Home > Consumer Reviews > D-Link Wireless N Router, 4-Port 10/100 Switch, 2 Antennas, Draft 802.11n

This is a very good router, but I had issues during setup. I have Qwest DSL and the DIR-615 wizard setup couldn't auto-configure the router to provide internet service.

Most routers use an intranet address in the range of 192.168.x.x and then devices connected to the router are assigned within that ip range. I finally manually played with the settings and still couldn't get it to work. Frustrated, I called Qwest thinking the problem was with the DNS values. That assumption was incorrect and generally Qwest DSL requires no tweaking at the router level. Qwest DSL tech support was great. They said it was a setup issue with the router and called Dlink's tech team on a Sunday morning and we had a 3-way call. Dlink's technician had me fixed up in 3 minutes.

Here's what worked for me. Under the router's 'network settings' we set the router IP address to 172.16.0.1 and the subnet mask to 255.255.0.0. If not checked, enable "DHCP Server". Under 'Wireless' set the Channel to 11 and the Mode to "Mixed" to support 802.11b,g,n. I set security to WPA-Personal. Be sure to save the configuration and this will cause the router to reboot. If things don't work immediately, unplug the modem to cold-start the system, wait a minute and finally plug in the router.

Contrary to what someone wrote in a review, this router does indeed support wireless-N devices in a mixed environement and does not downstep to G for the whole network.

Remember, you can't setup the router via wireless. You have to use an ethernet cable from your pc to port #1 on the router. Another cable runs from the router Internet port to the dsl modem.

Before calling tech support, first confirm that the modem is working. Run a cable from the pc to the modem and confirm you can browse the Internet. With the modem eliminated as an issue, the tech people can quickly help you configure the router. I'm using Vista and the setup process did not require any Windows firewall changes so keep the firewall 'On'.

I may be wrong but here's what I think the core setup problem was for me. The Qwest DSL modem uses a DHCP Default Gateway of 192.168.0.1. This is the same IP the Dlink router attempts to use as its address. Thus you end up with an IP addresss conflict since both can't use the same address. The Dlink technician changed the router address to a different subnet in 172.16.x.x and eliminated the conflict.

This is an attractive router. I found it easy to set up, it has up-to-date security features and works well (except for the 802.11N issue)

My problem with this router is that if you have any 802.11G devices in your network, then the network will run at G speeds, period (says customer support.) I have one network device that is 802.11G and non-upgradeable. I bought this router with a DLink 802.11N PCMCIA card to get my laptop running at 802.11N, however, the router will not talk N to the card in the laptop, because I have a G device on my network. Thus, while the router is now doing a fine job as an 802.11G router, I might as well throw the PCMCIA card away.

DLink's web site says of the DIR-615 router that "Not only does D-Link's Wireless N technology extend your wireless range, it also works with your existing 802.11g wireless devices." It would be nice if DLink fessed up that mixed-mode doesnt work as expected. That factoid is hidden in a FAQ on the page for the PCMCIA card. I had to call customer support to learn this. They say there are no plans to upgrade the firmware to truely support mixed mode environments.

Until 2-3 weeks ago, I was very frustrated with this router. I purchased it from a retail store in June after my previous DLink (624) had completely failed. From that point on, I'd suffered from continuous connectivity loss. Our connection to DSL would stay up for 5 minutes - to 3 days (MAX). On a daily basis, I was restarting the DSL modem or router or both. I'd gotten to the point of purchasing my another modem (ISP wouldn't help from their side) just to prove the DSL modem. Finally, I called DLink customer support and was told of the firmware update 1.1 [...].

Installing this firmware update (for rev A routers only) has completely cleared my issues. Now the router performs as it should have the entire time. One bounce that cleared on its own since the firmware upgrade. Please do yourself the favor of upgrading ASAP upon use of this router!

Of course, it sure would have been nice to have this severity of quirkiness ironed out before final product distribution, but...

I don't like to bash a product, but this D-Link DIR-615 is a piece of junk. I have been setting up around 20 wireless routers in my lifetime. I know Windows and Linux networking and have been setting up DHCP servers myself. This DIR-615 router was easy to set up and it worked flawless for 5 weeks. First I thought people bashing the product just didn't know what they were talking about and/or not "smart" enough to configure a router. That's what I get for my arrogance.

I ran into similar problems like the rest, most likely firmware related. Unfortunately, my problems are so bad, that the DLI-615 router from D-Link died without a chance to reset it to factory settings.

Without even touching the thing, the router stopped responding one day. I went through my regular trouble shooting. Check the Internet connection, bypass the router directly to the modem and so on. I figured that the Router did not assign IP addresses anymore. Wired or Wireless. Same problem. No IP-Address and no access to the Router configuration. So I thought that something screwed up the configuration and I went to reset the system. This must be the first Router which CANNOT BE RESETED to factory settings. The router is not responding anymore (even that the light indicates he picks up an Internet signal) and is useless.

Again: In certain circumstances, this DLI-615 Router from D-Link cannot be reseted to factory settings. This means that if you are as unlucky as I was today, the router becomes useless without the chance of ever using again. Reading on message boards, other people have the same problem.

Forget their Customer Hotline. It's a joke.

Heck, I don't even feel better after writing this review. Just do me a favor and don't buy it. I refrain myself from buying any D-LINK product for a LONG time.

I'm writing this review to help dispel the myths about this router. I read many bad reviews for this router after I ordered it. I got really anxious and started getting buyer's remorse, before I even had it in my hands. I received the DIR-615 today and immediately hooked it up, I transfered all the cables from my D-Link 'b' wireless router. I restarted my Time Warner Cable Modem and my Mac G4 computer. Everything worked fine. I checked the wi-fi connection to my iMac, which worked perfect, after I changed the network selection on the iMac. I then took my Titanium G4 Powermac to the second floor (the DIR-615 is setup in the basement). I got perfect reception 2 flights up. After checking all Wi-Fi functionality, I upgraded the firmware, from ver. 2.2 to 2.4 via D-Link's web site, all is well. no problems.