D-Link DP-311U Wireless Print Server, 1-USB Port, 802.11b, 11Mbps Reviews

• Great, once you get it working!

  
  By AOMWYU72FFF3R on 2005-01-02
  My network is two wireless XP laptops and a Linksys 802.11b router so I was a little worried about mixing networking brands - but it worked out fine. Virtually no slowdown compared to having the printer directly connected to the laptop and I print some pretty big files. Setup wasn't too bad (~15-20 min staring at the manual really confused, 5 min reading amazon.com reviews, ~20-30 min installation). Much like what Hafizullah said, it's better to config in steps: configure the printer in the wired configuration and then get it to work wirelessly. Since the manual is mostly useless, here's what I did:
  
  1. Wire it up (connect the print server to the router with an ethernet cable and the printer to the print server by USB).
  2. Turn on printer, power on the print server (after startup sequence of ~20 sec, ethernet light should be lit).
  3. At this point open up a browser and go to "192.168.0.10" and the print server config utility should start.
  4. Click on the "configuration" tab and set: password, connection mode (mine is infrastructure), ESS-ID (your network's name), wireless channel, WEP (# bits and password). It's important to type the WEP key in exactly with no spaces or dashes because the utility won't give any error message if the password is wrong. Click 'save'.
  5. Click on the "Network" tab and change the IP address if you want. It has to be within the range of assignable IP addresses for your wireless network (e.g. my router assigns from 192.169.1.1 to 192.169.1.101, so I set the print server to 192.169.1.2). Make sure to set "manually assign" otherwise you won't know what address your printer is on! I think the workgroup has to be set, but I'm not sure (I set it to the name of the wireless network).. Click 'save'.
  6. At this point you should be able to print a test page. Click on the "tools" tab and click to print a test page. If it prints, you're in business.
  7. Now you can set up the printer drivers. The instructions are actually pretty good for this, so use them here. Once that's done, try printing something that isn't a test page to make sure the printer itself is set up OK.
  8. Now to configure the wireless portion. Unplug the ethernet cable, and click the reset button (recessed in the back of the print server). Once it finishes booting, the "wireless" light should be on or blinking. If so then you should be done. Try printing something.. I didn't have everything correctly set up initially, so this step took a few minutes. I think everything necessary to set was covered in #4.
  
  Good Luck!
  
  
  

• Easy Setup and Great Documentation

  
  By A2OOQCTK6YXP3J on 2003-09-20
  My entire wireless network is composed of Linksys products, so naturally when I wanted to get a wirless print server I looked to Linksys. I went out and bought the linksys WPS11. It is a parallel port wireless print server. Got it up and running ok, but printing was really slow. Sometimes 1-2 minutes between pages on text documents. So then I went out and bought the PPS1UW print server. This is Linksys' USB version. Couldn't even get this thing going at all with my printer, which I thought was odd since my printer worked fine with the WPS11 and they have you install the same print server drivers.

  After spending about 3 days troubleshooting, I went back to the store and found the DLink DP-311U. Got it home, plugged it in and had it talking to my Linksys WRT54G wireless router with 128 Bit WEP encryption in no time. This print server processes my print jobs at the same speed as when I had the printer plugged in directly to the pc. I was also impressed with the detail of documentation as opposed to the documentation of some other linksys products I had bought.

  I definetly recommend this product if you are looking for a way to place your printer at a distance from your computer. Great Product.
  
  

• worked for me with XP Home, Linux and HP d135

  
  By on 2004-07-13
  I REALLY like the small size of this unit. It fits great into my new home office setup where I don't have a lot of space near the printer, or an easy way to route a long USB cable.

  It is true that the quick start guide is only for Windows XP. I was able to follow the instructions and get everything working on the first try. The only problems I had were with friggin' Windows, not the DP-311U.

  Once I had it set up in Windows, I added the Linux connection to the DP-311u's LPR deamon via CUPS and it worked the first time.

