Must power off to really turn off wireless
Written: Dec 30 '03 (Updated Feb 28 '05)
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Pros: Small
Cons: Wireless does not turn off, but goes unencrypted instead
The Bottom Line: Good features for the price, but beware that wireless access can only be turned off by disconnecting power - a fix is available
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| chdyoung's Full Review: D-link DI-514 Wireless Router |
Caution: you may unknowingly be providing open access to your network, but new firmware from Dlink fixes this trouble.
Supposedly you can turn off the wireless function and use only the 4 port router. When wireless should be disabled, it actually merely changes settings to; encryption off, channel 11, and broadcasting SSID "GeorgeAP22". When you turn wireless back on, then it goes back to your settings: encryption, SSID, and channel. This might be a rude awakening to someone who has turned on encryption and thinks that he is switching from encrypted wireless to no wireless.
I E-mailed D-Link tech support. Their reply was;
"Reset router and reconfiger it that should do it" followed by step by step instructions on resetting the router. Of course that merely wipes out any settings that the user has entered. Unencrypted GeorgeAP22 is part of the factory settings with no way to change it.
I tried calling D-Link's 24/7 tech support phone. I got a phone robot that transferred me to a voice mailbox. You can download new firmware that fixes this problem.
I have found a web page that will not load when using wireless access. The strange thing is that when the computer is physically connected to the router via a network cable, the web page will load. The firmware update does not fix this problem.
The wireless range of this device was unimpressive. Walls seem to block the signal, but perhaps this is typical of wireless networks.
As with most wireless access points, this device cannot be used as a wireless link between 2 networks or as a repeater. It communicates only with wireless enabled computers, not other access points.
If DHCP is enabled, the device will check a time server periodically. This is annoying if you have dial up access to the internet, because your MODEM will be connecting about every hour. There is no way to disable this behavior other than turning off DHCP.
If you want to give your wireless computer access to only the internet, it is easy to just connect from your local network to the WAN, Wide Area Network, port on this device. That isolates wireless from your shared files and printers, but still allows you to share your internet connection. Encryption would not be needed for only internet sharing unless you are afraid that someone will eavesdrop on your internet activity. With the limited range of this device, they would have to be pretty close to do so.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 60
Driver Availability: Windows, Linux, and Mac
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Epinions.com ID:
chdyoung
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Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 1 member
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