D-Link recently sent me their latest N300 wireless range extender to test, which came just at the right time for some in garden entertainment because beforehand signal was weak. The spiel that accompanied the DAP-1320 explained it was one of the smallest on the market and one of the easiest to set up too, sounds good doesn’t it? And it was….
Setting It Up
The WPS button can be used to quickly connect the extender to your router.
There’s a few ways to set up the DAP-1320, but I opted for WPS. This involved me plugging in the extender into a vacant socket in an area where signal was weak. Next I pressed the WPS button on my router followed by pressing the WPS button on the extender. A few seconds later I was up and running and could search for the new device before popping in my wi-fi password. It took literally a couple of minutes (despite having to run up and down the stairs a couple of times).
If you don’t have a WPS button on your router you can use a free app instead, or go down the regular root on your PC or Mac.
Functionality
My benchmark involved standing with iPhone in hand at the bottom of my 80 foot garden, where signal is usually very weak with my standard router. After setting up the extender and connecting I was surprised that a near non-existent signal was now showing at full strength. My regular speed at home is 5.5Mbps (don’t laugh I live in the burbs) and a quick speed test showed my newly fledged ‘garden’ signal at 2.85Mbps, which was pretty good seeing as the signal beforehand was non-existent.
Design
Looks shiny doesn’t it?
It looks like a bulbous iPhone charger and despite being one of the smallest wi-fi extenders on the market is still quite large, especially when you compare it to a regular 3-pin plug. Thankfully it does look modern and the shininess makes it a focal point of your socket, which almost makes up for the fact you lose a socket wherever you choose to use it.
Gallery
Conclusion
The D-Link N300 extender is ridiculously easy to set up and delivers what it promises; an extended wi-fi signal that is strong and reliable. So long as you can spare a socket we can definitely recommend this to anyone who needs a stronger signal in their home, office or garden. Check out the official video below, or read other users reviews on Amazon.co.uk
