D-Link AC1750 DSL-2890AL

Easy to setup and good design – Got it at a bargain so was a good value for money. Good for normal users to setup and forget. Advanced users will be disappointed with the modem's management GUI. Designed to look a lot like Amazon echo and does a fairly decent job. Getting the latest firmware from Dlink site required a bit of searching and wasn't straight forward.  Show details

Good wireless coverage and never needs to be restarted – I've owned this router for about 4 years now and I can't recall ever having to restart it in order to fix an issue. I also cannot recall having any serious issues with it. The only issue would be to try configure QOS so that multiple devices that are all uploading a little do not overly saturate the uplink so that the downlink fails to function… Read more

at a reasonable speed. This is a scenario specific issue though and not something that should be avoided by the routers default configuration.

I've had a number of different devices connected to it wirelessly and wired and it seems very capable of sharing the internet and local network bandwidth among those devices. The software on the router allows users to configure most of the standard and advanced settings you would want such as QOS, Port Forwarding, Guest Zone etc

The device is always on and has been able to withstand days where the temperature was high 30's outside and low 30's inside.

good – very good. the wifi range is good goes far. sleek design . easy to set up . mutli tasking modem . was $400 and bought it for $200 from bing lee . what a bargain! got a good brand modem for cheap . latest model. looks like a stylish speaker.  Show details

Good product. Perfect for any home – The range on this modem is really good, can reach from one side of the house to the other without the issue. This modem was really easy to set up, just a plug in pretty much. The LEDs on the modem itself makes it really easy to tell you what is on and off while at the same time looking stylish.  Show details

It does the job and that's pretty much it – Bought this to replace the provided TPG modem with the hopes that it would give me better range and internet speed. Unfortunately the improvements were very minor. Basically, I got about a 10% improvement for both speed and range. Its very easy to setup. Interface is easy to use. Has stable connection, however, once in a while (maybe twice a… Read more

week) I have to reset it due to spiky internet. It really depends on how many people use the internet. Also, the connection for the external HDD is mediocre to say the least. By that I mean the connection is stable but the copying and pasting files speeds are pretty rubbish (1GB file would take like 20-30 minutes).

So in summary, the product does it job. But honestly, it's like any other generic modem/router. It does a satisfactory job.

Expensive but very worthy of the price – Prior to using this modem there was always a dead spot in terms of wifi range. The overall range was also quite small and only one frequency available. However, these problems was resolved the minute I changed to this router. The improvement was very apparent cause the dead spot had disappeared and I could even connect to the internet outside of the house.  Show details

wireless works okay most of the time - and that eventually becomes annoying – I originally had this modem in mid 2014 for a smaller 2 bedroom apartment in a multi-level complex and thought the thick walls were why i wasn't getting decent signal strength. i have since moved three times and the 5Ghz band suffers decent signal drop off, even with what could be considered unobstructed, even somewhat shorter distances AND good… Read more

router placement. Pumping up the signal strength didn't seem to work either.

Then the wifi reliability issues come into it. My AC wireless devices would say that the 5Ghz band doesn't have external internet - even when router lights say it does and the 2.4Ghz band is still performing well (and has internet). I would have to switch my devices over to the 2.4Ghz band and try and switch back later and restarting the router didn't really help the issue. The 2.4Ghz band actually does perform ok, until you try streaming video from a NAS (hooked up via LAN) and you get a frustrating glitching stop start experience. but for what you pay for this device, there have to be better and faster 2.4 and 5 Ghz wireless routers that perform better for the price range. But the lack of reliability becomes incredibly annoying if you're doing streaming or larger data transfers via wifi. All up it makes the DSL-2890AL one that I would stay away from if I was doing my homework about buying.

Great value Modem/Router – My old (cheap) modem died after 4 years & as I now have 6 WiFi devices I decided to spend a bit more. I was surprised at the high cost of many in this (AC1750) range. It was dead simple to set up even over WiFi with the wizard software suggesting the easiest process. 4 gigabit ethernet ports and 2.4 Ghz (450 Mbps) & 5.0 Ghz (1300 Mbps) WiFi bands.… Read more

WiFi works throughout our single level 220 sq metre home plus out on the back patio & garden. It also has a USB2 & a USB3 port. I have not used these yet or the guest WiFi though I have it configured.

