| D-Link DI-524 Wireless 54 Mbps High Speed Router (802.11g) |
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Model: DI-524
Brand: D-Link
Manufacturer: D-Link
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 263
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
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| Features: |
Share your Internet connection with built-in 4-Port switch
Compatible with 802.11g and 802.11b networks
Advanced Firewall and Security Controls
Built-in 4-Port SwitchOperating range of up to 328 feet indoors, up to 1,312 feet outdoors
Quick and easy set-up |
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| Description: |
| D-Link AirPlus G 802.11g Wireless Router - The DI-524 from D-Link can handle all of your networking needs. Utilizing the built-in 4-port 10/100 Ethernet switch, you can wire your computers together in the standard fashion, or you can go wireless with 802.11g technology. Transferring data through the air at up to 54Mbps! The router and built-in firewall portion of the DI-524 allows for easy & safe broadband Internet sharing. Advanced Firewall Features - NAT with VPN Pass-through (Network Address Translation) MAC Filtering IP Filtering URL Filtering Domain Blocking Scheduling Dimensions - 5.6 (l) x 4.3 (w) x 1.2 (h) Weight - 7.8 oz. |
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| User Reviews (263 total): |
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The No Hassle Small Wonder, April 9, 2005
By user (Blue State)
This wireless router is so small. I pictured it would be bigger than it actually is. It takes up so little space and I like it.
Other than the physical attributes the software and hardware side seem to work very good as well. It wasn't hard to setup, as most people have found, and for me, the reliability of connections seemed to be just fine. I've been running this router for about two weeks or so now and I've never had to touch it since the first install. I use my PC a lot and would notice if I dropped from the Internet or network all together.
Since this is easy to use, reliable, and has such a small footprint on my desk I have to give it a 5 star rating. Not to mention the low low price. :) w00t!
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No cheap to be good, April 2, 2005
By user (San Francisco, CA)
I bought this router mainly because of a $40 rebate offered through Bestbuy. Since I got such a good deal...I wasn't expecting it to be the best router I could find. I was just looking for something simple to set up a small network in my apartment. It was easy enough to install, but the quality of the connection was terrible. It keep droping from the internet about every five minutes. I downloaded the upgrade from the support site, and still the same problem. This is definately an item that is priced too good to be true.
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Setup According to Plan, April 1, 2005
By user (It's a TRAP!)
First I should note that the setup was very easy to do. So easy in fact that when I was done I was sad there wasn't anything else to configure. I've always thought that setting up my own router would be a difficult task and I needed to know all about networking to get it done correctly. Well, apparently I don't *have* to. :)
Just follow the setup guide included in the package and you will be fine. I've heard that cable internet access is easier to configure than DSL, but I've never had DSL so I can't say yes or no.
After the initial setup I haven't done anything else to this router and it just keeps on working like it should. I haven't had any Internet hick-ups, or dropped/rebooting problems, and I definitely can say that this router does it's job very well.
Summary:
Setup was easy. duh.
You don't have to be a network guru to get this working.
It keeps working good for me, so I see no reason why it wouldn't for you.
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Very Good Product for the Money, March 31, 2005
By user (Atlanta, GA)
I have installed this router in my parents house and I have the model up from this one DI-624 and they are both very similar. This is like the DI-624 due to it's reliability and wireless coverage area. It is different in regards to it's max speeds (base speeds are the same) physical size, and cost.
I love my DI-624 and this DI-524 gives my parents zero problems. The setup wizard on this DI-524 is very straight forward and walk you through crucial steps rather nicely. I'd recommend it to all.
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Works for me (so far!), March 30, 2005
By user (Burlington, NC)
I just got this router today, and with a rebate it comes to $19.99. I plugged it in and followed the instructions, it worked immediately. We have 4 wired desktops (XP pro in 3 and W98 in 1) and 3 wireless laptops (2 with wireless built in Centrinos, b and g running XP Pro and Home, and 1 is a 3 yr old IBM Thinkpad with a Dlink Wireless G cardbus card running W2000). Everything worked after configuring as instructed and restarting. Hard to complain with 7 different networked devices all working at once! Now, time will tell if it holds up. I still have one more laptop to try, an old Toshiba Celeron 400 with a MS wireless card running W98.
Update 4/12/2005
Got the old Toshiba laptop on the network, no problems with that. But there was one computer with drop out problems, which were solved with the firmware upgrade: I have the C revision which had the 3.0 firmware, and now 3.02. Seems to have cured the dropout problems, and a throughput issue: seems much faster now too. I think it was worth the $19.99 after rebates!
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Five stars for Affordability to Performance Ratio, March 29, 2005
By user (the dog)
I couldn't believe how inexpensive this router was when I bought it. I intentionally kept the recipt away from the trash while I was setting this up in case it was rubbish. I've come to find out that I was wrong with my assumption.
