| D-Link DWL-G730AP Wireless Pocket Router/AP w/ Client Mode, 802.11g, 54Mbps |
 enlarge
|
Model: DWL-G730AP
Brand: D-Link
Manufacturer: D-Link
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 88
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
|
|
|
| |
| Features: |
Enables 802.11g Wireless Connectivity
Supports Access Points, Router, or Wireless Client Mode
Supports Power over USB
Includes Convenient Travel Case and Necessary Accessories (Cables and Power Adapter)
Enhanced Security with WPA-PSK |
| |
| Description: |
| The DWL-G730AP is a portable and convenient wireless solution for the traveling business person delivering 802.11g wireless connectivity with a maximum wireless signal rate of up to 54Mbps*. Use it in conference rooms, hotel rooms, or even at hotspots. The Wireless Pocket Router/AP might be small in size, but is huge in functionality. The DWL-G730AP supports multiple operation modes including: Access Point (AP) mode to create a wireless connection; Router mode to share an Internet connection; and Wireless Client mode to connect an existing wireless network. Easily switch between these modes by using the 3-way configuration switch located at the bottom. In AP mode, the DWL-G730AP can be used to create a wireless network in a room where a single Ethernet port is provided. Now multiple wireless clients can connect to the network at the same time to share resources and files. The Pocket Router/AP supports WPA-PSK to secure your wireless data communications. In AP mode, the DWL-G730AP adds support for 802.1x user authentication with an external RADIUS server. For setup and configuration the DWL-G730AP can be accessed via D-Link's user-friendly Web-based utility. |
| |
| User Reviews (88 total): |
Page 1 2 3 4 5 of Total 5 Pages
|
Cute, but doesn't do anything, May 24, 2007
By James Hemingway (Kansas)
It's easy to set up, but then just sits there. No connectivity. No errors. No help or instructions. It askes you to type in addresses in places that do not exist and gives errors to the default settings.
It should not be called easy to use.
|
diffucult, May 15, 2007
By shivva (muskegon, michigan USA)
i found the instructions a little unclear and had to fiddle around with it to figure out how it worked
|
Router mode is flawless, client mode a little tricky, April 19, 2007
By S. Mon (Gaithersburg, MD United States)
I purchased this for two reasons: 1) when I travel, I want to be able to use my PalmTX to connect to the Internet. I configured the Dlink router in Router mode while hooked up to my main computer. Once that was done, I connected the Dlink router to my main router, and I was able to connect my PalmTX to the Dlink easy as pie. However, 2) the other reason why I bought it was to connect an old laptop to my wireless network while in the living room. Configuration was easy, but it would not connect to my wireless network. I sent Dlink tech support an email, and they were quick to respond, but they basically gave me the usual advice--do a hard reset of the router. Which I had already done. Then it dawned on me that I had to switch the network adapter back to grabbing the IP address through DCHP (to access the Dlink config page of the Dlink router, you have to set it to a static IP.). In looking through the comments here, several other people did the same thing as I did. You would think that Dlink tech support would know to tell people to check this in client mode!!!
|
Using the DLink DWL-G730AP as a client, March 28, 2007
By engineer (Honolulu, HI United States)
The router works as I hoped, but it took a long time to figure out why I couldn't get to the web based configuration screen after I changed the configuration the first time. The incomplete instructions failed to mention the following important points.
To configure it the first time, you set the switch on the bottom to "client", and you can leave the IP address assignment as "Obtain an IP address automatically" (Control panel > network and internet connections > network connections > internet protocol (TCP/IP) > properties). Type in 192.168.0.30 in your web browser, login, and configure the router according to the instruction sheet. On an old computer with IE 5, the wizard interface didn't work so I just entered in the SSID, etc. into their respective tabs on the config. screen.
After the router resets itself, it works well and allows you to access the web via your primary wireless router.
But, after you configure it and the "client" router resets, you can no longer get to the configuration screen via your web browser at 192.168.0.30 until you assign a static IP address within the same address range as the client Dlink router using "Use the following IP address" (e.g., IP address: 192.168.0.99 and Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0), instead of using "Obtain an IP address automatically". Once you do that, no problem getting to the Dlink config screen (although you now have no access to your main router or web.)
