D-Link RangeBooster N Dual Band Router

10 Review to this product

• 

  Gluhman
  August 17th, 2008 on 10:28 am

  Rating

  Wonderful product had it up and running in about 20 minutes does both 2.4ghz and 5.8ghz N wireless. The amazon technical details say clearly that the router supports “selectable” 2.4 and 5.8 wireless signals, the box and the D-link web site say the same thing. There is no implication of having both 2.4 and 5.8 running at the same time, were that the case it would be a dual radio router and somewhere around 250$. You run one or the other. Having 5.8 in a 80$ product is remarkable. If you have an 802.11A client you can use that with this router. There are not many 5.8 802.11N clients on the market right now, they will get here someday.

  The DIR-628 is up running and doing a great job in my house. I am using it in 2.4 mode with a N client but it is nice to know I can grab a 5.8 card when they are ready and not change out my router.
• 

  K. Lin
  August 27th, 2008 on 2:05 am

  Rating

  I am in the business of IT and telecom.
  
  I have used some other high end WiFi AP and routers in my days.
  
  This DLink 628, even though just a consumer unit, has blurred the line between professional and consumer use wifi routers.
  
  The setup is a breeze. I was up and running (using Mac), without the set up CD, in less than 3 min.
  
  First on speed, it is fast. Side by side testing with the Dlink DIR655, they are both the same speed with all of the config being the same.

  The QoS feature is wonderful, you can prioritize by IP to many tiers. So now when my kids are playing games with voice and video, my html browsing can have priority over them. (Since in routing, the voice and video gets priority in getting transferred.)
  
  All in all, this is a wonderful unit for the price (only $75 now on Amazon).
  
  I would buy this one over the DIR 655 since I really don’t see any speed improvement on the 655 but almost twice the price.
  
  I give it 5 stars and highly recommend it as a good buy.
• 

  Bob Feeser
  August 28th, 2008 on 2:50 am

  Rating

  This review is intended to share with you the results I obtained in a side by side comparison of the DLink RangeBooster on this page, and the RangeMax WNDR3300 Dual Band Wireless-N Router by Netgear. What I did was leave the Netgear hooked up to my network, then disconnected my network, and simply installed the DLink right from the modem, and then directly to the same PC I used in both tests.

  These are internet download and upload speeds using Verizon DSL 1.5 service, and their “Verizon Infospeed” test. (Google it and try yours) I ran the test twice for each hookup, immediately following one another. I hooked up the DLink ran the test 3 times, then hooked up the Netgear, ran it 3 times, then did the same on the DLink again, and the Netgear again, for a total of 6 tests on each unit. So I hooked up the network configuration twice for each router, for a total of 4 times. I got very consistent results. Here are the results:

  DLink download speeds 1508, 1496, 1494
  
  DLink upload speeds 314, 314, and 314

  Netgear download speeds 1431, 1439, 1443
  
  Netgear upload speeds 362, 368, and 367

  Second test
  
  DLink download speeds 1497, 1499, 1499
  
  DLink upload speeds 314, 314, and 314

  Netgear download speeds 1469, 1460, 1468
  
  Netgear upload speeds 374, 374, and 374

  I purposely posted the results so you could interpret them yourself. To save you the trouble of doing the math;
  
  I averaged all of the results for each router. The DLink was 3% faster on download than the Netgear, and the Netgear was 15% faster on the upload. By looking at the numbers, you realize that 1499 download average on the DLink compared to Netgears 1450 is a difference, but not enough to notice. On the other hand the 369 average on uploads on the Netgear, compared to the average 314 on the DLink is somewhat noticeable if you are uploading larger files.
  
  Of course there are other factors to consider when buying a router. The Netgear is slightly more expensive but produces both G and N simultaneously, whereas the DLink does not; it is either G or N, but not both at the same time. I remember reading another review on the Netgear where a range test was performed within the G range, and found it to be slightly weaker than some of the competition, but the N is just as strong.
  
