D-Link DIR-601 Wireless-N 150 Home Router (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

I bought this D-Link N150 Wi-Fi Router (DIR-601) to replace our Netgear wi-fi router. The Netgear wi-fi router was still working but it was rebooting randomly a few times a day. That told me it was time (after a few years of constant always-on usage with the Netgear) to get a new wi-fi router. I'm keeping the Netgear as a backup since it still works. I was first thinking about getting another Netgear wi-fi router because I was used to the Netgear's firmware configuration interface, but instead found this D-Link wi-fi router. It's a little smaller and lighter, but I could make it stand on its side vertically and so it could sit in the same spot where the Netgear was previously sitting. I got this D-Link wi-fi router as new via Amazon and not from one of the amazon third-party marketplace vendors. The price was good at twenty-nine bucks with the free amazon shipping.It only took a few days to receive this D-Link wifi router. When it was delivered, the retail box says D-Link Wireless N 150 Home Router and only says DIR-601 in smaller letters in the lower corner on the box. What you get inside the box is the wi-fi router, a power adapter, a blue ethernet cable (which I didn't need because I was using my existing cables), the feet-stand attachment (to make the wifi router stand up vertically), some papers and a CD. Turned off the cable modem and the Netgear. Removed the Netgear and replaced it with the D-Link. Connect my existing ethernet cables to the D-Link which is between the cable modem and a mac. Turn on the modem, then the D-Link, and the mac. And I was getting the internet. Easy ... but that was for the ethernet connection.Then I had to configure the D-Link for the wi-fi. You could use the CD that came with the D-Link to do the configuration if you have windows on your computer -- BUT you don't have to. You can set everything up online (locally) by going to 192.168.0.1 which is the configuration web page that is locally on the router. Also if you only have mac, you'll have to go to that numerical address anyways. The configuration menus are different from the Netgear, but, at a minimum, what I wanted to do was use the same SSID, the same passphrase, and the same encryption settings that I was already using -- so I don't have to change the wi-fi settings on the other computers and phones in the house. That way, the switchover from the Netgear to the D-Link would be seamless where the only complication would be figuring out the configuration menus on the D-Link. Prior to switching over, I wrote down the settings that I had on the Netgear to make sure that I had all the basics that I needed. It took me a little while to figure out the menus for the D-Link configuration as to what was what. If you don't know what you are doing, you'll probably want to use the setup wizards for internet and your wireless settings. I could go into more detail as how I set things up on my D-Link but suffice it to say that I had to go into the manual setup for each section (internet, wireless, network) to set up the D-Link with the same SSID, passphrase, encryption, etc. that I was using on Netgear. Once I had that all inputted, then the wi-fi was working fine for everything in the house.There is a tools section for changing the administrative passwords for getting into this D-Link wi-fi router. There are two users for doing the D-Link administration: admin and user. You'll want to change the passwords for both. For my purposes, I kept the password to be the same for both. The gateway name, which you can change, of this D-Link device itself is DIR-601 in the tools section of the menu. That's not the SSID of your network, but just the name (or the model number) of the device so you can distinguish it from your computers on your network. There is also an advanced section in the configuration menus for setting up virtual servers, but I didn't do anything with that.Otherwise, the D-Link N150 wi-fi router was easy to hook up and with little difficulty in going through the configuration to get the D-Link to be set up with the same wi-fi settings that I wanted to continue using.

I bought this router for my new apartment where I live by myself. This router has great performance - downloading from big sites could actually reach 1.5MB/s on my 10MBPS cable Internet, which is essentially nothing different from the top speed I would get with a direct wired connection. If you are looking for a low-price, easy-to-use router, buy this one, but don't expect it to serve your party well.Pros:-Low price: What else do I need to say? It's an entry level price.-Compact size: It actually can fit in any reasonable gap, such as the one between my book case and wall. This is great when you're tight on the cables and can't just place it anywhere.-Great speeds: As I said above, performance is not a problem with just one or two devices working together.-Easy setup: Just plug it in, turn it on, connect, and Windows will do the rest. I'm surprised I didn't need to even pop in the CD or log onto the config page to get it to connect. So easy. And it also has some advanced features like filters and port forwarding when I need it.Cons:-Signal strength: This thing is definitely made for ONE room only, so be careful if you want to use this in a larger house. As soon as I move into my bathroom, which is right next to the room where the router sits, my the signal drops down to 30%. No big deal for a phone, but if you wish to use, say, a laptop downstairs behind two walls, you'll soon find yourself getting snacks between webpages.-Bandwidth: Not so party-friendly. This thing is as fast as can be when used by one or two persons on a good cable service. When I had a few friends come over though, the router started to have problems with the half-dozen laptops. I assume the same will happen if you have a few game consoles plus computers on it at the same time. I don't mind this, though, as I'm the only person using it most of the time.-Built-in ads: The biggie No-No that made me take away one star. This is actually quite annoying if you don't know how to get rid of it. This router has a locked DNS setting, which redirects all unresolvable web addresses to the D-Link search engine. You may find this helpful from time to time, but most good browsers these day actually does a better job by just fixing up your term and taking you to where you want. This router will BREAK your browser's auto-correct function, and as a search engine, it's probably going to collect your personal information along the way, too.Example 1: you're used to typing just "amazon.com" in your address bar. Most browsers will find out that this is not the actual address, and automatically adds the "www" in front and takes you to the right place. This router will trick your browser to take you to D-Link's search engine and search for "amazon.com" (And not surprisingly the first result or two will mostly be some website who paid to be there).Example 2: you type "amazon" in your address bar hoping to search with google. On some systems, this router can override your search engine choice (again by tricking the browser) and go straight to D-Link's search no matter what your choice was.There is one remedy, though: manually set the DNS for EVERY single device on your network to something reliable and not-so-annoying so they actually gives you the "page not found" error when you do type something wrong.Overall, this router is good for personal daily uses. BASIC uses. Don't expect it to give you the fully customizable feature-rich experience, especially if you are a power user. This is aimed for simplicity for home users. If you demand a lot from your router, get something more professional.

