D-Link DI-713P Wireless Broadband Router and Access Point with 3-Port Switch

The D-Link DI-713P is a broadband IEEE 802.11b compliant wireless gateway. It provides the ability to share a broadband connection as well as a print server function. You can share a DSL or cable modem connection through its three local 10/100 Ethernet ports or via its integrated Wireless IEEE 802.11b component. The DI-713P is equipped with a bidirectional LPT port to support a direct printer connection. Its integrated router and firewall provide NAT, DHCP, and packet filtering services between the local network and the Internet.

D-Link's DI-713P allows wireless LAN users to share the Internet connection while providing the security of 128-bit encryption. Static address support, integrated DHCP, PPPoE, and device name support will allow it to connect to nearly any broadband provider, whether cable or DSL based, and at the same time simplify local area network settings.

The DI-713P provides two levels of security support. First, it masks local users' IP addresses from others on the Internet, making it much more difficult for a hacker to target a machine on the network. Second, it can block and redirect certain ports to limit the services that outside users can access. Specific ports can be opened by the user to ensure that games and other Internet applications will run properly.

The router and access point combo also provides special pass-through for common VPN implementations including PPTP (Point to Point Tunneling Protocol), L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol) and IPSec*. The Virtual Server feature allows the user to expose HTTP, FTP, Game Servers, and other local services to be accessible to Internet users located outside the LAN. The User-Definable Application Sensing Tunnel feature allows the user to define the attributes to support special applications requiring multiple connections, such as Internet gaming, video conferencing, and Internet telephony. A DMZ setting can be applied to a single client behind the DI-713P to expose it to the Internet and ensure complete Internet application compatibility, even if specific ports are not known.

Unlike proxy server or NAT software that requires the software server to remain visible on the Internet, no local computers are directly externally visible when using the DI-713P. Also, the DI-713P, like broadband, is always on, removing the need to constantly boot a software server when Internet access is desired from a client.

Integrated DHCP services allow up to 252 users to obtain their IP address automatically on bootup from the DI-713P. Client machines require no software; simply set them to accept a dynamically assigned IP address and reboot. Each time they are powered up, the DI-713P will recognize them and set their IP address to instantly connect them to the LAN.

* PPTP, L2TP, and IPSec support compatibility are dependent on the platform used.

1 Reliable
In September 2001 I set our office up with a Broadband 802.11B Wireless Router from D-Link. That puppy gave me fits. I couldn't keep anything connected. Finally about a year ago it got so bad I replaced it with this router and access point.

Setup was easy, range is sufficient for us-- A two story 1890's home make into an office, and most of the network problems eased into oblivion.

I thought we were having a problem last week but it turned out to be a Siemens Wireless Network connector in its last throes.

When it comes time to replace this router I'll probably go for a D-Link again.

2 Works, Most of the time
This is a good product that does what it says it does, most of the time. The reason I dont give it 5 stars is that every once and awhile it becomes dumb, it simply forgets that there is a cable modem hooked up to it, and the only way to fix this is to reboot it. It is a minor inconvenience, but can cause quite a bit of frustration in critical moments.

3 Excellent
Plugged it into the laser printer, hooked it up to the cable modem, and then installed the wireless adapters on two workstations and it configured itself to work with the cable modem without even having to log into the setup menu. I don't know how other Wireless router combinations compare in "range", but I would imagine there are some that work better through walls and indoor distances. All in all, it is very stable and reliable at a reasonable price.

4 Decent, but mine has some issues
With the latest firmware, this has practically all the features I'd want in a 802.11b router, but, unfortunately, the wireless functionality has some problems, at least on my hardware. I had some minor trouble getting it running to begin with, but armed with the latest firmware, I had a functioning wireless network. Unfortunately, after awhile I began to notice that the signal would unexpectedly drop, suddenly and completely, and restore itself after about 3 seconds to 3 minutes (doesn't seem like a big deal until after you've been dropped from your third network game). Tech support wasn't a great help-- they seemed to initially be stuck on the idea that it was a signal strength issue, advising repositioning the antennas, moving it away from the wall, etc., which, predictably, didn't improve matters any. A later firmware upgrade helped somewhat, without completely eliminating the problem. Finally, tech support decided that the D-Link wireless PCI adapter wasn't compatible with XP, case closed, no refund/replacement, though everything seems to indicate that it's a problem with the router. Anyway, I've resorted to running 25' of cat5 cable, and everything's fine now. The print server had some issues with my HP inkjet printer, but that was a documented problem with HP printers and print servers, so I don't really blame that on D-Link. Anyway, I think I'll buy Netgear next time.

5 Great Value, Simple Set-up
I know next to nothing about computers. The set-up was simple. I had a problem because my Verizon DSL provider uses a WinPoet dialer, but called D-Link tech support, got right through, and the guy walked me through the fix - and with the router, no dialer needed! Installed the 650 cards on 2 Dell laptops, 1 running Windows ME, the other XP; installation of the cards was just automatic. I have great connections & speed, even out in the back yard! I have not had any drop-offs, as others have reported here. I'm a very satisfied customer. I just wish they had the rebate when I bought! The 650 card for the laptops is now cheap as dirt.

6 Don't buy this trouble
I bought one of this in Jan. 2003, then the trouble began.
The wireless signal was very unstable and I never got a full 11M connection even the laptop was within 10 feet from router.
The router even dead frequently after I changed the configuration with the browser. I had to fully reset again and again.

Then I called their tech. support and updated the firmware for 6 times. It was long waiting for everytime and I was even be dropped off several times after 20 min or more waiting!
At last, they agree it was defect and would replace it. It was already two months passed.

It took them another half month to ship the replacement.
I just got it today (April. 17). The new one came with the newest firmware, and lookss better for the wireless part. The signal can be stable around 95% within 10 feet distance. But the configuration is still buggy. I have done reset 5 times within 1 hour, just wanted to enable wireless MAC control. :(

So 3 months passed I still can not use this. What can I say. Never want to buy dlink again!

7 Don't buy this trouble
I bought one of this in Jan. 2003, then the trouble began.
The wireless signal was very unstable and I never got a full 11M connection even the laptop was within 10 feet from router.
The router even dead frequently after I changed the configuration with the browser. I had to fully reset again and again.
Then I called their tech. support and updated the firmware for 6 times. It was long waiting for everytime and I was even be dropped off several times after 20 min or more waiting!
At last, they agree it was defect and would replace it. It was already two months passed.
It took them another half month to ship the replacement.
I just got it today (April. 17). The new one came with the newest firmware, and lookss better for the wireless part. The signal can be stable around 95% within 10 feet distance. But the configuration is still buggy. I have done reset 5 times within 1 hour, just wanted to enable wireless MAC control. :(
So 3 months passed I still can not use this. What can I say. Never want to buy dlink again!

8 Great access point
I needed only an access point, but bought the DI-713P because of the price (local store for $... brand new after rebate). I needed to set it up as wireless switch/AP for my wife's laptop. I have the DI-704 (another great product), and did not need another router function. I contacted D-Link tech support (toll free), and was extremely pleased with their prompt help (less than 5 mins. wait time). They told me to change IP address (to 192.168.0.2), disable DHCP, and use LAN to LAN port connection with a X-over cable. And BINGO, it works as a charm. I have no need for its print server function. Even though D-Link has discontinued production of the DI-713P, it is still a great product with many features (router/firewall, wired 10/100 switch, wireless 802.11b, MAC cloning, 64 or 128 encryption, address filtering, print server). My wife's laptop (W98SE) has the DWL-650 wireless PC card (also terrific), and connection between DWL-650 and DI-713P is fabulous in range and signal strength (consistent 90-100%). I have 5 different D-Link products, and have never been disappointed in terms of quality and tech support. Needless to say D-Link is my first choice for networking (Netgear would be second), and NO, I do not work for either.

9 Found defective Wi-Fi too late
The wired portion worked fine. Tried to use the Wi-Fi about a year later, and it appeared to be DOA. I have a Linsys USB adaptor, a D-link USB adaptor, and a build-in one in my laptop. The OS ran the gambit of Win98SE, Win2000 and Win XP. None can detect the Wi-Fi signal. Tried the most up-to-date drivers and firmware. Nothing worked. I am treating the antena as an ornament. I didn't think of using the Wi-Fi earlier because my laptops are bulky (8 lbs). Should have bought a wired router/PS with uplink port for a wireless AP. This way, if the wireless portion is bad, I'm not facing an eyesore. The DI-713P doesn't have an uplink port. I noticed that Linksys does not sell such a combo. Maybe they know something.

