The D-Link AirPlus DWL-520+ PCI adapter is an enhanced 802.11b network adapter. The DWL-520+ is fully compatible with the IEEE 802.11b standard, making it interoperable with all existing 802.11b-compliant devices. Now you can transfer files or communicate up to 20 percent faster than with earlier 802.11b solutions, even when connected to a standard 802.11b network. When you're connected to other D-Link AirPlus products, the performance is even greater--up to 22 Mbps.
D-Link's PCI adapter also features 256-bit WEP encryption that gives you a higher level of security for your data and communication, and a configuration utility that can quickly and automatically discover available wireless networks and create and save detailed connectivity profiles for those networks accessed most often.
The DWL-520+ is a powerful 32-bit PCI adapter that installs quickly and easily on desktop PCs, and, when used with other D-Link AirPlus products, automatically connects to the network. And all D-Link wireless adapters can be used in ad hoc mode to connect directly with other cards, or in infrastructure mode to connect with a wireless access point for access to the Internet in your office or home network.
1 It works!
I have had no trouble with it or 810+ bridge that other people had claimed. I read the installation instruction and set up was a breeze (you need to install the software 1st prior to install the unit). It worked flawlessly in my Win 2k and later Win XP (both home and pro.).
Signal strength is good, reliablity is great, and data transfer speed is good.
Overall, good product.
2 Works ok w/ driver 3.0.23.4, not with 4.15.5.1 (ver 3.07)
Like everyone says, Customer Service is terrible. They deny that a problem exists, blame everything else. I had problems with their 810+ Wireless Bridge not working with WEP also, same awful experience with cust service then as well.
3 Not FOR W2K
P1$$P00r Compatibility issues found across the www. Don't be Too late to get informed. D-Link support even less helpful than a diaper against a dam break. System lock-up maybe resolved by diabling this or that or removing other PCI devices.
4 Beware - major software bug causes blue screen crash
D-Link has a major problem with it's products (including the 520+) crashing systems on power down with a blue screen and a message stating that there has been an NMI parity error in hardware. You system will be locked up. Pulling the power cord is the only way out.
What is REALLY bad is that I have 3 "Case I.D's" requesting a fix. If... if you own certain Compaq models you may... may be able to fix the problem with manual modifications to your system BIOS. However, unless you "get lucky", you are stuck. There is, apparently, no real customer support at D-Link, only an automated response system that patronizes you with the issuance of a case I.D.
Be very, very careful about purchasing D-Link products. Buggy software and NO technical support nor issue resolution.
5 No problems
It's ironic that another model, the DWL-520 (without the +), gets so many bad reviews. This model works fine. In retrospect, I'd probably be happier with a USB connection as those adapters can easily be transferred to a laptop or another computer. If you don't mind opening up the computer for a "permanent" install, you should be happy. One issue I did run into - I ended up having to remove my ethernet adapter to get it to work or I ran into IRQ conflicts (I thought Windows 98 and up were supposed to solve this problem.) I also notice problems if a 2.4ghz cordless phone is too close, but I'm not sure if it interferes with this card or the wireless router.
The drivers out of the box seemed a little deceptive. My signal strength was showing as much stronger than it actually was. Later drivers were even more deceptive, showing signal strength at the highest level and the strength never changed. The most recent drivers (version 4.15.51 as of the time of this review) seem to be accurate so you may want to download those for your initial install rather than use the ones in the box.
Performance is great. The card is powerful enough to pick up (and connect to) my neighbor's network two houses down. One of these days I might even advise him to put a password on his network, but first I want to catch him downloading porn.
6 Super fast, but requires extra configuration to work with XP
When I first installed this product, I had my doubts about the whether it could work in an area with numberous APs. I live in an apartment building and there are three wireless networks operating next to mine. One of them doesn't use an encryption. (I have tried to explain to the guy how to use WEP and he doesn't want to listen.)
Anyway, when I first installed the DWL-520+ in my Windows XP Pro desktop. It kept trying to jump over to the other networks. I turned on WEP and tried to use the default Wireless manager that comes with XP. Using XP to manage the connection turned out to be the problem. I would connect to my own network and then five minutes later it would drop the connection try to link to my neighbor's wireless network.
