D-Link - Covr AC3900 Dual-Band Mesh Wi-Fi System

I have a two story house around 3000 square feet and having problems with wifi drops in some areas. I bought D-Link - Covr AC3900 Dual-Band Whole Home Wi-Fi System to replace my existing router. In terms of build quality, the base station is very solid quality and extender looks beautiful like Roku Premiere box. It comes with very well packaged and everything was individually wrapped. Setup is very easy and can be done either by PC UI or andriod / iOS apps. The Covr system came with two units base station (router) and extender. During setup, extender was identified automatically and configured with wifi settings. Please make sure that extender is very close to router for the first time setup to avoid any sync issues. I have moved the extender to second floor and now getting best Wi-Fi connection throughout home. I had issues with the firmware and there is no way to set up the 5 Ghz and 2.4 Ghz networks separately as both are controlled using a single setup. It may not a big deal for me and it might be an issue for some users who are looking to have 2 separate networks. Also, iOS app crashed multiple times during setup and it can be improved over the period of time. This is a great router that works covering the entire house with excellent speed. This is the best router / extender setup and it works really well for entire house and no more dead spots.

Recently moved desktop computer further away from the basic modem/router proved by ATT U-verse. Needed a better router to cover entire house a little better. Has been a big help!

First, I have had the pleasure of testing several whole home mesh systems over the past year. The D-Link meets or exceeds the performance of those systems. Setup was extremely easy and like most routers, can be done via your computer or app. I have to say, I found the app lacking and clunky. It crashed several times so I would say it needs some serious improvement--especially if you are one that likes to frequently tinker and adjust your network. Out of the box, the packaging was good. I've been extremely impressed with the packaging of routers lately and the D-Link Covr AC3900 continues that trend although falls short of the Linksys which almost make it an art. The design of the D-Link also falls short of my aesthetic desires. Build quality is what you would expect, but it just doesn't have a high-end feel. It certainly doesn't look like it could be a heavyweight in the whole home wifi field. I've found the Linksys systems to look more substantial. But it's about performance right? Performance wise, the D-Link had lower ping rates than my other whole home mesh systems. I maxed out all of my device and wasn't able to produce any noticeable delay or lags. However, as I've stated before, this has as much to do with your ISP and the plan you pay for. Your router can only give you speeds that you pay for. I didn't notice any problems with handoff between the extender node and the main router since they use the same SSID. One critique is that I would've preferred the ability to select which band my devices use (2.5GHz or 5GHz) but this isn't huge. In conclusion, setup was a breeze and I am really impressed with the performance of the D-Link Covr despite its appearance. The fact this whole home system actually comes with a primary router as it's base is a plus as some only include nodes that you stitch together. At 6,000 sq ft coverage, this system should meet the needs of almost anyone! Pros: -Coverage -Simplicity -Performance -Price Cons: -Design -Lack of 2.5/5GHz customization -App

This D-Link Dual-Band router is doing a very good job delivering Wi-Fi to all parts of my home. It was easy to set up using the app, and the online interface is easy to use, albeit limited in customization options. While testing the system out, I used a Wi-Fi analyzer app on my phone and monitored my device's signal strength to the main router. As I moved away from the main router, my signal strength would decline (as expected). But as I moved closer to the extender, the D-Link router would hand-off my phone from the main router to the extender successfully and I watched my signal strength increase sizably again. I also found the reverse held true. As I moved away from the extender and back to the main router, my signal strength was affected similarly. One thing I do want to note, during setup, the instructions advise you to place the extender as far away as possible while continuing to get four solid green lights on the extenders topside. While it’s not really a signal strength meter, it’s an indicator that the 2.4 and 5GHz signals are communicating well between the main unit and the extender. Regarding speed, the router successfully streams HD content to my Amazon Fire Stick without any lag. And so far, it's able to handle the 20 plus Wi-Fi connected devices within my home. A few downsides is that the app is pretty much useless after using it for the setup process. So, don't expect to use it to administer any router settings. It's much better making any adjustments through the router's web interface. As others have mentioned, there isn't a way to set different SSIDs for the 2.4 and 5GHz frequencies. In the past, this would have been a deal-breaker for me, but as I've started using "mesh" wireless routers, the need to specify which network my devices connect to has become non-existent. The systems are designed and do a good job managing which frequency to use based on the device's radios, distance, and throughput. Another thing I do want to note, if you enable the Guest network, it seems to only stream from the main router. My Wi-Fi tests picked this up. Whereas the regular 2.4 and 5GHz networks were emanating from two different MAC addresses (one being the main router, and the other being the extender), the Guest network was only coming from one MAC address. You can enable both 2.4 and 5GHz for the Guest networks, but they are only coming from the main router. I'm not sure if this is intentional. Maybe the extender is only meant to concentrate on delivering a wireless signal to devices connected on the primary network, and not waste its bandwidth on guest connections. Regardless, if you do get this router and the Guest network is of major importance to you, then think about setting up the main router where most of the guest traffic will occur. Overall, this router and it’s seamless extender delivers a strong wireless signal throughout my home, and I've been very satisfied with its performance.