10 Works great but not compatible with newer products
This is a great router / access point.... very easy to configure... and the range is extremely good. Besides you also get the print server functionality, and the ability to add an external modem on the COM 1 port as a backup to your broadband.

The only reason for a rating of 3 (and not 5) is that it is not compatible with newer DLINK products like the 900AP+... so if you think you might have to extend your wireless range in future, consider another product.

11 bad product and customer support
The first one died, replacement has no working WI-FI and in bad physical shape. Called Customer support and they fianlly told me to go to RMA group. Informed then and they put me on hold for 40 minutes. Could not get back after that. So, I have paid full price + cost to UPS back one piece and have a no-working blok of plastice. I will be asking for money back at this point

12 DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!
...

I'm writing this review for anyone who is considering purchasing the D-Link DI-713P router.

DON'T DO IT!!!

First of all, it's a piece of junk. Secondly, even if you just have to have a D-Link router and none other, the prices listed for this item are too high, though the security of buying through Amazon.com may be worth the extra money...

...My bad experience with the DI-713P router mirrors the experiences of many other customers who have reviewed this product on this site, which I stupidly failed to read before buying. Basically, my router won't recognize wireless signals, which makes it just a garden-variety wired router, with a print server but with only 3 ports. It cost WAY too much for that. I'm going to try to get some relief from D-Link in the form of a rebate or a switch to a newer model. I'm not going to hold my breath, though. I'll probably wind up buying from another manufacturer.

13 Solid product, everything works great except wireless range
Everything works straight out of the box, didn't experience any of the problems other people complained about. ADSL connection, wireless connection, print server, all work great. Only had to reboot it twice over the last 5 month (except for when I changed some settings that requires reboot).
[edit] while writing this review, had to reboot the router for the 3rd time. LOL

The only thing I'm unhappy with is the wireless range which is FAR less than the advertised 35-100 meters (indoor). Anywhere between 15-25 meters, the speed dropped to the minimum 1 Mbps. Any further, it's good luck trying to pick up the signal.

14 The rebate never arrived
They didn't send me the rebate at all. I received a card telling me that they could not find the UPC number in my envelope.
I had to call them to tell them I did sent it. They took a few weeks until I called again. They ignore me until I got tired of calling them.

15 Should've bought a Linksys
Bought the D-Link DI-713P Wireless Router 4 months ago through Amazon. Have not been able to get it to work with SBC Ameritech DSL provider. Have been shuffled around from tech support rep to tech support rep for almost 4 months now. They could not figure out why it didn't work so they punted and sent me a replacement router, hoping that it was a hardward problem. No dice, same problem. A buddy of mine also wanted to go wireless and asked me to help him out. He's on SBC Ameritech as well, but is moving soon to an area that is serviced by Direct TV. He wisely called them up to get a recommendation regarding routers and was told that most of their trouble calls come from D-Link owners. So we got him a Linksys yesterday. It literally took me 5 minutes to get everything out of the box and working. I'm still waiting for a promised call from Dlink's "level 3" tech support.

16 Great product but......
like other people, I have had a hard time getting my rebate that I sent in May 2002. Part of it was my fault for not putting the receipt in the envelope, but the resubmit has cost me a lot of time. They said they are sending my check in 2-3 weeks. As for the router, being an IT person might have helped tweak the settings, but other than that, setup was very simple on Windows 98. I also purchase the 650 PCMCIA wireless card to use on my W2K laptop and have had not problems at all.

17 Encryption never worked - Unit completely died in a few days
I have a Compaq Presario 1800 Laptop running Windows ME and a cable modem. My ISP is Charter Pipeline and provides the simplest means for connecting to the internet (I don't have to supply any kind of MAC address to my ISP, there is no need to supply a host name, and they assign you an IP address dynamically). My network interface card (NIC) is also made by D-Link; it is the DWL-650. I also have an HP LaserJet 1200 connected to the parallel port of the DI-713p.

I bought this wireless router and NIC on Nov. 29, 2002 and the first problem to show itself was when you tried to use WEP encryption. If you used WEP then the DI-713p would hang up (lock up) and this would cause you to loose your connection. To restore your connection you'd have to power cycle the router. This was definitely not good and to add to the annoyance every time you power cycled the DI-713p the printer would spit out one sheet of paper with a little bit of random text printed.

I contacted D-Link's trouble shooting center (via email), but their response seemed unrelated to my complaint. I replied to their response and never heard from them again. So much for automated support!

However, I got past this discovering that not using any encryption seemed to resolve this problem and I found that the DI-713p used with the DWL-650 NIC worked very well with decent range, throughout our large house and just outside the house as well. The built in print server worked great and I really like that feature! To add some security to my wireless network I enabled a MAC filter so that the MAC address of my NIC would be the only wireless connection allowed. With MAC filtering on, I had excellent, and trouble free, performance up until Dec. 10, 2002 when the NIC just quit working. When the NIC failed I noticed that if you turned the NIC off for a while (let it cool down) and then turned it back on it would work for a few minutes and then fade way until it wasn't working anymore (even with the NIC sitting inches from the access point - the DI-713p). How disappointing!

Luckily, I was able to return both items for a full refund (not counting shipping costs). I don't know what to say at this point. I really enjoyed this setup for the brief time that it worked and the print server was absolutely great. The non-wireless portion of the router still works, but I bought this router for its wireless feature.

Next, I gambled that if there was some production issue with earlier models then they would be resolved in a relatively short time. After returning the DI-713p and DWL-650 I decided to order directly from the manufacture (at a higher cost). I got the DI-714p with the DWL-650+ and found that these two units to work beautifully (although range is slightly less). I've run the DI-714p and DWL-650+ continuously for two weeks using 128-bit encryption and MAC filtering with very little trouble (I had to reboot the router twice during 336 hours of continuous operation - this is acceptable to me).

My only explanation regarding my experience with my previous wireless router (DI-713p and DWL-650) was that I had an earlier version that had manufacturing problems.

18 D-link is D-fective - will try Da Linksys instead
I bought this wireless router and Dlink wireless card for my laptop two days ago - it goes back today.

First off, I have XP on pc and XP pro on laptop.
I am tech savvy enough to connect a home network and resolve most issues on my own.

With that said.. at first the wireless card worked well with laptop and router seemed to be configured just fine for host pc (wired to router). It was plug and play at first - XP makes it easy that way. Then... the laptop couldnt see the pc - only the internet. Then the pc couldnt see the internet or even the diagnostic tool for the router located in a browser and typing in the default 192.168.0.1 network address. Then.. XP kept telling me a network cable had become disconnected every 20-30 seconds followed instantly by it telling me connection was obtained? I played with the pc's hardware by removing one of the two NICs and then moving them around within the pc. I upgraded the firmware for the router at the suggestion of customer service. i manually reset the router to its original settings per their advice. i powered everything up in proper sequence as directed. only step I didnt take was to throw the router at the wall. By the way - I found out that my apt wall is probably made up of steel and concrete - 10 feet away from the router base, through the closet wall, the signal strength of the wireless card was only 2 out of 5 lines. I cant quantify that further since the wireless card utility that is supposed to load on the pc to check the strength - did not load at all (cust service told me i could download it from the net.. whaaa???)

Customer service agreed that its most likely defective and to return unit. But how can that be, the dummy light on the unit (M2 light) telling you its a defective unit, didnt come on?? Oh the internal struggles within me - 'I can fix this, it has now turned into a quest..,' vs. 'Why am I wasting my time with this toy?..'

After 4 hours and 3 customer service calls -its going back. i will pay a little more and get a Linksys. Too many bad customer reviews ... to make me think its a fluke.

19 Update on my earlier review
I wrote a review some time ago giving it a 4.

In the meantime I tried to upgrade to the lastest firmware from my laptop using the wireless connection: VERY BAD IDEA. I basically fried the unit.

However customer service was good. I got a replacement (after a couple of weeks shipping and waiting) at no cost.

I am using it with VPN and have had no problem (all problems so far were VPN issues)...

20 Nice features, poor quality.
I bought this router from techdepot about six months ago. I installed it via wireless connection along side with the DWL-520 Wireless card. Had to call tech support to get it running, the router and wireless cards both needed software updates to function properly. Their service was very helpful. It functioned properly for about 2 weeks and then I noticed that my wirless connections would not connect anymore. The light on the router had gone out as well. D-Link support said that the wireless portion of the router died and that I would have to send my router back to them to get a new one. To save costs, I drove it over to their manufacturing plant and picked up another one with little effort. After connecting the second router, the wireless portion worked for no more than 30 seconds before failing. Fed up with returns, I hard-wired the connections instead of using the wireless. I was very disappointed with this router's quality and performance. The web features built into it are decent but for the trouble I went through to figure out what was wrong was not worth my time.

