D-Link EXO AX AX5400 DIR-X5460 Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Router

D-Link introduced their Wi-Fi 6 capable EXO router range during CES 2020 and now their top of the range DIR-X5460 has finally reached the consumer market. The D-Link EXO AX AX5400 DIR-X5460 is the older sibling of the DIR-X1560 we reviewed a few weeks back. With 512MB of RAM, 6 powerful antennas, the DIR-X5460 packs a punch. Aesthetics probably isn’t the DIR-X5460’s forte, however D-Link seems to have designed it with a purpose, which is performance. Lets peak into the unit’s specs before we dive in deeper.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Wi-Fi 6 technology provides faster speeds, greater capacity and less network congestion
• Speeds up to AX5400 (4,800 Mbps on the 5GHz and 600 Mbps on the 2.4GHz)
• Dual-Band Wi-Fi with up to 6 simultaneous streams makes 4K streaming, VR gaming or video chatting a breeze
• OFDMA and MU-MIMO technology communicate more data to more devices while simultaneously reducing lag
• BSS colouring technology reduces interference, making more efficient use of available Wi-Fi spectrum
• 4 Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports and 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN port provide optional wired connectivity
• Built in USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports to create shared storage
• Intelligent Quality of Service prioritises network traffic to minimise the impact of busy bandwidth
• Increased battery life of connected devices with Target Wake Time technology
• Supports the latest Wi-Fi security with 128-bit encryption
• Voice Control for an even easier home Wi-Fi networking experience

Wi-Fi Speed :	AX5400 (600 + 4800Mbps)
Warranty :	3-Year Limited Warranty
Ethernet Speed :	Gigabit Ethernet
Dimensions (Size) :	318.69 x 241.35 x 61.5 mm
NBN/UFB Support :	FTTP / FTTC/ HFC / Satellite / Fixed Wireless
Ethernet Ports :	4
USB Ports :	USB 2.0 x 1|USB 3.0 x 1
Guest Network :	Yes
Parental Controls :	Schedule|Custom Profiles
SDRAM:	512MB
Flash:	128MB
Wireless Bands :	Dual Band
WAN Interface :	Gigabit Ethernet
Wave 2 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi :	Yes
Mesh Standard :	D-Link Wi-Fi Mesh
Wi-Fi Technology :	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Smart Home Compatible :	Amazon Alexa|Google Assistant
Internet Protocols :	IPv4|IPv6
Wi-Fi Security :	WPS|WPA/WPA2-Personal|WPA2/WPA3-Personal
VPN :	QuickVPN Enabled
QoS :	By Device
Firmware Upgrade :	OTA Firmware Upgrade|Automatic Firmware Upgrade|Manual Fimware Upgrade
NAT Forwarding :	Port Forwarding|Virtual Server|DMZ
SpeedTest Powered :	Yes
App Support :	D-Link Wi-Fi

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Unboxing the DIR-X5460

We were certainly surprised by the size of the box the D-Link EXO DIR-X5460 is offered in. D-Link have changed the color scheme slightly here which gives it a more robust look from the outside.

The key features of the unit are highlighted throughout the box which makes it easy for anyone to make a sound purchase decision.

Opening up the unit, you find the DIR-X5460 neatly packed in with its 6 antennas, power adapter and quick setup guide.

Once you connect all 6 Wi-Fi antennas, the DIR-X5460 looks somewhat of a monstrosity. Like I said before, aesthetics ain’t the DIR-X5460’s strong point and you’d not want to have this as a display item in your lounge.

The unit supports both 2.4 and 5Ghz bands and you can decide to keep the same SSID for both bands or segregate them. I’d recommend that you maintain the same SSID so your devices can seamlessly choose the best band to use depending on your location to the router.

Connectivity

The DIR-X5460 offers 4 x 1 Gigabit Ethernet ports and 1 x Gigabit WAN port. There’s also 1 x USB 3.0 and 1 x USB 2.0 ports which allows you to connect a USB drive and/or USB printer effectively giving you network printing capabilities.

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Features on offer

The DIR-X5460 offers the standard bells and whistles D-Link usually offers on their routers, such as quick setup via an mobile app, MU-MIMO support and Smart capability where you can control certain functionality via Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.

