D-Link DWA-192 AC1900 wireless USB adapter review: Maximize your router's potential
Despite AC1900 routers being around for over two years now, very few devices are actually capable of maximizing the speed offered by these routers. Fortunately, D-Link has released an AC1900 compatible USB adapter for users to take full advantage of their high-end routers. The question is, can it deliver?
Note: This article was first published on 14th March 2016.
Maximizing your AC1900 router
Before we begin, we suggest that you read our guide to 802.11ac networking first as it lays down the necessary groundwork for you to understand why this USB adapter is so important. Now if you are done, let’s get on with the basics.
Even though AC1900 routers have been around for at least the past two years, the fact is that very few devices are actually able to fully maximize the wireless performance of these routers. This is because even today, very few mobile devices actually come wireless receivers that supports 3x3 spatial streams. Out of all the devices that we have tested, only the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display comes with a wireless receiver that supports 3x3 spatial streams. Most mobile devices today only support 1x1 or 2x2 spatial streams, which in turn translates to a maximum wireless transfer rate of 433Mbps for the former and 867Mbps for the latter - short of the maximum 1300Mbps that AC1900 routers offer.
If you connect wirelessly to your router, chances are you'll need one of these to maximize your router's wireless speeds.
What this really means is that the performance of AC1900 routers are not fully realized. Remember, unless the router supports MU-MIMO and connects to MU-MIMO compatible clients, it can only transmit and receive data from one client device at a time. As a result, the “excess” 433Mbps transfer rate that occurs when an AC1900 router connects to a 2x2 client device actually goes to waste.
Worst of all is that up until recently, there wasn’t any good way to enable full AC1900 levels of connectivity. For most hardcore users, the only viable workaround was to get a second AC1900 router and have it function as a wireless adapter. It’s pricey, but not an elegant solution.
The D-Link DWA-192 USB adapter
Fortunately, there’s a much more simple solution and it comes in the form of D-Link’s DWA-192 AC1900 dual-band USB 3.0 adapter, which also happens to be the only AC1900 wireless USB adapter available in the market right now.
Here is the D-Link DWA-192 next to our Netgear A6200 wireless USB adapter. As you can see, it's quite a lot bulkier than most wireless USB adapters.
The first thing that strikes you about the D-Link DWA-192 is its looks. It’s certainly not a stretch to say that it looks like a miniature Death Star, and it’s easily one of the more interesting wireless USB adapters we have seen. That said, this design does have a major drawback: it’s a tad cumbersome to use, and the bundled USB cable is very long, thus making the entire device not very portable. Desktop users probably won’t be too bothered by it, but we are guessing notebook users who demand some form of mobility will be put off by having to constantly carry the D-Link DWA-192 around like it’s a little ball.
Consider also that most wireless USB adapters are designed to look and work just like USB flash drives - simply plug them into your system's USB port and they are good to go - and it becomes clear just how much more cumbersome the D-Link DWA-192 is. Fortunately, if you should find the cable too long, the good thing is that it uses a fairly standard USB 3.0 micro-B plug, so it shouldn't be too hard to find a shorter replacement.
The D-Link DWA-192 might look cool, but it's not very practical if mobility is high on your list of requirements. Moving about would also mean having to deal with the long bundled USB cable.
Still, we do appreciate the D-Link DWA-192 for its simple design. Behind, users will find a micro-USB 3.0 port, a status LED button and a WPS setup button. That’s all there is to it. A ring of light that runs the entire circumference of D-Link DWA-192 serves as a status indicator. A solid blue light means that the DWA-192 is connected to the network, while a blinking blue light means that it is connected to the computer. The status LED button that we mentioned earlier allows users to turn off this indicator, should it become too distracting.
Behind the D-Link DWA-192 is a micro-USB 3.0 port that is used to connect to your system, as well as a WPS setup button and another button that turns the LED status indicator on and off.
Setting the D-Link DWA-192 up was a little confusing mostly because it doesn't light up the first time you plug it into your system like you think it would. The provided quick-start guide doesn't explain why the device doesn't light up either. It was only after some research that we discovered that the LED status indicator only comes on after the device's drivers have been properly installed. In any case, what you should do is take the bundled setup CD and install the setup software from within. The DWA-192 will light up and start blinking once the drivers are installed.
