Routers such because the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 have it robust. When issues are going nicely and they're diligently doing their job, you shouldn’t even know that they're there. Your web ought to simply merely work, your community (residence or workplace), must be seen with all of your networked units fortunately speaking to one another. Nevertheless, as quickly as one thing goes flawed, one of many first issues we blame is the router.
Whereas there are a selection of routers that wish to be flashy and make you conscious of what they do, we nonetheless have a tender spot for no-nonsense routers that get on with the job with out fuss – one thing the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO router guarantees to do.
Don’t assume we’re promoting the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO router brief – it’s simply we admire its restraint after the large and brash (and really costly) Asus RT-AC5300 Tri-band Gigabit Router.
Whereas many routers (such because the aforementioned Asus) boast AC5300 or AC2400 velocity requirements, the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO sticks with AC1900, which is able to speeds as much as 1300 Mbps. Whereas this may increasingly appear disappointing, it’s truly extra practical, as many laptops and tablets are nonetheless capped at 1,300Mbps speeds – so something over that's overkill. Will this have a noticeable influence on efficiency? Learn on to seek out out.
The D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO is obtainable for £133 ($140, round AU$190), which is fairly respectable for a router, and a few third of the worth of the Asus RT-AC5300 Tri-band Gigabit Router.
Options
Routers not must be beige and boring bins that it's a must to disguise out of sight. The D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO has a brilliant (however not garish) orange design with a triangular design and 4 antennae that may’t be eliminated, however could be folded down onto the physique of the router.
It comes with 4 Gigabit LAN ports and one WAN port, which ought to be sufficient for a lot of residence customers, although for workplaces (and homes filled with wired sensible units) chances are you'll have to spend money on a community change to extend the variety of ports.
Disappointingly, there’s no USB port, so you possibly can’t share USB sticks, exterior exhausting drives or printers by merely plugging it in to the router. Most routers now include at the least one USB port, so the shortage of 1 within the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO is an actual disgrace.
This can be a dual-band router, providing each 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, permitting older units to hook up with the two.4GHz band, and newer units to the 5GHz band, decreasing congestion on wi-fi networks in houses or workplaces with numerous units making an attempt to attach. The Wi-Fi itself is 802.11ac, at present the newest and quickest model of Wi-Fi.
It options clever QoS, permitting it to detect the kind of visitors on the community (resembling media streaming or file transfers) and decides which software to offer highest precedence to. This implies switch speeds out of your PC to your NAS gadget for giant information gained’t abruptly drop if another person in the home begins streaming Netflix, and the TV present they’re binging on gained’t grind to a halt if another person begins enjoying an internet recreation.
It additionally comes with parental controls, visitor Wi-Fi community creation and WPA and WPA2 encryption for the Wi-Fi networks. General, the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO comes with just about all of the options you’d anticipate from a contemporary router at this worth vary, although the shortage of USB is disappointing.
Efficiency
However how does the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO carry out? D-Hyperlink guarantees a simple to put in ‘zero configuration’ course of, helped by the Fast Router Setup (QRS) app, designed to make including this router to your house community as painless as attainable.
We began through the use of the QRS app to arrange the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO. With the router plugged in, we downloaded the app, then related the telephone to the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO’s Wi-Fi (and entered within the provided password). Upon loading the app, the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO was found and we tried to start the method. Sadly, the app didn’t play ball, with it turning into unresponsive.
So, we loaded up an internet browser, typed in http://192.168.zero.1 and the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO’s welcome display appeared. As we often arrange our routers this manner it wasn’t an excessive amount of of a problem, however it’s a disgrace the app didn’t work, as we’d have favored to have seen how straightforward it was to configure the router that approach.
The method via the online interface was simple, with every step clearly defined, so even when that is your first router, you’ll have a good suggestion of what you have to do. It detected our web connection and not using a drawback, then requested us if we needed to vary the identify of the community and password. We have been additionally requested to offer a brand new admin password for logging into the router and altering our web settings.