To get reconnected back to your "main" router, you then you have to reselect "Obtain an IP address automatically" (or assign a static one within the same address range as your "main" wireless router). You'll again be able to connect to the web.
The tech support was useless. All they did was tell me to do a firmware update, which didn't help.
Other comments: The USB power cord is a unique idea, esp. since it means the power to the DLink will turn off when your computer is powered off. However, the cord is very short (it's way shorter than the Cat 5 cable that's included) and will limit where you can place the DLink. I also wonder how the power draw will affect the USB adapter and the rest of the computer since the DLink gets fairly warm.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that if you use MAC address filtering on your main router, you have to enter the MAC address of the NIC card on your PC, rather than the MAC address of the Dlink, since that's what your router will see.
|
Retuned it!, February 27, 2007
By Alice M. Gruber
Got it set up after an hour on the phone with customer service. Didn't seem like it worked all that well. Couldn't understand how to use the different functions despite reading the instructions and asking questions. Sent it back after a few days.
|
A little router that packs a big punch, February 25, 2007
By JoBob_55 (APO, AE United States)
I purchased this router because I needed one that could connect to the existing wireless connection in the hotel for my VOIP phone. I toggled it to its client mode; it connected to the hotel's wireless, I connect my VOIP modem to its Ethernet and boom! I have my home line-- away from home! I absolutely love what this device is capable of, given its compact size. I can make at least the same configuration changes as my full-sized router I keep at home and even more because of the wireless modes you can toggle it to. As with all D-Link routers, this one has to restart with a configuration change. That is a little annoying, but it doesn't change my overall satisfaction of this awesome piece of networking equipment. I am extremely impressed; thanks D-Link!
|
Small wonder, February 14, 2007
By Fatih Ulupinar (San Diego, CA USA)
Very small and does it all. It can be used as an AP or as a router. It has features that my much larger Linksys G router at home is missing. I like it a lot.
|
Remarkable Feature-rich Travel Router, February 6, 2007
By Joel Dauteuil (Bethlehem, NH USA)
I'm not sure what else I could ask for in a product like this. It's just about perfect. Extremely compact (there's no excuse not to bring it with you), more than enough security options for the average person. And, it solves the persistent annoyance when you have only one network connection in the hotel, office, or conference room (plus you're behind your own firewall too). I get to the hotel, I plug it in, turn on both our laptops and we're on.
Pros:
- It's smaller than a deck of cards
- I can ditch the power cord and just run it off a USB cable (which I love) - there's no power brick though, the cable is very small so I'm sure I'll bring it along in the sweet travel case this unit comes with.
- More security levels to choose from than my home router (maybe I need to upgrade).
- Remarkable strength - you can pick this up from multiple floors away! But, don't worry, you can even throttle down the hotspot bubble if you want to keep the signal to your hotel room for example.
- Everything you need and a great travel organizer/case in addition (even a mini-ethernet cable)
- Once you get all your settings straight: security choices, passkeys, MAC address filters, etc., you can save all the settings in a back-up "config" file on your laptop. This is extraordinarily handy in case you have to "reset" the router at any point.
Sidebar: Because of the "client-mode" capability, if you have an old laptop without built-in wireless, give this serious consideration - it can double as your wireless card and firewall in one.
Cons:
- Included instructions are weak; the manual might be a little overwhelming for the non-techie. But, if you have set up a wireless router at home then you'll be fine. They even have a built-in wizard to step you through the basics.
- I couldn't get it to work with my wife's laptop but I don't believe it's the router. The other laptop worked fine regardless of how tight I set the security. (you can always lock your wireless network down by MAC address when you get into these kind of problems)
- Router reboots itself after every single change you make - and I do mean every change. See note above about saving your "config" file - that's very helpful. While this is annoying at first, once your router is set up, you shouldn't have to mess with it too frequently.