21 great product
I am a web developer, and I use this (along with the AirPlus notebook card) in my home. I can sit on my couch with my laptop and surf the net or work without any messy wires. The setup was extremely easy--i just plugged it in to my modem (the card into my notebook) and windows XP did the rest. no configuration, nothing. Not only that, but my downloads are as fast, if not faster than using an ethernet cord. Great product, would recommend it to anyone!!

22 Works great for Mac. Works with system 9.2 and osx Jaguar
I bought this router and the wireless card to get my wife off my mac because she was always on the internet. So I bought the wireless card for her dell latitude laptop and everything was just plug and play. A very reliable and stable piece of equipment. Once I installed it that was it. I never had to set the config. window on the router ever again.

23 3 months and Works Perfectly
Not a lot of words to say on this. I've had this unit for 3 months now. It installed easily and has worked perfectly since the day I installed it. I'm able to go anywhere in my house and get a decent signal (unit is installed on 2nd floor and I get good signal on patio or in the basement. Running on XP and WinME systems.

24 Beware Mac Users
I ordered this router and it was defective on arrival. I sent it to D-link and they sent me another unit and it was also defective. I finally found a helpful tech guy at D-Link who offered to test the third replacement with a Mac (the previous units were unable to configure the wireless part of the router) and when it arrived it worked (with some minor setup problems) and still works great. In spite of the claims on the manufacturers website the tech support for Mac users is non existent. They are polite, but noone there has a clue about using their hardware with Macs.

I have had the router for 2 years now and it has worked flawlessly.

25 Sloppy support makes for tough installation
The D-Link DI-713P router is alot easier to install than you think it is. Coming as it does with only a quick install guide (which is not compatible with WinNt or 2000) and difficult to follow on-line support, figuring out the details is something that requires a little experience with wireless routers or a well placed friend with networking experience. If you have that experience then you should have no problem putting the unit together, but without it you could spend many hours adjusting parameters that have no effect on the performance of the machine.

While there is no printed manual, a disk version can help you run through some of the issues you might have with this machine, but even then the support is poorly written and relies too heavily on jargon and terminology that might be unfamiliar to new users of this technology. Even now, with the system up and running, I remain unsure as to how to configure a number of the customizable features that make this unit so powerful.

And it is powerful. The printing connection is extremely useful and the wireless signal is strong. I haven't had any problems beyond installation (and again with adequate documentation I don't think I would have had these problems).

Finally, while the unit does have a kind of polished high tech look. It's overall veneer is kind of plasticky and cheap. The two rubber antennas connect loosely and easily fall over. It was also packed in such a way that the power adapter prongs sat on top of the device so that they left superficial scratches on the paint. This does not impair the functionality of the router, but cosmetically it is disappointing -- especially when you pull the router out of the box.

I have had better experiences with netgear routers and would recommend them over this item. I find they are more sturdily constructed and come with far superior documentation and support. I chose this unit for home use because of the printer connection and its price. I would probably choose differently if I had to again.

26 Does Not Handle VPN Well
I was going to replace my reliable old Linksys non-wireless router with this D-Link one. I chose it partly because of the integrated print server.

In general it worked fine for most applications. However, I also use it to access my company's network from home using VPN. This did not work well. I tried both wired and wireless modes for this with no improvement. I wasn't able to download anything other than small files and it had trouble getting updates from the corporate email server.

I tried working with customer support but they weren't able to help.

I switched to the new Microsoft wireless router and it works fine and is much easier to setup.

27 My wireless also stopped working 2 months after I had it
The real problem is they sent a replacement unit to me and it also didn't work. I'm now waiting for yet another replacement to be sent.... More to follow.

28 I don't know what desrves one star so I gave it 2
I don't know what dissapoints me more the weakness of the signal, the weakness of the tech support, or the fact that I cant install any of 3 different printers even though I bought this router (as opposed to most others) because the print server is supposedly built in. I live in a one bedroom apartment. You'ld think Il'd get a signal anywhere in the apartment. Well think again. My laptop gets a poor signal which constantly cuts out breaking any connection I might have had. The thing is impossible to configure cause xp drivers sre not included in many products (I bought the farm, an usb adapter and a card- the upgraded 20% better connection one- lol,for the notebook) and if after holding endlessly you get a person at tech support feel very lucky if they know what they are talking about. Since I spent days trying to configure this "network" I called tech support about a dozen times. I got through four times and got a knowledgeable person once. And since they are only supposed (allowed?) to stay on with you for 15 minutes - that slipped from an incompetant who told me I needed Microsoft support (lol again). I'm still trying to configure it to get 1/2 of my dsl bandwith I used to get (on the wired nic) and am really tired of this whole stupid experience. I'm the one who is stupid for not getting one of the systems that other reviewers suggested after having a similar experience with D_Link. BTW you can share your printer through your main or wired computer and though there are performance and convenience costs) you dont need a printer router and can probably better use the 4th port.

29 Decent wireless router for the price
So far the 713P works as advertised. The set up instructions are not real clear and are directed at W98 users. (I'm using a wired Win98 PII 233 and a wireless Dell Inspiron 8200 with an internal wireless modem P4 1.8Ghz XP pro) I found more helpful info on the D-link web site FAQ's. It took me around an hour to get my LAN and wireless connections working and because the router is in the corner of my basement I get a weak but usable signal on the far end of the upper level of my house. I didn't bother with the encryption settings as the signal outside isn't strong enough for anyone on the street to pick up. I still need to configure the printer port but that shouldn't be a problem. All in all it's a good product...

Update - had to buy a new printer to work with the Printer Port (old one was 5 yrs old). You need to make sure that your printer is "networkable" so I got a HP 5550. 30 minutes to set up new printer on wired and wireless machines and I was printing just like that. The lack of Bi-directional information is kind of a pain but the ability to share a printer makes up for it.

30 No sweat, great range.
I had broadband access at a satellite office between my desk and the main office. We decided to use an instant messenger service on all PCs to allow our employees to get messages to one another without having to tie up the phones (and in our case, to avoid long distance, interstate calls). I bought this D-Link (plus their wireless cards) and set it up myself in less than 10 minutes. I already had experience setting up a LinkSys wireless router at home, so that experience made this job simple. I needed no instructions, which was good, as there is very little written documentation with this unit (it's all on the included CD ROM). Personally, I like the way it looks (another reviewer didn't), and I'm more than pleased with the security features and the very good range ("excellent" signal quality at near maximum range!). If I had to buy another wireless setup, I'd take either LinkSys or D-Link (whichever was the better bargain) without any reservations. However, for wired apps, the LinkSys has 4 ports and the D-Link only 3, whereas the D-Link has a dedicated wireless print server and the LinkSys doesn't.

31 Some work better than others
I had problems with my first D-Link DI-713P wireless broadband router, because it wouldn't stay up for more than 20 minutes. I brought it back to the store and exchanged for another one.

Everything is fine with the second one. It's been up and running ever since.

32 how lucky do you feel?
This worked great for several months and then the wireless connection no longer connected. Tech support was not of help. I highly suggest reviewing the forums ... before making a purchase.

33 Great equipment for the money
I've never installed one of these before, but just an hour into it and I am writing this form my back yard. Plug it in, turn it on and... problems. Go to web site and download BIOS update and install and BINGO! It works.

Trying to get my cat5 connections to work now, too... Worked fine on the linksys mini-hub, but having problems with the new D-Link. Once that is working, I am going to tackle the printserver (one battle at a time). A good buy for the money.

The documentation makes assumptions regarding DSL configurations which may or may not be accurate for your ISP. Call your ISP tech support for the answers (meaning don't do this at midnight...)

34 Read the directions before you start
I spent 2 months researching my first networking purchase. I looked on Amazon, cnet.com, and epinion.com for input from others and Dlink consistantly received high marks. The only concern, and it involved all of the wireless mfgrs, was involving documentation.

I read all of the enclosed material (very light reading) and spent additional time on D-link's FAQ before installation. I was able to get my hub and a wireless card installed within 1 hour without a hitch. There has been no noticable degradation to my broadband performance either.

Follow the instructions and dont just read the directions after things have gone wrong and you should have a similar experience.

35 Works Just Fine
This is the centerpiece of our new wi-fi home network, and it works as advertised. We have a Dell desktop hard wired in, and both a Dell laptop and a Mac desktop connected wirelessly using cards by other manufacturers. I did have to call D-Link tech support twice, once to get it working with my DSL line and once to disable some protection so that I could host internet games. But the tech support was great and fixed my problems quickly. I'm no techie, but I got it running with what I consider minimal effort. And so I recommend this router.