Finally, I visited the DWL-520+ support section on D-Link's website and discovered that D-Link recommends disabling the Windows XP Wireless Manager (it goes on by default) and turn on D-Link's own wireless manager software. It took me less than five minutes to follow the screen shots which showed me how to turn off the Microsoft's XP Wireless Manager by using the "Properties" section in "My Computer". Since I started using D-Link's wireless manager, I haven't had any problems with the connection. In fact, because I have a D-Link DI-614+ wireless router, I am able to connect as fast as the advertised 22 Mbps. If I needed second desktop, I would buy another DWL-520+.
7 Great Signal Strength and Reliable Use
With this in my desktop it's just like having my PC wired into the network. The web surfing isn't slower, online games are the same and the only difference is that there is a little icon in the system tray that shows your signal strength.
Installation was totally easy and is like any other PCI card you need to install.
8 Decent buy
I bought this card with a Dlink 614+ router. The combination works great and I get amazing speeds. It just got messed up only once. I had to re-install the drivers and even tried resetting the router. Now its fine. Actually the customer support toll free line is pretty engaged always. I got my friends help instead.Overall - Pretty easy to use/install.
9 For all of you looking in to Wireless Networking...
I looking into it, and after seeing the great reviews for this product, I decided to buy it. I put it in our older computer, and it finally connected after about 2 phone calls to technical support, and an upgrade to the drivers. But then, my fast dsl internet was going slower than dial up when using the card. After many more calls to technical support, and stuff they told me to do which i did, the card still did not make my internet or network file sharing fast. it was not the phones or anything like either. I decided to switch the card to another pc, which i didnt really want being in there, but now it works fine! I dont reccomend this product, because it may not work on your pc like it didnt for one of mine, but i was lucky to have it working later on a different pc AT ALL. look elsewhere if you plan to go wireless, such as Linksys, whos routers and cards have never failed me.
10 Worked wonderfully, until I shut down my system.
Purchased this for mom's eMachine. Worked great until I shut down the computer. I would receive a blue screen of death with a hardware error message and NMI:Parity Check error. From my searching I found that it is a frequent problem with some computers. I am returning it. I purchased the DWL 120+ USB adapter instead, and it works as beautifully as the 520+ did (until shutdown), except that I have no errors on shut down anymore, with the 120+. If you have any problems with the 520+, I recommend switching to the 120+
11 Avoid this card.
I'm sure this card would work well on a machine running Windows XP on an all D-Link wireless network, but it looks like that's where D-Link's product testing ended.
I should say up front that I didn't do my research before buying this card. I intended to buy a DWL-520 based on the Prism 2.5 chipset in order to build FreeBSD based access point. Despite the similarity in name, the DWL-520+ is based on a TI ACX100 chipset, which has only a very small (and not vendor supported or assisted) open source effort behind it.
When I tried to verify the card was in fact working on a win 2K machine I discovered that it would: a) Crash the machine if the drivers are installed via the normal "Add new Hardware" discovery process (to be fair the instructions state to install the drivers before introducing the card into the machine). b) Once installed and operating under ad-hoc mode, it would cause the ORiNOCO wavelan card on my laptop to lockup.
This thing might work for you if you have a homogenous setup, but if your playing with the technology, expect it to cause problems.
12 This works very well with the DI-614+ or the DWL-900AP+
I have a DI-614+ for an AP and router with a 900AP+ as a repeater to extend my signal to my neighbors yard. The neighbor I share a yard with can recieve my signal, but this 256-bit WEP keeps everybody out.
This card works great with my Dell PC since all I had to do was open up my PC and install this card. It was very easy and I get a nice strong signal connected at 22Mbps all the time. The D-Link wireless software is nice and fits well in windows. Overall I am very pleased with D-Link's 802.11b+ @ 22Mbps products. Very easy and fun to use.
13 Reliable and Frees up your PC
I put one of these in my portable XPC from Shuttle and now everything I need is built right into that machine. I use wireless keyboard and mouse so really the only thing my PC is plugged into that restricts it from movement is the power cable, and Monitor. I take this to LAN parties and everyone is impressed. I also bring my DWL-900AP+ so I can get fast 11Mbps actual throughput is I want. Or I just plug in the Ethernet into the built in NIC and I am high speed wired.
