It has everything you might hate about a wireless router in one nice little package. The radio chip is probably one of the awful ones that D-Link always uses that likes to reset itself constantly so your links are always dropping too.
Also, if you do buy it make sure you update the firmware as soon as you get it. This is one of the models that can (and will) be turned into a botnet zombie about 2 minutes after it is connected to the internet.
@jandrese I actually don't think there's a fix for it. According to the link, the firmware updates addressing the issue were released at the earliest in March 2015, but the latest firmware update for the DIR-808L is 12/19/13. Actually, it's probably even a little older than that. If you look at the release notes for the most current firmware version, its dated 11/11/2013
@mike808 ... What, only two thumbs up? Steve Martin couldn't have done any better.. Just for the small reviews, take that mike808.. Wow, that's better, it went up 3 while I was posting (was forced to edit)..
If you're going to do what the writeup says and use this for extra Wi-Fi, set up any routers you plan to use like this as makeshift access points. Log into the new router, give it a local ip address that is within your existing network, turn off DHCP, and then plug the Ethernet cable from your existing network into one of the four LAN ports instead of the WAN port on the router. This way you don't actually have multiple routers throwing up roadblocks in your home network.
@djslack I wish I knew how to do that. I was lost after the first sentence. Is there instructions that can walk me through the process. My internet is really slow 1,500 feet from the main one.
@Tom The original Almond is 1-band, 10/100, a regular wifi router, no security features, ZigBee home automation, has a touch screen interface. The Almond3 w/ ac/dual-band and Gbit ports, is $120. The Homescreen is similar to the Almond+, but at the price of the old Almond ($80).
The OnHub requires a google account to manage (duh), they /just/ added guest network to the firmware (Feb 24, 2016), and runs about $200. If you need more for coverage, or extending, they're $200 each. OnHub also has no LAN ports. You need a hub/switch.
Of them all, only Luma seems to have security first and foremost - as in automatically detecting old kit/gear (webcams, printers, and the like) and actively firewalls them from the outside, but also profiles/fingerprints your devices to firewall them to only allow legit traffic - so your home automation devices can't become torrent servers all of a sudden. Will have Guest mode, device subnetting and automatic mesh - meaning buy another one for $99, hook it up and it autoconfigures as an extender.
I'm the most hopeful of these new devices to actually /protect/ your home network inside and out by default and not require a Cisco cert or fiddle with iptables and such. It's ease of use in a home setting (like the others you noted) /plus/ security. Parental controls, guest networking like free wifi (unique passwords), not just anyone that knows your SSID and password. New home devices need approval and get scanned before being allowed on home your network. Just like the big boys.
That's why I'm looking forward to checking out the Lumas.
@mike808 I appreciate the tip, but I don't think spending an extra $90 to $390 for a router that I'm going to treat like a dumb isolated network is worthwhile.
Does anyone know if this router has a "client bridge" mode.... to add wired devices to a 5Ghz wifi network? (it's very hard to run cat5 to my TV, and the 2Ghz wifi is very slow). Sometimes such use is called a "game adapter"
Though it does remind me of my technophile professor who had his house built from scratch, wired it up with all sorts of different wires, and even set up set up a system so he could run the next generation of wires all through the house without calling in a contractor. Then WiFi came along...
@simplersimon Wifi is nice, but it seldom is as good as a wired connection. I would still wire a house with cat 6 and maybe conduit to some places (like the TV)
Wire has lower latency and is full duplex. And we don't have reliable gigabit WiFi yet. (And 10GigE is already available too. Consumer devices don't support it yet, but you can have it if you throw enough money at it.)
Use wire on everything that supports it where it makes sense (even laptops if you use them in the same locations consistently) and use WiFi for everything else.
@rmeden especially when having your own home built. No brainer. Even if you have to come in off construction-hours and add it yourself prior to the walls being closed in.
Might be the difference in selling your home in the future to a geek who is otherwise on the fence between your home and another.
