HIGHS
- Painless setup
- Impressive range for its price point
- Traffic prioritization capabilities
- Modern design
- Painless setup
- Impressive range for its price point
- Traffic prioritization capabilities
- Modern design
LOWS
- No USB port
- Some features don’t provide expected benefits
- No USB port
- Some features don’t provide expected benefits
Despite the growing number of Wi-Fi enabled devices in our homes, most of us still use technology that was better suited for a time when only your laptop and smartphone needed to share the internet. That technology is called 802.11n Wi-Fi.
Now, it’s showing its age. 802.11n routers can quickly be brought to their knees during peak usage periods, leaving some devices to fight for bandwidth. Most don’t see a reason to upgrade though, because a decent 802.11ac isn’t cheap.
Except the D-Link DIR-869 EXO AC1750. At $129, it’s affordable enough for many households. Yet it also promises strong performance and range. Can it really deliver so more, for so little?
Despite the growing number of Wi-Fi enabled devices in our homes, most of us still use technology that was better suited for a time when only your laptop and smartphone needed to share the internet. That technology is called 802.11n Wi-Fi.
Now, it’s showing its age. 802.11n routers can quickly be brought to their knees during peak usage periods, leaving some devices to fight for bandwidth. Most don’t see a reason to upgrade though, because a decent 802.11ac isn’t cheap.
Except the D-Link DIR-869 EXO AC1750. At $129, it’s affordable enough for many households. Yet it also promises strong performance and range. Can it really deliver so more, for so little?
Impressive connectivity for the basics
The AC1750 delivers a lot of oomph for its size. There is a version of this router – the AC1900 — with 150 megabits per second more speed, but the extra $20 doesn’t seem worth it for such a meager speed increase.
The AC1750 will deliver up to 450Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, and 1,300 Mbps in the 5GHz band, according to D-Link. How you use that is up to you, but we’d recommend putting non-essential devices on the 2.4GHz network. This way you have the maximum amount of bandwidth for your mission-critical devices which should be 5GHz compatible.
The AC1750 impressed us with its range. It doesn’t have beamforming — a term describing how high-performance routers directionally transmit data to increase network performance and range to that device — but the AC1750 does fine without it. We had a connection everywhere on our 7,500 square foot suburban property on the 5GHz band, with at least 30Mbps of internet throughput to boot – much better results than the Zyxel AC2200
Despite that range, the AC1750’s relatively slim bandwidth can work against it. During peak usage periods, there was lag and sluggishness present, but generally not enough to be show-stopping. Keep in mind we had two computers running – one downloading, one streaming — and a PlayStation 4 streaming Netflix simultaneously, so it’s understandable.
D-Link does provide easy QoS (Quality of Service) setup. You’ll need to enter your ISPs uplink and download speeds, and then drag each separate connection into a box. There’s one that will always be given highest priority, then a variable number of “high” and “medium” priority connections based on the number of devices connected.
Our usage case found no appreciable difference in employing QoS for our needs, however. Your result may vary, but it appears that the router’s QoS feature may not become relevant unless a very large number of devices are connected.
D-Link includes a feature that combines the 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi networks into one with what it calls “Smart Connect.” With it activated, the router itself selects which band to deliver, based on the device.
The AC1750 delivers a lot of oomph for its size. There is a version of this router – the AC1900 — with 150 megabits per second more speed, but the extra $20 doesn’t seem worth it for such a meager speed increase.
The AC1750 will deliver up to 450Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, and 1,300 Mbps in the 5GHz band, according to D-Link. How you use that is up to you, but we’d recommend putting non-essential devices on the 2.4GHz network. This way you have the maximum amount of bandwidth for your mission-critical devices which should be 5GHz compatible.
The AC1750 impressed us with its range. It doesn’t have beamforming — a term describing how high-performance routers directionally transmit data to increase network performance and range to that device — but the AC1750 does fine without it. We had a connection everywhere on our 7,500 square foot suburban property on the 5GHz band, with at least 30Mbps of internet throughput to boot – much better results than the Zyxel AC2200
Despite that range, the AC1750’s relatively slim bandwidth can work against it. During peak usage periods, there was lag and sluggishness present, but generally not enough to be show-stopping. Keep in mind we had two computers running – one downloading, one streaming — and a PlayStation 4 streaming Netflix simultaneously, so it’s understandable.
D-Link does provide easy QoS (Quality of Service) setup. You’ll need to enter your ISPs uplink and download speeds, and then drag each separate connection into a box. There’s one that will always be given highest priority, then a variable number of “high” and “medium” priority connections based on the number of devices connected.
Our usage case found no appreciable difference in employing QoS for our needs, however. Your result may vary, but it appears that the router’s QoS feature may not become relevant unless a very large number of devices are connected.
D-Link includes a feature that combines the 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi networks into one with what it calls “Smart Connect.” With it activated, the router itself selects which band to deliver, based on the device.
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