36 My experience with this device [stunk].
I've had this router setup for 3 weeks and it died today. I'm back using my Netgear RT314 which i've used for past couple years without any problems. The D-link Dl-713P suddenly would seem fine but activity is nothing to the computers although the lights show no problems on the device. I checked the settings on the router itself and it shows there is "modem not ready", but when I plug the Netgear in, it worked flawlessly... so just boils the problem down to the Dl-713P.

Another complaint is the print server part is very slow once there is a bit of activity on the router. Sometimes I don't even get any printouts although the print que show them printing. I don't think this unit works very well at all from my experience. The features listed for the Dl-713P seems tempting though, setup was very easy... just plug and play.

I'm taking this broken one back tomorrow.

37 Tricky with Comcast Cable modem, but GREAT
I did a lot of research before this getting this router, and I was really frustrated when I could not get it to work when it arrived. I called Comcast customer service, but they refused to tell me anything, I knew later they were fighting this wireless trend since it might let others use their service for free, presumably. The reviews here, and FAQ on D-Link website (I entered the key word "comcast"), was the help I needed, MAC cloning was the only step I was missing. Once done, everything is up and running. I may be illusioned because of the excietment, but the web pages seem to download much quicker than before!!!!

38 Outstanding Performance
I purchased this product in combination with the wireless card DWL-650. The setup and install was fairly easy and I am running a hardwired iMac running OSX on the network as well as an XP laptop using the DWL-650, very easy to install. I have a 900sqft. apt and i get good range anyware i go indoors. The cons to this product are 1. i didn't know what to install first, the wireless router or the wireless nic (DO THE ROUTER) 2. you can't specify the mac address to clone, it has to be connected to the device (a problem with cable internet, i had to change it back to hardwire to clone the correct address) 3. I didnt need this, but someone might, the DWL-650 came with a quick start guide and a fairly indepth 65-70 page manual, the router only came with a skimpy pamphlet to go on. With the exception of that, this product is exceptional, great range, great functionality, easy to use. I did not take advantage of the print server or the serial port so i can't rate the functionality of those.

39 Mixed results so far
I have just installed the D-Link DI-713P on my cable modem WAN. I have a Win2K desktop connected through one of the wired ports and a WinXP HP notebook with a D-Link DWL-650 wireless adapter connecting through the wireless network. I have downloaded and installed latest drivers and firmware for both D-Links. I was able to get the wired side of things working with my desktop PC almost immediately and have had no problems at all with it. But the wireless side is a different story.

..I was able to get the units installed and configured, but it took me several hours. If you're a novice you will be in trouble. One reason is the lack of clear documentation and support for XP. If you follow the instructions that come with the DWL-650 you will get an XP machine that crashes each and every time you restart it. You will need to hunt around on the D-Link web site before you find instructions for downloading and installing a driver that works with XP.

One I did that everything works except that whenever I try to use the network for large data transfers, including streaming video and large (> 1MB) file downloads, the wireless connection goes down. When this happens the router must be restarted. This is unacceptable. I am running with 128-bit WEP. Turning this off may help but is not a solution because then you are broadcasting your network around the neighborhood.

I have not tried the printer port yet.

40 Tried it, never worked.
I bought the D-Link router because I thought the printer port would be useful, and the price was right. I spent 1/2 day off from work, on line with my DSL ISP and D-Link and the Westell modem tech support teams. My ISP provide dynamic IP addresses. The router never worked, except once for about 30 seconds, then quit. I retuned it and bought a Netgear wireless router. I plugged it in and it worked first time, no problems at all. I'd stay away from this D-Link product.

41 Great product, read before setup
I got the DI713-P and a Dlink DW650H card from Amazon, at great prices, including a rebate.

First of all, set it up with an access readily available to the net. Check inmediatly the firmware level (in my case I upgraded the unit from 2.57 as shipped to the latest 2.60) and upgrade it to the lattest, from the D-Link site (either www or ftp). This was the absolute first thing to do and by wired connection. Firmware upgrade and reboot was a snap, about 20 seconds.

Initially tested it at the office, with both a wired PC and wireless cards, the one I bought and a Cisco 350 card, no problems whatsoever.

Setting it up at home with cable modem also fast job, be sure to check the manual (not extremely detailed but enough). Run into small trouble as my ISP requires to use the same MAC address, but a convenient Clone button is available in the Tools Menu of the router. This step was also covered on the manual, which of course I read after the trouble.

My home setup is two wired desktops with Win 2000 Professional, my laptop with a Cisco 350 also win 2000 and wifes laptop with Win 98 and the Dlink DW650H card. Everything setup within minutes loading the apropiate drivers. Printer is an HP 600, also no problem to setup. Have not tried the WEP security or backup modem facility.

The wireless reach is going to be less than expected from specs. Be sure to place in apropiate convenient middle of the road location, as distance and walls dramatically decrease reach. If not able to get there, either get an external booster antenna or if you enjoy doing it, build your own, plenty of specs available on the net.

One word of advice: this is a fairly simple product to use if you understand networks and setup of apropiate drivers, if you don?t, better read a lot before hitting the wall, the site I found extremely good for this kind of info is the PracticallyNetworked site.

My only trouble using it was the setup to be able to use Netmeeting behind the firewall, had to use the DMZ option which is only for one address at a time, but that is good enough for myn home use, might be a problem with some games if you want to use more than one PC at a time and need a DMZ access for all.

42 Great product, read before setup
I got the DI713-P and a Dlink DW650H card from Amazon, at great prices ... . Prices have gone up quite a bit after that. Delivery took longer than usual about a week.

Initially tested it at the office, with both a wired PC and wireless cards, the one I bought and a Cisco 350 card, no problems whatsoever.

One word of advice: this is a fairly simple product to use if you understand networks and setup of apropiate drivers, if you don't, better read a lot before hitting the wall ... .

43 Great Router!
If you're looking for an 11 MBPS router, this is the one to get. Very few have a built in print server, and after using it for the last 7 months, I couldn't live without it. It's much easier than sharing a printer attached to a specific computer (which must be on in order to use it's shared printer). The range is typical, and the setup / config tools are easy to follow. My only problem is that I bought it too soon; another few months and I would have gotten the newer version which is on sale now. My 7-month old router is too "old", and cannot accept optional higher-powered antennas like the new routers can.

44 It works. It was a snap to set up.
The documentation is skimpy to say the least. But it was easy enough to setup that it doesn't really need much more. I had it up and running quickly and without a hitch.

It works fine. I have nothing to compare it to, but it works for me.

I have 2 computers wired to the network as well as my printer. I have 1 laptop that uses the wireless. It all works just fine.

I have not, however, delved into the security features.

45 Runs great....well.....
I bought my first DI-713P from Amazon, and right out of the box, the wireless network failed to work. I upgraded the firmware, and it sprung to life, those barely. The reception was horrible. After a couple of months, I swapped my Amazon with one I bought from a local company and returned the Amazon one in lieu. The one I got from the local company works great, wireless and hardwired. Took some fidgeting and some legally questionalble manuvering, but it works now...

46 Great Value for Money, but has some issues with VPN
this is probably the best router available in this price range.. i have been using this for over 3 months now and am quite happy with it except for a small problem that everytime i use it to connect to my company's site thru VPN, the FTP speed goes down to 3-4 kbps which really [stinks], but everything else works just fine.. but overall, its a great [deal] at about [$$].

47 It's working just fine.
I installed this product a few months ago. I configured two computers using the hardwire ports. I also hooked up my portable using of the D-link receiver card. I had a slight problem configuring the receiver card in my portable because I had another type of card installed prior to this one (uninstall/re-install, you know the story). Also the installation, configuration instructions for the receiver card is not very clear. I configured the router software using the browser interface without any problems. And everything has been working fine. Lets see where things stand after six months. The price/feature is very good. It's plugged into a UPS and it's always on and the power is filtered. May help is last longer then others.

I have not hooked up the printer support because at this time I don't need it. I really don't think they could have made this product work 100% for all printers. I would expect problems.

Overall I like the product and I just purchased my second unit. In six months I will come back and update this review up or down. Lets see what happens.