Note, however, that it is a mini CD and you cannot use it with slot-in disc drives. You can also download the setup software from D-Link’s website, but obviously that will require your system to have some sort of connection to the Internet first. And finally, though the setup software is available for Macs, it doesn’t support the latest Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan, which is really odd.
Of course, one could use the WPS setup button for quick connection setup, but we would definitely recommend users to use the software method at least for the very first time because it will ensure that the device is updated with the latest firmware.
Test Setup
We will adopt our usual test setup which consist of a desktop PC, a router, and a laptop to simulate a wireless home network. The desktop system takes on the role of a host machine, while the router acts as a gateway. We will use a variety of clients to evaluate the performance of the D-Link DWA-192 wireless adapter.
To begin, we will use our trusty Netgear A6200 USB adapter to act as a baseline reference. We have been using this USB adapter for a long time in our router tests. This particular wireless USB adapter supports two spatial streams for a maximum data transfer rate of 867Mbps. In other words, the D-Link DWA-192 wireless USB adapter should provide us with faster speeds.
And to serve as another point of comparison, we will also be pitting the D-Link DWA-192 against a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display. This Apple notebook is one of the few notebooks in the market to come with a 3x3 wireless adapter capable of supporting a data transfer rate of 1300Mbps on the 5GHz band.
Here's a graphical representation of our test setup.
To evaluate the wireless adapters, we will be measuring the time it takes to download a 1GB file from various ranges on the 5GHz band. And to ensure a fair comparison, the Linksys WRT1900AC, winner of our AC1900 router shootout, will be the router used for these tests. Here are the distances tested and what they represent:
- 2m - Right beside the router.
- 5m - In the adjacent room.
- 13m - In the room opposite.
- 17m - To simulate extreme distances.
Performance Analysis
Looking at the performance graph, we have mixed feelings about the D-Link DWA-192. At close ranges, the MacBook Pro was the unbeatable, racking up speeds of 380Mbps and 444Mbps at 2 and 5 meters respectively. In comparison, the D-Link DWA-192 wireless USB adapter managed 186Mbps and 363Mbps respectively at similar ranges. It's a big gap in performance. In fact, at 2 meters, it was no faster than even our trusty Netgear A6200 wireless USB adapter. Fortunately, it redeemed itself somewhat at the 5 meters range, where it was over 50% quicker than the Netgear A6200.
At 13 meters, the D-Link DWA-192's results were no better than the Netgear A6200, as both wireless USB adapters recorded 220+ Mbps. Surprisingly, the MacBook Pro saw its performance drop drastically, managing just 126Mbps at this range. At our farthest test range of 17 meters, the MacBook Pro was so slow that it's result was no longer meaningful. In case you are wondering, it took over 10 minutes to transfer the 1GB test file. At this point, you're better off using a USB flash drive. At this range, the D-Link DWA-192 managed 156Mbps, which is decent, but almost 9% slower than the Netgear A6200.
Promise Fulfilled?
Looking at the results above, you might be wondering, “Does the D-Link DWA-192 wireless USB adapter really allow me to maximize the performance potential of my AC1900 router?” The answer is yes, but it does have some caveats.
Based on the results above, the D-Link DWA-192 wireless USB adapter does have the potential to provide extra performance over your more typical AC1200 wireless USB adapters. However, the test results suggest that it works best a medium range. At 5 meters, it was significantly quicker than the Netgear A6200, to the tune of around 54%. And while the D-Link DWA-192’s close range performance is no match for the MacBook Pro, its performance at the farther 13 and 17 meters was still somewhat decent.
If you can live with the D-Link DWA-192 somewhat erratic performance, you'll have a wireless adapter that can finally maximize your router's performance potential.
What this really means is that there appears to be a sweet spot at which the D-Link DWA-192 operates best. Find it, and this miniature Death Star lookalike shouldn't disappoint you.
With a recommended retail price of S$109, the D-Link DWA-192 wireless USB adapter is actually quite reasonably priced for what it is, considering that ASUS’ slower AC1200 USB-AC56 wireless USB adapter is even pricier. Obviously, there are far cheaper AC1200 alternatives around, but the D-Link DWA-192 remains to be the only wireless USB adapter capable of reaching AC1900 speeds at this moment. So if you want better wireless performance, best be prepared to pony up the dough.
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