Update Dec 2012I only bought this thing a year and a half ago. At the time I was a simple first time user who wanted a stable easy to use service. Now I think I know so much about wireless routers, that I feel like a nerd.I had this router set up on my first floor, and almost always used a laptop on the second floor. The service was always a little patchy at that range. If I was in the same room, or in the vicinity (say 15-20 feet without walls) of the router, the service was good enough for a simple user like me. I just needed to connect a laptop or two, and watch videos or movies online.I finally gave up recently, and ended up buying the "Linksys E1200 Wireless-N Router". For my most common placement of the router and laptop, the Linksys worked great. But there were still some places within the home where the coverage was patchy.I was about to throw out my D-Link, get a new router and buy a range extender on top, when a little birdie told me that I could convert my old router into a range extender. It took me a good 3-4 hrs of research, but I was finally able to find a good use of my old DIR-601.Before I point out how I did it, let me start off by saying that it isn't easy. I am quite persistent, but there were points during the process when I wanted to give up and throw away this router.So here's what I did.1) Install a new firmware (DD-WRT) on this router. Broadly speaking it's like installing a new operating system for your wireless router. Looks like they call it "Flashing". Amazon won't let me post links, but on Google search for this sentence."CONFIRMED TO WORK ON A1 HARDWARE VERSION ONLY"The first link that shows up now is a DD-WRT dot com website, giving flashing instructions for DIR-601. (If the page order changes in future, try the top few links in Google).2) There are multiple DD-WRT wiki pages that apparently have incorrect information. I finally found this post, which had step by step instructions that worked great for me. You can find it by searching "HOWTO: Set TP-Link TL-WR841N V7 as Wireless Repeater Bridge".You should see a post dated July 20, 2012 authored by "tlhIngan". I followed those instructions, and it worked.Basically what you're doing is using DIR-601 as a "wireless client", that connects to your primary wireless router for internet. And then you're creating a "virtual network", which extends the same internet to anybody within range of this DIR-601. And you're using the same network name, security protocol, and password for both networks so that your devices (laptop, smartphone etc) can connect to whichever network is stronger.I now have my Linksys as my primary wireless router downstairs, and the D-LINK upstairs as a standalone range extender (Just plugged in. No LAN cables going into it). I now have excellent coverage available everywhere in the house, and I feel proud of myself for not having created more electronic waste (at least prematurely).Hope the above instructions help someone.Update Sep 2012Title: didn't last. 2 starsI only had a few months of acceptable service with my new laptop. Now even with the new laptop, the connection keeps breaking and it takes my laptop a while to get it back. At this point it is pretty much useless for me, and I need to look for a good replacement.Update Mar 2012.Title: Decent router. 4 starsMy older laptop (a thinkpad) had problems with this router, hence my original review below. I recently upgraded to a newer laptop (a toshiba), and the experience is much better. My older laptop used to work fine on other networks, so I wouldn't blame it entirely on that one. In any case, I am a reasonably happy user now.Original review from June 2011.Title: Connection keeps breaking. 1 starThe connection to my wireless device keeps breaking. I don't have any bandwidth heavy applications - primarily emails or web browsing. But it's still frustrating. I get better signal from my neighbors, than this thing. I should clarify that the connection through the wired computer is fine.Given the price, I am not terribly upset but if I could do it again I would research more and buy a better device.In case you're interested, based on other people's reviews, I did not use the CD to set up the device.