48 You Get Exactly What You Pay For!
When I was looking to purchase a router for my new broadband connection I thought that instead of just purchasing a router I would purchase a wireless router. Well I came upon Dlink and I purchased this product, against the guidence of one of my friends who said the product would go bad in a few months, because it was very inexpensive compared to other companies. Well I can assure you that I will NEVER buy from Dlink again. I've had this product for about 6 months and it has died on me just like my friend had said it would. I called Dlink and the first few tech support guys i talked to were very unhelpful. But I finally got in touch with a tech guy who cared and he didn't seem too surprised that the product died. Infact he said he's surprised it didn't happen sooner. So, I'm being sent a new one and i'm immediately taking it back to the store to get a product from Linksys. I do NOT recommend this product to anyone at all. It will die and has very horrible compatabiltity as it interferes with panasonic phones. Definately buy a router from Linksys or another reputable company that has GOOD products and helpful technical support.

49 Print Server Doesn't Work
The wireless networking is fine. The print server doesn't work. The documentation is sparse.

50 Nice features! Worked out of the box!
For the money you really can't beat this deal... It was a no brainer.

So far, so good. I have two Cisco Aironet 340 PC Cards that I am using and the link around my 2 story, 3100 sq foot home is prety good. The link stays at 11Mbps but I have seen it drop to 2Mbps only to go back to 11Mbps around 30 seconds later.

The only down side I can see is the print server. I setup one of my laptops with access through D-Link's LPT port driver and it worked the first day. After that, printing from the laptop wouldn't work at all BUT the hardwired PC of mine still did work. So, have yet to reinstall the D-Link printer driver to the laptop to get it connected again (atleast I hope that will fix the problem).

So, I have had good luck thus far. As I said, out of the box, plugged in AC/DC adapter, plugged in the Cable Modem out to the WAN port and the LAN port connect to the PC, and the 802.11b PC Cards and I was rockin'. Oh, don't forget to set the SSID on your PC Cards and the access point otherwise connecting wirelessly won't work.

Cheers!

51 excellent for price
i use this at my two bedroom two story condo...works great. i love the print server...its so convenient to be able to print from my laptop from anywhere in the house! lots of security features and is a breeze to set up...

52 Great product, for a great price
Up and running in less than 10 minutes without reading any manuals.

First, I am replacing my Linksys BEFSR41 in order to go wireless. I have had nothing but a great experience with my Linksys. I had a hard time deciding between the D-Link product and the Linksys product. But I choose the D-Link because of the Print Server Feature and Price.

My home network
AT&T Cable Modem
Dell P3/1000 w/ 100 mbps ethernet card (Windows ME)
IBM T21 (laptop) w/ D-link DWL650 802.11b card (Windows 2000)
HP Deskjet 820Cse

Notable Applications: Web surfing, occasional on-line gamer (Gamespy), IPSEC VPN tunneling for teleworking (heavy user), webconferencing, streaming media (audio/video).

I telecomute about 2-3 full days a week plus I usually log in every night to do some quick e-mail using my laptop. The main motivation for upgrading from my wired Linksys to the D-link set up was so I would not be tied to my home office. I wanted to be able to check my e-mail at work from my back patio.

EXPERIENCE WITH D-LINK

First, I unplug my linksys and plugged in the D-link. Then I inserted the PC Card in my laptop. I booted up my laptop. Windows detected the hardware. I inserted the CD and selected the Windows 2000 driver. Rebooted my laptop. And like magic, when I booted up I was connected. 10 minutes from start to finish. From this point, I did log into the router/access point and did some configuring (i.e. change admin password, etc.)

Highlights: Easy setup, lots of features, good price.
Lowlights: Not much of a manual, you have to look at the PDF on the CD. The case for the router is not "cool" looking like some others (sounds stupid but coolness is a factor)
TBD: Have not played much with the range yet. I have not tried to set up the print server yet.

Amazon.com Experience: Great. Nothing to complain about. The products arrived before they promised.

NOTE: I am a network engineer for a major telecommunications provider. I have my CCNA. All to say that, I have a pretty good understanding of TCP/IP and WAN/LANs. Although I am not an expert, my experience I am sure made this process a lot less painful.

53 Technology not there yet
This item does not work in a house because it has difficulty transmitting throuh walls or around corners. After calling the help line to make sure we had set everything up correctly, the manufacturer confirmed that it is really designed for a very large office space without walls so that the signal can travel at a straight shot, and that almost all home users were reporting very poor performance of the product.

54 Nice product but with some bizarre wireless issues
I was initially able to get both my wired and wireless D-Link clients working immediately through this router. I like the fact it has its own print server so any Windows client can print to the attached printer. However I did have some problems with the wireless connectivity. After about three months, the wireless side just stopped working regardless of the settings. I tried all combinations (different channels, SSID, WEP/no WEP, MAC control/no MAC control) and nothing would connect no matter how close or far I was from it. So I tried something totally off the wall last week and REPOSITIONED the router from horizontal to vertical. No settings were changed nor was the router rebooted but all of a sudden the wireless connection was up again with excellent signal strength. I'm speculating the metal case in its horizontal position was drawing a lot of static interference from my desk or it just works better in a tower antenna-like position. The wireless connection's been consistent for over a week so I'm satisfied for now. I'd give it a higher rating if the connection stays up from now on.

55 WEP does not work
Good price (especially with recent price fall and rebates) with excellent features. Easy to setup, I was up and running in less than 10 minutes out of the box. No problems with interworking with 802.11b Wireless lan cards from other manaufacturers (Addtron, 3COM and Buffalo), but I simply cannot get WEP (64 bit or 128 bit) to work with this product despite many hours and numerous exchange of emails with D-Link technical support and numerous firmware update.

I found the printer server feature was extremely easy to setup and has been working very reliably and faultless even though I have a really ancient Kodak laser printer.

If WEP is important to you when interworking with wireless cards from other manufacturers then this may not be for you.

56 Make sure you have the new model of DI-713P .....
I baught this D-link DI-713P...I have activated 128 bit encryption, firewall for blocking unnecessary ports etc. and everything is working fine. I did not feel any degradation in the connection speed after I turned on encryption. I think this is a great working and great looking product. I would not hesitate to recommend it .... GO FOR IT ... SHARE YOUR RESOURCES IN HOME NETWORK .... and HAVE FUN!!!!

57 You get what you pay for
The firewall/router part of the box so far has been flawless, easy to set up and works as advertised, but the wireless access point portion has been extremely disappointing. I am having the same problems as others who have reviewed, the wireless works fine for about 10 minutes, then begins disconnecting and giving horrible signal quality. This was with a D-Link DWL-650 and a Lucent Orinoco Silver, both doing the same thing even sitting right next to the box! Do yourself a favor and pass on the DI-713p. Get the wireless access point separate from the firewall/router.

58 Wireless functionality did not work
It was very difficult to get set up. The Linksys BEFW11S4 was much more simple to set up. I bought the 713P and the wireless part didn't work and then I bought another one and the connection was so weak. My computers are in two separate rooms with two walls between them and the signal strength was always at none or weak. I didn't like the Dlink compared to the Linksys one.

59 Great Product, Recommend.
It works right from the box. Signal strength is good with USR2410 PC card. It's better with the unit in vertical position in my house as the manual says to try so. The DI-713P is at one end of the house and USR2410 is at the other end, pretty far away. I am using MAC filtering and the wireless connection picked up right after reboot. Both wired and wireless connections are great. Will try WEP and SSID later. That's why it's 4 stars for now. My hardware version is E1 and firmware 257b6a.

60 Great Product, Recommend.
It works right from the box. Signal strength is good with USR2410 PC card. It's better with the unit in vertical position in my house as the manual says to try so. The DI-713P is at one end of the house and USR2410 is at the other end, pretty far away. I am using MAC filtering and the wireless connection picked up right after reboot. Both wired and wireless connections are great. Will try WEP and SSID later. That's why it's 4 stars for now. My hardware version is E1 and firmware 257b6a.

61 It's the support that makes the difference
I suppose the technology inside is generic enough in these routers that there will be not much difference between one manufacturer and another, but having had an awful experience with an Addtron WAP product (customer support that wilfully lied to wiggle out of supporting their product), I decided to go with a company that had some customer support (as I could make out from Amazon's customer reviews). Our DSL had fixed IP addresses for its subscribers (now changed to familiar DHCP), so the quick start guide did not apply, but calling D-Link's customer support was a breeze. I could get accross to someone knowledgable all the three times within two to three minutes of waiting, and they led me through the process without hurrying through and courteously. Information about me that was collected the first time was available to the support people during subsequent calls, making the calls that much less time-consuming. Finally, my calls were once made during the day, once during the night (late night), and once during the night in a weekend. So, the 24-hour customer support was not just something they advertise.