All in all this PCI wireless adapter helps me find networks nearby. I've attached external antennas directly to this and I can pick up my local starbucks if I want to. Overall this card works great and is a good addition to any PC even if your aren't very mobile.
14 Works very well with DI-614 router.
Very easy to install and easy to easy to setup. I already bought DI-614 and the setup was a breeze. Did not encounter any problems at all. Just had to download a patch from Microsoft-xp site for D-520+ using the windows update.
I highly recommend this product if you are using with DI-614+.
Great product, Great price.
15 Constant Wireless Connection with good speeds
With this wireless adapter in my PC I am eliminating the cable that attaches my PC to my router. Being that one of our PCs is in a different room than the router it is kind of hard to drag cable everywhere. So with this easy to install wireless adapter in my card I still get a strong connection to the router, plus it is encrypted so nobody can see my data or log on to my network. With 256-bit WEP enabled I get no bad effects, which I've heard could be an issue.
Overall I think this is a great choice to those who need to be wireless.
16 Performs like a Champ!
This card is very useful in my desktop.
We've always had a desktop in the den for the kids to use and play with, but I never had the time, or want to drill holes in the walls or floor to wire it to our network. Well we eventually got a wireless access point for our laptop. Then I realized that we get a pretty powerful signal in the den. So I went out and bought this card and stuck it in my old PC desktop with windows 2000. The antenna seems to be in a bad place (behind the PC and all), but it gets good signal so I have no complaints. Now the kids can go online when they are in the den. The install was easy and hardly worth mentioning.
I recommend this to others who don't want to drill holes or climb in the attic.
17 Crashes computer
Installed it in an XP machine w/ MSI K2T combo board. It crashed my computer several times. It either freezes as XP boots or freezes after completed booting. Installed it in a different computer, did not freeze but was unable to connect to netgear router. Frustrating!!! Spent several days tweaking I'm finally giving up and getting another brand.
18 SOOO EASY!!
I mean you follow the easy instructions on the manual. Setup your router and that's it. It just connects that simple, and great speeds
19 Good, but has some problems.
Like the other reviewer said, customer service is absolutely atrocious. Expect to be on hold for at least 45 minutes, I spent an hour and a half one night on hold just to talk to a guy that had no idea what he was talking about and wanted to get off the phone (and was willing to make up anything to do it). Be warned, some motherboards will not work with this card, it makes the computer hang in the boot cycle. I experienced it using a Compaq Pentium III with a IN620 board, since no one knows how to fix it, search around the message boards before you make a purchase. Works fine on my Pentium II machine, but the range isn't what I hoped (signal is very week in the room directly below the router, also a DLink, the 614+). Sometimes it decides it doesn't want to connect for awhile. Installation tools aren't very informative either and the troubleshooting sections shot none of my troubles. It does what I need to do most the time though and, since it was so much trouble to install correctly, I learned alot.
20 Good product, horrible customer service!
For a novice computer guy installing this card to coincide with the wireless router we recently bought. It was simple getting the router hooked up. But getting this PCI wireless card now that was another story. So i called their top of the line customer service. I spent two hours on the phone with one worthless tech support guy and got nowhere. I called back and after spending 45 minutes on hold waiting for a guy I finally got someone that knew what was going on! Since i've had it up and running it has been pretty reliable but once in a while it decides to disconnect for about a half-hour to an hour but other than that its a pretty decent connection but it damn well should be since the other computer is just on the other side of the wall! So if you don't know what you're doing expect to spend a lot of time dealing with the customer service rep, but all in all not a bad product.
21 But don't install the free software
I installed the DWL-520+ and it worked well. The next time I tried using it I could not connect to the Internet. After three very frustrating calls to Tech Support (where do they find these guys?), it turns out that the system was jammed by a firewall that had been installed along with free "security" software that was included on the installation disk. Like the product, hate the free software -- why would they include it if it jams their own hardware?
22 Worked seamlessly (with 614+ router) and so easy to install.
Perfect. Connections are good. Also was able to download an upgraded driver from the DLink support site compatible with 2.18 firmware for 614+. This enable 4X connections (double that of 22Mbs but note that I didn't actually benchmark the speed).
