D-Link Cloud Router 2000 (DIR-826L), Wireless N600, Dual-Band, Gigabit Ports, USB SharePort, mydlink enabled D-Link Cloud Router 2000 (DIR-826L), Wireless N600, Dual-Band, Gigabit Ports, USB SharePort, mydlink enabled

Pros: Fast
Easy setup
Great price

Cons: none so far

Pros: Setup was really easy. The quick setup wizard launches automatically when the router is first connected (after opening your web browser of choice). From there, all you have to do is follow the prompts to get your network up and running.

Full 802.11n support, which means wireless throughput is more than sufficient for just about anything.

The built in switch has four Gigabit Ethernet ports, so they're not going to hold back transfer rates for the wired devices on your LAN. It's great to see Gigabit ports on inexpensive routers like this one.

The shareport feature is really nice as well. This allows you to connect an external hard drive that can be accessed by any device on your network. This is useful for backups and media streaming. You can even connect to your storage device over the internet by creating a user name and password via the web based configuration utility. This is all very easy to accomplish.

Advanced end-users will be pleased to find that this router is highly configurable. Plenty of QoS features, not to mention the ability to pass through VPN sessions. The 826L supports multiple and concurrent IPSec and PPTP sessions, which means users behind this router can securely access corporate networks.

Advanced firewall features like content filtering and filter scheduling help to keep your network secure.

WPS mode can easily be disabled. This is important, because WPS has been compromised and could allow an intruder into your network. There are plenty of consumer routers out there that do not allow WPS to be disabled.

The mobile apps D-Link offers are a nice touch. I don't imagine that many folks will want to configure their router form their smartphone, but the option is there if you need it. The mobile shareport app is much more useful in my opinion.

Cons: Not a fan of the aesthetics. The design is just kind of odd really.

The wireless range could be better. It's not dismal, but compared to some of the other modern routers I've tested the 826L doesn't fair so well.

802.11g performance isn't all that great. Stick to 802.11n devices if possible.

No USB 3.0 support. This really hurts because there are a lot of nice USB 3.0 external drives that could take advantage of the higher transfer rates.

Other Thoughts: For the price, I would definitely recommend this router for most consumers. You are getting a lot for your money. As I said above, even advanced users will appreciate all the configuration options that D-Link has provided.

That said, you will want to steer clear of this router if you have a lot of 802.11g devices connected to your network. In addition to that, the design of this router is odd and you may not fancy it too much.

I wouldn't trust this router with a large home network. The performance is good, but not anywhere near as good as some of the more expensive routers that are available. This is a solid router, but don't expect miracles from it.

Pros: >Easy Setup
>Top-notch security, there is even Capcha authentication.
>Highly configurable, just about every setting can be tweaked
>Phone App is a nice touch
>Has a physical on/off button (who does that anymore? It needs to happen more, no need to reach around and pull out cables when a reset becomes necessary)
>Good range; slightly better than average for routers of this price-point

Cons: >No AC, but it is still a draft standard - nor was it advertised as being on this model. Not so much a Con, as it is something to be pointed out, this router will go the way of 'G' routers, sooner rather than later.
>The shape. I have never been a fan of crazy design routers.

Other Thoughts: All function as they should, would have liked to have ac support as well, but beggars can’t be choosers.

The initial setup is amazing, no cd is needed, just plug it in and get to the router’s homepage. Security is TOP NOTCH, as user authentication within the router is backed up by capcha.

Every setting under the sun can be found within the router setup page. System admins can go crazy tweaking everything, 99% of the router is accessible and configurable.

The mobile app is a nice touch but ultimately falls short. Upon first configuration, it seems great. Shows you the network names, some stats on the router and clients attached to the router. This would be great if it weren’t missing half the features you assume it has. First off, you can see the names of the networks the router is broadcasting, but not the passwords. You could argue security flaw there, but then again it is also on your phone protected by a password. It LOOKS like a great app that you could use a lot but ultimately you’ll just get bored of it very fast.