  I did not bother with the d-link admin program. I never inserted the CD into my CD drive.

  Corrections to other postings: 1. This is definately wireless, you only need a 10BaseT wire when you first set it up. 2. There is a "Reset" button that must be pressed with a pin.
  
  

• DP 311U does not work for me and the tech support is terrible!

  
  By A23I2BQCTP73TB on 2006-03-03
  I bought this DP-311U print server. I set it up according to the manual and i can print from different computers to the printer. However, a few hours later, it stopped working. I disconnect then reconnect everything, it started to work again. But a few hours later this same thing happened again. I called the tech people at D-link and started to explain the problem when the line was disconnected. I thought this must be an accident. I called again. After transfering to a different number and waited for about 10 minutes, i was just about to describe the problem again, the line was droped again. I checked my telephone lines, they were ok. D-link's tech support is just a waste of time. By the way, i have other similar products which work fine.
  
  Mike
  
  

• The most difficult thing in the world to configure

  
  By A191GR316DTI4P on 2006-07-29
  Problem #1 - out of hte box, these units are assigned 192.168.0.10 as an IP address. find if your network is on the .0 subnet. So I had to change my entire network over to this in order to get it configured.
  Problem #2 - once changed, now i have Ip address issues because of the existing clients picking up the .10 address.
  Problem #3 - If you incorrectly specificy the SSID/wep key or IP address, you have to put it back to the defaults and start over. there's no way to configure the unit
  Problem #4 - it just plain don't work as it should.
  
  Easily the most difficult unit i've ever had to configure. It's a shame that I'm swearing off linksys as their prices are good. Despite it's decent price, stay away from this one.
  
  
• Set it up once and then forget about it!
  By AOL4MED9ED10Y on 2004-01-06
  OK, first of all, the documentation for this product is really poor. If you were to follow the instructions step-by-step I'm pretty sure you would never get it working properly since they leave a lot of stuff out. However, if you are somewhat techwise (were you able to install the wireless network by yourself?) you should be able to get it running. Once you get it going though you never have to touch it again.

  I've got 2 laptops (one Win XP and one Win 2000) connected to a Netgear wireless network that can now print to our new Epson Stylus C84 printer. The performance is great and its a convenience to be able to place your printer anywhere you want and not have to attach it to a computer. I was able to get it to use 128 bit WEP and MAC authentication on our network.

  Pros:
  good performance
  convenience
  configurable web interface

  Cons:
  horrible documenation
  Only USB 1.x support (would have liked to have seen USB 2.0 support)

  All in all, though, I am very pleased with this product. If you have an all wireless network with only laptops this is a great product to consider.
  
  

• Actually works as stated
  By on 2003-07-30
  I don't have enough room under my desk to put my printers and wanted to shove one off in a closet. Anyways, I sent back a competing product when after multiple attempts to configure it (including trawling through badly written manuals and tech support websites), it still wouldn't work. So I didn't expect much here. However, this works perfectly. The configuration utility actually worked; the network was recognized and except for a couple of seconds delay between sending the print job and when it starts printing, there are no problems. Was up and running in about ten minutes.
  
  
• Good unit IF you can get it working
  By A36OPR56YQV81E on 2004-12-22
  As others have said, the documentation is wretched. It has very clear screenshots of a Windows XP installation, but as has been noted by other reviewers, much is left out.
  
  I was attempting to get the DP-311U to talk to an Actiontec DSL router supplied to my client by Qwest, but at first I could not even get the computer itself to bring up the management screen for the DP-311U through the Ethernet interface. The LAN link light stayed dark. On impulse, i tried a *crossover cable*, and the LAN light lit up and I was able to launch the management screen in a browser window. The straight-through Ethernet cable supplied by Qwest with the DSL router could not be made to work, even though it worked just fine in configuring the router.
  