The round tower shape with LEDs arranged vertically on the front has a small footprint & is easy to check the operating status & the WPS button is on the front & flashes when pressed looking for a device. It also hides the 6 antennas inside the cylinder rather than look like an ugly upside down spider like many WiFi Modem/Routers.

The RRP was $330.00 & as it has now been superseded I got it for $128.00 at Harvey Norman, easily the cheapest & best value of anything else with similar specs.

Easy, reliable and good coverage – We have had this modem for a couple of years now and cannot fault the reliablity of the product. Signal strength is the best we have found to cover our large home and cater for sometimes 8+ wifi connections. Easy on/off button and simple light display help even the least tech savy in our household to use.  Show details

Good design and signal – Good strength signal throughout our whole home.Took a short time to set up, the majority of the issues we had appeared to be with the associated gadgets as opposed to with the modem. Simple to state this now however at the time it was difficult to figure out what was causing the availability issues.  Show details

Excellent NBN modem – This modem started out in life as an ADSL modem with NBN capabilities. When NBN was installed at my residence it was a simple and easy matter of converting one of the LAN ports to act as a WAN port for the NBN service. This action is done through the modem webpage interface. When you access the modem for the first time you are presented with the… Read more

option of setting it up manually or automatically. I selected manual and from the very next page you are given the choice of selecting ADSL Router or Residential Gateway (NBN/UFB mode). Select the residential gateway option by clicking in the radio button and once the page changes you will be given the option from a drop down box to slect one of the numbered ports to act as a WAN port for the direct NBN connection. If you select port#1 then plug your ethernet cable into the ethernet plug #1 on the back of the modem leaving the other 3 free for LAN connections. Then set the modem router up as normal by putting in your username and password supplied by your ISP. The modem provides me with a 1 gigabit connection hard wired via Ethernet and has a whopping 1750mbps wifi speed which I find impressive and due to the many devices that we use on wifi, I have had no issues with starvation for service on any. It comes with 2 wifi bands. 2.4 ghz and 5 ghz and the interface setup is very easy. I highly recommend this modem router if you have the NBN box at your residence but it is no good is you are connected FTTN (fibre to the node) or VDSL. It also has a USB 3.0 connection on the rear to plug in a flash drive or external HDD with video files or movies stored on them. To enable this option open the modem webpage again and go to "setup" at the top and then on the left hand side select "media server". In the section that says DNLA Server put a dot on the "Enable" button and save your settings. You might get a warning that this might slow down the 2.4ghz band but dont worry, with this modem you have plenty to spare. Once saved you can now access those video files from any pc/tablet/laptop that is on your home network. You are most welcome :)

reliable workhorse – This is older model now, but because of that is a genuine bargain for ADSL connections. My first one was damaged by lightning strike (I live in a country area). As I rely on Internet I recently bought two DSL-2890AL modems, configured them identically and thus have a spare one. Yes, one can buy more fancy modems in 2017, but this one simply works… Read more

day after day with no issues whatsoever. Vertical, tower design cools electronics better than more common flat box designs which tend to pack electronics in a small box, and modems always run hot. connect and forget type of box.

Lag issues – Stayed with Dlink due to their REALLY GREAT support team. However I have had to have this unit reset at least twice. I have some latancy issues, or lag issues. ie when opening up new tags there can be a delay. Watching utube can be a pain. NB new cat 5 wiring, wall sockets, and computers. Have also had issues with opus servers. Fortunately I do not play games.  Show details

Works great can't complain – Amazing, this is probably the best modem/router i ever bought after my previous router (BILLION failed after a year). Runs 24/7 since i bought it and has been reliable since. Maybe the only thing that could be improved is to have more USB Ports as I like to use my USB to share content around the house.  Show details

Ok – Not sure if it is the area that keeps losing signal as Telstra always get me to configure this and that and it still doesn't work. Some days internet is great and reception is good, other days the modem flashes and wifi is hit and miss. Quite expensive to purchase.  Show details

awesome!! – as we have a 4g wireless modem that has to be outside to get reception, this range extender has been fantastic. We can now use our internet all through the house. I handles 4 kids constantly streaming you tube and also our 4k tv streaming netflix. great product totally worth it  Show details

Stable Modem Router, Never need to reboot – One the top line of D-Link, bought from WIreless 1 when they had promotion, too good to pass the deal. The modem router looks good, the WIFI coverage is excellent. Been stable is the main thing, never needs to reboot it . Been using D-Link for more than a decade, trust their stuff!  Show details

Fast, easy set up, but advanced options can be confusing – I got this modem router when changing ISPs, and I didn't want the cheap modems that come bundled with internet plans. I wanted a fast, dual band modem router, with NBN support (to avoid having to buy a new modem when NBN eventually makes its way to my suburb), and good range to cover entire home. This was the one I picked, and it's been working… Read more

perfectly 99% of the time.

