Question 1

I'm about to get a 300mbps connection at home, so I need to upgrade my wireless router. How is the performance of this router at 300mbps? Is this router recommended at that speed? If not, what's a stable but affordable router? Thanks in advance.

Accepted Answer

their is a lot of confusion and misinformation here.. 
The router has a 4-port Gigabit switch for wired-network connections.
The Wireless connection is capable of nearly 300Mbps under very IDEAL 802.11n conditions.
Like this DIR-655, your client wifi-adapters will also require multiple antennas.

reference:  wiki 802.11n-2009 # Number_of_antennas

Question 2

I read some reviews and they mentioned that the router lifespan is only around 1 year. Is this something I should be concerned about?

Accepted Answer

I bought mine nearly a year ago and it is failing.  I have reboot it once a week or it decides to disconnect the internet and my printer until I reboot it.  My previous router was also a D-Link and it lasted 3 years before doing the same thing this one is.  Hard to say, but things just aren't made to last anymore.  As long as you can afford a new one when it craps out, there's nothing to be concerned about.

Question 3

I had to reset my DIR-655 and then it was almost impossible to re-instal and set it up on my Mac.  The install disk only had files for Windows set-up and I could not find any set-up files for the Mac OS.  Has anyon else had this problem and can you offer a solution?

Accepted Answer

Apple user here. For the basic features of this router (getting multiple computers on the internet, wifi), none of the computers on my network have had to install the included software for this router. Wifi configured through ethernet connection, then everything else was pretty standard from there on. Network is mostly Macs and one FreeBSD system, no issues connecting to router, no software installation needed – just access to the routers web interface through the browser and setup wifi/security from there.

I haven't really tried any of the shareport features so I'm not sure if that's something you're trying to access and having issues with. Don't have much experience with that.

Question 4

I am not getting good extended coverage. If I buy another one, can I put it in client mode?

Accepted Answer

Possibly, I got decent extended range coverage on this, but had reliability of connection issues to the cable company.  I do know that you can use this router as a sub-wireless network if that would be ok where you make one the top level Private Lan and put a second one below it.  I did this with a Netgear both above and below in different configurations.  I would look to see about a straight access point to extend your range.

Question 5

does this work with apple computers?

Accepted Answer

Yes indeed it does! I have mine hooked up to my network and my Macbook Pro, iTouch, iPad, and iPhone all work flawlessly.

Question 6

Will this device work with DSL?

Accepted Answer

Yes it should provided you have a DSL Modem to connect it too

Question 7

Is it compatable with windows 7?

Accepted Answer

I've set up two of these with two different Win 7 machines and had no problems.  The range is surprisingly good and the bandwidth is very pleasing.

Good luck!

Question 8

Due to where the cable comes in, I will need to put this in a basement.  Anyone have any issues with wireless if put in a low location?  (I know to put wifi as high as possible, but its not my house)

Accepted Answer

I bought this router and it worked fine the first couple weeks.  Then it started freezing and I had to reset it every day, so I RMA it.  Newegg sent me another router and it does the same thing so I gave up and not bother returning it.  Don't buy this router.  I have wasted my time replying to this so that others don't make the same mistake I did.

Question 9

Can I use this DIR-655 for my Window 7 laptops? The minimum system requirement states that it only supports Window XP, Window Vista or older. Thanks!

Accepted Answer

yes, it works fine on win7. There is no need to install the included software, which is what the os limitation applies to. Simply use the win7 wireless management system to manage your wireless connection.

Question 10

Why N300 vs. N600?

Accepted Answer

I need wire more than wireless right now. N600 options are DIR815 - which only goes up to 100M wired, the DIR827 or DIR825 - both of which are more than twice the price of the DIR655.

Questions & Answers