What do I want to say? I'll tell you what I want to say. I want this D-Link model # DIR-808L to be compatible with OpenWrt. But Noooooooooooo, it isn't, so I don't have an excuse to waste my hard earned greenbacks. Now, I ask you, is that fair? Must I drowned my sorrow in yet another half-calf cinnamon frappuccino soy latte?
Some of you may be wondering how to use this wonderful device to extend the range of an existing network, as the writeup helpfully suggests.
Since the instructions are going to be slightly different for every router's web interface, I took a look at the manual. Kudos to D-Link for anticipating this. Check out page 10 for a fairly detailed Connect to an Existing Router.
Some additional notes: 1. You will need to know some crucial details about your current network, which you can see by typing ipconfig /all in cmd.exe in Windows or ifconfig -a in a terminal on most other systems. This will show your computer's current IP address and subnet mask as two groups of four numbers, separated by dots, such as 192.168.1.101 and 255.255.255.0. The subnet mask tells you how many addresses are usable on the network. It is almost always 255.255.255.0, which means addresses from x.x.x.1 to x.x.x.254 may be available on your network. You will want to choose an IP address in this range for the D-Link. So if your computer's IP address is, say 192.168.101, you could try giving the D-Link 192.168.1.200, which is a nice high number. 2. For each device, you should assign a unique IP address which is not already in use. One of them is already used by your existing router (typically ending in .1 or .254) and one or more will be in use by other devices. If you assigned 192.168.1.200 in the previous example and are setting up a second device, the next one could be 192.168.1.201. Make sure the address is not in use with (for example) ping 192.168.201, which should say "unknown host" or "destination host unreachable" after a few seconds. 3. When setting this up, don't plug in the WAN port of the router. This allows you to bypass the actual routing function of the device, since we only want it to carry traffic between the wireless network and wired LAN ports. This is known as an access point. 4. If you want to replace your existing router, you can also buy more than one of these and set one up as a normal router and the rest as access points. 5. If you live in an area with a lot of WiFi networks and your existing network is slow, make sure interference isn't a big factor. Take a look at how busy the airwaves are with an "WiFi analyzer" smartphone app. Setting up two of these might just make the interference worse rather than helping.
@trisk or get mesh wifi routers like Luma, Eero, Chime, and if you dont care about security, Ubiquiti and friends. They take care of all that subnet, bridge mode, channel selection, etc. techno-babble.
my parents have got a really basic Time Warner internet-only plan going on. they supplied them with a router/modem combo unit. the speed isn't much but they honestly don't need it.
the one spot where they get screwed is the rental cost of said unit. my father asked if there were a way around this. being that i have a new, in-the-box cable modem on hand, do you think the combination of this router here on sale and the modem would create a decent, basic network? i cannot remember the model number but i am certain it's a docsis 3-compatible modem.
i mean tho only $14 is on the line here so if it's not suitable i'll do something else with it :)
@newdave61 thanks for the link. the list TW provides on their site of compatible modems is depressingly short, to the point where i don't even believe it. i went in for a router. going to try it soon.
@NAFderwin The actual modem might well be compatible, but TW doesn't list it because - well, it's not in their interest to tell you EVERYTHING. My attitude is to give everything a try, and look for online discussions on the topic. Ease into the world of hacking...
@OldCatLady if there's one thing i know, especially about large corporations, is that they don't like fixing/repairing/DIY/anything that would let you avoid paying them more.
I spent a lot of money for an expensive D-Link "gaming router" that never worked well and frequently rebooted. I'll never buy a D-Link router again. I'm having much better luck with Asus routers.
Specs
Condition: New
Warranty: 1 Year D-Link
Estimated Delivery: 3/21 - 3/23
Shipping: $5 or free with VMP
What’s in the Box?