23 Don't buy - Don't work with soundcars, no Linux, no help!
I bought this card, the router and a PCMCIA card. But unfortunately I discovered after the return period of the dealer, that my computer will reboot when recording sound. After calling D-Link I tried two SoundBlaster and one Yamaha card, none worked.
There is also no Linux driver available and no support for the Linux developers to write one. This should not be supported by buying this card.
D-Link is not willing to take their card back or to exchange it. So, save yourself some trouble and buy some other card that works with soundcards.
24 This card is fast and easy to set up
It took me seconds to set the D Link AirPlus DWL-520+ Wireless 22MBPS PCI Card. I just put it in my computer, set the securty settings (Which is very easy to do.) and I was on the inter in no time
25 When Compatable with Sound Blaster - 5 stars
Initially I could not get this card to reliably work in my desktop. It would cause numerous boot errors or lock up the system for no appearant reason. Tried a clean OS install and then when that didn't work, a different OS. Finally received the following from D-Link tech support, "It has been recently brought to the attention of D-LInk and Creative Labs that the 2 products do not work together. No fix at this point. Both companies are working on the issue and as soon as there is a fix it will be released to the website." I had a Sound Blaster Live Gamer PCI card. When I removed it and used the AC97 sound from my motherboard the problems went away. Would like to have my SB back! Other than those problems the DWL-520+ works very well with the DI-614+. 100% link quality and 85% signal strength in a traditional two-story. Would give a five if the compatability problem gets solved.
26 Good Speed - Limited Range Signal
The hardware design of this card is very good. In most systems, (besides those running Windows XP), it will also install very easily.
As packaged, it will not work with Windows 98 first edition, but D-link has recently posted a Win98 first edition driver on its support site, and with that patch in place, it does work very well.
This product advertises that it is compatable with Windows XP, but Microsoft has NOT certified it and with good reason. The woefully inadequate installation documentation and software do not address many of the known XP quirks. Fortunately, the D-Link tech support staff are well versed in these common problems and are very helpful if you have an hour or so to wait on the phone. The website also has more patches than Grandpa's old dungerees, so D-Link is aware of the problem and, with some effort, you can overcome most XP related glitches. It's just too bad D-Link hasn't spent as much time updating their packaged software/documentation as they have designing their robust and speedy hardware.
The encryption schemes work exceptionally well, (up to 256 bits), and do not degrade speed nearly as much as some competitors products sometimes do.
27 Compatibility problems
Bought both the PCI card as well as the 650+ PCMCIA for my laptop. PCMCIA card installed reasonably well, though not perfectly smoothly but the PCI card was the installation from hell!
I have an MSI K7T Turbo motherboard and it seems they don't like each other. The computer froze most of the time during boot up. After hours of fiddling and removing all other cards it still wouldn't work. Not only that but the card essentially destroyed the onboard RAID Bios. I tried two different cards (returned one to Dlink thinking it was faulty). Being unable to get a Flash for my M/Board RAID Bios I now need a new M/Board!
So I am chucking the PCI Card and am looking at a different brand once I can afford it.
Backup in Australia by DLink was pretty terrible. Waited an hour on hold the first time. Asked me whether I had a SB card (which I don't) and then said he didn't know what the problem was.
28 D Link AirPlus DWL-520+
A little touchy to install. I had to take out my sound card and use its pci slot; I put the sound card in a different slot and everything works fantastic. An email to tech support was answered quickly.
29 DWL-520+ and SoundBlaster Live! Value Incompatibilities
I recently purchased a D-Link Airplus DI-614+ and a D-Link DWL-520+ Wireless PCI adapter card. If you want to avoid many frustrating hours of e-mails and calling the D-Link support team (on-hold times were usually 25 minutes), it may be wise NOT to purchase the DWL-520+ card if you have a "SoundBlaster Live! Value" sound card.
In my case, most of the time when I had both cards installed, the computer froze during the boot process. This was in a Pentium3 500MHz computer. Only after placing the wireless card in PCI Slot 3 and the SBLive card in PCI Slot 5 was I able to get the computer to finish booting to the desktop. Even then, the SBLive card still did not function well, sometimes causing echoing sound effects, or spontaneous re-booting of the computer. The D-Link support team insisted that they got good results with the SBLive card in Slot 5 and the wireless card in Slot 4 -- which in my system was one of the freeze-on-booting situations.
