D-Link DIR-615 Wireless N Router

Pros: The 3rd revision of this router is a great deal. It is an 802.11n with good speed and range, good security and easy setup.

Cons: The 1st version of this router was a huge disappointment. It would not connect to the user's satellite adapter (modem) and had to be returned.

Summary: I was looking for an inexpensive 802.11n router for a client's home. The D-Link DIR-615 had very mixed reviews, people either hated it or loved it. and at $40 from Tiger Direct it seemed too cheap. I ordered one from TD and was delighted by it. The setup had very good animations of where everything plugged in and I set it up in under 5 minutes. It had good range for both 802.11n and 802,11g. We tested it with a hard wired desktop, an 80211g ThinkPad and an 812.11n IdeaPad. The client was very happy with the speed, range and reliability.

Friends of mine were looking for their first wireless router and I recommended the DIR-615, without hesitation. The day it arrived, they tried to install it and couldn't, so they called me. Curiously the setup program was not the same one I had used earlier. No matter what I tried, I could not get the router to recognize the signal from the satellite adapter. I swapped cables, computers and even tried it using my ISP. D-Link Tech Support had us run down the usual list of tests and concluded that it was "defective" and should be returned to TD.

I noticed that the DIR-615 I had installed the first time was Hardware version C1 Firmware version 3.00 and the router TD had sent my friends was H/W version A1 F/W version 1.00. I am guessing that the first version is a piece of crap, but by the 3rd revision they got it right. Why TD would ship the latest revision one time and a week later ship an older version is puzzling.My friends are returning it to TD, and have sworn off TD and D-Link and are getting a Linksys router from a big box store. Which is unfortunate because I have had good experiences with Tiger Direct and D-Link

The bottom line is that this is a great router, but make sure that you get the later revision. Since most online merchants don't give the version number, this could be challenging.