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

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.

Overall Review: 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: 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.

Overall Review: 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: >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.

Overall Review: 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: 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.

Overall Review: 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: 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.

Overall Review: 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: 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.

Overall Review: 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.

Pros: This review is for new users of technologies including routers. The setting up process couldn’t be any simpler. Newcomers will feel like a pro. It has ALL the latest speed features (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, IEEE 802.3/3u/3ab. 1 x 10/100/1000M WAN; 4 x 10/100/1000M LAN ports) I am glad Gigabit ports are finally the standard on most brand named routers now days. All speed test came in with expected reults. 2.4GHz & 5GHz WiFi bands. Very small footprint. This this is TINY compared to what I expected to receive!! Two discrete LED’s for those nighttime operators. Internal antenna that WORKS!!! Very good range on this unit. 3 laptops, 2 desktops (one wireless), 2 smart phones and a tablet all run off this unit with no sweat. All watch HD streaming. And with 2 power users in the household, no one suffered any data loss or hang at any given time on any given day. Runs VERY cool to the touch from any side; that’s a plus for me considering I live in the Las Vegas heat. Excellent parental feature for those interested in that feature. You’re NOT required to use the Cloud feature if you choose so. It is really nice to share some files with a friend out of state, but there are security risks of hackers scanning the net for vulnerabilities. Be warned.

Cons: Still can’t edit/replace/add/remove files on the USB drive via web browser connect page. Still have to attach it to a main computer to edit then place in the USB cradle/port of the router. THAT is the biggest bummer for me on this router. The Media Player features are VERY poor. No eggs off for this USB feature considering I just connect to the machine via my network with movies on it if I want to watch a movie or listen to music. Faster speeds anyway. And as with most routers the time out period to log you out of the router interface is too short with no options to set your own timeout. D-Link should have angled the cable ports to face downward versus straight out of the back. Kind of defeats the purpose of “compact when it has to sit a half a foot from the wall. It is just no very “pretty.”

Overall Review: I purposely waited for nearly 3 weeks before I did my review of this unit waiting for issues to arise. They never did. Be SURE to turn OFF WPS on this router. Google up “WPS Security” for further info on this subject if needed. Also look into the “UPnP Security” issues. I don’t think I would buy this router just because of the design/shape of it. It’s about the size of an extra fat Australian beer can. Great interface as usual from D-Link. Easy enough for a beginner and complex enough for a pro. Vey rich administrator features including bandwidth control for torrenting power users. I didn’t have the option to test the mobile app feature. The 2 people with smart phone wouldn’t allow me to test on their devices for their lack of knowledge forced them to think they might get hacked or something. Ridiculous. Some people complain about the USB 2.0 fact. Well with 3.0 you’re only looking at MAYBE a 15MB/s gain is all. Nothing to squabble about. That’s Mega Bytes (MB) not Mega Bits (Mb) by the way. For anyone having “hang” or “drop” problems, you should shut down ALL your networking systems (that is primarily your modem too) for 5 minutes, turn everything back on and you should have NO problem. The key is killing the modem for a short period to start fresh to be sure your DNS is connecting properly to your newly installed router. And yeah, you should do this montly to keep ANY router running smoothly in my experience. And always update to the latest firmware before beginning your new setup. I never had any lags, hangs or drops while testing this router. Also the 2.4 and 5Ghz connection will usually depend on your device’s connect abilities, NOT the router. And another thing; be sure to check other “Verified Owners” and “EggXpert Reviewer” reviews for the most accurate reviews. These are actual owners of this product you see on THIS page. As a side note, my equipment runs 24/7 nonstop; movie streaming, online gaming, torrenting (ALL day long), YouTubing, uploading and downloading. This router will handle anything you throw at it. Thank you again Newegg for allowing me another great opportunity to review.