Design wise, I'm not crazy about the shape. The router seems weird, mounting it on a wall will look funny (which someone should totally do for the giggles). I can get the design choice if your modem is next to your desktop, and so is your router - you'll probably want something a little nicer looking - and this will do the job (maybe? depending on taste). But most people seem to have their modems and routers in their basements - not much point in a fancy-looking router down there.

Ultimately, I have yet to lay my hands on a better router for the price. I have worked with only router that I liked better over-all (another weird external design one), and that particular model was a $200 router. The D-Link Cloud 2000 only just barely loses to that one. If that doesn't sell you, I don't know what will.

Pros: Like most modern routers, setup is simple and straightforward. I plugged it in and it began working immediately.

No retina blasting blue lights of doom! This has been a pet peeve of mine for years with most consumer electronics, and home routers were always a serious offender. I'm glad to see that D-Link has seen the light, no pun intended, and gone back to the traditional green/amber status lights that were typical over 10 years ago. As a geek, I'd have preferred activity lights as well, but it does lend to a cleaner design.

Overall, it performed better than my previous router, but not by much. Both are units without external antennas, so the range suffers toward the edges of the house. However, the DIR-826L seemed to be more stable at the extreme ranges, although the connection was weak it did stay connected while my old router would sometimes drop out.

The USB "cloud" features are a nice touch as well, although I did not make heavy use of them outside of testing due to having an actual server for the task. Still, I did test them out, and have used them on other D-Link products, and am happy to report that the system works well enough for light home use and keeping your media accessible on the go.

Cons: An extremely minor issue, the base of my review unit was ever so slightly warped, so it would not sit perfectly flat on any
surface. This wouldn't normally matter, except that the unit is extremely light and this exacerbates the physical stability issues. As it is, even with an unwarped base the lightness of it means it probably won't stay put if you utilize every jack on the back.

No USB 3.0, but I would consider that a minor con. In my personal opinion, if you need networked storage vast enough to require 3.0 speeds, a proper home server would be a better choice than the jack-of-all-trades method of a home router.

Other Thoughts: Very strange tube shape. I have a stack of my old routers in the corner of the basement, and every single one is a flat rectangle, sometimes with a vertical stand. Certainly a unique shape that stands out from the crowd.

Contrary to an earlier review, WPS is easily disabled (and should be). Perhaps the reviewer did not know that WPS stands for "Wi-Fi Protected Setup" and that menu is found near the mid-bottom of the list of options under the "advanced" tab. Simply uncheck to disable.

After a couple weeks of testing in a large home setting, I moved it to my girlfriend's apartment for further testing. While it may have been comparable to my previous router at home, it blew her cheap router away. Higher speeds both wired and wireless, and more importantly it didn't need the almost daily resets of her old one. I was going to keep it at my place, but after such a drastic improvement she wouldn't let me take it back. :)

Pros: Very Easy Setup – My impression of the setup process and quick-start documentation is very positive. The device and firmware behaved as described and the initial setup process was not overly mired in “netspeak”.

Defaulted to 192.168.0.1 – and thus didn’t conflict with my existing 192.168.1/24 network. Not sure if the device will normally use 192.168.1.1 but if it adjusted because it detected conflict then that’s pretty cool.

Mydlink.com – I hadn’t looked at this before and think dlink have done a nice job of providing anywhere/anytime simple remote status. (Firefox users may struggle – try IE).

OK Wireless Range. Considering the 828L uses internal antennas I found the range acceptable and as expected however the device seemed more affected by its surroundings than other access points I tested. Once positioned somewhat above other electro-magnetic sources I found it worked quite well. I suspect other reviewers who struggled with range were constrained in their placement of the device and perhaps had to tuck it away in a cabinet perhaps parked near a large receiver or amplifier.

Pretty comprehensive feature set with beginner or advanced setup options.

Cons: Not USB-3. I haven’t done the math and it might be that there is no practical value to having USB 3 support for attached storage but my emotional reaction to seeing the lack of USB-3 support was to immediately discount the device as a media or storage server. Never-the-less, I did set up media and storage and played with it for a little but was uninspired.

Weak Wireless Performance. In comparison with my existing wireless access points I found the through-put via the 836L adequate but slower than I expected.

No DD-WRT support. For those who are a fan of DD-WRT firmware alternative to OEM this router is not for you.