  There are many more factors to consider other than just internet performance, but I hope this was helpful. Myself, I am using the Netgear for my internet router, but have most everything on the network wired to a Gigabit switch to maximize internal network traffic. Eight port gigabit switches are inexpensive, and all you do is hook up one of your routers ports up to it. D-Link DGS-2208 8-Port 10/100/1000 Desktop Switch
  
  Finally at the risk of sounding silly, I like the looks and the big blue light on the side of the upright Netgear router. It illuminates all of the devices like switches, router, modem, surge protector etc in that section. When I walk by at night, with all the little lights burbling and the blue light just adds a totally cool effect to the room. Enough of that.

  On the other hand, those who are planning on using just a router, and want to hook all of their devices up to the 4 ports, you may want to consider a gigabit wireless router such as D-Link DIR-655 Extreme N Wireless Router which is currently cheaper than buying a separate router and switch, but with only 4 ports available. Considering the currently running instant rebate on the DLink extreme, bringing it down to the approximate same price range, that would be the best way to go.

  Depending on whether you are going to be getting just a router, or if you are adding onto an existing system, and just need a switch, or the biggie of going wireless, I hope the above information is helpful.
  
• 

  Scott Bright
  September 17th, 2008 on 8:24 pm

  Rating

  I really like this router. It was easy to set up and get working. It has a ton of options that let you control everything you would ever need to. It also has setup wizards so you don’t ever have to use those settings if you don’t want to. You can have both a wireless G network for your older devices as well as a wireless N network for your newer faster devices. Dualband means that you can select either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz for your wireless N network. The specs are pretty clear that you have to pick one or the other. 5 GHz does work better, but not all wireless devices support it yet.

  Cool Features:
  
  - The Web interface is easy to use covers everything I need to do.
  
  - It includes a setting for the lease length for DHCP. I had problems since the NetGear Dualband did not have this.
  
  - Allows the router to email you the logs on a user specified schedule.
  
  - Firmware is easy to update and the router will check if there is an update available.
  
  - It is easy to find the grid of attached devices along with all the stats for each connected device both wired and wireless.
  
  - Security for wireless also allows you to just pick the device from the list of attached devices and add it to the allowed devices. On other routers you have to type in MAC addresses.
  
  - It includes two antennas to improve reception.
  
  - It comes with a trial of the Network Magic software. I tried it for the heck of it and really liked it. It shows your network in a graphical format and lets you know all sorts of things that are going on. I have a network with a total of over 20 wired and wireless devices. I ended up getting this software because it was so useful.

  Items to note:
  
  - It is not a 1 gigabit router. But you can easily plug it into a 1 gig switch and then plug all your 1 gig devices into that switch.
  
  - There are no big bright lights to light up the room like other routers.
• 

  James Volstad
  November 18th, 2008 on 3:44 am

  Rating

  As I am the only one using the router, I am not bothered by the lack of true dual-band operation. For the price, it’s a good deal. No dropped connections with 802.11a.
• 

  K. Faber
  November 25th, 2008 on 4:33 am

  Rating

  I bought this router for one reason and one reason only – the SecureSpot parental controls. By putting 1st class surf control features in the router you eliminate the need to install and maintain controls on each individual computer. But the real reason I bought it was that my kid is getting an IPOD touch for XMAS and there is no way to implement parental controls on non-standard wi-fi capable device without doing it at the router. The IPOD Safari browser offers a pretty good surfing experience and I didn’t want my kid finding or receiving the worst the Internet has to offer.

  SecureSpot allows me to create a custom surfing profile for an unlimited number of devices (including PC’s, Macs, IPODs, XBoxs, PlayStations, etc, etc). I can alter the parental controls from any Internet connection in the world.