Why do I spend so much time and electrons on support, rather than the product? I think that the products I use, while being pretty neat, are not rocket science, and there are a plenty of people who make them pretty well. However, while I am comfortable using them, and can follow instructions in manuals without making a mistake, I am not an expert in the technology per se, and therefore like to talk to somebody once in a while to make it work. It is in such cases that you separate the men from the boys, and that is where D-Link's support shone. Is there a better product out there? Sure, manufacturers come out with better products every day, and this router is definitely not state-of-the-art. However, when it comes to buying other networking gear as I go along, I will be very comfortable using D-Link's products, especially products with which people have a wide spectrum of experiences, for I can feel confident now that I can get someone knowledgeable on the other end of the phone quickly, and who can possibly lead me through my current problem.

62 Routing a breeze, but print server problems
This was an incredible value, and I am happy to say that I had internet access for all my computers the moment I had connected everything. I have Verizon DSL service, a Windows 98 desktop wired to the router, a wired Windows 2000 desktop, and a Windows 2000 laptop connected via a DWL-120 wireless USB adapter. I have a 2 story, 1600 sq ft home, and I have excellent reception throughout the house.

File sharing was somewhat more challenging, but that was due to the firewall and VPN software that I had running on the system. Now, I am able to easily transfer files.

The print server is another issue. I was able to print from my laptops, but not from the desktop. It seems like Windows 98 does not like the D-Link printer port that the software creates. Strangely enough, I was able to print from the desktop when setting up the printer on the laptop as a share. Downside: the laptop must be running in order for me to print.The printer is an Epson Stylus Color 400 (about 5 years old). Tech support has been unable to resolve this. I'm not too concerned about it since I have worked around the problem and you won't find another router/wap/print server for anywhere near the price of the 713P.

63 Wireless connection does not work
Like several other customers, I also cannot get the wireless connection to work. Same symptoms as other posts -- works fine for a few minutes, then the connection goes to Fair/Poor and disconnects regularly. Basically unusable. If I unplug the unit, let it sit for a bit, and plug it back in, connectivity goes to Good/Excellent for 5-10 minutes, then back to Fair/Poor/disconnected.

I have not found any tech support phone number -- could someone post it here? What is their warranty and return policy? I feel like I've thrown my money away.

If I'm able to get a replacement, I'll post a followup.

64 good performance, has room for improvement
the good: good signal strength

the bad:
- no uplink port
- have to input 26 or 10 hex-decimal digit WEP key manually, other wireless routers like linksys generates the WEP key automatically after you enter a simple string.

not tested: printer server

65 Works Great
It took about 20 mins to set it up, and I am not a technical person at all. Right now it works great and I get a consistently good signal from all over my house. At first I used a D-link card, and it worked fine, but the range wasn't as great as I expected it to be. Now I use a Netgear 401 card in my XP Pro laptop and I get amazing range. I think it must be a combination of the card and the router. Anyway you just have to understand whether or not you recieve a Static IP or Dynamic IP ect. from your ethernet provider and you will be fine. Also the SSID thing can mess you up. Just make sure the SSID on your router matches the SSID entered into your wireless card and you will be fine.

66 it just works
I don't have major needs right now, I just wanted something that I could plug in and it would just work. This box did exactly that. I've never had a problem with it. Setting up debian to use it with dhcp was actually easier than setting it up with Windows. If you have fairly simple needs and just want something that works I totally recommend this box.

67 WOOF!
When they quit printing paper manuals some companies apparently decided: "Why have a manual at all!"

To be sure, this has a manual, but it isn't a manual worthy of the name.

I bought this product and the Dlink laptop card back in March and I still haven't been able to get it working. With my 30+ years in the IT field you'd think a consumer product wouldn't be much of a challenge, but with the dearth of support from Dlink and the lack of anything resembling a useful user's guide - well, what can I say? Maybe you should consider spending your money on another brand like Linksys.

68 Superb
Easy to install. Fast. Excellent software. Everything worked without a problem, and without a call to technical support. All wireless clients can print, everyone can get on the internet, fast, everyone has their own email. This is one best buys I've made to date. Excellent!

69 Be aware of its wireless link quality
I've revised my rating down to 3 stars after experiencing
problem with its wireless link that started to surface
less than a month in use. My laptop kept showing that
the signal strength to the D-link wireless gateway
fluctuates between good and poor, and drops network
connection from time to time. The frequency of this
happening varies from every few seconds to a couple of
hours. Actually, the first spate of the trouble happened
a month ago and there was no noticeable problem in the

interim until recently. The trouble doesn't appear to
be environmental. I'm putting the box in the middle of
the room away from any other electronic devices at the
moment, but the problem is still occuring. Plus, power
cycling both my DSL modem and the wireless gateway seems
to fix the problem temporarily, which suggests this doesn't
appear environmental. Now, the product is out of the 30-day return period of Amazon, and I'm having great pain in dealing
with D-link techical support which keeps having me reset
various settings on the wireless routers just to get the
box to work temporarily in order to get me off the phone.
I wish I had returned the product the first time I
experienced the problem rather than hoping for the best.

70 good unit
I bought this unit weeks ago with a DLink 650 pc card. It was very easy to set everything up with my DSL. I have 3 machines running NT, 2000 and XP. The router handles them equally very well. And I don't have problem to have multiple machines access the internet at the same time. The printer port is my favorite. It shares my Lexmark Optra E to all my PCs. I also like the 3 ports. I use them to connect my desktop and the docking for my laptop. It's very convenient and saving money since I already have network card on all my machines. On the other hand, I do lose connetion once a while. But I can always reconnect by recaning the channel. One other thing I don't like is that I can't use the encryption functionality for the wireless connection. Once I enable the encrytion, I lose the connection. But overall, this is a very good unit especially with this price. And also, the DLink customer service is quite good. I waited less than 2 minutes before talking to a support person.

71 We're off to a good start
The D-Link 713P was a first venture into networking for me, and so far it has gone pretty easily. We now have shared access to our cable modem from two offices. The 713 was connected to my PC (1.3 Gig Athlon, Win XP Home) and the modem in a matter of minutes. I was wary when the first step in the instructions didn't work on my XP-based host. However, it connected to the D-Link web page flawlessly, and everything was smooth from there. I bought the unit recently from Amazon, and it came with the latest firmware available (2.57 build 3A1). My only non-standard point was that Adelphia requires a cloned MAC address, and this is mentioned on the D-Link wireless FAQ page. Everything fell into place after that. The system is talking through a wall,bookcase, and 30 ft. to an SMC 2602 PCI card in a Win95 based system with no problems - 80% signal.
The print server installation was easy, although the documentation has options for Win95, 98, ME or NT,2000 but no mention of XP. I simply followed the Win2000 option, and had no trouble. It is working well with an older Epson Stylus Color for now.
I have an ATI Radeon video card, which doesn't seem to cause a problem despite prior comments. The unit seems excellent, but the documentation is less than clear or lacking detail in places. I will update later when I complete the link to my Laptop with a Netgear MA401 card, and after some more taxing use.

72 Does Not Support HP Printers or ATI Video Card Drivers
The 713P does not support HP printers and is not supportable if you are using ATI video drivers - these are the excuses used by their technical support team after several hours of troubleshooting to determine why my print server, after six months of pretty good performance, had stopped letting me print documents larger than one page and started dropping wireless connections.

The technical support from D-Link is terrible. They admitted that it was probably faulty equipment, since it had worked fine for six months and without any environment change the router started to not print and also began dropping wireless connections.

After several hours of troubleshooting, their senior tech came online and told me that they did not support HP printers in the 800 series and that because one of the computers on my network was using an ATI video driver they could not justify giving me an RMA# and replacing the unit, even though it did seem that it was faulty.

Frustrating experience and while I used to recommend D-Link wireless products, based on their complete lack of support and dedication to avoiding responsibility for faulty equipment I would strongly recommend that you consider another wireless provider such as Belkin or NetGear.

73 excellent router that works well with latest firmware
I was having ALOT of problems with the wirless 11.b functionality always disconnecting me, requiring a full powerdown. That is until I installed the latest version of the firmware about 3 months ago which seems to work flawlessly now for me in winXP. Now The router is everything I had hoped it would be, allowing me to work on my laptop on the kitchen table with my other PC hooked in via cable to the router.

I also had no trouble played Asherons call through it...or Dungeon siege once opened up the correct ports. And I have succesfully video conf'd with people once I went outside the DMZ.