Other Thoughts: Footprint/Shape - I’m torn on the design. The small footprint is a plus and it’s not just another ugly box however it lacks the base weight to stand up when cables are attached and there is no way to add an external antenna for range extension.

Stable? – I haven’t noticed any instability but I plan to be away for a while soon so we’ll see if it’s still running when I return. If the device proves to be unstable then it will not be suitable for a beginner and without that market its entire existence is called into question.

Test Environment:
My network setup is a little unusual - My router is a custom PC which runs Untangle and I use a commercial grade 24x1gb unmanaged switch. For the purpose of testing the 826L I simply connected it to my switch and allowed it to lease an IP (192.168.1.115) from my DHCP service provided by untangle. The intended application for the 826L is for direct connection to the internet modem but I have way too much traffic passing through my network to make that a reasonable test.

Pros: As far as a dual-band wireless-N router goes, this device does what is expected.

-Both the 2.4 and 5gh/z bands work seamlessly and flawlessly. I can connect to both with acceptable bars from a room roughly 3 walls away (maybe 20ft).
-The design is minimalistic yet stylish, and should fit in with any setup.
-The router comes pre-loaded with a unique SSID for each band, and a password (that's the same for both). This means setup was quick, easy, and accurate. You literally plug it in and go.
-Realistic transfer rates were average and expected, with a few disappointments I will talk about in the cons.
-Tested and works with a plethora of devices: An android phone (Samsung Galaxy SII), a Chrome Book, and an Apple TV, as well as my main computer connected by a D-Link wireless card.

Cons: -The MyDLink App, while being user friendly, doesn't allow a lot of customization. I tested it by downloading the app on my phone and seeing if I could see the websites visited on my computer. While the service allows you to block devices, it doesn't allow you to block webpages, or have any real parental control. Most users should note this feature is simply an over-glorified and under/featured network monitor.
-While raw internet performance was typical, I constantly got fluctuating speeds that increased and decreased, sometimes stopping all together. Peak potential speed also seemed to be a lot lower than advertised speeds.

Other Thoughts: -I didn't test the performance of the Cloud feature on this router, but can confirm it works and accepts downloads.

-The reason I gave this router 3 eggs is because there's nothing here to really justify the price. $110 (regular price) is more than double the price of routers with comparable specs. It's up to you if internet storage (that's free from Google) and a network monitor on your phone is worth that much extra cash.

Pros: Small footprint, internal antenna, true dual-band goodness (both band simultaneously) which has performed as expected. I really like the level of access controls on D-Link routers (time controls for specified devices) for my teen who, otherwise, stays up all night surfing. Or, if one of my teens tick me off, I invoke the “Jerkwad” rule which cuts off all access to all of their devices. Cloud functionality would be nice for someone who didn’t have a static IP or was more of a networking newb, but I wasn’t interested. The 4-Port Gigabit switch is also a plus, as well as the USB port sharing, but I don't foresee using the latter.

Cons: Minor Cons: I’m not a fan of the vertical ports because they make the router a bit tippy when cables are plugged into them, but I’m not using most of them anyway. I think the design is a bit hokey, but it sits in a closet, so that doesn’t matter much to me either.

Other Thoughts: My review is from the angle of a power user in a 2-level home with a robust network (20+ active wired nodes, mostly in the basement) and many wireless devices upstairs, covered mainly by a Netgear R6200 that is acting as an Access Point. I had a D-Link DGL-4300 serve me well for 5+ years (and it is still running on my network as a switch) and, for the last few years, I’ve been using a CradlePoint MBR1200 as the main router. It is overkill because I don’t need the USB Modem functionality, so I have been looking for a mid-range router that had the Access Controls. Enter the DIR-826L. It has the same basic firmware functionality as my first D-Link & the CradlePoint (which have almost identical settings menus, options and even the look and feel). Having better range in the basement with Dual-band has been handy at times and, since it is much better than what I had with the CradlePoint, I’m happy. Of course, it doesn’t compare to the speed and range (and future improvement options) of the Netgear R6200, but they both serve their purpose well - I didn't like the fact that the R2600 has no real access control options, but it cannot be beat as a WAP. Beyond all of the local wireless access going on, I also serve out 3 websites from my main server and have multiple Virtual Server forwarding rules for external RDP access. So, I need quite a bit from the main router beyond the local access control. My main website is used by 4 of us who implement software all around the state (as well as IT support folk) and, in the month before I switched, I was getting a lot of calls from them when the CradlePoint dropped the DSL connection and had to be restarted so that they could get to the page. I haven’t had one call in the month I have had this DIR-826L and couldn’t be happier (I do follow my own tip below on every router I support) Enough time has passed that I can say that the CradlePoint has been kicked to the curb. 5 eggs for the sheer value of this router, dishing out both bands well and taking care of my moderately complex network needs.