Not enough in the cons department to make me want to give this up. This is at least as good as my home router and its going with me on every trip from now on. I couldn't find a comparable product - this was really the only choice to suit my needs.
|
Perfect device if you know how to use it!! Technical support is a nightmare., January 23, 2007
By wlanguru (San Mateo, CA USA)
I bought this router a while back thinking that I would use it during my business trips. Now I am using it everyday. :) This router is compact and has everything you need. It comes with a nice pouch that houses a power adapter, an ethernet cable, a USB power cable, and the router/AP/client. I am not going to go through the functionality of this device because you can read it from this device's advertised specification. I am just going to comment on its usability and my general experience using this device.
1. Setup - I would say it is rather difficult to setup this device. As lazy as I am, I skipped the manual and went straight to configuration. As a network engineer myself, I thought it would take me only a few minutes to setup this little thing. I was wrong. I later found out the router had to be in AP mode before I could access its configuration page. Once I got there, it took no time to configure the rest. Remember, turn on DHCP and let it serve IP addresses. By default, the device's IP is 192.168.0.30/24, and you have to configure your NIC to have a static IP in that subnet before your PC can communicate with it.
2. Usage - I have nothing to complain. It has everything a normal person needs.
3. Tech support - This is the area where I can complain about, and it is exactly why I took one star off this wonderful device. My experience with D-link tech support cannot be worse. Not only they were not able to help, but I happened to talk to a drunk tech-support person when I called in one night for help. Maybe if I paid more attention to the router's configuration earlier, I could have avoided calling D-Link's tech-support. But there is still no excuse. I talked to several Indian engineers and they were no help. It was difficult to understand their english and it could have taken less time to communicate if they didn't have an accent. Maybe I am just too picky. :( The drunk engineer made it worse. The problem I had was poor download performance. The default DTIM configuration for this router is 3, which allowed the laptop's NIC to stay too long in power-save mode. You can change it to 1 so that the router doesn't buffer the data destined to clients for too long and you will have perfect connectivity. D-Link's tech support people knew nothing about this!!!! :(
The product is "almost" perfect; post-sale support is far from perfect!!!
|
Excelent, January 16, 2007
By Victor J. Posada Gomez (Monterrey, Mexico)
Excelent device, very fast, I have tried other portable AP's before but nothing better than this D-Link, My wife is also happy all the time she uses internet at home.
|
|
|
Meets all needs, very good choice for features and cost, January 14, 2007
By Timothy M Straub (Philadelphia, PA)
I was in search of portable wireless routers to set up remote networks of 5 to 10 wireless-enabled laptops to share files and printers. I read the reviews on the other simliar products and decided to give D-Link a try, although I am partial to Linksys and would likewise trust anything that Belkin and Netgear puts out.
After receiving the product, I read the quick-start guide (more out of curiosity concerning the configuration of the 3 modes rather than for how-to purposes), and in about 10 minutes, I had a WPA-encrypted network (in router-mode) of three laptops all connected and sharing files. In fact, changing the admin password and enabling WPA was the only thing I did, right out of the box. Since then, I made some other minor changes (changing the network and SSID, etc).
The carrying case and pockets for cables and adapter are great, and the thin 'horizontal' AC adapter ensures I don't have a bulky adapter hanging off the end of a power strip, or covering multiple outlets. I haven't tried running it off USB power yet - I would assume the range would decrease.
One nice feature for administrators - you can save the configuration to a file for quick reload, or use it to clone other G730AP devices. I did the later for the other three I purchased.
I have a few negative items so far: (1) The admin password is blank and encryption is turned off by default. This is the receipe for a hijacked router. This isn't unique to D-Link or this router, but the vendors need to ship these products fully secured. (2) The router's default IP is 192.168.0.30. Although this is documented in several places, it is an odd default. No harm, but I would have preferred a 192.168.1.1 default. But just change the LAN IP setting once you're connected to it. (3) Any restart after changing certain settings can take about 2 minutes to reconnect. I thought this was a little long. But it does finally come back up.
One last item of interest - I wanted to ensure I was at the latest firmware release, and upgrade if necessary. Their support site (which I found to be laid out quite well with minimum navigation to the product's support page) shows the original firmware of 1.0, and a 1.1 release. The routers I have are all at 2.0, with a release date of Aug 3, 2006. Strange how it isn't available for download on their site. I wonder if the problems cited by the negative reviews were using an 1.x firmware, and if 2.0 fixed the problems.