1x Wireless AC600 Dual Band Cloud Router (DIR-808L)
1x Ethernet Cable
1x Power Adapter
1x Quick Install Guide
Pictures
Retail box
The router
Everything included
Front view
Desert wifi
“Fun shot” image from Irish Typepad and prilfish used under Creative Commons License
Price Comparison
$49.99 List, $23 at Amazon (10 reviews, fulfilled by Amazon)
$49.99 at Amazon (sold by Amazon)
Find a relevant price comparison? Please share it in a comment in this thread
Warranty
90 days
Dual-band meh.
meh
Bring with you on Route(r) 66
@AttyVette Route, route route for the home team. If they don't win it's a shame.
I hardly knew er
WI should I fi this?
Gr8 M8 I rate 8/8
@OhMrSandman r8*
Does this have 10/100/1000 yet?
@Ignorant No
@cjrhoades :boo:
I looked at the code for the DIR-615. It's junk. Probably worth $9 for the hardware, though.
$9?? Almost worth it to use as an emergency backup.
It has everything you might hate about a wireless router in one nice little package. The radio chip is probably one of the awful ones that D-Link always uses that likes to reset itself constantly so your links are always dropping too.
Also, if you do buy it make sure you update the firmware as soon as you get it. This is one of the models that can (and will) be turned into a botnet zombie about 2 minutes after it is connected to the internet.
http://www.ricksdailytips.com/dlink-firmware-update/
@jandrese I actually don't think there's a fix for it. According to the link, the firmware updates addressing the issue were released at the earliest in March 2015, but the latest firmware update for the DIR-808L is 12/19/13. Actually, it's probably even a little older than that. If you look at the release notes for the most current firmware version, its dated 11/11/2013
@Cannamoose I bought one last time and haven't set it up for that exact reason. Any more info on that?
@readnj jandrese's link was really vague on the flaw, but here's a link that goes in depth on what I believe is the same vulnerability:
https://github.com/darkarnium/secpub/tree/master/Multivendor/ncc2
I got one a while back too, but yeah I avoided setting it up after realizing that there was never an official fix released for it
Routers again? AWESOME! In for three...more.
I got the router and the 100 ft cable, was running the cable when Paul McCartney stopped by.
Watcha doing, mate? he asked me.
Dual-band on the run, I said
@MehnofLaMehncha and then Steve Martin dropped by for some duel-bandjos.
Someone took my D-Link. Can anyone tell me where my delinquent?
@mike808 That's funny, I am slow I had to read it twice.
@mike808 ... What, only two thumbs up? Steve Martin couldn't have done any better.. Just for the small reviews, take that mike808.. Wow, that's better, it went up 3 while I was posting (was forced to edit)..
Weight: 0.38 Lbs.
Not even heavy enough to use as a door-stop. Meh.
Is this doc 3?
@ibmachead this is not a cable modem only wifi router.
persnickety-bunion-feasting
No, didn't buy anything. Just like randomly picking out words.
@MehnofLaMehncha
These are under $8 at sams, and even that might be too high of a price for them.
@thismyusername $4.98 + 30% off at one local thrift store a little while back. I passed.
If you're going to do what the writeup says and use this for extra Wi-Fi, set up any routers you plan to use like this as makeshift access points. Log into the new router, give it a local ip address that is within your existing network, turn off DHCP, and then plug the Ethernet cable from your existing network into one of the four LAN ports instead of the WAN port on the router. This way you don't actually have multiple routers throwing up roadblocks in your home network.
@djslack I wish I knew how to do that. I was lost after the first sentence. Is there instructions that can walk me through the process. My internet is really slow 1,500 feet from the main one.
@Mellaine Good news: There is actually a section in the manual dedicated to this.
Bad news: you will need to know some information about your home network. I tried to explain how to get this information in another post.
I've got 3 Lumas on preorder.
I think I made the better choice. The D-link wishes it could do what the Luma does. Meh.
why would you get that 100' cat5e for $8.06 when you could get this one for $7.40? I mean, if the goal is cheap, than 66¢ is 66¢, right?
@webender Because the snagprotectors are TOTALLY cooler on that one.
@webender To be out 66¢, or bruise my fingers on those unyielding tab protectors? Tough choice.
Oh hey maybe I don't have to compromise, these are $7.29 and are less horrible.