Pros: Most of this is fluff, but the main pro is that DHCP gives you an IP address.. For the non-tech-savvy: - The setup seems laid out in very detailed, simple steps. - The storage wasn't so automatic, but still simplistic enough. (Plug in hard drive/device, click 'storage and you are then able to manage usernames of who can connect, and it shows you that to access SharePort go to 192.168.0.1:8181) - If you're a 720p/1080p and Lossless music (.flac file type) kind of guy/gal, this router does not seem to be for you. No Flac files loaded and see cons. - Under Tools > Firmware you can download language packs if you're bi-lingual or if this will be accessed by someone who does not speak English. I did not test this. - Has scheduling so you can set limits for the kids (or yourself if you're distracted from studying.) - "DHCP Reservation" allows you to assign the same IP address to the same computer automatically. Can be used for easier access control purposes. For the tech-savvy: - IPV6. Enforcing the new standard. - DynamicDNS for WAN access. - Easily configurable VLANS and port forwarding (as expected..) - Has Syslog AND can be setup to send email notifications of any errors or events. (Would be an awesome pro. Can report Attacks, Debug info, system activities, dropped packets, etc.) - Very detailed Status section with Logs, Statistics, details about your network setup. - Can change the MAC address easily.

Cons: __THERE SEEMS TO BE NO WAY TO DISABLE WPS___ This is a huge security risk and may leave your files vulnerable to attacks. Do research on the "reaver" WPS vulnerability. I had no problem with wifi reception, however I live in a small two story apartment. There are no antennas on this unit. My profession deals with radios and RF Transmissions and I can confidently say you may have connectivity options with this design if you intend to cover a larger area. SharePort is painfully slow. I am downstairs and the router is right above me, and it lags and loads very slowly. It may be that my laptop is 2.4Ghz. I planned to test on my desktop which has 5Ghz 802.11n, but I give up with this thing. Clicking "Movies": Doesn't detect most of my movies. All files show up in Folder View, however. When you click the files, whatever media player you use for embedded movies in your browser will load (VLC, Quicktime, WMP.) Nothing buffered, nothing loaded. No .mp4, no .avi, no .mkv, absolutely nothing. As of right now not even VLC will play movies streamed from the router with a "copy link location" in the browser and "Open Network Stream" in VLC. Not that they would play anyway if they stream as slow as SharePort loads..I even tried with user:password@filepath thinking it could be the SharePort authentication blocking it. Nope. Just doesn't work. I could not find a setting for this, however the config page kicks you off seemingly after 5 minutes or so of inactivity. It is extremely annoying. So for those with long passwords...you may practice them and know them well if you don't keep clicking. DO NOT enable "Enable Graphical Authentication" because it only adds a captcha to this painful process of constantly logging in again and again. SharePort doesn't kick a user off like this, however. "Router is unable to detect your Internet connection type." I guessed it was because the default IP of this router is the same as my DSL modem. (I guessed wrong.) I changed the modem IP and it would not change, and nothing would load anymore. Therefore: To reset (You will probably be using this, unfortunately) you will need something very small [think needle or tack, not writing pen] to hold the button on the bottom of the unit for 30 seconds, or until both green lights turn off and the top turns orange. Internet would never work. Neither plugged directly into my DSL modem nor from my router. I have changed any setting I know to change. I have given it a few days and tested different things. Then I gave up.

Overall Review: If this router were on the scale of hit or miss, I would have to say it is a definite miss. And I am typically pretty optimistic with reviews. However, the Asus RT-N16 does a much better job of serving media, is cheaper, has more USB ports and better specs than this cloud router and is only 2.4Ghz. This is my first experience with the Cloud and I can't say that I am at all impressed. Although simple enough to set up, packed with some decent features, and having a friendly interface, this router just felt buggy and inept. It was not only unable to serve it's purpose of becoming a central location for media, but couldn't even provide internet.. I genuinely like to give accurate, optimistic reviews of products. With this router, however, things aren't sunshine and daisies. Many [all...] of the features failed and at the price point, I cannot see how someone would pay $100 for this when there are cheaper and better routers out there who serve the purpose of a "Cloud" or lightweight NAS. I just cannot bring myself to giving this product a positive review. I apologize, but I did not get around to testing the Android app. I would have loved to work on it, and open my Cloud to the open internet to try it all out. But nothing worked and I didn't even make it that far. I sincerely cannot recommend this product to anyone who expects it to do what it advertises to do.. Sidenote: I used this product with a Seagate 3tb Mac USB 3.0 (STCB3000900.) Another downside of this is that it's only 2.0. USB 3.0 is becoming the standard and at this price point it should be included.