Review on 📶 D-Link DIR-855L Wireless N Dual-Band Gigabit Router (900 Mbps) with Home Cloud App - Discontinued Model" by Juan Moncrief

Purchased after WiFi issues with my venerable Buffalo Tech. Below is an overview of how to use it with D-Link cloud cameras. The web setup is fun to work with. The WEP connection is very simple. The range is wide and we have no problem streaming Revain or Netflix from PC to TV. No problems so far once I figured out how IP addresses work! Cloud Cams D-Link and 855L: Phew! After a crash course in IP addresses, MAC addresses, SSIDs, routers, WPS, and lots of swearing and clapping, I think my five-camera home security system is working. First I bought three DCS-931L, then accidentally bought two old DCS-930L. In every way they are the same in functionality, although initially I found the 931L software to be easier to use. Stick with the 931s. I initially had good luck setting up these cameras on my old Buffalo Tech router. First you connect them, run the setup wizard (which you need to download as a zip file and it's not very easy), then you can use WPS for the cameras over the wireless network. Move them and install them anywhere. The range is surprisingly good. It was possible to work with MyDlink. This is an online portal for your cameras. The smartphone app equivalent initially sent me motion notifications pretty well. Then all of a sudden I started losing frames from the cameras. Pretty soon everyone was dead. Must have uninstalled and reinstalled them dozens of times. And then my home WiFi disappeared. So I thought of a defective router. What luck. So I ordered the D-Link 855 model, primarily because of the "zero configuration" on their cameras. Installed new router and everything seems fine. Then the same thing started happening. I was able to set up the cameras wirelessly directly from the router, but the cameras' IP addresses were being assigned to other devices, causing all sorts of problems. I kept uninstalling and reinstalling and trying to reserve IP addresses in the router. I then let them work, only to find them slowly falling out again. It seems to help to reserve the IPs of your other devices first and then install the cameras. I finally came to the conclusion that the way to set it up was to first connect it to the camera via a WPS WiFi network from the router. I then went to D-ViewCam (which is their proprietary PC program that you use to record movement on your drive as evidence of a break-in or break-in). In D-ViewCam, I manually "pasted" the camera into the settings panel with the IP address assigned by the router. I then went to MyDlink, found the camera via "Zero Config" and configured it online there. This seemed to fix the channel loss and worked without issue for a few days. Most of the time the software couldn't "find" the camera during the scan, so I chose to enter it manually. That's easy. On some cameras they still haven't made a "connection". But if I'm gone for a few hours, bingo! As if it took the program some time to recognize them. One more thing, you need D-ViewCam to change camera resolution. I couldn't do it in MyDlink. There are still a few quirks. The MyDlink application no longer notifies me of movement. I can define channel ranges for motion detection in D-ViewCam but not in MyDlink network anymore. It just shows a black screen. This lets you define the zone, but since you can't see what the image is, it's of little use. I think that's why I don't get any notifications about the app. I don't know what happened and I'm investigating. But D-ViewCam records movements on my hard drive. BTW I use an external USB drive hidden in the basement in case someone steals my computer! In summary, the cameras definitely work. Image quality is good enough to see faces and cars pulling into the driveway. The smartphone app makes it relatively easy for me to follow the dogs, although the latter requires a good, strong and fast connection. Otherwise it just expires. I really like D-Link routers. Developed by Buffalo Tech over the years, they are much easier to set up with an excellent web portal. There are five stars. And setting up the cameras is nice because you don't have to use the MyDlink software, which I found buggy and difficult to install, or a LAN cable. I have two cameras inside, three outside under a canopy and one outside in my house. Canopy. I have repeaters active on 931, but even if they are out of range of other cameras directly from the router, everything is fine (about three walls, a brick and only 70 feet). I plan to add more cameras including IR versions for dark areas. Until now, cameras have worked outdoors in sub-zero temperatures and high humidity. They stick out like a sore thumb, but I guess by the time they get stolen it'll be too late. The video has already been recorded. For this reason, and because of their relative cheapness, I have taken no action to hide them. Damn, I want the thieves to stick their faces in so I can get a closer look! It's been an agonizing fortnight messing around with these pederasts. But once I master the flow, I'm happy.