This router is;
1) Easy on the bank account
2) Had a simple setup guide
3) Easy to setup
4) Easy to configure
5) Reliable in its function
6) Has been running perfect for 2 months
I have to compliment D-Link on thier achievement to provide good quality low price routers. In this day and age, everyone should have a router at home for security reasons, and wireless accessability is just a plus.
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Excellent little Router with Wireless, March 24, 2005
By user (Dantooine)
All-in-all this is a good router for it's price.
OK so some features are left out and it's not the fastest (108Mbps = DI-624) router D-Link makes, but it's just fine for most.
Let's face it, most people aren't avid wireless networking buffs who know how all this stuff works. But this router makes things a little easier to handle with its small price tag and simple to use inferface and the whole "set it and forget it" mentality.
Personally, I've setup a couple of these, they were for either family members or friends. All I have to do is update the firmware, set the basic features up and leave it that way. The only problems I've come across involving this router were with my parents. They said their internet "just wasn't working" so I had them reboot (unplug power, count to 10, plug power back in) their cable modem (provided by ISP) and the same to this router. tehy were back up and working in 3 minutes. The router handles everything automatically when it's rebooted. As most do.
Either way I've never had to replace any of these, nor have I heard complaints of wireless connections being dropped while in range.
I gave this 5 stars because from the few that I've actually installed I haven't had to see them again since. And that's a good sign for me. Thanks D-Link for the inexpensive, yet reliable router.
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Works Wonders, March 23, 2005
By user
I am just pleased this inexpensive router can handle all my WinMX transfers. It wasn't hard, thanks to the easy to navigate web based interface, to open certain ports so I could use WinMX properly. I have tried other P2P programs, but I find WinMX to be my favorite, and I've heard of other P2P programs not working correctly with some cable/DSL routers.
Everything else with this router works as it should. I didn't really put everything to the test, but the wireless works, my Internet connection is reliable, and I can use my WinMX. Everything is great on my end, and if you are like me, I think you will enjoy the simplicity of this D-Link router.
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Router was easy to setup and works great!, March 22, 2005
By user (Indiana, USA)
This router was very simple to set up. It basically walks you through the setup procedure with a setup wizard. This will take you to the settings that are necessary to change in order for it to perform its basic functions and be secure.
After that you can tweak the settings to your liking. It's very straight forward and if you want to see it for yourself go to D-Link's product page of this product, or other router, and look for the link labeled "EMULATOR" underneath the picture of the product itself. This is an emulator of the interface so that you can become familiar with it while you are waiting for your online order to arrive. This helped me whiz through my setup.
The wireless range of this covers my apartment well, and both wireless and internet have been more reliable since I bought this.
TIP: If the wireless signal/range isn't what you'd like it to be, try changing the channel the wireless network uses. Default is channel 6, so try 1, or 11 for best results.
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This Router is Inexpensive and Works!, March 22, 2005
By user (ATL)
That's right, I just wanted a wireless router that 1) worked and 2) didn't cost very much.
I found it! This D-Link router can do 54Mbps 802.11g support and the reliability/up time is perfect. I don't see any wireless signal drops, or internet connections dropping so I am very happy.
Setup was rather painless, and further configuration was simple once you figured out where to go within the router's configuration screens.
I'm pleased with this inexpensive purchase and would recommend D-Link, if not just this router, for ease of use and reliability.
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Wireless is the Way to Go!, March 22, 2005
By user (New York, NY)
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!
I'm on my couch surfing the Internet without any wires attached to my laptop. Just some blinky lights and the perfect seat. :)
I am so happy I bought this router. I've personally never tried wireless until now. My laptop had it built in, but I never had an access point to connect to. Well this D-Link router can handle it, and it handles it well.
At first I was hesitent about wireless all together, but now that I read up on it a bit, and learned what I needed to know to secure my wireless and getting running best I did it. And thanks to this little D-Link router I was able to do it with no fuss.
Plug it in like the quick install guide says, go to the right IP address, go through the setup wizard and off you go! I was connected to the Internet and tested it on my desktop and it worked. Then I went straight to the laptop and configured the wireless settings to the right SSID and WEP code, and viola!
I'm now on the couch surfing my favorite sites while I half pay attention to the TV. This is great! I never have to leave the couch again. Except for the bathroom, and even then I can bring my wireless laptop with me. :D Thanks D-Link!
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No complaints here. This router works just fine for me., March 17, 2005
By user (San Francisco, CA United States)
I was very apprehensive about buying this router because of all the negative reviews. However, I couldn't resist the tempting price tag and decided to take a risk.
Setting it up was a cinch, and so far it's worked liked a charm. I purposely waited for a month before posting this review to make sure that it does not crap out on me. No problems here so far. I would give it 5 stars, but the router's build quality, along with many of dlinks products, does feel a bit cheap. My previous dlink router got stepped on by my fat sister and stopped working. I'm keeping this one away from her foot steps this time around.
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Bad product, do not try, March 15, 2005
By user (Dallas, TX)
[...]