Great product! (if you upgrade the firmware)

74 Works great - even with 3COM wireless card
I have been using this for a month now and it has been perfect.
It installed and got it working in 15 minutes. The print server also works great.(I can print from my wireless laptop and wired desktop on the same printer). Installing the printer driver takes about 10 minutes each per machine.

I did *not* need a firmware upgrade - the firmware version listed in the config screen was the same as the one available on Dlink website.
I have a 3COM wireless card on my laptop and it works well with that - except that on the laptop, I get only half the download speeds (500 Kbps) that I get on my wired desktop(1Mbps). (which is why I give it 4 stars instead of 5).

75 Painless install/operation
Wow! After reading the less than glowing mix of reviews here, I wasn't sure what to expect from this router. ...

My concerns were short lived. I powered everything off, wired up the cable modem, and the pc, then turned everything back on in the order of modem->router->pc. Doing it this way, I didn't have to do squat to get this thing to work. (my provider is ATTBI) As soon as the pc booted, IE and outlook express were working just like having the cable modem direct conncted to the pc. The only thing I went in to the router to do was change the admin password, disable pings from the WAN, and renew the IP forever.

Setting up the wireless section was as easy as thinking up a 26 digit hex code to type in for the 128bit encryption. The wireless on the router has worked flawlessly. The DWL650 PCMCIA card for my laptop has not, however. It does not work out of the box with XP as advertised. Since I figured out the software/driver issues, it has been fine though, and I manage to get 11Mbps everywhere downstairs in my house. The signal strenght does drop pretty quick, but the integrity of the connection appears fine. Even with the 128 bit encrytion enabled, the throughput to the net is the same as the hardwired desktop - about 1.5MBps. Haven't tested the desktop-laptop connection for speed yet, nor have I tried out the print server function.

I wonder if the "updated" 713P I got (silver/green) is going to be better/more reliable than the "old" 713 (grey with smoked front)? Time will tell...

I would have given it 5 stars if the router included stateful packet inspection (SPI) like the Dlink 714. That was the only thing on my wish list I didn't get with this router.

76 Wireless freak
I like this product very much, easy to set up and i can use my laptop in my yard ( 100 feet from unit) overall I am glad I purchased it.

...

77 A good product for sure.
I bought this and it has been working great for me.
I have a Windows 2000 network and I am doing wireless
from one computer using a Linksys 802.11 usb adapter.
I am connected to a Linksys cable modem to ATT&T cable internet.
The d713p router happily corrected a problem with losing my internet connection sometimes too! (A nice bonus).
I have a Lexmark Laser connected via the Dlink 713p parallel port and it is working great.
I would give 5 stars except that the setup and documentation was

a little difficult to understand, so just 4.5 stars.

78 Poor Quality, Stay Away!!!!!
The D-LINK 713P worked for about 10 days and then the connectivity dropped every day progressively till it finally stopped working. I have an Orinoco Gold Card and can no longer connect to the 713P even when sitting right next to it. I have tried connecting with a Linksys card with no luck. Calls to DLINK are fustrating to say the least. As far as they are concerned the problems are related to the fact that I do not have a DLINK card. Go view the reviews on practicallynetworked.com. There are as many negative reviews as there as positive review which leads me to believe that the quality on this product is very bad. Stay away!!!

79 Easy administration
I have limited experience in setting up networks - it's not a designers everyday job! However this one took me about 10 minutes from plugging the hardware in to actually being inside the broswer and admin feature to set it up and even in there, it was so easy that I didn't have to look at the user's manual. I had the Internet connection up and running again with that first try of setting it up. I use it together with Orckit Fast Internet/ADSL.

I also use Adobe Web Workgroup Server and it will be interesting to see how computers from outside of the LAN will get through the firewall feature of this and work properly, I have configured it but my co-workes are sleeping at this time of the day, so I haven't heard from them yet...whether it has caused any troubles or not. I will let you know if it does!

80 Very good product
Works great, very good unit with firewall, print server, wireless and 3 ports switch ideal for a home network. I am using the wireless with a Cisco aironet 640 cards without any problem, wep enabled and mac address recognition for security. Print server works well on XP and 98. The firewall reports logs of "attacks" scary, glad I have it ...Had an incident when updated the code but got back on line, thanks to the good and fast support from D-link.

81 WARNING! Cannot be used with AOL DSL!
Little did I know this when I purchased this product, and the wireless PCMCIA laptop card, to use with my new AOL DSL service! Nowhere is this noted - DLink says it is because of proprietary AOL software that none of their products are compatible w/ AOL. Only if you use another ISP to connect to AOL will it work (but that defeats the whole purpose). I tried and tried to get this product to work with AOL before I knew about this, I could get the wireless units to talk to each other but not to the DLS modem. Now I know, after talking to tech support.
I am giving this product 1 star because this is something that I expect them to note to potential buyers BEFORE they buy the product, since so many people use AOL these days. In addition, their product manuals are outdated (eg many of the screen shots are from Win95, so there are many differences between the pictures and today's systems), and the setup/administration programs are crude at best. I do have to say that my tech support calls were always answered within a few minutes, though - no problems there.

82 Excellent product
Worked fine for me out of the box (firmware was already most recent version). Easy to configure and has worked flawlessly for me for three weeks now. Print server is a wonderful feature. Although d-link doesn't document it, linux machines can use the print server by simply using an lpd queue named 'lp' at the switch's ip address (192.168.0.1). I haven't tried any of the more advanced firewalling / port forwarding features aside from X port forwarding via ssh (which I don't think the switch is responsible for, but it certainly hasn't gotten in the way...). Wonderfully small unit, not quite as cute looking as the linksys models, but the print server is what makes this switch stand out from the rest.

83 EXTREMELY easy setup even for a novice user! Great Design!
I love the way the DI-713p just plain looks! It's really awesome! It works GREAT! I love it! I haven't been able to try out the wireless stuff yet because I don't have my laptop yet but hopefully that'll be great just as well. It was a great price and came with everything I needed. Printer server is gonna be sweet once I get my laptop!!

84 Wireless for a little while, a few minutes usually
After sending the first one back because it was Dead on Arrival, I figured I'd be okay. Nope. My wireless card connects at a blazing 11 Mbps, DHCP gives me an IP address and I'm off surfing. Then I lose connection. I reboot the computer, nothing.

HOWEVER, IF I REBOOT THE ROUTER, I GET CONNECTIVITY AGAIN (FOR A FEW MINUTES). Do not buy this router. I've connected to a friends Linksys and stayed connected. I gather from these two things that it's the router that [stinks], and me for not just getting my money back when the first one showed up dead. D-Link has *no* quality control.

85 So Far, So Good
I bought this WAP and the D-Link 650 card for my laptop. I installed the card WAP in under 10 minutes (including changes to the default configuration: SSID, WEP, etc.) and everything works great. I have the WAP in my home office connected to our DSL modem and primary PC on the second floor. On the first floor in another corner of our house, I have my laptop that gets a solid signal at 5 Mbs. I transferred a 3 MB file from one computer to the other in about 5 seconds!

So far, I'm happy.

86 Problems with the install and now it's broken!
It took a couple of calls to technical support to configure the DI-713 router to work with my XP laptop and to tie it into Sprint Broadband. After a couple of frustrating days, it worked fine. Now, three weeks later, it has stopped working with the internet. After calling technical support, it appears that the router is no longer recognizing the WAN port, so I have to send it back for repairs.

87 Think twice before going wireless
First shot was wonderful. Noticed recently, sometimes the wireless connection just simply can't connect or extremely slow to the wan port no matter how close you are. Also noticed a strange thing that one of my wired PC couldn't connect to the router through another hub, which never happened before when I used the Linksys router. Want to switch to LinkSys? Take a look at many reviews of LinkSys wireless router products. I would go back to wires and return the products if I haven't had thrown out the boxes and sent out the rebate forms. With testing as career, my advice is that think twice before going wireless at this time.

88 Internet Good, Printing Bad
I bought the DWL-500 with this unit and everything works fine for sharing high speed internet access (worked with DSL and cable). Unfortunately, it does not allow me to share my printer as advertised - it turns out D-Link has a very short list of printers compatible with the unit (check their web site). The technician begged me not to bite his head off when he told me the news - obviously used to some rather negative feedback about this shortcoming.

89 Solid but first unit I got was defective
...The unit worked out of box! Setup took me 5 minutes!
Works great - rock solid, not a single problem in a month and
I am using it all the time (2 wired and 1 wireless computer).
Range is more than sufficient-neighours in houses next to mine
are able to catch it. I like the setup page very much - coolest
thing is ability of associating fixed IP with given MAC..