Pros: easy set up, fast dual band, streaming of multiple full HD videos around the house to different devices without lag, built in media server very simple and useful to stream movies to smart TV (just be plugging in a hard drive directly into the modem router)

Cons: some advanced settings such as mapping connected hard drives as network drives to PC, changing media centre options on web interface can also be confusing

It serves its purpose – It was relatively expensive, and takes quite a while to start up when initially turning it on, but it works well. Internet connection only drops out occasionally and delivers fast internet connection. However, price is an important factor to consider, and it may be worthwhile exploring other products on the market.  Show details

Does the job well – Easy to configure, but when playing fifa 16, the game would freeze and lag. Happened probably in 60% of games. Worked just okay for streaming videos over the network. Despite that, l did observe improvement to all the devices around the house and has an impressive range and speed. Get it if is cheap!  Show details

Easy to set up, cheap – Fast internet (most of the time) and easy to set up. Sometimes it requires rebooting (when it is cutting out or running slow) but you can do this remotely from an app, which is very convenient. Can connect many devices. Has two frequencies that you can tailor to high downloading vs browsing.  Show details

Still working – Bought from office work when half price. Not very clear about its functions. It is the high end among the choices. So bought it just to avoid bad quality risk. Working well so far. have not test its range yet. But in my house signal is good . Happy with the choice.  Show details

Superb!! – I work in IT. Although I am not a network guru or System Admin, I can easily say that this product is an excellent for the price. And it looks beautiful as well. If you can get it under $150 (sometimes as a deal) that will be a great bargain. It has good range and the speed we get out of it is good.  Show details

Alright router – Overall very good performance. Has issues on the 5GHz band when used with a couple of android phones, but I'm not sure if that's just a defect. Range on the 2.4GHz band is great, and overall very stable. Design is nice, but does attract scratches. Do look around, as it can be found quite cheap!  Show details

Good value and performance – Haven't had many problems with it. Do have to restart it once in 2-3 weeks but other than that it works flawlessly with both Telstra and Optus. Recommend for people looking for a home router that has good wifi coverage without being too expansive. Overall I would say good buy.  Show details

Good speeds but ok range – The 2890AL router is NBN FTTP capable. I live in a double storey townhouse with the router being downstairs. Speeds are good getting pretty closed to the subscribed speeds with my ISP but the signal range is average at best. Seeing that my router is at the front of the house (where the NBN box is), I seem to get a few black spots upstairs on… Read more

the back end of the house.

Overall, not a deal breaker, but if you have a single level house, this should be ideal and cost effective.

Perfect modem router combo – After my telstra modem suddenly died got this one which was easy to connect and configure and has great range across the whole house. also looks beautiful as it stands tall like a tower. it bit expensive but as they say you get what u pay for so dont mind paying the premium for a premium product.  Show details

poor serve function – it is ok for home users and it allows about 20 devices wifi connected at same time. However, it is hard to set sharp the hard drive with access control option. When I tried to set a share the printer I found the firmware unsupport and i have to find third part one  Show details

Uff! NASA? – Super great! A bit pricey but it is absolutely beast! If you're a gamer or download a lot, this is one of the best modems you could properly get for a decent price compared to the others. It comes with an app as well which is super convenient in managing a lot of settings and keeping track of who is on and what not.  Show details ·  1

Great. Thanks for reviews – We are now enjoying the full extent of our internet thanks to this beauty. Our last router used to drop out the wireless signal all the time, but this one has been study and consistent. Can't wait to see how it performs with new NBN. We can currnelty watch netflix and youtube together without any lag. It's great and well worth the money so far.  Show details

Wouldn't have believed the reviews if I hadn't tried it myself – I'll start off by saying I've tried a lot of budget routers, anything under $129 I've tried and let's face it, they suck. I got this off ebay on discounted price plus $20 off which cut the price down to exactly $129. It runs perfectly, no issues, fixed my packet loss issue when playing online games. Can connect up to 8 devices without… Read more

interruption. You want something for gaming, hd streaming on multiple devices or just want reliability, this is it.