When installed by itself without the SBLive card installed, the D-Link DWL-520+ worked flawlessly with the D-Link DI-614+ Access Point Router. But I did not wish to run that computer without a sound card.
After spending way too many hours trying to get this system to work, I returned the D-Link devices and purchased the LinkSys BEFW11S4 Access Point Router for use near my new computer, and the WUSB11 Wireless USB Adapter for my older computer. I am now effortlessly using the internet on both of my computers.
One additional point -- the people at D-Link will not provide you with support help for File Sharing problems between computers on a wireless network. I'm not sure if this is true for other wireless manufacturers.
30 Disappointing Product, Disappointing Service
...
I purchased the DWL-900AP+ and the DWL-520+. The DWL-900AP+ was shipped by Amazon.com, the DWL-520+ by Tech Depot - wish I had realized that sooner - I now have two returns to manage instead of one.
I followed the instructions to install the 520 in my XP desktop. The DLink utility did not install - no desktop icon was created (the instructions said there would be one). When I double-clicked the icon in my task bar, a different screen displayed than the one in the instructions.
I contacted tech support, and after about a half hour on the phone, the DLink tech rep said to return the devices, they must be faulty. I can't contact Tech Depot to issue the RMA until Monday. I have to submit a separate return request for the access point. Two returns even though I place the order on the same website...
31 4 on Adapter, 3 on setup
I bought this PCI adapter along with the D614+ router and it works great. I am getting a good signal overall, 22 Mbps, 128 bit encryption and very few problems. Functionally this card if very good.
As for installation, it was quirky. XP found it and installed drivers, but it only allowed 11 Mbps transfer rates. The instructions in the "quickguide" manual are very simplistic and straighforward, but do not help enough to solve this problem. So I uninstalled these drivers and used the disc included to add the Dlink utility that provided a better interface for configuration and the ability to speed up the NIC (network interface card). The autorun actually loaded a third party security software (probably a fluke) and then at first the drivers from the disc did not find the AP at all. After a bit of playing, I got everything to work, but with plug and play working so well in XP, installs should be a bit cleaner than this.
Overall, the card works great now and though a bit more complex than a wired NIC to configure, wireless is worth it and very cool to play with. I recommend this along with the D614+.
32 No problems, system works very well
I have had the D-Link 614 and 3 pc's networked. 2 are running the PCI 520+ models and my base pc is direct wired to the router.
The speed is amazing for the wired networks. I have one system 2 stories above the router, I get around a 90% signal strength and always 100% link quality. The antenna being flexible allows me to tweak the angle of the antenna and get a stronger signal. It is a very good card.
I had a wired network before that ran 10mb system. The airplus has been killer, I've seen 500kb/sec xfer speed on the wireless pc's. My wife and kids are amazed at how stable it is and I haven't had to reboot my pc or theirs for weeks to get the ip address back.
I'd recommend this unit for anyone that has a recently made pc that has windows xp. I can't recommend older pc's as I haven't tested it there.
The tech support when I called was very nice to deal with. They spoke good english and actually worked with me in setting up opening ports. I didn't wait very long and the were actually intelligent in how to work with setting up the router. They gave me pointers and also walked me through some options to get programs to work.
The price/stability/connection speed in my opionion is the best deal on the market. I'd give it 5/5 stars.
33 No problems, system works very well
I have had the D-Link 614 and 3 pc's networked. 2 are running the PCI 520+ models and my base pc is direct wired to the router.
The speed is amazing for the wired networks. I have one system 2 stories above the router, I get around a 90% signal strength and always 100% link quality. The antenna being flexible allows me to tweak the angle of the antenna and get a stronger signal. It is a very good card.
I had a wired network before that ran 10mb system. The airplus has been killer, I've seen 500kb/sec xfer speed on the wireless pc's. My wife and kids are amazed at how stable it is and I haven't had to reboot my pc or theirs for weeks to get the ip address back.
I'd recommend this unit for anyone that has a recently made pc that has windows xp. I can't recommend older pc's as I haven't tested it there.