And that was it – the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO was arrange and dealing in three steps, fairly probably the simplest and most pain-free router setup process we’ve had, regardless of the annoyances with the cellular app.
The online interface has been overhauled by D-Hyperlink and it's easy and engaging, permitting virtually anybody to seek out the options they want with none hassle. The extra superior options are simply accessible as nicely, for probably the most half. 
Nevertheless, we needed to ensure we have been on the 5GHz band throughout testing, and in contrast to many different routers, there weren't two separate Wi-Fi networks being broadcast for every band – as an alternative only a single wi-fi community. To ensure each bands have been enabled we searched the settings menu for some time with no luck – then we observed that the ‘Sensible join’ function was turned on. 
Switching this off introduced up a brand new menu the place we might view each 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Each bands had the identical identify (SSID) and password, with the Sensible Join function primarily figuring out which units related to which band. 
With this function switched off, we might change the identify of the 5GHz band and provides it a brand new password, so we might ensure which band we have been related to. This can be a little niggle, however we’d have most popular if this feature wasn’t hidden away, or if Sensible Join had been defined slightly clearer. 
Nevertheless for most individuals you possibly can depart these be and simply use the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO right away – D-Hyperlink’s promise of ‘zero configuration’ appears to have been realised.
As for vary – the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO confirmed a obtain velocity of 138.1Mb/s obtain and 12MS ping with our 5GHz system proper subsequent to it. With the PC plugged instantly in to the router, our obtain speeds have been solely barely greater. Apparently, once we examined the speeds from throughout the workplace (round 30 ft away) the speeds truly elevated to 156.4MB/s and the ping dropped to 6ms. We put this right down to the design of the router and the antennae, which lean outwards from the router’s physique, so units barely additional away will get higher protection.
By way of one wall the speeds dropped to 68.68Mb/s and ping rose to 21ms, and thru three partitions it dropped additional nonetheless to six.41Mb/s and 164ms ping. When you have a big home or workplace, chances are you'll want to think about vary extenders (which the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO can double as) to assist get respectable speeds. 
We additionally examined the connection on the ground above (however in a roundabout way above the router) and obtained 108.88Mb/s and 6ms ping, and one flooring under (this time instantly under the router) with 131.94Mb/s and 11ms ping. 
These are excellent outcomes and present that flooring show much less of a hurdle than partitions. If in case you have an extended or vast home, then the location of the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO (or using extenders) may have critical consideration.
Firstly of this evaluate we expressed the hope that the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO can be a router that does its job competently and with the minimal of fuss, and we’re delighted to see that it’s just about the case. 
Setup couldn’t be simpler (regardless of a wonky cellular app), and speeds and vary all labored nicely with none have to configure complicated settings.
We appreciated
The worth, options record and the convenience of setup are all massive pluses for this router. The speeds and vary have been additionally excellent contemplating the worth of this system.
We didn’t like
We’d have appreciated barely extra flexibility with the antennae placement, and the cellular app wants a bit of labor to ensure it’s as straightforward to make use of as promised. 
Some extra superior options are a bit hidden away, however that gained’t be of an excessive amount of concern for many customers, although the shortage of a USB port, which is just about a regular function for routers nowadays, is a disgrace.
Remaining verdict
For its worth, the D-Hyperlink DIR-879 EXO offers a lot of the widespread options you’d anticipate from a contemporary router, together with twin bands, parental controls and QoS instruments for making certain the community is pleasant to make use of regardless of the way it’s getting used. Vary and velocity of the Wi-Fi is sweet, particularly between flooring, although it gained’t fairly attain the furthest corners of huge homes and workplaces.
It’s extremely straightforward to arrange, and even non-techies can have this up and operating in a matter of minutes, and lots of won't ever even have to log in as an admin to vary any settings – although when you do you’ll be greeted with a simple to know and navigate interface.
General, this can be a nice little router that gives excellent efficiency for an honest worth.
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