User Tip: As with all routers that I actively service, I put a simple timer in place that will cycle (power off & on) this device every night in the wee hours. I have found that this does wonders for the general performance of routers.

Pros: I've had this product for about a month now which gave me adequate time to put it through it's paces. In some areas it shines and in others it falls flat on its face.

The design is nice and provides a small footprint, so it won't take up a lot of space on your desk. It is a dual band (2.4GHz / 5GHz) 802.11b/g/n router, includes 4 gigabit Ethernet ports and a USB 2.0 port. The ports run vertically up the side of the router with the USB port being at the top of the device.

The SharePort feature worked well and allowed me to access all the files on my external USB HDD from inside the application. I was also able to stream both music and video without issues or buffering. Alternatively, you can log into the mydlink website and access your device that way if you want. Once logged into the device through DLink's website, you can edit permissions, block users, change passwords and view the device status.

The firmware is what you would expect from the DLink routers I've had in the past and offers as much functionality as anyone could want. QoS, Port Forwarding, DMZ, Network Filtering, etc.

Setup of the cloud access portion was very simple and didn't require much more than creating an account with DLink, a few router reboots and email confirmations.

Cons: Unfortunately, I think there are more cons than pros with this router and I wouldn't recommend it to my clients. The wireless performance is terrible and doesn't get anywhere close to the "600Mbps" DLink claims. I was only able to achieve speeds of around 125Mbps standing right next to the router on the 5Ghz band. That's plenty of bandwidth to stream HD, but still much lower than DLink's claim and will choke large file transfers.

I'm also disappointed at the lack multiple antennas for each band, the missing SmartBeam technology and no ac standard support. This thing is going to be blown away by almost any other n-band router you can pull off the shelf.

After connecting cables to all 5 of the RJ-45 ports, the power cable and a USB device, I felt like the router was going to fall over. I would prefer a larger base to stabilize the device. Another complaint is that the USB port is at the top of the router and not at the bottom. Most of the bus powered external hard drives ship with 6-8" cables which isn't really long enough to attach to the USB port and still give you enough room to set the drive on the desk. That isn't DLink's fault since they aren't supplying the cable, but I would think they should have realized that was going to be an issue.

Additionally, the USB port is only 2.0 as DLink decided to forgo the use of the 3.0 standard.

There are only 2 lights on the unit, one indicating Internet access and the other indicating power. I would prefer additional activity lights, but perhaps DLink was going for more of a sleek, clean design.

Other Thoughts: The router does its job and easily allows access to files while "on the go", but falls on it's face in terms of wireless performance. So if you're looking for cheap, easy access to your files this might just be the router for you.

On the other hand, if you're looking for more than that, I would advise that you keep looking. Sorry DLink.....

Pros: Nice Size and design to fit a modern look!! Functions as described at 300mbps Wireless, I didn't notice much of a diference (5-10%) in bandwith when I had both my laptops hooked up and was doin a test to my server with the same 4.7gb iso and it was near consistant with a single connection, so the DualBand function seemed to work great!! Port for sharing files with a USB attachment of your likings (used a jumpstick and a lower power SSD-to-USB, both worked great)!!! 4port GIGABIT ROUTER!!! NO Antenna to knock off, or get in the way!!!

