Last Updated on September 1, 2023 by Daniel Osakwe
D-Link DIR-2660 Exo AC2699 Router Review
Pros
- Easy to set up
- Comes with an in-built antivirus
- Wide range
Cons
- Pricey
The D-Link DIR-2660 EXO AC2600 router is a powerful device. It is designed to meet the needs of the average home user who does not want to be bothered with setting up a home network. The D-Link EXO router will do all the hard work for you, allowing you to browse the Internet, stream videos, and play games online without any hassle.
It comes with a wealth of features and can even be set up to be a wireless access point to provide wireless Internet to other devices in the home. In this review, we’ll take a look at the performance, design, features, and setting up.
Table of Contents
D-Link DIR-2660 EXO AC2600: Price
The D-Link DIR-2660 EXO AC2600 may be purchased in the UK for about £100, though at the time of writing, it was just £99.99 on Amazon. US residents can also go to Amazon, where it will cost them $169.99 extra.
That is surprisingly affordable for an AC2600 router in the UK, especially when you consider that McAfee security is worth £179.98 on its own. To give you an idea of how inexpensive the EXO AC2600 actually is, other AC2600-capable routers, like the Netgear XR500 Nighthawk Pro, may cost up to £249/$299 each.
D-Link DIR-2660 EXO AC2600: Design and Construction
- Customizable antennas
- Portable
- LED indicators
The black, angular appearance of the D-Link DIR-2660 EXO AC2600 looks quite at home on a PC gamer’s desk, especially with all those LED indicators lighting away on the router’s “hood.” It has a dome-shaped design with grey ridges running along the front and sides to break up the black body. Despite having two large antennas, it is actually rather small for a router with so much technology measuring 222.9 x 176.6 x 65mm.
By the way, those large antennae can be adjusted, so you may experiment with their placement to see if you can extend your home’s Wi-Fi range. Four Gigabit Ethernet ports, a Gigabit WAN port for connecting to your ISP’s router, a USB 2.0 port, and a USB 3.0 port are all located on the back of the device. These ports can all be used to transfer files over the network and attach external storage. All of those things are very typical for a router; the EXO AC2600 truly starts to shine in the feature area.
D-Link DIR-2660 EXO AC2600: Features and setup
- Easy to set up
- Compatible with Alexa
- Built-in antivirus
We simply needed a few minutes to set up the EXO AC2600, which is a significant improvement over the time it used to take to connect a PC or laptop over Ethernet and configure a router using a shoddy web interface.
You just need to download the D-Link Wi-Fi app, connect to your router by scanning the QR code on the package, and then enter the information for the Wi-Fi network you want to use. You are then free to connect your devices as you like after the router restarts and applies your updated network details.
Once configured, the D-Link Wi-Fi app allows you to link your Alexa or Google Assistant to the router for voice control, create guest Wi-Fi networks, and perform internet speed tests using the built-in Ookla Speedtest functionality. However, annoyingly, you must download a special app to access many of the advanced features the EXO AC2600 provides.
You can make use of the built-in McAfee antivirus offered for free for five years by the router via the D-Link Defend app. You can do a vulnerability scan on every device linked to your network, install McAfee Anti-Virus (which you can use for two years), or prevent the device from connecting to the internet at all.
You may also set up an Away Mode, which can be enabled with a tap and disconnects particular devices from Wi-Fi when you’re not at home, limiting the number of entry points for prospective hackers into your home network. Additionally, you may use it to arrange all of the network’s devices.
This connects to the parental controls, which let you make several profiles—one for each child—and link particular devices on your network to those profiles. From there, you can set up content blocks for specific categories or websites and halt internet connectivity altogether during crucial times like family meals or when the kids are ready for bed.
D-Link DIR-2660: Performance
- Has good range
- Incorporated with 802.11ac and MU-MIMO tech.
- Can accommodate multiple devices
In comparison to the routers provided by UK ISPs, the EXO AC2600’s Wi-Fi is quick, has a good range, and performs better through thick walls and floors. It has theoretical maximum rates of 800 Mbps at 2.4 GHz and 1733 Mbps at 5 GHz, which are made possible by the incorporation of 802.11ac Wave 2 with MU-MIMO technology, which enables simultaneous high-speed Wi-Fi for several devices.
This is supported by our benchmarks, which demonstrate a noticeable improvement in signal strength and range compared to the Virgin Media Hub 3. We even obtained a signal, though a weak one, in our garden, which we had previously believed could only be accomplished via a mesh Wi-Fi system.
To provide perspective, we conducted our testing of the EXO AC2600 in a typical London three-bedroom terraced house. The first benchmark was taken on the first floor at the front of the house, 1m from the router. After that, we entered the room next door from a distance of 5 meters, went downstairs to the back of the house, and then, for the ultimate test, entered the garden.
The EXO AC2600 is an upgrade over the default routers offered by UK ISPs in every way, although it still falls short of the range offered by mesh networks like TP-Deco Link’s P9. There are still many things to appreciate with the EXO AC2600, though; after all, Virgin Media and BT don’t provide built-in McAfee protection, an app to personalize Wi-Fi or a set of sophisticated parental controls.
We are now unable to comment on the performance of the DAP-1620 because we were unable to connect it to the EXO AC2600 and test it for ourselves.
Verdict
The D-Link EXO AC2600 is a significant upgrade over the Virgin Media Hub 3 because it offers a greater range, quicker overall speeds than the UK ISPs’ standard offerings, and a variety of family-friendly features. The icing on the cake is a powerful parental control system that can be used with a smartphone app, Google Assistant, or Amazon Alexa to track browsing habits, restrict websites, or suspend the internet entirely.
You may also feel secure knowing that you get five years of router-level McAfee protection and two years of Anti-Virus protection on supported devices.
