D-Link ADSL2+ Ethernet Modem-(DSL-520B)

I bought this DSL modem to replace a Westell 327W DSL modem/wireless G router that I got when I signed up for my Verizon home DSL six years ago. We live in a rural area and are toward the end of the recommended distance from the switching station for a DSL line. The Westell was very unreliable and would drop out the connection to the internet regularly and often needed to be re-booted to reconnect. It was especially bad when the weather was less than a perfect sunny day. This unit, the 520B is rock solid. I have had it for about a month so far, during which time we have had severe rain and thunderstorms - including lightning strikes - and it has not even skipped a beat. The unit was easy to install with the included software and it automatically self-updates via the signals sent from your ISP so it is a true "set it and forget it" kind of device (as it should be), but access to manually configure the unit is great also should you ever need it. The VPN pass through feature is faster and more reliable than the Westell was - much needed for me as when I telework I have to connect into the company network via a VPN connection. I have a Linksys EA 4500 wireless router connected to the modem and the two work flawlessly together as well. The EA 4500 is the hub of a fairly complex wired/wireless home network with multiple wired nodes, two router/wireless access points, an eight port switch and one wireless signal repeater/range extender. At maximum usage, there are four computers, two wireless printers, two Android phones and two Android tablets on the network running through the network and utilizing the modem at once and I never sense any traffic hitches or slow down issues. I am very pleased with this product in both price and performance.

If you subscribe your DSL service from Frontier Communications, be aware! Frontier has a policy in place that doesn't allow you to use your own equipment, hence the monthly rental charge for their equipment will stay on your bill, no matter if you use their's or your own equipment. I call it "rip off, gouging or whatever you want to call it (to use Mr. Trump's words)". Again, they found a way to reach into your wallet. There is no regulation / law about this in place. ** The D-Link modem works as expected, though. ** Makes it harder to return! I called Frontier prior to purchase of this modem, since I have my own router with built in WiFi and wanted to use it. Frontier provides a modem with built in WiFi (Netgear) and charges you a hefty rental fee. When I asked if I can use my own modem to save the rental fee, I was told that I could use any modem that has an RJ11 (telephone receptacle). What they conveniently forgot to tell was that they still will charge the rental fee. This I learned when I inquired about the return of their equipment. In other words, it is useless to purchase a DSL modem replacement, the charge stays on your bill. I am writing this so that other Frontier subscriber are aware of this dubious business of Frontier Communications! I complained about the forced rental to our State senator and others in this trap should do the same. What happened to freedom of choice?

Let's be honest, there isn't much diversity in the market for dsl modems. After trying 2Wire's that have poor network functions, Motorola's that don't stay connected, and Netgear's that fail after 6 months I decided to give this D-Link a try. It came with an install cd which I of course chunked and used the web interface so I can not tell you about the install cd. The web interface has a, "quick setup" menu which avoids a lot of technical network terminology but still had a ton of options in other areas including DHCP and NAT functions so you don't necessarily have to have a separate router to use it with multiple computers. It was very easy to bridge with my existing router (which was the only way I could figure out to get the modem to stop blocking ports and let the other router handle it) and did not have the connection issues Motorola's seem to have with a bridged router handling the login info for your internet service. If you need help configuring it D-Link provides a 800 number inside the box. Overall this modem seems to be well-made, holds a connection well, and performs better than many out-dated models still on the market.

I just needed a basic, simple, stable DSL modem that I could put into bridged mode and connect to an ASUS AC66U. After doing a lot of research I purchased this thinking it would last, and it did...for about 2 months. It worked fine for those 2 months, but suddenly out of nowhere one day we start getting connection issues. I had changed nothing on my end so I found this very strange. After trying all kinds of modem/router resetting, confirming with my ISP that everything was working on their end, and all kinds of other trial and error, it turns out this unit had stopped functioning correctly. And based on some of the other reviews on this unit, this isn't uncommon. Note that I updated the firmware immediately after I took it out of the box. Best of all, it died JUST after the return period ended, which is very disappointing because I buy quite a lot from Amazon. So now I'm stuck with this plastic useless brick. I never really trusted D-Link based on past experiences with their hardware, but I decided to give them a chance. I should have trusted my gut, and to top it off it sucks that Amazon won't help me out here either. In any case, avoid this piece of crap product.