  The second wrinkle for me was configuring WEP. The DP-311U supports all the newer security protocols, including 256-bit encryption, but I used 128-bit WEP because I just needed to get this installation working and will fine-tune it later. Different units require the key to be entered differently; some, such as the Actiontec router supplied by Qwest, like dashes between the hex digits (as I recall). The DP-311U, will not accept a dashed key and will not tell you it's rejecting it; the key won't "take" and there is no error message. You only find this out when you start going through your settings one at a time and discover that WEP isn't active. The DP-311U requires that the encryption key be entered with no dashes or spaces. It would have been REAL NICE if either the documentation or the browser interface had given an example.
  
  Other than crappy documentation, it seems to be an OK unit. The power transformer is skinny and probably won't keep you from using another plug right next to it on your power strip. it's light-weight enough that it's easily mounted (they did supply screws and mollys) on a sheetrock wall. And, has been noted, USB 1.1 is probably fast enough for most printing tasks.
  
  
• NOT compatible with multifunction printers
  By A3MGWFZBC305O0 on 2005-09-09
  After 3 hours of banging my head against a wall I finally called Tech Support. They finally figured out that this is not compatible with multi-function computers. You can learn that on their support website but no-where in the standard documentation that comes with it.
  
  
• unit works, but WORST customer service EVER
  By A3A9CNCTI5GXUC on 2003-11-15
  I will never buy another D-Link product. After buying this wireless print server, I followed all install instructions but couldn't get it to work. I assumed it was me, so I paid a PC technician to help me out. He spent 2 hours on the phone with D-Link tech support troubleshooting, and they decided the unit was faulty.
  When I called customer service to find out how to exchange it, they sent me back to tech support and made me troubleshoot again before they would give me a return merchandise authorization (RMA). After I paid a skilled tech more than $100 to be on with their techs!!! Overall I had to talk to three people and spent 45 minutes on hold to get the RMA.
  Finally I got my RMA and sent the unit back, with all documentation and accessories. When they sent me a replacement, it was just the unit, no manuals, no software, not even an AC adaptor. So I had to spend 20 more minutes with their excruciatingly annoying hold music to talk to customer service. They "promised" me the AC adaptor and manual, but who knows if I'll ever actually get it.
  Add to that a complete lack of contrition over selling me a bad product in the first place, and I'm just really disappointed in the whole experience and feel like I've wasted a lot of time and money (price of the unit + tech guy). If I ever get the thing running (with my Netgear router and brother MFC6800 printer) I'll post again about how/if it works.

  Update: They did send me the AC power cord and I was able to get the thing up and running but only after blundering through on my own - I found the documentation unhelpful in that the instructions stopped 1/2 through the setup process. So, although I now enjoy having my printer remote from my computer, I still won't ever buy another product from D-Link.
  
  

• HORRIBLE customer service
  By on 2004-01-08
  I will start by saying, I WILL NEVER BUY A D-LINK PRODUCT AGAIN.....
  I bought this wireless print server and was assured it would work with my Microsoft wireless router. The instructions included with the server are absolutely worthless. The server has a default IP address. The book says that address needs to match the address on your computer but never tells you what to do if they don't. I called customer service- busy signal. Finally after hitting redial for 10 min, I got through only to be put on hold for 20 min and then get disconnected. This happened 3 more times. Finally, when I called really late at night, I got to talk to a "real" person. Possibly the dumbest person ever! He had less of a clue as to what was going on than I did. He took forever just to get my information. His speech was so bad I had to ask him to repeat himself every question. No accent, just mubling. Since I spent 55 minuets on hold and then another 10 minuets just to get my information, by the time we got to my problem, my phone was going dead. I gave him another number and asked him to call me back. Right...
  I e-mailed my question and got a response saying I should directly connect my server to my computer. That really helps, thanks.
  I have been stumbling with this server for two nights now. I feel I have a good knowledge of computers and networking, but apparently not enough. It is not as simple as they would have you believe. Maybe if you are connecting to other Dlink products it works better. But if you are trying to put it on a network with other brands, do not waste your time.
  