  Note: My router was shipped to me using version 1.10 of the Firmware, but you must have version 1.12 of the firmware (or later) to get the SecureSpot features. I downloaded the update to the router and installed it in about 10 minutes. In addition, you should know that there is a charge of $30 a year for SecureSpot – a bargain when you consider the lack of router based, parental-control-capable alternatives. For $30 a year you also get anti-virus (McAfee) and anti-spam software for up to 4 devices, but I don’t plan on using this as I prefer AVG anti-virus. And these features require you to install a thin-client software on each computer.

  The router also allows you to create blackout times for when a particular computer is to have no access to the Internet.

  If you were to bring a new computer into my house and connect to my router, you would be directed to a registration page. From this page you can either enter my network as a Guest or Register the computer. If you enter as a guest you will be granted access to my network for 24hrs and you will receive a severely restricted “Guest” parental control profile. To register the device to my network you will have to get me involved as it requires the password. Once registered you are good to go, however I will give you a profile that is appropriate for who you are. All this is done without ever having to install anything on the device. The router keeps itself up to date on the latest sites automatically.

  This router fills a genuine need at a reasonable cost. Way to go D-Link.

  **UPDATE** 2/7/2009
  
  One problem has cropped up. This router does not keep time properly and this is a problem if you are using the SecureSpot features. I am trying to limit my kids access to the Internet by time of day and when the router loses 2 hours every 3 weeks this feature loses it’s effectiveness. The router’s clock seems to run fast. It’s easy enough to reset, but still I hope DLink will fix this.
• 

  Kurt Kreiss
  July 1st, 2009 on 5:32 am

  Rating

  I read all the reviews and a few people have issues setting up their router. This one is easy and works great. It was up and running in 30 minutes and is very fast. Much better than the Linksys I had before. Also, Skype works great now too. You cannot beat all the features, performance and price for this router. The range is excellent too. I can relax in the shade in the yard and surf! Get one.

  Amazon is always flawless. Great service!
• 

  Erich Kohl
  September 26th, 2009 on 12:40 am

  Rating

  This quick review is for networking n00bs like me. If you want something easy to install then you seriously need to consider this router. It was a piece of cake to set up. I have it installed in the basement where my DSL connection enters the house, and I have yet to find a room where my laptop can’t detect the signal. Should you need to tap into all of the advanced features, you can do so with the excellent D-Link interface. Nice clean design, runs cool, and I’ve only reset it once so far — that mainly was an attempt at trying to fix a problem with Mozilla Firefox, and I think the browser is to blame more so than the router. Throughput is good, online video playback is nice and smooth, and file/printer sharing works as it should.

  I can’t think of any major criticisms that need to be mentioned. Signal strength did decrease somewhat when I took my laptop outside, but it still worked, and that’s definitely not bad considering the fact that my router is in the basement. It would be nice if the wired Ethernet ports were gigabit, but I don’t notice any impact.

  SYSTEM: Running Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 w/ Windows 7 Home Premium x64.
  
• 

  Once a geek, ...
  April 5th, 2010 on 9:56 pm

  Rating

  First off, I like D-Link products and have been using them for years. I’ve probably owned 15 of their routers and switches.

  These new RangeBooster routers, including the DIR-628, have extremely fast and powerful wireless systems. My range is easily twice what it used to be, speed is good, and security is better (WEP, WPA, WPA2) than on the older (D-Link) router I replaced. I do not use the dual-band feature, having bought this unit on price. The D-Link DIR-635 RangeBooster N 650 Router is similar, but without dual-band.

  Setup was easy. D-Link’s new router setup wizard is excellent – great for novices and still helpful for the more experienced. Unit worked out of the box and powers a small office. And I can vouch for D-Link’s customer service, although I have had no problems with the DIR-628.

  The DIR-628 is a high-performance, solid product. I’m still a D-Link fan.
• 

  C. Larson
  April 15th, 2010 on 12:16 pm

  Rating

  I was looking for a router that would serve more than one computer. After reviewing several options I selected the D-Link Range Booster N Dual Band Router. I found it easy to set up and immediately use. I was originally concerned with the range for the locations of the computers, but that has not been a problem.