The tech support when I called was very nice to deal with. They spoke good english and actually worked with me in setting up opening ports. I didn't wait very long and the were actually intelligent in how to work with setting up the router. They gave me pointers and also walked me through some options to get programs to work.
The price/stability/connection speed in my opionion is the best deal on the market. I'd give it 5/5 stars.
34 Soundblaster Live conflict
As a previous reviewer wrote, incompatible with Sounblaster Live cards due to a conflict with the Memory IO C000-C01F being used used by both cards. Disable one or the other and your fine, both will cause a BSOD(Blue Screen of Death).
35 painless install - good configuration - site survey
I am pleased with the configuration options that are bundled with this product. One feature I like most is the site survey feature. Before I connect to an access point I can see which access points are broadcasting and if they have WEP, what channel, what SSID, and more. Then I can choose which one I want to connect to. Of course there is an auto detect feature that connects to the fastest/strongest signal access point in range.
The installation went without a hitch and I was very pleased with the ease of use.
36 Effortless Install with Immediate Results
This card installs like any other NIC. I installed the configuration software first like I've read in other reviews, and the quick start guide and then inserted this wireless NIC in my system. I booted up and Windows found everything it needed. i already had my router/access point up and running so after the second reboot I was automatically connected to the access point. From then on I didn't HAVE to do anything else. Although I did configure my wireless settings so they weren't the default and I enabled WEP. All the settings are very intuitive and easy to understand.
Bottom Line: Easy to install and works with no fuss.
37 everything has been runing smoothly since the install
I installed this on my Dell PC in addition to my 10/100 ethernet card and there haven't been any conflicts since the installation. I get a strong signal from the other side of the apartment and I don't think I've experienced any downtime since the installation. It has been about 2 weeks since I installed this card and I am very happy with my purchase.
38 Simple install - removable antenna shows it can be upgraded
I like that fact that this wireless PCI card by D-Link has a removable antenna because it will allow me to get better range if I wished to purchase a better antenna later on.
This is just one of the things I like about the card.
There isn't much to say about a wireless PCI based NIC except for the fact that it is easy to install. But aren't all PCI cards? I personally haven't had much trouble with them in the past. This card also comes with some good software give you more control over your network card. I can do a "site survey" to see what access points are in the area and choose which one I'd like to connect to. I can choose my encryption, it goes as high as 256-bit, and I can change almost anything I want about this card.
Bottom line is the low price, the 22Mbps speeds, regular 802.11b compatibility, extensive software package, and removable antenna for future upgrades. I like it all.
39 Works on Win2K and Win XP - Great Speeds
I bought 2 of these, one for each of the kids' computer, and I couldn't ask for anything more from these wireless network cards. I have learned my lesson a long time ago about updated drivers and before I do anything I always get the latest drivers from the manufactures website. I was able to install everything just fine on both computers with the updated drivers and it has been running smoothly ever since. It's been about 3 weeks now, and my kids say they can't even tell the difference of speed. We used to have all the computers in one room, but since we've gone wireless they can have their computers in their own rooms and not bother me so much. The best thing is I didn't even have to run cable through the attic or walls. I bought these to go along with the DI-614+ since they are rated at twice the speed of the normal 11Mbps 802.11b. I haven't tried the 11Mbps networks, but these are fast enough for us. We can play games online, transfer files just the same as before (a little slower when there are big files like movies) and Internet browsing is exactly the same.
We get 80% or above signal strength, but the kids' computers are only one and two rooms away from the router/access point. We have set up 256-bit WEP encryption so that nobody tries to connect to our network and we love our network. Well I love the convenience, the kids don't notice a thing, nor do they care.
40 Good Range and Great Security
I am very pleased with the 256-bit WEP encryption. I like my wireless portions of my LAN to be secure and as far as I know 256-bit WEP is about the best encryption can get right now. Settings this up on my router/ap and this card was real simple. I don't think I notice any variance in speed when operating with 256-bit WEP encryption on, but I don't exactly have a test lab.
Everything else about this card is fairly straightforward and simple to use. I get good signal strength about 2 rooms down and the speed in comparable to DSL when browsing the internet or downloading.
