Is D-Link Crap?

No well, could be maybe, yes i dunno

interesting question, Dan, let me take it under advisement.

my people will get back with your people

well lets see, I am using a dlink 624 router and a dlink wireless card to type this message

D-Link is great. I have it and have installed two other wireless networks with it. It works period.

if you have service pack 2 on xp, easy solution i had the some problem where live at. conrtol panel--->network and internet conmnections--->network connections--->right click your wireless network connetion your useing then select properties----go to wireless network tab in the top middle. select your router name and clikc move up button till it's the top of the list if not already. then selsct the other ones and hit the properties button. in connections tab uncheck Connect when this network is in range. also if you are able to get on there network then you may be able to get on there router and turn off the ssid so it won broadcast the signal for the router. you should do the same if you havent, change the default password and make it complex like myr0ut$r1s(ool*!.

Good for you. I find it easier to use my fingers and thumbs.

Really? I favor a keyboard, myself.

Its good. I am using DI-714P+ with print server.

More power to you. I have the exact same unit. It was flakey as hell, and I went back and forth multiple times with D-Link Tech Support. In desperation I went to the same store and bought a DI-614 to prove to myself -- and despite their best efforts to them -- that the RF part of the 714P was t*ts-up. Grudgingly, someone with the email address snipped-for-privacy@dlink.com issued me a RMA and made me fill out some forms. I tried emailing MaCarlos back and the address didn't work. I emailed tech support and they ignored me. The 714P is sitting in a box with the RMA filled out awaiting the cross-shipment.

The 614 is still working.

Bottom line: SOME of d-link's units are crap. Some aren't. So you cannot say with 100% certainty that D-link PRODUCTS are crap.

If you get one that's crap, or if you can't get it to work, you'll be exposed to Tech Support. And THAT is where you are most likely to find the crap.

Their wireless stuff is crap (at least the DI-514 is) The wired switches seem to be OK, but I would never buy *any* of their routers again, wired or wireless. HTH :-)

Bob

No, it's crud. According to Sturgeon's Law, 90% of everything is crud. However, the crud is traditionally replaced with crap. See:

DLink has some really bad products and some really good ones. They buy from Chinese, Korean, and Taiwan vendors, so you'll see wide variations in quality. Linksys, SMC and Netgear have the same problems (and to the same degree). Even mutations of the same product name, usually from different vendors, tend to be widely variable. You want cheap, that's what you'll get.

If you don't like crap, crud, or Dlink, I suggest a more expensive replacement such as Proxim, Cisco, Sonicwall, Alvirion, YDI, Entrasys, etc.

But they are a crapshoot?

Everyone has one...

IMHO they make what are advertised as wonderful products, but their tech support (if you do have a problem) is abysmal, and I've had a real D-Link nightmare with thier DWL-800AP, which didn't come anywhere near functioning, much less repeating. They won't take product back, even if it doesn't do what their advertising literature says it does.

Grrrr.....

Varies.

I have three 2100AP 802.11g access points that just ... don't ... work in bridging mode. Even as plain old access points, they're unreliable. Logging into the web interface is buggy, because whether I'm connecting wirelessly or over ethernet, they frequently won't respond. Even pinging them over ethernet from across the room results in packet loss around 10-20%. They absolutely, positively, suck.

OTOH, we've got about a dozen DWL-650G+ 802.11g PC cards, and they're some of the best performing client cards we have. Good range, and trouble free. (And when connecting to our 3Com 7250 OfficeConnect AP, they do better than the 3Com OfficeConnect client cards.)

Go figure.

Just Me, D

On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 23:21:33 GMT, Jeff Liebermann

I found D-Link products to be excellent but customer sevice to be crap (took them 2 months to replace a faulty AP)

I have just implemented a wireless network and in the end we went for Proxim AP's @ 500 pounds per AP - where as the D-Link ones were @ 70 pounds.

then again for 500 pounds I expect one hell of a after sales service.

What's crappy about it, exactly? I'm using three Dlink 650 pc cards in my laptops with a DI-514 router and it's working fine. I had to call tech support to work out an issue with the modem SBC sent me (I had to change it to bridge mode) and they got me through it with minor glitches (the phone kept disconnecting). But this is my first attempt at setting up a wi-fi network, so I could be missing something. Emanuel

I don't remember all the details. Below is the correspondence I had with them several months ago. I still have the router; it wasn't worth the trouble to return it -- I woulda returned it in a heartbeat if I had bought it locally rather than from Tiger Direct. It looked like Tiger's policy was that I would have to pay shipping, and I could only get a replacement and not a full refund, and I suspected that the entire DI-514 product line was defective rather than just the one I bought.

Bob

• * * * * * * * * * * *

Dear xxxxxx xxxxx,

Your Case ID is xxxxxxxxxxx.

[Critical: Please do not change the subject line of your email when you reply. Leaving the subject line as it is will allow us to review your complete history and help us to better serve you.]

Date of Reply: 7/17/2004 8:00:46 PM

Products: DI-514 Operating System: Windows 2000

Based on the description of the problem you provided in your e-mail, it sounds like the unit may be defective. If the return period specified by the point of purchase has not expired, then you must return the product to the point of purchase for an exchange or refund. Otherwise, you must contact Technical Support.

Toll free Technical Support is available at 877-45D-LINK (877-453-5465). Technical Support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please give Technical Support the number in the subject line of this e-mail for reference purposes.

Phone: (800) xxx-xxxx Ext. xxxx

RMA Web Site:

Fax: (xxx) xxx-xxxx

Status:

RMA Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday, 6 AM to 6 PM Pacific Standard Time.

Should you require further assistance with your D-Link products, please reply to this message, or call toll free at 877-453-5465. Thank you for networking with D-Link.

Sincerely, xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx D-Link Technical Support Team ============Begin of Original Message ============

I just bought this, and I've spent hours trying to set it up. It won't even work reliably as a wired router -- it keeps dropping from the WAN, or just locking up. I plug my old Linksys router back in and power-cycle everything and it works. I put the D-Link back, power off/on, and it might work or might not. If it works, it won't work for very long. When using the D-Link, I can't see local network. I've disabled ZoneAlarm, just in case it was blocking stuff, and that didn't help.

I did get the wireless part to work intermittantly. The signal strength is nearly 100%, but I can only connect at 1 or 2 Mbps, and then the throughput is actually a lot slower than that. Then it locks up. I did a throughput test at

and I was getting

29Kbps wireless and 500Kbps wired. My linksys router gives over 2Mbps thoughput.

I upgraded the firmware; that maybe helped a little, but it still locks up, or I get DNS errors and can't connect to anything.

BTW, there are no 2.4Ghz cordless phones in the house, just 900 MHz. There is no interference from any other wireless networks.

I'm seriously ready to throw this away and never buy another D-link product. I need an RMA number from you before I try to return it to TigerDirect.com where I bought it. Their return policy doesn't look very promising, so I probably really will end up throwing this router in the garbage.

Regards, Bob

============End of Original Message ============

Bingo.