In conclusion, all four of the routers work well so far. It is extremely portable, quick and easy to set up, relatively inexpensive, and has the necessary features to meet my requirements.
|
Client mode works perfectly, January 10, 2007
By Steven Lee
I set this device up in client mode on a WPA-PSK wirless-G network. It made the connection and created an Ethernet bridge. I connected the other end to a switch and can plug in one or more computers. My router provides DHCP through the bridged device.
|
Works As Expected, January 10, 2007
By Bob (Long Beach, CA)
This device works exactly as I expected. Easy to setup, fairly short range, nice travel bag.
No complaints and does what it's suppose to.
|
Even D-Link Support Couldn't Get It To Work, December 18, 2006
By Beltane
Before leaving on a trip, I tried to get this to work in client mode with my home network. The laptop worked just fine with the wireless network as it was, using WPA2 for security. After following the directions in the manual, I was able to see my network in the device's web page and select it to connect to, all the lights on the device were green, but the IP address my computer received through DHCP was garbage and I couldn't connect to the internet with Windows XP telling me the network adapter has limited or no connectivity. After spending about 2 hours on my own, I called D-Link support and while they were quite friendly, the call ended 2 hours later with the support person telling me to take the router back to where I bought it.
I'm not interested in a product that will give me an open wireless connection, so I didn't even try this without using WPA or WPA2.
|
I love it, November 12, 2006
By Brent
Its nice and compact for my already overstuffed notebook bag, speeed is excellent, and i love how it operates in the 3 different modes...
|
Works Great, November 10, 2006
By whodotoo (USA)
I spend a lot of time in hotel rooms and most of them have wired internet access. This handy little device has worked very well for me by allowing me to go wireless by using it in Access Point (AP) mode. As an added benefit, you can turn off your laptop when you go to bed and the pocket router will hold the connection for you overnight. That makes the start up in the morning much quicker. The only thing to watch out for is that the mode switch is on the bottom of the unit. When you first get the device you may not realize this.
|
Gets the job done, November 4, 2006
By timmyerk (USA)
Easy to set up, reliable and compact, I use this as an accessory in a mobile application for a wi-fi network (access point with multiple slaves), and it has been by far the best unit I have tested.
|
Works great as an AP client but tricky to configure, October 29, 2006
By Frustrated gadgeteer (Glorious Pacific Northwest)
I bought this unit to allow machines access to WiFi networks without changing their configuration.
Using this device in client mode is a mind bender and not very well presented in the documentation. The process is this: first, you set your host computer to a static IP address on the 192.168.0.x network. Then, using your browser you go to 192.168.0.30 and log into the DWL-G730AP. After that, you configure the wireless side with the SSID, channel, and security mode. After updating the wireless configuration, save the configuration and the DWL-G730AP reboots. While the DWL-G730AP reboots, you change the IP configuration on the host machine to DHCP for its IP address and DNS. Then, you wait about two minutes for all the devices to sort themselves out. Eventually the host computer receives an IP address from the WiFi network and you are on the air.
As others have noted, if you are going to use this device on a network that uses WPA, you will need to flash the firmware to the latest revision. If the DWL-G730AP were sold with the latest firmware and the documentation included a better description of how to set up a host computer for client mode, I would give this unit 5 stars.
|
Perfect connection were you are, September 10, 2006
By Lambas (Lima, Peru)
This equipment is simply and perfect a viable connection to the world "where you are"!. My work forces to me to travel to very distant sites where the communication was difficult and this creates a access point to me for connected to the world via Internet
|
Bad QA, August 23, 2006
By toolcraze (la)
Bought the DWL-G730AP from CompUSA and tried with 3 laptops. None could comunicate with the unit. Exchanged for another, this time I can access the menu after disabled all the firewall (bad practice) but that was how far it could go. It would be great if it works but I am unwilling to try for the 3rd unit. I just stay away from D-Link from now on.
|
Page 1 2 3 4 5 of Total 5 Pages
|
|
| Copyright 2001-2007 WiFiReview.com |
|