@trisk yup, you win, those are cooler.
This is a perfect secondary router for your IOT gear that you want to keep segmented on its own sub-network.
@tizio Trust me - save up for a Luma, Eero, or Chime. Actual firewall and easy network management for your IoT kit.
@mike808 I've heard only of Eero, why choose Luma or Chime over the OnHub or Securifi Almond?
@Tom The original Almond is 1-band, 10/100, a regular wifi router, no security features, ZigBee home automation, has a touch screen interface. The Almond3 w/ ac/dual-band and Gbit ports, is $120. The Homescreen is similar to the Almond+, but at the price of the old Almond ($80).
The OnHub requires a google account to manage (duh), they /just/ added guest network to the firmware (Feb 24, 2016), and runs about $200. If you need more for coverage, or extending, they're $200 each. OnHub also has no LAN ports. You need a hub/switch.
Of them all, only Luma seems to have security first and foremost - as in automatically detecting old kit/gear (webcams, printers, and the like) and actively firewalls them from the outside, but also profiles/fingerprints your devices to firewall them to only allow legit traffic - so your home automation devices can't become torrent servers all of a sudden. Will have Guest mode, device subnetting and automatic mesh - meaning buy another one for $99, hook it up and it autoconfigures as an extender.
I'm the most hopeful of these new devices to actually /protect/ your home network inside and out by default and not require a Cisco cert or fiddle with iptables and such. It's ease of use in a home setting (like the others you noted) /plus/ security. Parental controls, guest networking like free wifi (unique passwords), not just anyone that knows your SSID and password. New home devices need approval and get scanned before being allowed on home your network. Just like the big boys.
That's why I'm looking forward to checking out the Lumas.
@mike808 I appreciate the tip, but I don't think spending an extra $90 to $390 for a router that I'm going to treat like a dumb isolated network is worthwhile.
Does anyone know if this router has a "client bridge" mode.... to add wired devices to a 5Ghz wifi network? (it's very hard to run cat5 to my TV, and the 2Ghz wifi is very slow). Sometimes such use is called a "game adapter"
@rmeden I use one of these to connect my TV/Reciever/Roku/Etc to my 5GHz band on my network.
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F9K1106-Dual-Range-Extender/dp/B005X9XVNQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457620930&sr=8-1&keywords=Belkin+Bridge
@darkzrobe wow
@rmeden I have one of these; I use it as an AP but it has a client bridge mode just like you want. http://www.amazon.com/Edimax-5GHz-Wi-Fi-Range-Extender/dp/B00NQ3PK9Y/. Was $10 last week at newegg.
@cv65 wow.. dat's purdy too
Yawn wake me up for the DIR-818L. Blast you and your 10/100 garbage ports
One advantage of a small home: I don't need this.
Though it does remind me of my technophile professor who had his house built from scratch, wired it up with all sorts of different wires, and even set up set up a system so he could run the next generation of wires all through the house without calling in a contractor. Then WiFi came along...
@simplersimon Wifi is nice, but it seldom is as good as a wired connection. I would still wire a house with cat 6 and maybe conduit to some places (like the TV)
@rmeden :s/seldom/never/
Wire has lower latency and is full duplex. And we don't have reliable gigabit WiFi yet. (And 10GigE is already available too. Consumer devices don't support it yet, but you can have it if you throw enough money at it.)
Use wire on everything that supports it where it makes sense (even laptops if you use them in the same locations consistently) and use WiFi for everything else.
@rmeden especially when having your own home built. No brainer. Even if you have to come in off construction-hours and add it yourself prior to the walls being closed in.
Might be the difference in selling your home in the future to a geek who is otherwise on the fence between your home and another.
What do I want to say? I'll tell you what I want to say. I want this D-Link model # DIR-808L to be compatible with OpenWrt. But Noooooooooooo, it isn't, so I don't have an excuse to waste my hard earned greenbacks. Now, I ask you, is that fair? Must I drowned my sorrow in yet another half-calf cinnamon frappuccino soy latte?
