D-Link DIR-X1560

amazon D-Link DIR-X1560 reviews

So far, the only Wi-Fi 6 desktop router we’ve seen in our lab is a premium device that costs upwards of $300. The D-Link EXO Mesh AX1500 Wi-Fi 6 Router DIR-X1560 is a low-end Wi-Fi 6 Router for under $100. This dual-band router uses 802.11ax technology to provide reasonably good transfer rate performance on the 5GHz band, although its 2.4GHz performance is less than excellent.

Design and Features

The DIR-X1560 is a small router with a traditional desktop router design. Its black case measures 2.0 x 9.9 x 7.6 inches (HWD) and features four non-removable adjustable antennas and four LED indicators for power, Internet, and both radio frequency bands. You won’t find any multi-gig, link aggregation, or USB ports on this model, but it is equipped with four gigabit LAN ports, one WAN port, a reset button, a WPS button, and a power button.

The Router is powered by a 1.5 GHz triple-core CPU, 256 megabytes (MB) of RAM, and 128 MB of flash memory. It’s a dual-band AX1500 Router capable of up to 300Mbps transfer rate on the 2.4GHz band and up to 1200Mbps on the 5GHz band, and it uses 802.11ax technology, including Frequency Division Multiple Access. Digital Orthogonal (OFDMA), 1024 Quadratic Amplitude Modulation (QAM), Target Wake Up Time, WPA3 encryption, MU-MIMO data transmission, and burst format. However, it lacks support for the 160MHz channel bandwidth that you get with more expensive Wi-Fi 6 routers, such as the Asus RT-AX88U and TP-Link Archer AX6000.

You can combine the DIR-X1560 with one of D-Link’s mesh-enabled range extenders to create a network that allows you to use a single SSID for seamless roaming, and you can configure the Router to Select the best available radio band by enabling SmartConnect. Alexa and Google voice commands let you do things like turn the guest network on and off and restart the Router. You can prioritize bandwidth for specific clients using Intelligent QoS settings (Quality of Service) by D-Link. There’s also the lack of powerful parental controls with age-appropriate presets that come with the TP-Link AX6000: you’re limited to basic website blocking and scheduling instead. Furthermore, this Router does not offer anti-malware protection, a feature appearing in many of the latest high-end routers.

The DIR-X1560 can be managed using the mobile app, but you’ll have more control using the web control panel. It opens a small network map showing how many clients are connected and shows details including IP and MAC addresses, connection type, subnet mask, and default gateway. Tap the Settings tab at the top of the screen, and you’ll be able to access screens including Wireless, Internet, Cloud, and Network settings. The Features tab is where you configure more advanced capabilities, like QoS, port forwarding, firewall, and Quick VPS settings. You can also turn on the site filter here. The Management tab creates access schedules, views system logs and usage statistics, and updates firmware.

Overall, while it’s a bit short on premium features, it’s a satisfactory feature set, and the interface you use to access and configure them is pretty easy to use. While it doesn’t have as many features as more expensive and muscular routers like the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AC5300, it should suffice for most home networks as it allows you to configure many access controls. Basics and protection of certain types of traffic, such as voice over IP (VoIP) phone data, can be crucial now as many people are working from home shortly.

Settings and Performance

The DIR-X1560 is easily installed using the D-Link mobile app or via the web console setup wizard. I started by plugging in the Router and connecting it to my desktop using the included LAN cable. I entered http://dlinkrouter.local./ into my web browser and followed the wizard instructions to connect the Router to my modem using the Router’s WAN port and configure my internet connection ( I chose DHCP). I have set the SSID name and password for the network, created an Administrator password, set the time zone, and waited 60 seconds for the settings to take effect. After 60 seconds of firmware update, the installation is complete.

Since the DIR-X1560 was the first low-cost Wi-Fi 6 router to appear in our lab, we compared its performance with the D-Link DIR-867, a similarly priced Wi-Fi 5 router self, to illustrate how it stacks up against old technology. To show how it compares to more expensive high-end Wi-Fi 6 routers, we used performance scores from the Asus RT-AX88U.

The performance throughout the DIR-X1560 is mixed. Its score was 80Mbps on the 2.4GHz proximity test (same room), 10 megabits per second (Mbps) slower than the 802.11ac-based D-Link DIR-867 Router 64Mbps slower than the Asus The RT-AX88U is based on 802.11ax. At 30 feet away, the DIR-X1560’s 38 Mbps score was 13 Mbps slower than the DIR-867 and 21 Mbps slower than the RT-AX88U.

The DIR-X1560 performed better in the 5GHz tests. Its score was 712Mbps at close range, 29% faster than the DIR-867 but following the RT-AX88U at 70Mbps. On the 30-foot test, the DIR-X1560’s 207Mbps score was 26% faster than the DIR-867 but not as fast as the RT-AX88U’s 318Mbps.

Transfer rate is a great way to measure router performance. But even if a router is capable of transmitting packets quickly, that can still be hindered by a weak signal. So, to expand on how we test the Router, we decided to measure the signal strength directly. For this, we use the Ekahau Sidekick Wi-Fi diagnostic device and the Ekahau Survey mobile app to measure signal strength. Heatmaps above and below show the DIR-X1560’s 2.4GHz and 5GHz signal strengths throughout our test house. The circle shows the Router’s position, and the colors represent signal strength on a scale at the bottom of the screen, with dark green being the strongest signal. Gray indicates no signal received. As illustrated, the Router’s 2.4GHz band offers a better range than the 5GHz band, which had trouble reaching the far corner of the house (about 60 feet from the Router). That is to be expected because 2.4GHz signals use longer waves that can reach farther than 5GHz waves. However, the 5GHz wave offers significantly faster transfer speeds, as evidenced by our transfer speed tests.

Solid performance at a good price

If you are looking for a cheap way to set up a Wi-Fi 6 network, the D-Link DIR-X1560 will meet your needs. For under $100, you get 802.11ax technology and reasonable 5GHz transmission speeds, and you can create a mesh by adding D-Link’s mesh-compatible extenders. However, this will increases your expenses to the magic $100 mark. If that budget is important to you, check out our Router budget roundup for more alternatives.

That said, the Router’s 2.4GHz performance isn’t up to par, and it lacks features. If performance and features are key, consider a more expensive router like the Asus RT-AX88U. It supports 160MHz bandwidth, is equipped with 8 LAN ports, and offers powerful anti-malware, parental controls, and QoS. It’s also one of our best-performing Wi-Fi 6 routers.

where can you get a D-Link DIR-X1560 online

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