  
• Not plug-and-play, but works
  By on 2004-01-13
  It took me (a computer engineer) a couple hours to figure out how to get this working. After trying DHCP (since the default IP address for the router isn't compatible with my cable modem's private sub-net) I couldn't talk to it at all through ethernet and had to by trial and error, figure out how to hard-reset it (power cycle while holding the reset button depressed). Then I could talk to it again, and just set its default IP address to one on my network (192.168.1.1). It's now been working great for weeks although I occasionally (3-5 days) need to power cycle it for some reason.
  I was also irritated that they didn't include a bit of ethernet patch cable for the initial setup in the package ...
  Never-the-less, a very useful product, just needs some work on automatic configuration.
  
  
• Terrible
  By A1EKV3HEN5LF7M on 2006-05-28
  I have a D-link router, and I couldn't even get this thing to connect wirelessly. It works if connected with a ethernet wire, but that isn't really the point, is it?
  
  I called customer support, and the call dropped 4 TIMES!!!! Even when I was able to stay connected, they obviously weren't listening to me, and were of no use in the end. I'm off to go return. Save your time, money, and aggrevation. Avoid this like the plague.
  
  
• Configuration is big task
  By AEYWS3PYYYD5C on 2006-08-22
  I bought the product 2 weeks before and I have a thought this will work with all printers but not. D Link technical support is very bad I called at least 10 times to find my printer is compatible or not.
  
  User manual is not complete so configuration is very difficult. Changing the IP Address manually and re assigning the new IP Address is very difficult. And it cause problem for other wireless divices (Mouse,Keyboard,Wireless web camera and External wireless hard disk). Because of this product I spend almost 8 hrs to solve other wireless network issues.
  
  If you have enough time then it will entertain you.
  
  
• Poor documentation!
  By AHCUW2YQ241UR on 2003-09-12
  My DLink router and WiFi PC card, installed over a year ago, worked fine, with no installation troubles. Since then, I installed an Ethernet bridge for my PS2 and now, wanted to add the USB print server. Similar to D-Link's bridge, documentation is incomplete. I made the mistake of jumping ahead and mistakingly plugged in the power to the DP-311U before turning the printer on. Now, I have to get an RMA, send it to DLink, and wait for them to reset it, as there is no at-home reset option. DLink has an advantage with this product as there are no similar products from the major router manufacturers. Unfortunately, this translates to an expensive product with poor documentation and technical support (who could not answer if the product is compatible with my Epson product).
  
  
• Works for me
  By A308AW0PBMGJSK on 2004-04-11
  It looks like lots of people have had problems with this print server, but I was up and printing in 20 minutes from Windows XP and Linux. I found the documentation sufficient and very straightforward. I guess it helps that the default IP address of the unit fit in with my NAT setup. My only complaint is that it is a bit on the pricy side, but a year from now when I'm still enjoying printing from all of my machines without having to keep a dedicated print serving machine on, I won't miss the few dollars difference between what this cost and what I think it should cost.
  
  
• If you have a mac, forget about it
  By on 2004-05-27
  As others stated, the documentation was AWFUL to say the least. Unless you have XP, you are pretty much on your own. I was able to wrangle through and get the server hooked up to my PC (windows 2000). My two macs, however, will not function with the printer. It requres you have Post Script 3 on your printer. Mine is a laser printer that isn't too old, but doesn't have that feature (would have been nice to read that before buying)
  Likewise, none of the administrative software works for a Mac, so if you have no machines running Windows, you are out of luck.

  Finally, and this was probably my ignorance and unrealistic expectation, but to me wireless means wireless. For mine to work, the server has to be physically connected to my wireless router via ethernet. If I have to do this, why don't I just use a physical connection in the first place? There are cheaper options for that. The picture on D-links site shows this happy little server floating in wireless space where ever you want to put it.
  