Some of you may be wondering how to use this wonderful device to extend the range of an existing network, as the writeup helpfully suggests.
Since the instructions are going to be slightly different for every router's web interface, I took a look at the manual. Kudos to D-Link for anticipating this. Check out page 10 for a fairly detailed Connect to an Existing Router.
Some additional notes:
1. You will need to know some crucial details about your current network, which you can see by typing
ipconfig /all
incmd.exe
in Windows orifconfig -a
in a terminal on most other systems. This will show your computer's current IP address and subnet mask as two groups of four numbers, separated by dots, such as192.168.1.101
and255.255.255.0
. The subnet mask tells you how many addresses are usable on the network. It is almost always255.255.255.0
, which means addresses fromx.x.x.1
tox.x.x.254
may be available on your network. You will want to choose an IP address in this range for the D-Link. So if your computer's IP address is, say192.168.101
, you could try giving the D-Link192.168.1.200
, which is a nice high number.2. For each device, you should assign a unique IP address which is not already in use. One of them is already used by your existing router (typically ending in
.1
or.254
) and one or more will be in use by other devices. If you assigned192.168.1.200
in the previous example and are setting up a second device, the next one could be192.168.1.201
. Make sure the address is not in use with (for example)ping 192.168.201
, which should say "unknown host" or "destination host unreachable" after a few seconds.3. When setting this up, don't plug in the WAN port of the router. This allows you to bypass the actual routing function of the device, since we only want it to carry traffic between the wireless network and wired LAN ports. This is known as an access point.
4. If you want to replace your existing router, you can also buy more than one of these and set one up as a normal router and the rest as access points.
5. If you live in an area with a lot of WiFi networks and your existing network is slow, make sure interference isn't a big factor. Take a look at how busy the airwaves are with an "WiFi analyzer" smartphone app. Setting up two of these might just make the interference worse rather than helping.
@trisk or get mesh wifi routers like Luma, Eero, Chime, and if you dont care about security, Ubiquiti and friends. They take care of all that subnet, bridge mode, channel selection, etc. techno-babble.
These D-links are the corvair of wifi.
ugh, typo up there:
Is this router stable, or does it randomly flake out like most routers in it's price range?
@danoinct this router appears to have been offered 5 times here. How much love do you see above from the mehmmunity?
Didn't bother to look at prior sale comments for post-sale experience, but you can here:
http://www.mehstalker.com/mehhistory.php?search=D-link
@danoinct Amazon reviews say randomly flake out
my parents have got a really basic Time Warner internet-only plan going on. they supplied them with a router/modem combo unit. the speed isn't much but they honestly don't need it.
the one spot where they get screwed is the rental cost of said unit. my father asked if there were a way around this. being that i have a new, in-the-box cable modem on hand, do you think the combination of this router here on sale and the modem would create a decent, basic network? i cannot remember the model number but i am certain it's a docsis 3-compatible modem.
i mean tho only $14 is on the line here so if it's not suitable i'll do something else with it :)
@NAFderwin Should work fine for that. Just make sure that DOCSIS 3 modem is compatible with TW.
@newdave61 thanks for the link. the list TW provides on their site of compatible modems is depressingly short, to the point where i don't even believe it. i went in for a router. going to try it soon.
@NAFderwin The actual modem might well be compatible, but TW doesn't list it because - well, it's not in their interest to tell you EVERYTHING. My attitude is to give everything a try, and look for online discussions on the topic. Ease into the world of hacking...
@OldCatLady if there's one thing i know, especially about large corporations, is that they don't like fixing/repairing/DIY/anything that would let you avoid paying them more.
idiotic-assorted-paper
http://support.dlink.com/ProductInfo.aspx?m=DIR-808L
Not finding recent firmware.
@Vertabrae
Botnet... needs... moar... brains...
If the Ethernet cable had been included at $9, would have gone for it....
I spent a lot of money for an expensive D-Link "gaming router" that never worked well and frequently rebooted. I'll never buy a D-Link router again. I'm having much better luck with Asus routers.