Wireless routers have taken a turn the past year or so. Gone are the days when a single wireless router is designed to cover an entire home. Welcome to the days of wifi mesh systems with add on nodes. Enter the D-Link COVR AC-3900. The D-Link COVR system is designed around the concept of strengthening and extending your wifi coverage by adding devices to your wireless network. It employs the same approach seen in mesh systems with one very important caveat… A real router as the primary. The COVR AC-3900 comes in an average sized box, which is pretty surprising considering its claims at covering up to 6000 square feet. Once opened, it is well packed, lightweight, and average looking. The build quality is about average, and it has 4 antennas, which don’t have the imposing thickness of high-end wireless routers from other manufacturers. Handling the device and looking at it, made me wonder if it would be capable of living up to its billing. I’ve used other routers with up to 8 thick antennas with quad core processors and advanced cooling systems that made similar coverage claims – and by the looks of them, I believed. The COVR doesn’t give off the vibe of power. Also in the box is a wireless node which operates in the same manner as other mesh systems. Setting up the COVR was pretty easy – the instructions are only a single page. The instructions basically point the user to a guided wizard. The wizard is very literal and is easy to follow. It guides you through the basic setup for the router and the mesh node. D-Link did an excellent job on the tutorial, as it is very intuitive and thorough. The only issue I had during setup was the COVR has trouble discovering my DNS and IP from my modem. It initially retrieved these settings when I plugged it into my switch on an existing network, but when I decided to make it my primary router, it failed constantly at retrieving this information. All it did was keep pointing me to rerunning the setup wizard. I tried clicking the button to renew the IP, but it failed as well. After a few reboots and additional attempts, I finally was successful, but that appears to be an issue. Performance on the COVR was stronger than expected. It outperformed my existing router in ping response. Signal strength was admirable, and with the node, outstanding. D-Link has really won me over with 2 big decisions: 1. They have an actual router as the base for the mesh – complete with 4-port switch in tow. 2. They made the node seamlessly use wired backhaul. I have commented on other manufacturers mesh offerings about the need for at least the 4-port switch on the base, and the inconsistencies and failures experienced when trying to use a node in a wired backhaul capacity. D-Link pulls this off phenomenally. Great signal strength throughout the home with spectacular ping times – all a user could want. The only thing they could have done better would be to add an additional port or 2 to the COVR node. The place where my node sits has 2 other devices that I like to hard wire. I have to use an additional switch to make this happen. That in no way diminishes D-Link’s effort – they have provided an admirable solution from a wireless coverage standpoint. D-Link touts quite a few routers as good for gaming, and this one is no exception. Does the term NAT Type: Open mean anything to you? That’s what I got even before forwarding a single port. I have worked my tail off to achieve open NAT type using other routers. D-Link has magic in this area. As far as flexibility and options, this is my first D-Link router, so this could be something common in their admin interface. The COVR has all the basic options routers have – routing, Dynamic DNS, port forwarding, QoS, Upnp, firewall, etc. The problem is these are limited and not quite as flexible as other offerings. A couple of examples would be: I surveyed the wireless scene around my home to determine the best channels to use; well, no matter because there is no option to set the channels. Granted, the COVR takes a single SSID and manages connectivity based on device and conditions (an awesome feature), but at least let me choose the channels the bands use. Second, there are limited settings related to routing and transmission details. There are other things, but that’s just a couple examples. The interface is clean and well designed, but they don’t offer many of the features and settings I have seen when using other routers. The D-Link COVR AC-3900 is a very good mesh offering, with the ability to expand if necessary. It delivers on coverage and speed, which are the most important aspects of a wifi setup. It deserves a serious look, despite a few short comings when it comes to options. The approach to add a mesh system to a great router, and the seamless wired backhaul, makes this the best mesh offering I have used to date.

Works great in my 3 story townhouse and even reaches to my outdoor deck! Love it! So far sooo good!

The D-Link - Covr AC3900 Dual-Band Whole Home Wi-Fi System is D-Link's attempt at a Mesh Network and from a purely signal and speed perspective, they have succeeded! The set up was a breeze as was the connectivity to all of our many devices. I found that the main router has a huge footprint and was challenging to find room on my "internet shelf" but after a few minutes, I was able to squeeze it in without blocking the antennas. After about 45 seconds the system was up and broadcasting the wifi signal. Connecting the companion unit was fairly easy if you read the directions. Just a simple button push and after about 120-150 seconds they were linked and broadcasting seamlessly. Our home is 2-stories and about 2000 sq ft footprint so this network enveloped the home and a good portion of our yard in a strong signal with little to no degradation. I ran a speed test with D/L of 92Mbps and U/L of 24 Mbps which was actually higher than our previous system of about 91 Mbps and 18-20 Mbps respectively. We use Xfinity/Comcast internet for comparison. PROS - Easy setup - Strong signals up to 6000 sq ft - Awesome speed throughput - Simple companion connectivity - Whole Home/Business connectivity with one system and on Network - MU-MIMO, 802.11a/g/n/ac wireless LAN connectivity, 2.4 Ghz & 5 Ghz bands, and USB access CONS - Very large footprint, antennas add to size - Internal software features are limited, weak Parental Controls must be manually implemented - Limit of 24 websites/urls can be blocked While the limited parental controls and large router footprint are negatives for me and my family's needs, the D-Link Covr is an amazing system and has proven to be a top competitor in wireless networking when it comes to speed and connectivity. If you have the room/space for this unit and parental controls are not a selling factor, get this system!

I've set up several Whole Home Wireless systems over the past few years, and this was one of the easiest to set up. It took longer for me to mount it to the wall than it did to get everyone on the new router. I did the entire setup on my iPhone using the D-Link app. I was able to put the satellite (repeater) quite a distance from the base station (the other end of the house) and had absolutely no change in bandwidth. I had to do a little searching on Google to figure out how to connect to the USB Hard Drive that I connected to it, but it was pretty easy to find. Just go to the Windows Run command and type "\\192.168.0.1" (without the quotation marks) and it should connect you to the hard drive. Now, before I did this, I did disable the need for a password from the USB settings on the web interface. You'll need to use your security settings for your connection. Very capable system, both units have rubber feet for a table-top or mounting holes for the wall. I just wish the mounting holes had a little more tolerance. It is very difficult to find the right kind of screws to use for items like this, but that seems to be the standard of all mountable electronics.