Excellent, fast reliable – Have had this modem/router now for just over two weeks and have not had one single issue. have not had to reboot or reset.. easy setup... Excellent wifi range throughout the house both on 2.4 and 5ghz.. The most impressive thing is the internal data transfer rate, amazing speed... can transfer via wifi say a 1gig file in around 10secs. Amazing... Can't go wrong with this unit.. Very happy.  Show details

D-Link AC 1750 DSL-2890AL – I have absolutely no issues with this modem. One of my better purchases. Works with multiple devices (I run TV, Foxtel, 2 x mobile phones, 2 x Tablets, 2 x Laptops and the Printer) not always at the same time but generally a combination of at least 5 devices at one time. The modem works over both 2.4 ghz and 5 ghz which I'm led to believe is an… Read more

advantage. My old modem would randomly drop the internet but have had no problems since changing to this modem. The coverage area is excellent. Very happy with the modem.

Excellent AC Modem/Router with Excellent Wi-Fi Range At A Fraction of Cost – For someone who had bad experience with D-Link products in the past (circa 10 years ago) I was reluctant to give this modem/router a go.... Boy, am I wrong with my assumption, the D-Link DSL-2890AL modem/router is a mighty fine piece of hardware! Having to endure three Fritz!Box 7390 (2x faulty, 1x buggy) modem/router for the past 2 years where… Read more

the phantom calls (VoIP) is a norm, I decided to shop for a new modem/router to replace and to take advantage of the 802.11ac band technology – contenders include: D-Link 2890AL, Netgear D6300, and Asus RT-AC68U.

I really wanted to give Asus a go; however the AC68U is modem-less. The choice is then down to D-Link and Netgear. In the end, I decided on D-Link as it receives good feedbacks on various sites and I (subjectively) like the look of the modem....

In terms of ping connection, the D-Link is on par with the Fritz!Box, if not faster. The signal strength generated by the D-Link is definitely stronger and further – I can walk 20m further away from where Fritz!Box signal ends. This alone is well worth the money as I can access the internet in areas (of my yard) I previously couldn’t with the FritzBox.

As for connection; I have circa 10 devices connected to the D-Link via LAN and wireless, sometimes up to 20 (devices) and D-Link handles them all with ease, even when steaming 1080p movies. The D-Link does require reboot every now and then to refresh the internal memory but I can do this via the D-link Android app.

Not only does the D-Link takes up less desk space (with its vertical design), the fact that the front panels gives all the connection details (vs. Fritz!Box’s single LED) is a big plus as I can monitor connections without having to log onto the website.

As for the UI, I must admit that D-Link (ver 1.04_04) isn’t as slick as Fritz!Box but after reading the blogs on whirlpool, sounds like the imminent release of the new D-Link UI is going to be the next best thing since slice bread.

I must point out though that 2890AL does not come with VoIP function that is standard on the Fritz!Box but then again, D-Link costs substantially cheaper than the Fritz!Box and with the price differences, I can buy a Gigaset C610A IP VoIP phone, which is exactly what I have done. Have I mentioned that the Gigaset is far superior than Fritz!Box in terms of clarity and functionality? For the very least, I don’t suffer from “phantom calls” (with the Fritz!Box) anymore.

Finally the one feature that stands head above the rest is D-Link’s after sales support – Not only are they helpful and knowledgeable, they actually follow up on what they promised! The only other companies who (in my personal experience) goes the extra mile to help are HTC and Sony but then again, this is a discussion for another forum...

I’m so impressed with the 2890AL and D-Link’s support that I went and bought the DWA-171 802.11ac adaptor and that in itself is equally impressive - small and fast. All in all, a very pleasant experience with D-Link and they have restored my confidence with the 2890AL (and DWA-171).

PS My experience on this is based on 5 months of 24/7 usage. After-sale service, Wi-fi range, Wi-fi speed, Price, Design Needs to manually reboot every now and then to refresh internal memory