Cons: No Antenna leads to a weaker signal then another router that I have in similar nature!! (but it is convenience/looks factor for this particular router, I believe)

Other Thoughts: 1. I Enjoy the CloudRouter Function (by dLink), I can access the files I save one the router from virtually anywhere!!!
2. Mine is setup as Main Router after my ISP, then AutoDHCP to my No.2, No.3, No.4 slots for the 3x 8-port 10/100/1000mb switches comin' off of this to the rest of the house, server sits in No.1 slot!!!
3. I think an attachable antenna with extension would probly added better reception, but then there is the clutter factor....to where this router is "nice and neat" the way it is!!!

Pros: This is a decent wireless router. The dual band wireless radio is fantastic, I am seeing great speeds, and have no problem streaming media over the WiFi. I almost always stream music when I’m on my laptop and my iPad, and I also somewhat frequently watch high definition videos on YouTube. I had the opportunity to watch over an hour of YouTube on this WiFi this weekend while I was eating lunch on Saturday. Worked like a charm.

You can turn the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz radios on and off in the settings at your will. I find this to be a huge benefit, because I am in the unfortunate situation of living in a rural area where I can’t get a wired Internet connection, so my house is fed by a 2.4Ghz Motorola Canopy antenna. The cleaner my 2.4Ghz spectrum is, the better I feel. I will be running it with the 2.4Ghz turned off.

Configuration was an absolute breeze. You literally plug this router in, it will try to negotiate an Internet connection using DHCP (which will work in most standard Internet connection situations I can think of) and it fires up the radios and you’re online. There are 2 LEDs on the front of the router for “Power” and “Internet”. They will start out amber, and will turn green as the router finishes booting and establishes a successful Internet connection. For the typical user, the Internet light will be nice as I imagine it could be used in troubleshooting, although I am not exactly sure what the technical criteria are for the LED turning green, I imagine it will become amber again if you have a connectivity problem.

The router has all of the features you’d expect to see in a router, such as port forwarding, static routes, packet statistics (by WiFi frequency and interface), and even IPv6 support (although I cannot speak to this, as my Internet provider has not joined this century, and is still only IPv4 capable).
Cons:
The guest WiFi zone is a nice touch, but it is fairly limited with what you can restrict. However, the ability to fire up an open network when family and friends are here visiting is a nice plus, since your alternative is giving them your WiFi password, which now would be a pain to change (on every WiFi device you own) if you ever wanted to revoke their access.

Cons: I have noticed some minor instability with the wireless network. I am a very high end user, and I usually complain to my ISP if my packet loss is ever anything other than 0-1%. I have noticed an intermittent issue with the access point which has caused me to completely lose my Internet access and ability to ping the router while my wireless still showed as “connected” with good signal strength. Disconnecting and reconnecting to the wireless network solved the problem both times, but I found that rather disconcerting. I have never had any difficulties like this with any of the higher end equipment I’ve worked with.

The firmware on the router feels kind of old and clunky. When I decided to try a Cloud Router, I expected the firmware to be totally revamped, maybe with some fancy AJAX and Javascript, but this feels like the same old router firmware I’ve been using for the past decade, just with a few more options.

On the version of the firmware that shipped with the router, there is a link right on the top of the router configuration area, to a page on D-Link’s website that doesn’t exist.

There are obvious security concerns with the Cloud features of this router. D-Link gives you access, on the outside app, to view open TCP\IP connections on your home network. This sounds way too much like big brother to me, and this is nothing I will ever consider using. I don’t even feel comfortable with my Internet provider knowing which servers I access... but that’s unavoidable. Shipping all of my data off to D-Link in a nice gift wrapped package is something I will pass on, thanks.

Other Thoughts: Most of the big “security concerns” I had with this router up front can be mitigated fairly easily.

WPS (which is generally known to be very vulnerable) can be turned off on the Advanced tab, by going to the WiFi Protected Setup page.

UPNP (which gives any software on any computer inside your network free range to poke holes in your firewall) can be turned off on the Advanced tab, by going to the Advanced Networking page.

The cloud router functionality is optional, and is not turned on by default. I felt very comforted to see that. I was afraid that because this was a cloud router, it was going to be a very lightweight and limited firmware and all of the management would have to be done on the Internet. This is not the case, the firmware on the router itself is still just as capable, and in fact has more options than many routers I’ve used in the past.