A good basic DSL modem, with no eye-candy features, etc... Yea! All text user interface! No glitchy graphics (eg. GIF/PNG/JPG) within the administration web interface. A little difficult at first to setup, as I always enter the incorrect password using the initial "quick setup" option. However, I further note below the three most important menu items you'll need to know after initially setting up this modem, including changing the ISP login password, and the menus for monitoring for service issues. My modem log states this modem model having a Broadcom BCM96345 chip, for which Broadcom chips are supposedly strongly preferred for DSL modems. This modem states "Made in China", with D-Link's headquarters is in Taiwan. Regardless, this is the most recent DSL modem without wireless features available on the market, aside from the older TP-Link DSL non-wirelessmodem. Also, the manual includes GPL/LGPL disclosures. (eg. Yea! Linux & Open Source!) Purchased this as a replacement for my apparently shorted TP-LINK TD-8816 DSL modem. The TP-Link worked great for 2-3 years, until just after a telephone repair man apparently checked the system. Shrugs, so I just bought another non-WindStream modem! This is a good basic modem without any wireless features or eye-candy user interfaces. Very similar to the TP-LINK TD-8816 DSL modem, except there are no GIF/JPEG images within the web browser administration interface for which created problems when printing. This modem also offers telnet/ssh interfacing. NOTE: The three most important menus within the modem's web administration interface are the following menus; 1) "Device Info" > WAN: Tells you if you are connected to your Internet service provider's network. For example, shows your issued IP address. 2) "Device Info" > Statistics > WAN: Shows your SNR Margin dB, Attenuation dB, speed rates and errors/corrections. In other words, line integrity problems. Also includes the previous menu's info. 3) "Advanced Setup" > WAN > Edit to edit your user name and password, along with augmenting any other DSL settings for logging into your Internet service provider. (eg. UBER, QOS, PPPoA or PPPoE, LLC, login password, redial/retry method, MTU ...) Additionally, you may want to turn on logging within Management > System Log, as by default, logging is turned-off for some odd reason. Logging is very minimal with the default settings, likely providing some very informative information when trouble-shooting. If this is your only router/device between your computer and your telephone line (eg. no router), than this device also provides firewall and NAT features. If you have a more recently dedicated wireless router or other router, than those dedicated routers may function better than this modem's routing/firewall/NAT (etc) functions as the dedicated hardware tends to perform better than hardware with add-on features. The other great thing about these cheap modems, if the telephone repair person gets mad at your and decided to short your telephone wiring with 48V shorting any hardware connected to the line, than this $50 modem will likely short-out first and save the remainder of your network system (eg. telephones, wireless routers, ...) from the excessive voltage. Making this a $50 repair/replace scenario rather than a $150+ for replacing all-in-one DSL modem wireless routers!

Pros: Nice price. Easy web interface. Seems to be a quality built product. Worked great in PPPoE mode. Cons: Could not get it to work in bridge mode. No firmware updates since 2014 that I could find. I put it in bridge mode with all the correct settings for my DSL provider (VPI, VCI, Encapsulation). Disabled all routing functions but still could not get it to work with any of my routers. Ended up fixing my old modem. Connected to my router and I had internet. I have Centurylink ADSL PPPoE and read some people had success with this modem. But after 2 days I gave up on it. Shouldn't be this difficult. Maybe I got a defective unit. Whatever is the problem I don't have the time for it. Amazon is great and gave me a refund.

