Atrocious performance D-Link 868L router

[desura]

I upgraded from a net-gear N router to the D-Link 868L router.

the 868L router is horrendous.

Devices in the same room cannot see the signal. I am getting it to run via ethernet cable, but this is inexplicable why the signal is so bad. Any suggestions?

 

[MustISO]

Could simply be that you got a bad unit. Do you get the same performance/issue on each band (2.4/5gz)?

 

[desura]

Could simply be that you got a bad unit. Do you get the same performance/issue on each band (2.4/5gz)?

I am thinking it probably is a lemon. Still, it is completely inexplicable how bad the performance is. The reviews for the unit are universally good.

 

[desura]

So one issue I ran into was getting the internet to work with the new router. For some reason, the only way I could get it to work was if I inputted the old router's MAC address into the new router. This might be related to the poor connectivity.

 

[Bryf50]

Depends on your ISP. With Fios I have to release/renew the IP or close the MAC address to change routers.

 

[boomerang]

I'd flash to the latest firmware (assuming a newer version is available) before declaring the unit NG.

I can't imagine how cloning the MAC would have anything to do with the wireless signal.

We had a power outage here like we often do and when it came back on my Asus router would not communicate on the 5G band. The light was on, I could log into the router with a wired or 2.4G connection and everything looked fine but it was not transmitting on 5G. I did a reset to factory defaults and at the same time upgraded the firmware and the problem was fixed.

I wish I had just done the reset by itself because now I don't know which step corrected the problem.

Edit: The last EOL routers I bought (two identical routers, one for each residence) both died after 11 months of use. I learned my lesson when I tried to save a few bucks. IMO, they were discontinued for a reason.

 

[desura]

I checked firmware. It is already running the latest.

 

[boomerang]

I checked firmware. It is already running the latest.

Do a reset on it. You'll probably have to check the manual for the procedure. If that doesn't work, you may be able to flash the same firmware.

Your choice is the above, return or exchange or call their technical support.

I am assuming of course that you haven't been in the configuration haphazardly changing settings.

I'm curious, who is your ISP? I ask because I have been having issues and I am with Comcast. Just yesterday, I plugged the modem and router into a UPS I had purchased (the wireless problem associated with the power failure kind of pissed me off) and I could not get internet connectivity afterwards. This is not the first time I have had this issue.

All lights on the modem showed as they should, the lights on the router showed as they should but I could not connect to the internet. Usually I start power cycling components in order again, and monkeying around but this time I logged into the router and saw that it had no internet connection despite the light on the front indicating it did. (I do realize that light might just be indicating it sees a gateway.) I logged out and waited. Connectivity was restored in a minute or two. This is entirely off topic to your post so feel free to ignore it. 🙂

 

[desura]

Comcast.

As I mentioned, for some odd reason I had to put in the old MAC address to get the new router to work. It didn't fully work btw, this only allowed Ethernet connectivity.

I think the problem is the router because cable modem or not, the signal it gives off is completely inadequate even when I a, in the sa,e room. I'm talking like going from two bars five feet away to one bar ten feet away. It should of course be full bars twenty feet away.

 

[boomerang]

Comcast.

As I mentioned, for some odd reason I had to put in the old MAC address to get the new router to work. It didn't fully work btw, this only allowed Ethernet connectivity.

I think what you experienced is a coincidence. Remember I said I waited it out and connectivity was restored? I did no additional power cycling, no configuration changing. After I logged in to confirm the router had no internet connection through the modem I simply logged out and waited. Shortly afterwards, I had internet connectivity.

I think the problem is the router because cable modem or not, the signal it gives off is completely inadequate even when I a, in the sa,e room. I'm talking like going from two bars five feet away to one bar ten feet away. It should of course be full bars twenty feet away.

You're exactly right it is the router. You had two things happening at the same time and you are trying to conflate them. They are not related, one is the consequence of putting a new router into the mix (because of which you ended up cloning the MAC) the other is a problem router (poor wireless).

I believe that if you had strong wireless signals out of the box that you still would not have had internet connectivity until a short period of time had passed. In my case it was probably two to three minutes. Yes, that's an eternity in today's world and especially in one where we are programmed that if we power up the modem and wait until the lights are stabilized and then power up the router and wait for the lights to stabilize that we will have the connectivity we expect.

Comcast is doing something different these days. I cannot say what. But I do know that the modem, once installed is their territory and they control the configuration, the "flash". I think that they changed something in regards to how it deals with the MAC of the device connected to the modem. It may be just that they only poll for a change every few minutes instead of doing it much more frequently. Once again, I don't know but I do believe something has changed.

How Comcast operates in Michigan versus how they operate at my second home in Florida is totally different but that is another story and one that will just cloud the issue.

Once again, try a reset and then a flash if it's not fixed before moving on to the next step. I think you may not necessarily have a "bad" router, just a "confused" router.

 

[Makaveli]

So one issue I ran into was getting the internet to work with the new router. For some reason, the only way I could get it to work was if I inputted the old router's MAC address into the new router. This might be related to the poor connectivity.

I've seen this before on a cable modems. Sometimes the ISP will lock the service to the MAC address of the modem. When you put a router in the chain you usually have to reset the modem and pickup a new IP which will now lock the service to the MAC address on the router. Usually a reboot of the modem will fix this if you change the router, but sometimes it doesn't and you will have to get the ISP to release it on their end.