D-Link 4G LTE Wi-Fi AC1200 Router DWR-956

D-Link couldn’t have picked a better time to launch the DWR-956 4G LTE Wi-Fi AC1200 Router. When most of us are working from home and no definite end in sight to the COVID-19 situation, the demand for reliable internet has never been greater. The DWR-956 4G LTE is a NBN capable router which also offers 4G LTE capability. So what’s the big deal? well if you want absolute reliability for your home internet connection, this is as good as it gets. In the event your NBN goes down, this router will automatically switch to the 4G connection. Pretty cool, so lets take a closer look.

Specifications

HIGHLIGHTS

• Share your 3G/ 4G connection with built-in standard-size SIM Card Slot
• Simultaneous Dual-Band: Deliver faster Wi-Fi speeds of up to 1,200Mbps¹
• LTE Bands: 1 / 3 / 7 / 8 / 20 / 28 (2100/ 1800/ 2600/ 900/ 800/ 700 MHz)
• UMTS / HSDPA / HSUPA Bands: 1 / 8 (2100/ 900 MHz)
• GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE: 3 / 8 (1800/ 900 MHz)
• Gigabit Ethernet: Provides fast wired connectivity with one dedicated Gigabit WAN for NBN/ UFB connectivity and 4 Gigabit LAN ports
• VoIP Enabled: Connect your phone to make VoIP calls
  NOTE: To use the VoIP capability, you will need to obtain your VoIP account settings from your Service Provider

Closer look at the DWR-956 4G LTE Wi-Fi AC1200 Router

The DWR-956 comes in a standard D-Link box that provides a decent level of information of the product from the outside.

Opening up the box, you’re offered with a neatly packed DWR-956, a power adaptor, network cable, phone cable and a quick start guide. It’s a pretty standard package and offers everything to get you going smoothly.

Installation

Installation wise the DWR-956 Wi-Fi router can be used as a standard NBN router or you can simply connect it up via a standard sized 4G SIM card. The router support Telstra 4GX and Optus 4G Plus Networks so you are covered by pretty much any standard sim available in the market.

The user interface looks a bit dated. However it offers all the standard functionalities you’d expect from a home router. The initial configuration goes through setting up your internet, VOIP and Wi-Fi settings.

You’re offered parental controls as well to limit screentime for your kids as well as control specific URLs. It doesn’t provide more broader control such as limiting specific categories like you could with the D-Link D-Fend application, however it provides some basic level of control.

Some of the interesting features of the DWR-956 includes the following:

• Automatic Fail-over

“Simply connect your main broadband to the WAN Port and follow the setup instructions. The Router will instantly switch to the backup mobile Internet when you need it most, allowing you to stay connected and enjoy the Internet without interruptions so you can maintain your productivity.”

• Two Firewalls for Superior Protection

“Includes built-in dual-active firewalls (SPI and NAT) to protect against malicious attacks. The latest WPA/WPA2 wireless encryption helps keep your wireless network secure and your traffic safe, helping stop unauthorised users from accessing your network.”

There’s some fairly extensive firewall configurations you could make if you wanted to dedicate time to configure and manage.

The failover feature is pretty neat and worked flawlessly in our simulated tests. Soon as the router detects that the main internet connection has failed, the backup takes over. I also found it intriguing that you could share your WAN connection between 4G and your NBN connection simultaneously.

SMS Sending/Receiving

You can send and receive SMS via the central management console. It’s pretty straight forward and convenient if you wanted to use this facility.

Conclusion

Wi-Fi performance and coverage of the DWR-956 4G LTE Wi-Fi AC1200 router has been upto par and we didn’t have any issues with its performance or coverage throughout the home. The biggest advantage of the D-Link DWR-956 is its 4G LTE capability and built in failover WAN feature which is certainly a fantastic feature to have in these present times if 100% uptime is of utmost value to you.

If I was to improve on the design one thing we would have loved to see is making the DWR-956 portable. Instead of being restricted to power off the mains, it would have been a nice to have feature if the unit could be powered via a rechargeable battery. There are cheaper Chinese knockoffs that offers this feature so it certainly would have been a welcome addition.

Overall the DWR-956 Wi-Fi router has lived upto D-Link’s standards and we are happy with the features and performance the unit offers. It would be good to see a more modern looking user interface that’s more user friendly for the not so techy folk out there. This is more of an improvement suggestion and certainly not a deal breaker.

In these testing times most homes or small businesses will certainly find the features offered in the DWR-956 extremely valuable.

D-Link DWR-956 4G LTE Wi-Fi AC1200 Router

AU$ 349.95

9.2

Features

9.3/10

Performance

9.2/10

Build Quality

9.2/10

Value

9.0/10

Pros

• Automatic Fail-over
• Two Firewalls for Superior Protection
• Share your 3G/ 4G connection
• Simultaneous Dual-Band
• VoIP Enabled

Cons

• Cost slightly on the higher side

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