuration were not described in the online help (stored in router firmware). The D-Link support site has decent information, perhaps enough for you to get most problems taken care of. However, I had an issue when using the D-Link DWL-G650 card with WAP security which after about 6 hours of frustration got resolved in about 5 minutes with a phone call to customer service. Anyway, this was no fault of the router itself since the blame lies on the outdated driver D-Link ships with the PC card. I use AT&T VPN solution to access my office network and the router works just fine. The DHCP server came up just fine and my machines were happily on the network via wires.
Pros:
- easy to setup
- good security features
- D-Link website has pretty good cust service info
- IPSEC VPN passthrough worked without any issues
Cons:
- online help included in firmware not the best
- Several advanced options of firewall etc not very well documented (ie. not that easy to use for those inexperience with advanced security settings)
Overall, I'd give this router a 4.5 stars and would definitely consider it a good buy for both the novice as well as experienced computer users.


superbly designed and executed product   April 19, 2003
19 out of 20 found this review helpful

The Dlink DI-624 router/wireless AP is working great. I bought this when I bought a new Mac w/ Airport Extreme (802.11g)... It plays very friendly w/ both Macs and PCs, and Dlink is on the few companies out there who specifically advertises that they support mac (I know they all do since it's not software specific, but it's nice for them to at least give effort!!)

The Router is very good... it was setup w/ my cable modem in moments, with a few more minutes of looking around (didn't touch a manual except to learn the default login procedure) I was able to have the router configured to my specific private IP address range (this was replacing another unit, so I wanted to keep everything the same). I was also able to setup the unit to email me logs of renewals/connections (just to be sure my neighbors aren't using it!)

The wireless has been flawless so far... the speed is quick, while I haven't done any exact measurements, I can say that's it's a big boost over 802.11b from what I've seen so far.

The range has been great too... the unit is setup in the utility room of my basement, the room where my laptop is most often used is also in the basement... but I'm able to go the top level and still have connection... looking forward to nicer weather so I can go outside with it!

It's much bigger (physically) then I expected... but it's on a shelf next to my furnace so what do I care... but if you're going to have this sitting on your desk or shelf, keep the size in mind.


From a knowledgeable consumer   October 21, 2003
rbr28 (Bloomington, IN USA)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

I'm a systems administrator and have years of experience working with networking equipment, and this is one of the best, if not the best product in it's category. I have always been happy with D-Link products but I was a bit skeptical with this one because of the mixed reviews. I took a chance and I definitely was surprised, as this product is even better than any of the other previous D-Link products I have used. Where can I begin...first of all make sure you get rev. C, not A or B. I have a lot of networking knowledge, but most people who would consider this product could at least have an internet connection with it in a few minutes. Despite it's simple easy to use setup interface, the features are unmatched in any product in it's class. D-Link is always good about releasing significant firmware updates and this prodcut is no exception. Everything you read in reviews about this product, that users complain about, has been fixed with future firmware revisions. For example, they added MAC reservations, they added an option for 802.11G only mode, they now have 108Mb/s support (although you need their network card for this). etc. I can't go into detail in this space about the excellent features, but let me say that I have a very sophisticated home network and this is the only home router that does the job for me. Multiple VPN connections, using PTP or IPSEC work great on this thing, WITHOUT turning off the firewall (read the fineprint with other products). The product does port redirection not just port forwarding (again look at similar products). This product is also very useful if you are looking for a product that can help limit what your kids can do. More features for restricting Internet Access than any home router I have seen. Oh, and range is excellent I get 54Mb/s anywhere in my 3 bedroom house, and I get good signal strength all the way out to our street (and beyond) at about 5.5Mb/s. Mixed 802.11b and 802.11g clients also work very well, contrary to what some others have said. Anyway, I have had no problems with this product whatsoever, and it's one of the best pieces of networking equipment I have ever used.