As a regular user, I tried all possible solutions such as moving closer, tried three different brands of wireless adaptors, choose all kinds of different configurations, so on and so forth.
As an experienced computer engineer, I tried different firmware, tried to use network strumbler,tried linux, and more.
Nothing can prevent this router from crash. You can literally tell the router automatically reboot by just looking at the light leds on the front panel. It blinks for 40-50 seconds, and whennever the traffic through the router goes a little bit higher, all leds lighted up staticly and then all shutdown. There you go, re-----booooot!
Someone may say, you get what you paid for. Yes it is CHEAP. but for this product, I would rather pay NOTHING. I won't bother to call the customer service, they could not be more proficient than me. I would not waste more time on this product, otherwise, I would ask D-link paying me for all the time I spent to disgnose this crap.
So, DO NOT BUY! And if you happened read this, and you do agree, please try to click the LINK stating that you think this comment is useful. So that no more victims would suffer as I did in the past few days.
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It was cheap and it shows, March 11, 2005
By user (San Diego, CA)
Well, I guess I got what I paid for. When I first got it, it didn't work AT ALL until I downloaded the v.1.05 firmware update. But now, it's still pretty wishy-washy. My connection gets dropped a lot and that's pretty annoying. I've been having problems with the MAC filtering especially. I'm basically just waiting for the next firmware update that will hopefully fix a lot of the problems. I'm not holding my breath though.
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Pretty Cool stuff, March 8, 2005
By user (Milwaukee)
I just bought this a month back along with a USB wireless device. Both work fine. The wireless router was pretty easy to install. The connection is great, although sometimes the link strength reads ~50% but I havent seen a drop in performance. Overall I am pretty happy with this.
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FIRMWARE NIGHTMARE, March 4, 2005
By user
DON'T DO IT!!!!! Current firmware 1.05 is flawed notorious for disconects......waiting for new release....
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piece of junk, February 21, 2005
By user (Tennessee)
Even when it was working it would drop the signal every 30 minutes. However, just over a year of having it, it suddenly stopped working. No power at all. Call customer support - tough luck it was over the one year warranty. You get what you pay for. Stay away from this piece of junk.
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Nice little box, February 13, 2005
By user (San Luis Obispo, California)
First of all, setting up a secure wireless network with encryption, connected to a wired network through a cable/dsl modem, and enabling filesharing without security holes, is not easy. This is a relatively new market, people, and this stuff is just not plug-and-play. If it is, then you probably have some major security holes. 90% of all wireless networks in the U.S. are wide open (that means most of you). I bought this router and set it up for my parents, and changed a lot of features. If you know what you're doing, you'll have no problem. If you're willing to spend some time following the wizard and possibly talking to a friend or tech support, you'll have no problem. If you want instant wireless connectivity right out of the box, frankly, you have a pipe dream. Your internet connection and personal computer are likely to be compromised in less than a week.
Tips for wireless security:
- Disable SSID broadcasting
- Enable WPA/TKIP pre-shared key (NOT WEP, which easily is crackable)
- Filter wireless access by MAC
- Change router's IP to nonstandard address
- There's more than this, but these are the basics. Read up on the internet.
The D-Link is a good router with nice features (reserved DHCP is something Linksys doesn't have unless you mod the firmware), it's small, and it looks nice. The hardware is a dime a dozen; there's nothing wrong with this router! If you want alternate firmware and a Linux shell, this is not the model for you. If you want a small, compact, cheap, nice-loooking wireless router, don't hesitate to buy it. Just know that you're going to have to spend a little time with it, just as you would with any other model.
By the way, the Broadcom chip (108 mbps SpeedBurst) is overrated for internet use. 95% of all users will not need the higher model than this, especially when your internet connection is is <3 mbps!
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Great product from Dlink again for a happy DI-614+ user, February 7, 2005
By user (Chicago, IL)
I decided to upgrade my DI-614+ (which works great!) to this model so I can have 802.11g support. Some of negative reviews got me to think twice but they all proved to be non-existence for me. Maybe I got used to the user interface form DI-614+. I have no issue what so ever on setting up the box. I took precaution to reboot my cable modem after I plugged in the box. This thing supports UPnP as well, which is a must for xbox and MSN messenger (if you need voice, video, and application sharing). My only advice to people is read the quick setup (mostly illustrated instructions) and get the latest firmware.
My only wish is for DLink to provide porting of some configuration parameters among different boxes for easy upgrade. I had to manually configure all my static DHCP, filtering, and firewall customizaiton.
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You get what you paid for, February 5, 2005
By user (L.A., CA)
I bought this at 2:00pm, returned it the same day. I didn't have any problems when i hooked it up. It wasn't until when i ran the wizard to enable the encryption that i started having problems. My internet connection was disconnected. I tried read the manual but had very little info. This item is not plug and play. Look elsewhere, even if you have to spend a little more.
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