41 Can it get much simpler?
All I had to do was put in the CD to install the software, shut down my PC, and install it into the next available PCI slot and boot back up. Once I booted up Windows took care of everything else. I am running Win98 on a 450mhz Gateway I bought a couple years ago and everything about this adapter has been good.
I get about 70% signal strength and 100% link quality from the other side of the house. The signal has to go through a couple of rooms, but for the most part it is very stable. My speeds are about 6-7Mbps real world when transferring files which is twice as fast as my friend's 802.11b network rated at 11Mbps.
Works for me and I am pretty sure it would work for you. Why would you want 11Mbps if you can have twice the speed?
42 Works Great and the Install was a Snap
I don't like to see bad reviews here for a product I just bought, but I'd have to say I haven't experienced any of the symptoms other people have described.
Install was a snap, and I've had this up and running for about 3 days and nothing has gone wrong. The signal strength is good and the speeds are fine.
I will see if I can do an update here if anything goes wrong. So far everything is working great so I have to give it 5 stars. I have no complaints.
43 Easy to Install and Connects with Router Automatically
I'd like to contribute a positive review here, since the previous reviewers seemed to have problems with this card. I bought this card to go with my D-Link Wireless Router, and everything has worked fine since I bought this. I haven't had one issue since I've installed this card.
My signal strength has always been above 75%, but I don't expect it to change much since it is installed in a desktop PC. I am running Windows 2000 and I don't notice much of a difference if at all in my internet access speeds.
I used to have a wired network but wanted to expand to more than 2 computers and my hub was old and slow. So with this wireless upgrade to my network I was able to install everything in about 1 hour. I bought the D-Link router with 4 wired ports still use one wired PC connection, and another PC has this PCI card in it, my laptop has the PCMCIA version and they all network together quite nicely. I was impressed with the short time it took me to implement this change.
Thats my experience with D-Link and their wireless networking products. I hope your experience is as easy as mine.
44 Installation was just as any other NIC except NO WIRES!
I recently bought the DI-614+ so instead of using my existing wired network I bought this card so I wouldn't have my Ethernet cable on the ground from the router to my bedroom. Plus the cats, for some odd reason, liked to chew and play with the Ethernet.
I followed the instructions and installed the software on the CD before physically installing the card and everything after that went smoothly.
I don't notice a difference in web browsing or file transfers, but I didn't exactly do a lot of file transfers before. My signal is almost always above 75% but again I am only down the hall from my living room.
It works great for me!
45 Driver screws up mouse pointer when using internet
AMD 1800+ with VIA motherboard and NVidia Titanium 200. Using latest drivers for everything. When device driver is enabled everything works fine until you dial the internet (plain Widows dialer). Then after a few minutes the mouse pointer graphic freezes, while an "invisible" mouse still moves (and although you can't see it, it works as normal). If you disable the driver there are no problems. No wonder it wasn't MS certified....
NO TECH SUPPORT BBS OR KNOWLEDGE BASE. TECH SUPPORT BASICALLY SAYS "INSTALL IT". AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!
46 Doesn't work with Soundblaster live
I upgraded from a smc2662w because the smc card would scan (stop all transmission) every 15 seconds and would repeatedly kill my vpn connection.
I upgraded initially to the linksys PCI card... only to find out that it didn't work with XP.
I traded that in for a dwl-520+, but it doesn't seem to work with my soundblaster live card (can I buy a break?!). I'll give tech support a week to figure this out (right...), then I'm sending it back. The only bummer is that without the soundcard, my network connection is great!
47 Incompatible with Windows 98, First Edition
Although there is nothing on the packaging to alert you to the requirement, the DWL-520+ cannot be installed unless you are running Windows 98, Second Edition, or a later version of Windows. This fact can only be found buried in the FAQ's on the D-Link website. I learned it the hard way after installing the card and trying fruitlessly for an hour to get it working. The installation software, astonishingly, never tells you that you are running the wrong version of Windows. And forget about tech support. I was on hold for an hour before giving up.
48 Something is wrong here
You boot the computer, and everything is fine, but as time goes by, like an hour, the computer gets slower and slower and slower to the point where you can hardly move the mouse. Kill the airplus driver and the computer is alive again. Technical support makes you wait on hold on a toll number. Waited 20 minutes, no answer. Product is fine as long as you don't mind rebooting the computer several times a day.
