D-Link Cloud N600 DIR-826L 5 GHz router review, is it worth it?

The D-Link Cloud N600 DIR-826L (DIR-826L) router released in 2012. It is powered by Ralink RT6856 @ 700 MHz chipset, 128 MB of RAM and 16 MB of flash. The N600 router is compatible with IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n standards, and the maximum speed that you can get with Cloud N600 DIR-826L is 300 + 300 Mbps. The router has 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN and 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN ports.

The Cloud N600 DIR-826L is a versatile router that offers more than just basic functionality. With its advanced features and capabilities, it provides a reliable and high-performance networking solution for both home and office environments. You can connect supported USB devices to the Cloud N600 DIR-826L router. The external storage devices such as USB flash drives or external hard drives add file-server functionality to this router. D-Link is widely recognized as a reputable and established manufacturer of networking equipment.

Table of contents:

• D-Link Cloud N600 DIR-826L specifications
• D-Link Cloud N600 DIR-826L pictures

D-Link Cloud N600 DIR-826L (DIR-826L) specifications

Body

The dimensions and design of a router can impact its cooling capabilities. Routers with larger dimensions may have more space for internal cooling mechanisms, such as larger fans or heat sinks, which can help dissipate heat more effectively. If you purchase a router online or have it shipped, the weight may affect the overall cost. Heavier routers can result in higher shipping charges, especially for international deliveries.

System

The D-Link Cloud N600 DIR-826L router is equipped with Ralink RT6856 @ 700 MHz processor. The Cloud N600 DIR-826L has 128 MB of RAM. Some advanced router features and software functionalities require a certain amount of RAM to operate properly. For example, routers with more RAM can support advanced security features, VPN services, or QoS (Quality of Service) prioritization more effectively. The Cloud N600 DIR-826L has 16 MB of flash memory. A larger flash memory allows for more storage space to accommodate future firmware upgrades.

The process of upgrading the firmware on routers has become relatively simple and user-friendly over the years. The D-Link provides easy-to-use interfaces and instructions to guide users through the firmware upgrade process. The D-Link Cloud N600 DIR-826L router comes with 12 V / 2 A PSU. This unit is responsible for providing electrical power to the router, and if it becomes faulty, it can be replaced with a new, compatible one.

Network

The Cloud N600 DIR-826L router offers built-in security features to protect your network and connected devices. The IPv4 is the fourth iteration of the Internet Protocol (IP) and is the most widely used version of IP on the internet today. The latest firmware supports IPv6 protocol that provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic across the Internet. The D-Link Cloud N600 DIR-826L has 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN and 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN ports. LAN or Ethernet ports (RJ-45) are used to connect devices to the local area network (LAN).

This router has Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports. If you have a high-speed internet plan that offers speeds of 1 Gbps or higher, gigabit Ethernet ports are essential to fully utilize the available bandwidth. WAN ports often require specific configuration settings based on the type of internet connection provided by your ISP. The Cloud N600 DIR-826L router supports Gigabit speed on its WAN port, that can support speeds up to 1000 Mbps. This router ensures that you can fully utilize high-speed internet connections provided by your ISP.

Wireless

This router has 2 x 2 dBi, internal antennas. Antennas play a significant role in Wi-Fi performance and coverage. They are essential components of wireless routers that transmit and receive radio signals to establish wireless connections with devices. The Cloud N600 DIR-826L is compatible with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks. 2.4 GHz is the most widely used frequency and in some cases may be overcrowded. The Cloud N600 DIR-826L supports the 5 GHz band too. The 5 GHz band offers better noise immunity, less interference, and more available channels.

The Cloud N600 DIR-826L is a Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) router. Wi-Fi 4 improved the range and coverage compared to previous Wi-Fi standards. The use of MIMO technology and other enhancements help to mitigate signal degradation and provide better coverage in larger homes or office environments. This allows devices to maintain a stable connection even when located farther away from the Wi-Fi router. The N600 refers to the maximum combined data transfer rate supported by the router across all Wi-Fi bands.

The Cloud N600 DIR-826L is capable of a maximum throughput speed of 300 + 300 Mbps. The real-world speed of a Cloud N600 DIR-826L router is typically lower than its theoretical maximum speed. The TX power (19 dBm) of a router refers to the transmission power or signal strength at which the router broadcasts its Wi-Fi signal. It determines the range and coverage area of the wireless network. The Cloud N600 DIR-826L router offers several security protocols: WPA, WPA2, WPS.

The WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) was introduced as an improvement over WEP and provides stronger security. If WPA3 is not available, WPA2-Personal with AES encryption is still considered secure. The Cloud N600 DIR-826L router offers WPS. The WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) provides a simplified and convenient method for connecting devices to a Wi-Fi network. Instead of manually entering the Wi-Fi network name (SSID) and password, users can use the WPS feature to establish a connection with the push of a button or by entering a PIN. A guest network on the Cloud N600 DIR-826L router is a separate network that provides internet access to guests or visitors without giving them access to your main or primary network. It allows you to create a dedicated network segment for guests, keeping their devices isolated from your private network, thereby enhancing security and privacy.

Connectivity

USB ports can offer additional functionality depending on the router's capabilities. The USB 2 port has a maximum theoretical data transfer rate of 480 megabits per second (Mbps), which is equivalent to 60 megabytes per second (MB/s). You can attach a compatible USB printer to the D-Link Cloud N600 DIR-826L device. USB print servers allow you to connect a USB printer to your network, making it accessible to multiple devices. This eliminates the need for each device to have a direct USB connection to the printer. It has built-in NAS functionality. You can connect external storage devices such as USB flash drives or USB hard drives to your router. This allows you to share files, documents, photos, and media across devices on your network. It can be convenient for accessing and sharing files without the need for separate file servers or cloud storage.

Administration

The default IP addresses of the D-Link Cloud N600 DIR-826L device is 192.168.0.1. These address allows you to access the router's console login page. If you are unable to log in to the setup panel of your D-Link router, performing a reset can be a helpful troubleshooting step. It is highly recommended to change the default password of your Cloud N600 DIR-826L router after the initial setup. If you forget the new password in the future, you may need to perform a factory reset on the router to revert to the default settings.

The specifications above are based on the official data published by the manufacturer, but we also take user reviews into consideration. If you found an error or something lacking in the specifications above for the D-Link Cloud N600 DIR-826L, then don’t hesite and signal the problem to us.

D-Link Cloud N600 DIR-826L (DIR-826L) pictures

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