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The DAP1522 from D-Link is an inexpensive yet effective way to get multiple wired devices connected to a wireless internet signal from another room. Some internet sources claim this box supports WDS, but it does not. It's simple and easy to set up, and doesn't take much space.That said, it was hard to find, because many retailers that claim it as "in stock" really have it on backorder, which could take weeks or months to get (and D-Link may not even be supporting this product anymore).It's great for gaming systems, advanced TVs or set-top boxes that don't have built-in wi-fi. It's also useful for setting up a wired network in a separate room from where your cable or DSL comes in for fast file transfers and streaming HD video.However, if you want to run a home server, this is not the box for you. It's only a client bridge, meaning MAC addresses and local IPs are funneled into one at the DAP1522. Your router will only see whatever device happened to send information last, preventing you from doing any port forwarding or advanced packet routing to the server.
My Macbook Pro (only 2 feet away from it had many problems printing to LAN attached printers (the problem came and went with the DLink WAP). I just received this 3 months ago. My Wifi-equipped TiVo had the same problem (LAN attached TiVos had a hard time seeing the WiFi-equipped TiVo).Fortunately, last week it died after only half working for 3 months. First of all the performance is nothing like advertised. 2nd, the range is abysmal, my kids computer only 15' away separated by drywall could not connect to it reliably. I replaced it with a Linksys G WAP. It's actually faster, has a much better range, and no more weird printer or TiVo problems.If you have a sophisticated setup and need WiFi access > 20' away, then please avoid this product.
This device was advertised to be EASY to set up. Would definitly NOT recommend. What a farce. This unit proved to be so hard to configure it has been returned. This device had been purchased with the intent to mate a Panasonic Viera Cast TV and a Blu-ray disc player to the internet. The setup process was so encumbering I have decided to seek another route for this capability.
The TV has a software routine where the TV searches for a wireless bridge connection. It wasn't entirely clear to me they were linked, but I tested the bridge by connecting a computer to it and was able to surf the internet easily. I chose this bridge over the Linksys because of the D-Link has four ports whereas the Linksys has only one. It also will surf the net on the web sites (Yahoo, Amazon) provided by Sony.
Fortunately, after pressing the router's WPS button the bridge's WPS button the two devices linked together. I have a Linksys router. The Sony software routine does not recognize this bridge and flashes a message that no bridge has been found. I also connected a Blu-Ray player to the bridge, and updated the firmware on the Blu-Ray player without a problem.Overall, this is a nice product. I'm not sure what I would have done if I had to connect the bridge and router manually, as the instructions looked pretty vague on how to do this, but in the end, the "auto-connect" using the WPS buttons worked flawlessly.
However, this message is irrelevant because when I ran the Sony firmware update on the TV, it downloaded the latest firmware through the bridge. I have been a satisfied Linksys user for many years, and so far the D-Link appears to be as dependable as Linksys. The instructions were not clear as to how to connect the bridge to the router. So don't let this "Bridge not found" message discourage you - the connection is there. I then moved the bridge to the room with my TV and DVR (about 50 feet away from the router), and the connection held fine.
I can now download movies from the internet on the DVR and use the internet features on the TV with no problems - no dropped connections.I have a Sony Bravia TV. The DVR downloads movies over the internet easily. I would buy a D-Link again and recommend it.
The speed was a bit disappointing as well - I never could get more than 85mb out of it. The first one took some fiddling around and a call to technical support to set up. After trying a new AC adapter, tech support agreed with me that the unit was dead. The setup instructions were missing a few pieces of key information to make manual setup feasible (such as the computer you use to manually configure the DAP 1522 has to be connected via ethernet cable to the wireless router.
I can't watch more than one show without the connection dropping. Why would you assume that my computer is connected physically to the router when I have a wireless network.). The reception of the bridge was awful - mine ranged from 18%-35% about 100ft from the router, going through two walls. I'm on my second DAP 1522. I've gone back to using the built in wireless G adapter on the PS3 because the DAP 1522 that we received is such a lousy piece of trash. All the lights went out suddenly, even the power light.
The replacement unit I received is even worse quality than the first one. The quick set up button won't even activate in bridge mode.
I will be calling Dlink again to try to get a replacement for our replacement. The quick setup button never worked.
And it doesn't reconnect by itself either. But I was happy that it worked.
Then, 3 months later, the unit completely died. I have to unplug/replug the unit to get it to reconnect and 80% of the time even that doesn't work and I have to manually re-link the DAP 1522 to the wireless router (Dlink DIR-855).
I have not researched bridges by other manufacturers yet (I really should) but I definitely do not recommend the DAP 1522 at all given the poor quality of the units I got (unless you feel like taking a gamble at getting a working unit).
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