Comments on: D-Link DWL-G710 Wireless Range Extender Review

By: rene

rene — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 01:32:06 +0000

Good to see that some people are still actually using this model. I have an older computer and was given the d-link from a friend because I finally needed an extender in the house. However, I am having some trouble because it is a mac, which is older as well, so I’m wondering is there a compatibility issue between the two?

I was not too sure if you could us PC and Mac together especially on this older model, as it appears to connect but then just hangs. I’m trying to find some documentation, but the closest that I could get is http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=357 but if you notice it doesn’t say anything about Macs.

I also download the 1.04 driver software support but couldn’t seem to resolve the issue. I picked that p from Cnet and their usually good about providing drivers, but I think I need to actually look around more because that one is still the 2006 update.

At this point I’m thinking its best to just go and buy a new one but was not too sure where to go. In fact I was looking at the Airport Express on http://www.wirelessrangeextenderreviews.com but couldn’t seem to figure out if its a repeater or an extender all in one.

Any input would be appreciated.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 04:21:47 +0000

Unfortunately, I have not thought about that scenario before, and I’m not sure why someone would want to bridge over three WLANs. Why do they want to bridge different WLANs? I ask because bridging has a specific meaning in network speak. Since we’re talking about range extenders, my assumption the goal is to extend the range of the first repeater with a second repeater and so forth.

From a networking and usability standpoint, using multiple wireless routers rather than extenders is a better solution. This requires each access point to have wired Ethernet and power connections (which should not be a problem if each of them are on separate WLANs). One access point will manage DHCP, etc. while the others would be configured in AP only mode with the same SSID. The range of each AP should overlap a bit and the wireless channels of the overlapping APs should alternate (11, 6, 11). Channels 1, 6, and 11 are best because they do not overlap.

If multiple wireless routers is not an option, another alternative would be to go with a newer router which supports 802.11n. 802.11n provides greater range than 802.11a/b/g. Of course, 802.11n works best if all of the connected clients are n compatible.

As far as brands go, I have limited experience. I know Cisco (not the consumer focused Linksys variant) is a safe choice when you want a wireless router which has advance features. Of course, Cisco comes at a price. If you are not interested in anything that fancy, I suggest looking a routers such as Linksys WRT54GL (what I currently use) or many of the Buffalo ones which are easy to flash with custom firmware such as Tomato, DD-WRT, etc. I have not researched this, but the custom firmware should provide extender functionality. For even greater range with a stock router, you could upgrade the antennas or build some custom directional ones.

I hope this helps. I know it’s a lot of information and I typed it all fairly quickly.

By: Wireless Range Extender Reviews

Wireless Range Extender Reviews — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 01:14:30 +0000

After taking a look through your site it looks like you seem to know a lot about range extenders. We are wondering if you have ever encountered a problem when it comes to bridging over 3 WLAN’s or more. It appears that some people not only want to extend their networks but actually connect multiple ones together which is causing them some problems. If you have any input on this, or can direct to a particular brand that you think would be best it would be appreciated.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 25 May 2011 02:36:25 +0000

Shelia, I’m sorry to hear you’re having problems. It’s been so long since I’ve touched the DWL-g710, I’m not sure how much help I will be. I had to scan my own post to remember a bit more. When you try to connect to it via the web address, make sure the repeater is wired into the computer you are trying to connect from. In other words, I am not sure it’s possible to configure it wirelessly. Once it is configured, you can unplug the wired connection and move it to where it needs to be. I hope this info and/or the above post and comments will help.

By: Shelia Ollis

Shelia Ollis — Tue, 24 May 2011 16:12:37 +0000

Hi. I just purchased the DWL-g710 from Amazon unknowing it had been discountined in 2008. I have it hooked it< great signal thru the entire house but cant get the setup to work. meaning typing in the web address the manual gives you, comes back saying "cannot display page''. I called for support and was told I would be charged $33.oo for 30 minutes and it still might not work.. Any advice for an amatuer would be so greatly apprecaited.. Thank you. Shelia

By: vudean

vudean — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:28:29 +0000

I was having the same problems, I was getting ip address conflicts then limited or no conectivity… took me forever.
finally after LOTS of resetting of all of my computers, and the D-Link range extender, and my main router (somehow my router stopped broadcasting during this, even though I did NOT turn it off)… it finally worked.
So I’m just going to cross my fingers and hope it continues to work.

By: Silverware

Silverware — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 10:18:34 +0000

Hi,
thanks for the review, I think you just saved me a lot of trouble. I think I’m not going to buy this repeater now but still, maybe you can help me more.
My situation is this. I live in a three-stories building; we are three families, mine, my neighbour’s and my landlord’s. My landlord occupies the ground floor and the first floor, my neighbour is on second floor, while I’m right under the rooftop. We all use the landlord’s wireless network for internet connection, which is placed on 2nd floor, stairs-side. While my neighbour which is right above it still gets a good >20% signal, I get nearly none in my apartment. Until last week I could connect from my studio which is on the other side of the building with a 3% connectivity and still get a good speed and stability (using a D-Link rangebooster pendrive), but somehow the connection one day went away and never came back, even though there seem to be no other electrical devices interfering in the building. Now I have to connect from outside my house, with the receiver hanging down the stairs. So a friend told me I should place a repeater in my neighbour’s house. Now:
- The network uses WPA/WPA2-PSK network encryption with DHCP activated (although I’ve set static IPs for my computers). It’s an ADSL wireless router. If you need specific configuration data, ask me.
- We all have Windows XP PCs, I think; I also have one Vista laptop.

My objective is to boost the range of this network to the entire building, in particular to my whole apartment. Troubles are:
- I would rather not tangle at all with the landlord’s router, or as less as possible.
- Changing the security to WEP is possible but undesirable since, as I know, all our computers should change their system to WEP and that means 7-8 PCs to reconfigure, most of which are not mine. I must try to leave things like that as much as possible to avoid bothering other people.
- I don’t have too much money or time to lose, but I need this network up and running because it’s essential for my work.
- Most of the time I can get things done, but I’m no networks expert, so I can’t configure products that are too difficult.

Basing on all that, can any of you guys suggest me a product that I can buy and set up quickly to achieve this, without reconfiguring the entire network, going throught too much trouble or spending too much money? I’m in desperate need of a concrete, effective and possibly permanent solution.

Thanks a lot to everyone.

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:03:33 +0000

One can only hope that a newer generation of repeaters will come out. From my limited experience with it, the DWL-G710 is quirky and difficult to configure as a repeater but does a decent job of working once you get past the initial setup. Thanks for the comment and update.

By: roy g biv

roy g biv — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:13:38 +0000

I updated the firmware on the DI-634m to 2.01 and now it works with the DWL-G710, sort of. The connection is very slow and prone to interference at times. The 634 seems to be a flawed design and has been dropped by D-Link. It does connect very well however, with a high power USB wireless adapter using the Realtek 8187 chipset. Maybe a new generation of repeaters will come out using these newer chipsets.

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 29 May 2009 23:07:32 +0000

I haven’t heard of a solution that will allow you to connect the WLg710 to the D-Link DI634M router. I’m not saying there isn’t one. I’m just not familiar enough with it to know what it is.