I gave the D-Link DIR-601 router a 4-star rating based the three most important attributes: Price, ease of setup and performance. It was only $20 at the time I purchased it, which seems less than the cost of the materials to make it(!). Since this was my first experience with a router in my home, I did a fair amount of research and found a lot of not-so-good reviews on many more-to-MUCH-more-expensive routers. The problem areas were invariably poor range and difficult installation. The reviews on the DIR-601 were much better than most, which, combined with price, is why I chose it.I can confirm that the reviews are accurate. Installation was extremely easy; the "wizard" worked perfectly on an XP computer. I do have some minor range issues, but fewer than those reported by some users of much more expensive routers. The router is in my home office in the BASEMENT of the house. The basement walls are 8" poured concrete and the router happens to be next to the north wall. If I take my Toshiba Win 7 laptop to any part of the house OUTSIDE the planes of the basement walls (the porch and the breakfast-room-extension off the kitchen), the signal strength can drop to as little as 2 out of 5 bars, and download speed can drop from 18-20Mbps to just under 4Mbps. But I'm pretty sure that NO router -- at any price -- would do significantly better if positioned in the same place. Everywhere INSIDE the planes of the basement walls -- even the bedrooms 2-stories up and farthest from the router -- I typically get 4-5 bars. There are times when it falls to 3 bars in one bedroom, but it's not consistently at that level, so the drop-off could be due to transient interference from other electronics (e.g., our three cordless phones or routers in homes near us). I'm virtually certain that I could improve the signal strength in the areas where it's low by positioning the router close to the basement ceiling and away from the walls. But doing that requires (a) a couple of very long Ethernet cables (impractical) or (b) a couple of power line Ethernet adapters (expensive) or (c) getting a repeater (also expensive).I had one issue that I called D-Link's tech support about. Shields Up (Gibson Research's program that tests the status of the first 1056 ports on your computer) has always shown my desktop ports to be 100% "stealth" -- invisible to the Internet. After installing the router, it showed ports 0 and 1 as only "closed", not "stealth". I contacted D-Link support via e-mail and received a reply within a day asking me to call a support phone #, which I did. The call was answered immediately (no hold time), the technician (South Africa) was knowledgeable and resolved the issue during the call. Turns out Shields Up is measuring the status of the router, not my PC. This tech support experience was completely opposite to what I had been told about D-Link's support -- that it was slow and not very good. If I were rating their tech support, I'd give it 5 stars.If you're new to routers, be aware that this is NOT an N-300 router; it's an N-150 router. That means (my understanding) that the maximum bandwidth it can deliver is 150Mbps. Since no one in the house plays complex games or streams movies from the Internet, and there are currently only 2 computers using the cable connection, a 300Mbps router would be overkill for us. But if you have multiple (4-5) computers playing Internet games simultaneously, you should probably get an N-300 router.

I've been using this router for about six months and it has been great. The setup isn't very intuitive, but if you've had network experience you'll figure it out. If you need help D-link has a great technical support line you can call. The wireless range isn't that far, but for an apartment or small house it should work just fine. I recently upgraded my modem to a modem/router combo. This meant that the DIR-601's router functionality was redundant and would make port forwarding kind of difficult. I found it to be pretty easy though to switch from being a router to a wireless access point. Here are the instructions from the user manual to switch to a access point:If you are connecting the D-Link router to another router to use as a wireless access point and/or switch, you will have to do the following before connecting the router to your network:* Disable UPnP(tm)* Disable DHCP* Change the LAN IP address to an available address on your network. The LAN ports on the router cannot accept a DHCP address from your other router.To connect to another router, please follow the steps below:1. Plug the power into the router (DIR-601). Connect one of your computers to the router (LAN port) using an Ethernet cable. Make sure your IP address on the computer is 192.168.0.xxx (where xxx is between 2 and 254). Please see the Networking Basics section for more information. If you need to change the settings, write down your existing settings before making any changes. In most cases, your computer should be set to receive an IP address automatically in which case you will not have to do anything to your computer.2. Open a web browser and enter 192.168.0.1 and press Enter. When the login window appears, set the user name to Admin and leave the password box empty. Click Log In to continue.3. Click on Advanced and then click Advanced Network. Uncheck the Enable UPnP checkbox. Click Save Settings to continue.4. Click Setup and then click Network Settings. Uncheck the Enable DHCP Server server checkbox. Click Save Settings to continue.5. Under Router Settings, enter an available IP address and the subnet mask of your network. Click Save Settings to save your settings. Use this new IP address to access the configuration utility of the router in the future. Close the browser and change your computer's IP settings back to the original values as in Step 1.6. Disconnect the Ethernet cable from the router and reconnect your computer to your network.7. Connect an Ethernet cable in one of the LAN ports of the router and connect it to your other router. Do not plug anything into the Internet port of the D-Link router.8. You may now use the other 3 LAN ports to connect other Ethernet devices and computers. To configure your wireless network, open a web browser and enter the IP address you assigned to the router. Refer to the Configuration and Wireless Security sections for more information on setting up your wireless network.Make sure to follow step 7. I accidentally connected my modem/router to the DIR-601 through the internet port and it wasn't working. I knew better, but made a stupid mistake. As soon as I connected the router to one of the LAN ports instead, it worked great.