  

• Very poor product,and not even wireless
  By on 2004-07-11
  Incomplete documentation. DEFINITELY do not buy this if you are not a 'techie'. And plus, its not even a wireless product! It has to be physically connected to the Wireless LAN router, so how is it wireless?
  
  
• useful for Macintoshes
  By AJ00DXOOCDL2C on 2004-10-07
  Having interfaced a QWEST ActionTec wireless DSL modem, a DirecTV satellite internet portal with a wireless router and then configured a Hawking wireless webcam, I figured I had a clue for getting a wireless printer server running for our Macs.
  
  I'm sorry to say, I failed. I couldn't even figure out how to talk with this box. You might think they'd give it a number like 192.168.0.10 and let you connect to it, but it doesn't even connect via a wire.
  
  While trying to figure out what was wrong, I found out the awful truth. The box doesn't even support IPP, so you can't use a Macintosh with a non-Postscript printer. I punted and returned the piece of junk.
  
  P.S. The hint for the ActionTec modem: Rename your Macintosh COMPUTER when you are wired up to it or it will forget your settings when it reboots. (No I'm not making this up. Maybe all PCs are named COMPUTER or something).
  
  
• a very good print server
  By A1E8JUSTVQM4B0 on 2004-12-10
  My home networking is pure D-Link, router, adpaters, print servers, and even my USB bluetooth adapter. I already have a DP311U connected to a laser. 2 months ago, I bought another DP311U for an inkjet printer. I got the problem on how to differenciate the 2 same print servers. After some research, it just requires you to set the 2nd server to a different address. The original is 192.168.0.10. You then set the 2nd (or the 1st) to a differnt one, like 192.168.0.20 and everything will be just fine.
  
  Seemed D-Link is dumping DP311U now because they have a 802.11g server (DP-G310) and sometimes you could find a < $60 DP311U. But believe me, you won't need a 11g for print server. 11b is fast enough. If you think printing is too slow, it's the problem of printer, not the PS.
  
  D-Link's quality is good. My router (DI-624) never died for the past 1.5 years. I would recommend their products.
  
  
  
• Solid, but tricky to setup
  By AWI8L0PGWN665 on 2005-04-29
  As several other reviewers have noted, this can be a beast to setup. The difficulty, I found, comes to trying to get the dp-311u to work wirelessly. After 50 minutes of fiddling with it, I started to suspect that it might not be wireless (a mistake several other reviewers shared).
  The steps given by s.banks below are better than the lousy manual. But even after following them I had trouble. I eventually found that it was the MAC address security filter on my router that was preventing this thing from working wirelessly. What you have to do is: add the device to the MAC filter list, then disable MAC filtering on the router, unplug the dp-311u, re-enable the MAC filtering, then turn on the 311-u. It then started working wirelessly.
  I'm subtracting a star for the majorly painful setup, and another for the very limited printer compatibility list.
  Other than that, it seems like a solid product.
  
  
• A Solid Little USB Print Server
  By A183OQ893O6NLV on 2005-05-17
  I too had a little difficulty getting the right IP address of this device so that I could connect to it via my web browser. That was overcome by reading some reviews and the instructions. Amazing huh? hehe.
  
  After getting this thing working, it has been working great and I feel that there is little that needs to be tweaked/modified to make it work just the way you want. Basically you want to share a printer, and that is exactly what this lets you do. I need to upgrade toe 802.11g now though.
  
  
• Not even worth a star
  By A2O6HAPCYCJXH9 on 2005-12-11
  I bought this unit over a year ago and still haven't figured out how to work it. I have used the D-link wireless router with no trouble, but no matter what I do, I can't get the print server to work properly. This is after hours with their customer service people and doing everytihing possible. Based on other people's reviews this unit actually does work. It just hasn't for me.
  