Wi-Fi 6 offers a few neat technology improvements and are some of the key arguments for getting on this new bandwagon.

Wifi 6 capabilities

OFDMA – Increased efficiency and lower latency for small data packets

BSS Colouring – The latest in Wi-Fi encryption

Your neighbours’ Wi-Fi could be interfering with your wireless signals and slowing things down. Wi-Fi 6 puts an end to the Wi-Fi strife with BSS Colouring technology. It makes transmissions more unique by ‘colouring’ them with their own unique code. The result? Devices can decide whether to transmit signals or ignore them, based on their “colour”. Get less interference, less Wi-Fi slowdowns and more range.

Two-Way MU-MIMO

MU-MIMO technology helps distribute the flow of data to multiple devices simultaneously. With Wi-Fi 6 technology the DIR-X5460 leverages the multi-user version of OFDMA and MU-MIMO for better efficiency of upstream AND downstream transmissions, unlike previous Wi-Fi 5 technology where MU-MIMO could only operate simultaneously in downstream transmissions. This combination greatly increases capacity, coverage and performance in ultra-high-density environments.

The Future of Wireless Encryption

One of the biggest concerns with IoT devices and Wi-Fi networks is privacy. The latest industry-standard 128-bit encryption is the most advanced security standard available and begins a new era of wireless encryption, ensuring greater privacy throughout users’ devices and networks.

Conserve Energy, Save Battery Life

Target Wake Time (TWT) helps reduce battery consumption for connected devices by communicating with them and deciding when and how often the device requires data transfers. TWT increases the device’s sleep time, therefore cleverly conserving energy and helping save battery life.

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Performance

Wifi Coverage

One of the strong points of the D-Link DIR-X5460 is its performance. It’s Wi-Fi coverage is supremely impressive. Just for comparison, areas where we were getting a single bar Wi-Fi reception from our COVR 2202 unit, we were getting 3 bars out of a total of 4. Until the DIR-X5460 came our way, we were thinking the COVR 2202 had impressive coverage. The DIR-X5460 however simply blew it out of the park.

LAN Speed

The biggest benefit of Wi-Fi 6 is its marketed speed. It’s touted to be faster than a local Gigabit LAN connection. Looking at the LAN connection we were receiving a 1.2Gbps connection within a distance of 5 meters.

Of course having a faster LAN connection will only be beneficial if you’re backing up data locally and doing massive file transfers within the LAN environment. Since real Gigabit internet connections are non existent in Australia at the moment this will be the weakest link in your network. Hence upgrading to Wi-Fi 6 isn’t going to miraculously speed up your internet connection, however you will be taking a step towards future proofing your network as well as enjoy some of the efficiencies introduced in Wi-Fi 6.

Parental Controls & Security

For some strange reason, D-Link have decided not to include the MacAfee security suite with the D-Link DIR-X5460. This is pretty unfortunate since it integrated well with D-Link products. If you are a parent and have used the D-Link Dfend app, you’d know how beneficial this app can be in controlling your kids internet activities and what they could get exposed to.

D-Link have totally taken this out and replaced it with a significantly scaled down system via the mydlink app. The only parental control you now get is to schedule the times your kids can be online. This too has been slightly flaky during our tests. It seems like D-Link wanted to focus mostly on performance of the D-Link DIR-X5460 and scaled down on some other neat features.

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Conclusion

There’s lot going for Wi-Fi 6 routers and if you’re a gamer, or your household has many Wi-Fi 6 capable devices, upgrading to the D-Link DIR-X5460 will certainly make sense. Remember as we said before the weakest link of most households will be your internet connection. If you have got a 50Mbps or 100Mbps internet connection, upgrading to a Wi-Fi 6 capable router won’t make any significant impact. Having said that though, there are certain key technologies such as TWT, OFDMA etc will provide efficiencies that you’d be able to make use of.

Furthermore, if you were regularly backing up data on your LAN and sharing files between Wi-Fi 6 capable clients, you’d certainly experience far superior speeds as standard than Wi-Fi 5. The justification on upgrading to Wi-Fi 6 is pretty divided at the moment and it’s mostly driven by cost given the technology is new. However if the budget fits, the D-Link DIR-X5460 will make a solid upgrade to your home network.