D-Link DIR-815 Wireless N Dual Band Router

We say 'should', because the D-Link DIR-815 Wireless N Dual Band Router is brand new. The review sample we had came with warnings of potential glitches, but in the event we experienced none. Our main grumble was the lack of UK adaptor plug, but D-Link will ship the DIR-815 with the necessary three-pin plug to customers.

We were very impressed with nearly everything the DIR-815 Wireless N Dual Band Router has to offer. It has an expansive feature set and checklists every next-generation wireless specifiation you can get your hands on. It's also easy to install and is relatively use thanks to D-Link's simple interface.

D-Link hasn't yet confirmed a UK retail price yet but we expect it to ship for under £109 here. On the basis of its features, ease of use and value the D-Link DIR-815 Wireless N Dual Band Router earns a Recommended badge. However, there are detractions such as the scant two-year warranty and lack of Mac support. Thankfully for those in Windows-only network environments, the performance is a winner.

The D-Link DIR-815 Wireless N Dual Band Router is very small for such a powerful little box. It comes with an all-back gloss finish and feels very robust. Round the front are simple LED lights that tell users if the kit is functioning. Round the back are four Ethernet ports and a WLAN port but there's no USB to hook up an external storage drive. D-Link includes two external antennae that support dual-band 11.n and can transmit over 5GHz as well. These are adjustable, making it much easier to get the best reception. It also supports every Wi-Fi standard from a to n to is fully compatible with all wireless kit.

It supports WPA2 and QOS so can prioritise your network traffic. What it is missing though is WPA support so the D-Link DIR-815 Wireless N Dual Band Router won't automatically process your IP information over an encrypted signal.

As this was a test unit, we didn't have a CD to set up and install so we had to rely on the web-admin interface. D-Link usually supplies easy to install CDs with onscreen prompts.

We tested the 11.g and 11.n performance of the D-Link DIR-815 Wireless N Dual Band Router and it got good results. 11.g took 4min 21 seconds to copy 700MB from the  closest distance but did have a little drop off at 5min 15 secs two walls away. 11.n managed a speedy  62 seconds at the nearest point and did 1 minute and 36 seconds two walls away.

 

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