The item name for this is incorrect, it is not just a modem but a modem/router. This makes it capable of handling many home devices out of the box, though the fact that it only has 1 LAN port means you'll be using an access point and/or a switch if you want to attach more than 1 wired device (typically a computer) to it. Since I have my own infrastructure of access points and switches this device does exactly what I was looking for, i.e. provide ADSL connectivity to my network. (Having no wireless access point and no bank of LAN ports built in has the advantage of making this device small and inexpensive.) It does that job and it does it fast. I compared it to two ADSL routers that my phone company provides in Uruguay (a ZTE zxv10 W300 and a Zyxel amg1202-t10b) using ookla and while the throughput was pegged for all at the limit of my ADSL service the latency was noticeably quicker on this modem vs the others (18ms vs 30+.) Cable modems tend to be a no-brainer for the user to install (at most they require a call to the cable company top active them). ADSL modems are not as lucky as there are some parameters to specify, notably VCP circuit numbers and in some cases user name and password. This modem/router tries to automate the process with a setup CD that knows the most common ISPs in the US, but it offers little help for the rest of the world. I know my ISPs VCP numbers (0 and 35) and I know the ISP uses PPPoE LLC and disregards whatever user/password you specify so I had no trouble setting the modem/router up manually. The web UI of the modem/router is downright spartan (it looks like the developer looked for efficiency, not fancy graphic design.) But all the options are there, including an ADSL statistics page that gives you all the stats you might ever want and more (my favorite is "Super Frame Errors", no idea what those are but they sound mighty.) There is a "Diagnostics" page that stays blank a looong time and then shows a bunch of PASS/FAIL test results. One option that other ADSL modem/routers (e.g. those of TP-Link) offer but is not available here is support for DynDns and NO-IP type IP address reporting, something that is handy for people hosting any kind of server behind an ADSL connection with dynamic IP. It remains to be seen how this modem/router holds up in the long term in the rural medium I am in; I've lost a number of them to electric discharges (lightning etc) and/or poor thermal design that leads the modem to run hot and eventually die. But so far so good. BOTTOM LINE: If your ISP offers plain ADSL (not VDSL) and you want a zippy, low cost modem/router to take advantage of it this unit does the job.

I did not see anywhere in the product description where this item should be used or refurbished. Two things that tipped me off: 1. The power adapter cord was bundled with a rubber band. I believe this should have been a twist tie. 2. There was evidence of a sticker that normally covers the ports (telling you to read instructions before connecting). This was torn off with fragments left on mode. A bit disappointed in the misleading description. Otherwise, The modem was easy to install. I have not had it connected long enough yet to report on reliability. This was setup successfully on an AT&T DSL service. I do not believe this will work if you have a U-Verse service, it will need to be the old traditional DSL.

Been using this for a few days now. Setup was a snap but skip the CD if you can-just navigate your browser to the setup page. This product is easy to configure and if you're an advanced user, you can play with several other settings-just make sure you know what you're doing. Simple setup will get you going. Now that i'm with a smaller ISP i dont have to worry about renting modems from Bell again. Speed of internet connection is about the same as what i was getting with a Bell modem-no issues there. All in all, a good purchase at a great price! I would recommend it.

worked out of the box. came with a cd. who has a cd drive any more? works a lot cooler than my old unit. quite happy.

Fills a very specific need, it does what you get it for.

