D-Link DP-311U Wireless Print Server, 1-USB Port, 802.11b, 11Mbps

I've got 2 laptops (one Win XP and one Win 2000) connected to a Netgear wireless network that can now print to our new Epson Stylus C84 printer. The performance is great and its a convenience to be able to place your printer anywhere you want and not have to attach it to a computer. I was able to get it to use 128 bit WEP and MAC authentication on our network.

Pros:
good performance
convenience
configurable web interface

Cons:
horrible documenation
Only USB 1.x support (would have liked to have seen USB 2.0 support)

All in all, though, I am very pleased with this product. If you have an all wireless network with only laptops this is a great product to consider.


Actually works as stated   July 30, 2003
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I don't have enough room under my desk to put my printers and wanted to shove one off in a closet. Anyways, I sent back a competing product when after multiple attempts to configure it (including trawling through badly written manuals and tech support websites), it still wouldn't work. So I didn't expect much here. However, this works perfectly. The configuration utility actually worked; the network was recognized and except for a couple of seconds delay between sending the print job and when it starts printing, there are no problems. Was up and running in about ten minutes.


Good unit IF you can get it working   December 22, 2004
Hafizullah Chishti (Seattle, WA United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

As others have said, the documentation is wretched. It has very clear screenshots of a Windows XP installation, but as has been noted by other reviewers, much is left out.

I was attempting to get the DP-311U to talk to an Actiontec DSL router supplied to my client by Qwest, but at first I could not even get the computer itself to bring up the management screen for the DP-311U through the Ethernet interface. The LAN link light stayed dark. On impulse, i tried a *crossover cable*, and the LAN light lit up and I was able to launch the management screen in a browser window. The straight-through Ethernet cable supplied by Qwest with the DSL router could not be made to work, even though it worked just fine in configuring the router.

The second wrinkle for me was configuring WEP. The DP-311U supports all the newer security protocols, including 256-bit encryption, but I used 128-bit WEP because I just needed to get this installation working and will fine-tune it later. Different units require the key to be entered differently; some, such as the Actiontec router supplied by Qwest, like dashes between the hex digits (as I recall). The DP-311U, will not accept a dashed key and will not tell you it's rejecting it; the key won't "take" and there is no error message. You only find this out when you start going through your settings one at a time and discover that WEP isn't active. The DP-311U requires that the encryption key be entered with no dashes or spaces. It would have been REAL NICE if either the documentation or the browser interface had given an example.

Other than crappy documentation, it seems to be an OK unit. The power transformer is skinny and probably won't keep you from using another plug right next to it on your power strip. it's light-weight enough that it's easily mounted (they did supply screws and mollys) on a sheetrock wall. And, has been noted, USB 1.1 is probably fast enough for most printing tasks.


NOT compatible with multifunction printers   September 9, 2005
N. Herriges
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

After 3 hours of banging my head against a wall I finally called Tech Support. They finally figured out that this is not compatible with multi-function computers. You can learn that on their support website but no-where in the standard documentation that comes with it.


unit works, but WORST customer service EVER   November 15, 2003
Genie McB (Los Angeles, CA USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I will never buy another D-Link product. After buying this wireless print server, I followed all install instructions but couldn't get it to work. I assumed it was me, so I paid a PC technician to help me out. He spent 2 hours on the phone with D-Link tech support troubleshooting, and they decided the unit was faulty.
When I called customer service to find out how to exchange it, they sent me back to tech support and made me troubleshoot again before they would give me a return merchandise authorization (RMA). After I paid a skilled tech more than $100 to be on with their techs!!! Overall I had to talk to three people and spent 45 minutes on hold to get the RMA.
Finally I got my RMA and sent the unit back, with all documentation and accessories. When they sent me a replacement, it was just the unit, no manuals, no software, not even an AC adaptor. So I had to spend 20 more minutes with their excruciatingly annoying hold music to talk to customer service. They "promised" me the AC adaptor and manual, but who knows if I'll ever actually get it.
Add to that a complete lack of contrition over selling me a bad product in the first place, and I'm just really disappointed in the whole experience and feel like I've wasted a lot of time and money (price of the unit + tech guy). If I ever get the thing running (with my Netgear router and brother MFC6800 printer) I'll post again about how/if it works.

Update: They did send me the AC power cord and I was able to get the thing up and running but only after blundering through on my own - I found the documentation unhelpful in that the instructions stopped 1/2 through the setup process. So, although I now enjoy having my printer remote from my computer, I still won't ever buy another product from D-Link.