90 Wireless Network for the Neophyte
This is a great wireless gateway. Installed in less than 5 mins. I did require tech support which was a toll free call and 3 minute wait - but only because of my lack of expertise. Initial concerns about compatibility with WinXP appear to have been addressed with latest firmware upgrade, which is what was installed in the gateway when received. Super ! Get the 650H high power PCMCIA card.

91 Worked...Then it didn't.
I can just reiterate what other people siad. This worked for about 1/2 hour then the wireless connection pooped out. After a reset it would hold a connection for about 5 minutes then poop out. Eventually the wireless part completely stopped working. I am well-informed about how to set these things up. The product was just defective. The customer support at D-Link was completely inadeqaute to say the least. I think I'll buy another brand.

BTW, the return process from Amazon.com has been completely painless. I'm happy I bought it from them.

92 Took some effort but everything works, now.
As a previous D-link user (PCI NICS and 5 port hub) and an excellent price from Amazon, I decided to add wireless capability to my home network via the DI-713P router and a DWL-120 USB wireless NIC.

I started by installing the DI-713P to my existing wired network. Connected the router between my cable modem and 5 port hub and could not get DHCP to computers on hub. Connected PC directly to DI-713P hub and was able to access router but could not get full DHCP info (no DNS server info). Had to disconnect hub from router then reset cable modem for router DHCP to work. Hooked everything back up in original configuration and everything worked like a champ.

The wireless connection proved to be more problematic. The DWL-120 installed as advertised until computer was rebooted. This is an AMD 450 with VIA MVP3 chipset running Windows 98. Upon reboot computer halted at start of Windows with protection error message. Computer would not boot until DWL-120 was disconnected. After computer booted I could plug in DWL-120 and all was fine until next reboot. After much hair pulling found that I had to turn off video card interrupt assignment in BIOS to clear protection error.

Computer now booted properly but DWL-120 would not link to DI-713P. Changed from infastructure mode to ad-hoc and would get green link indication but no data transfer. Also the MAC address of the other ad-hoc device was not anything recognizable. Went back to infastructure mode and tried all different channels and settings with no luck. Called D-link tech support and was pleasently surprised to get a technician in less than 5 minutes (at 8:00 PM EST). After 40 minutes on phone we determined that the wireless side of the DI-713P was defective and they recommended I return it for replacement.

Amazon's quick customer support got me a replacement within two days. New router is different in case design to first one making me believe a redesign has occured. New router works as advertised in both wired and wireless mode. Although I am happy with the final result it was quite a trip getting there.

93 On second thought...
I had given this product 5 stars based on a very impressive initial experience. ...What happened was that the 713P's became 'confused' by my attempts to configure a static mac address-based ip from a wireless client. Actually, its a bit more than confused - it won't respond to a ping, and it will not reset, no matter how many ways I try. ...... which I recommend anyone reading this consider, no matter how appealing the 713P's price/feature ratio. And also be wary of SMC, as well as several others using the same chipset. It's a shame but there doesn't seem to be a clear winner out there in the consumer wi/fi market.

94 On second thought...
I had given this product 5 stars based on a very impressive initial experience. But now the router is back in the box, on its way to Amazon (for an exchange). What happened was that the 713P's became 'confused' by my attempts to configure a static mac address-based ip from a wireless client. Actually, its a bit more than confused - it won't respond to a ping, and it will not reset, no matter how many ways I try. Both tech support technicians claimed this was weird behavior (yeah, right...).

So why am I trying again? Probably because of the spell it cast on me after it worked so magically well at first, especially for the money (at my time of purchase), and also because Amazon's customer service is so good, I'm willing to try to beat the next one to death for < 30 days before giving up on it and buying a different brand, which I recommend anyone reading this consider, no matter how appealing the 713P's price/feature ratio. And also be wary of SMC, as well as several others using the same chipset. It's a shame but there doesn't seem to be a clear winner out there in the consumer wi/fi market.

95 On second thought...
I had given this product 5 stars based on a very impressive initial experience. But now the router is back in the box, on its way to Amazon (for an exchange). What happened was that the 713P's became 'confused' by my attempts to configure a static mac address-based ip from a wireless client. Actually, its a bit more than confused - it won't respond to a ping, and it will not reset, no matter how many ways I try. Both tech support technicians claimed this was weird behavior...why am I trying again? Probably because of the spell it cast on me after it worked so magically well at first, especially for the money (at my time of purchase), and also because Amazon's customer service is so good, I'm willing to try to beat the next one to death for < 30 days before giving up on it and buying a different brand, which I recommend anyone reading this consider, no matter how appealing the 713P's price/feature ratio. And also be wary of SMC, as well as several others using the same chipset. It's a shame but there doesn't seem to be a clear winner out there in the consumer wi/fi market.

96 Very Satisfied....
My setup is as follows; 713P connected to a DSL Ethernet Modem (Alcatel) with two Dlink DWL-650 Wireless PCMCIA Network Adapters (one in a WinME Laptop, the other Win98). I have no "wired" PC connection to the 713P only wireless via the DWL-650's.

I had the 713P and both laptops up running within an hour, the 713P pretty much worked out of the box, requiring only a couple of configuration changes which were clearly covered in the installation instructions. Both laptops have no problem accessing the internet connection and the wireless range is good, with the 713P on the first floor and one of the laptops on the third floor.

I hooked my HP printer to the parallel port on the back of the 713P, installed the print server software on my two laptops and I was printing from all over the house! The print server worked like a champ.

I had one issue; configuring the 713P is web-based, you point the browser to the 713P ip address and a webpage is presented. Any changes require a "save" and then a "warm restart" of the router via the web page. When I perform the router warm restart, I lose my wireless connection to the 713P and it doesn't reestablish unless I manually unplug power from the 713P and plug it back in. After that my wireless connection is restored and the changes I made are there. I called Dlink Tech Support, first level was friendly but had me trying some pretty elementary stuff that I knew wouldn't help. After an hour I was escalated to second level support. Second level told me I had to make configuration changes from a "wired" connection, I don't buy it... But I make so few changes to the 713P configuration that it's not a huge hassle and not worth knocking the product.

Overall I'm very satisfied, the network is stable, the range is good and I'm happy with my decision.

97 Router didn't work and neither did D-Link tech support
When I received the router, it would not transmit a wireless signal. So I promptly called the tech support number (a toll call, bummer) listed in the quick start guide. I reached a recording that said to call another number (a toll-free call, yippee, and good thing b/c I would end up spending hours on the phone). The first tech I spoke to said they had been having problems with the DI-713P and he would escalate my call to a "Level 2" tech and have someone call me back. No one called back. I called again. This call was a repeat of first call, including the promise of a call back. Again, no one called me. Repeat this cycle two more times over the course of a week. The final solution from the last tech I spoke to: "This is a common problem. You better send it back." Why didn't the first guy save all of us hours of frustration and tell me to do that in the first place?! I am going to send it back and I am NOT going to replace it with another D-Link product!

98 Great Product, Worked right out of the box
... My cable company uses the MAC id to allow internet access. Once I clone the MAC ID everything started working for me. Now I can take my laptop and work where ever I want in my House.

However after using tis for more than 4 months I have noticed the wireless signal strength is going down when i use my cordless phone, panasonic 2.4 . Sometimes I don't get any signal while using my phone.

99 On second thought...
I had given this product 5 stars based on a very impressive initial experience. But now the router is back in the box, on its way to Amazon (for an exchange). What happened was that the 713P's became 'confused' by my attempts to configure a static mac address-based ip from a wireless client. Actually, its a bit more than confused - it won't respond to a ping, and it will not reset, no matter how many ways I try. Both tech support technicians claimed this was weird behavior...

So why am I trying again? Probably because of the spell it cast on me after it worked so magically well at first, especially for the money (at my time of purchase... I'm willing to try to beat the next one to death for < 30 days before giving up on it and buying a different brand, which I recommend anyone reading this consider, no matter how appealing the 713P's price/feature ratio. And also be wary of SMC, as well as several others using the same chipset. It's a shame but there doesn't seem to be a clear winner out there in the consumer wi/fi market.

100 Looks great on paper, but failed to deliver
I was lured in by the features of this wireless product wireless and wired connections, router, plus a print server, not to mention the [money] rebate. This was a bust. I plugged it in and actually had no problems connecting both wired and wireless. Everything was great for 30 minutes then I lost my connection to both. I unplugged/plugged it and was able to re-establish my connection for 5 minutes. I gave up on it after a few hours. What a piece of junk. BTW, my D-link DWL 650 did not work on my T21 Thinkpad. D-link you stink. It's in the mail back to Amazon.