Damn. It has been a year already since I bought this and now is likely a good time to write a review on it as I have had it for awhile to test it. When reading some of the reviews, it sounds like some people have no clue to what this really is. So, let me tell you. As it says in the description, this is an ADSL2+ Modem Router. What that means is that with the ADSL2+ standard, this is a DSL modem that uses the phone line to get a connection. It isn't a cable modem. As it uses ADSL2+ standards, it has a top download speed of 24 megabits per second I do believe and a top upload speed of 3.5 megabits per second with annex A or M enabled. If you have DSL service of up to 24 megabits per second download AND up to 1 megabit per second upload speeds, then this is a modem for you. If you have a DSL service with an upload speed greater than 5 megabits per second then you will require a VDSL standard modem. That is a different modem altogether. Now onto the Modem Router part of this item. This device can be used as a regular modem where it will act as a bridge for a router that will contain all of the login information for your ISP. That router, which is separate from this item, can be a wired or wireless router, but it is something that you will provide yourself. This device can also be used as a router wherein it can act as a router with all the login information for your ISP and devices but you will need to connect a switch or possibly wireless switch to connect your devices to. You could also connect a router or wireless router to this device when it is acting like a router, but the results may not be as you expect for you and your network. But if you only have one device, or a switch to connect multiple devices, using this device as a router won't be a bad thing since when you turn it on, it will take care of the Internet connection for you. Now some people have thought that this router might include wireless capabilities. It doesn't. It has a connection for the telephone wire to connect to it to bring in the DSL signal. It has a single connection to connect an ethernet cable to, which you use to connect to a computer or router or switch or whatever device you want to connect to the Internet. And it has a reset button you have to press with a sharp object like a pen or pen cap, and it also has an on/off button. So no wireless capabilities at all. When I ordered it, the price was reasonable (about $30) and it arrived within a few days after ordering, if I recall. It basically cost me the equivalent of one months' Internet service. It came with a Cat-5 cable instead of a Cat-5e cable but when you think of it, Cat-5 is adequate for connecting this device with a router or computer. And it is a better deal than renting a modem as that cost would be more than it would cost me to buy it. If it lasts at least 3 years, I'm more than ahead of the game. Though it has lasted a year already so that's a bonus. Like some devices, either they work or they don't work. This one works. Now I will say that my service is 6 megabits download speed and 800 kilobits upload speed, so I'm not really taxing this unit, but throughout the year, I've never really had any problems with it. It replaced an old GNet ADSL modem which I had for some years and was losing the connection on me, because it was burned out on the motherboard. Yes, like some have said, the device can get warm. Dust is a big killer of electronics and cleaning it or vacuuming it once in a while won't hurt. Keep the air vents clear and let it get proper ventilation. Also, you can turn off this device when you're not using it. You don't have to keep it on 24/7 if you don't want to. I have this paired with an old Linksys WRT54G wireless router and although it was making me reset my connection a few times more than I wanted, it was the wireless router's fault. It had its old firmware and after I upgraded it, it is working better now with less connection issues. Overall, the modem is a good modem and it works and if you log into it to look at the statistics on the modem, it has a nice user interface. Though it is a little more expensive than say a TP-Link model, I would still buy this modem as D-Link is a good name and my first router was a D-Link and it lasted a good while. I was saddened when my wired D-Link router stopped working but they sometimes do that. So when this modem router stops working, I'll likely buy another one of these to replace it, if I'm still using the same service and it has the same requirements. I heard somewhere that DSL modems usually last around 3 to 5 years I think it is. Well, if they are properly maintained, they should definitely last that long or maybe a little longer. And if you own it, well, that's just more savings you'll be getting from not having to rent it. Hopefully this review will be helpful to people in understanding how this device is used. As it uses a DSL service, please be reminded that DSL filters will also be needed for all telephone lines in the house so as not to interfere with the DSL signal coming from your ISP. A filter is not used on the line connected to the DSL modem mind you. And although I'm only using this modem as a bridge, I am satisfied with it.

The modem is exactly the same model as one I've used now for several years. The old one is still working, but I've put it away to use as a backup. This model does tend to overheat sometimes, but I find running a little USB fan prevents that (See ARCTIC Breeze USB Desktop Fan ABACO-BRZRT01-BL on Amazon). I don't know about other modems (and this could be the fault of Bell ADSL service) but I'm accustomed to having to reset this model every week or two. To me it's no big deal. Just hit the reset button and let it reboot. Sometimes it takes two tries, but it always gets back up and running. And it was CHEAP!