  
• If you have a mac, forget about it
  By on 2004-05-27
  As others stated, the documentation was AWFUL to say the least. Unless you have XP, you are pretty much on your own. I was able to wrangle through and get the server hooked up to my PC (windows 2000). My two macs, however, will not function with the printer. It requres you have Post Script 3 on your printer. Mine is a laser printer that isn't too old, but doesn't have that feature (would have been nice to read that before buying)
  Likewise, none of the administrative software works for a Mac, so if you have no machines running Windows, you are out of luck.

  Finally, and this was probably my ignorance and unrealistic expectation, but to me wireless means wireless. For mine to work, the server has to be physically connected to my wireless router via ethernet. If I have to do this, why don't I just use a physical connection in the first place? There are cheaper options for that. The picture on D-links site shows this happy little server floating in wireless space where ever you want to put it.
  
  

• sucks!!!
  By on 2004-07-17
  Stay away from DLINK if you expect ease of use or have mixed operating systems (XP and MAC)!!!
  
  
• Don't Waste Your Money
  By A114DD5K0PTWWL on 2004-10-31
  I purchased this wireless print server from Office Max. Beware of purchasing any electronic item from them. They have a 14 day return policy. I have two Macs at home, one IMac and one Powerbook, as well as a Dell notebook. I tried to get the print server connected to a Brother Laser printer, but gave up after a couple of hours. After a few more tries, I called up the D-link tech service and tried all the things they suggested. When that did not work, I tried to return it, but it had already been 14 days, so Office Max would not accept it.
  
  I called up D-link again and went through everything they suggested--to no avail. They finally declared the item defective. This meant that I needed to return it, AT MY COST, to D-Link. I would encourage you to stay away from this product. I wish I had read some of the other reviews on it at various websites. They are generally quite negative. Now I have spent over $100 on a pice of junk.
  
  
• Works well for only under a year w/ a PC
  By A1PV6JHJVAB8V2 on 2005-04-10
  I could not for the life of me get this working for a while, but once I did get to the web-configuration I couldn't get it to work with my existing wireless network. Although this was due to my stupidity, the lack of Macintosh documentation and software made it quite difficult to set up on my mac, and I might have been able to get it working sooner if it had this documentation. Finally, about a year after the year-long warrantee expired, it broke. I called customer service, and, despite what other reviewers have said, they were extremely helpful and tried everything within his power to fix my problem. But, the product was indeed broken and now I can't return it because it's beyond warrantee.
  
  
• D-Link never again
  By A3H3CPDZ8TH1XY on 2006-02-22
  Had wireless running for a year with no problems. Purchased the DP-311u for my laser-fax, made sure it was compatible with the print server. got it hooked up and all went to hell. Called tech, spent 2 days with and went from a working network to a dead dls/router (another d-link product). they recomend I send it to them for a inspection and see if I can get a replacement (ha, ha I'd be paying for shipping and that's it, over a year you get nothing). Bought a new router by Bilkin went up and setup was a breeze. But the d-link print server could not be found by 3 other computers in my home, 3 more days on the phone. Finaly gave up and am returning the item, tech suppot has no clue, they have a limited time they are allowed to spend on the phone a any given call. I hope this helps any future buyers.
  
  
• Difficult setup, works after it gets going
  By A2TE1YHOQAE67X on 2006-10-08
  I could not get the wireless portion to connect for a while. While searching for a solution, this site was at the top of the list so I decided to post my fix here.
  
  It seems that when the 311U is configured using the ancient-looking PS Admin utility, it has a small bug/feature. PS Admin converts the wireless SSID to ALL CAPS where as my wireless network name has mixed case. Talking directly to the 311U, via a web browser, I was able to set the SSID correctly and get m'self up and running.
  
  Hope this helps.
  
  
• Didn't work
  By A1CL2JC6IOSKFM on 2007-03-09
  Wouldn't work with my HP K80. I guess I should have done more research
  
  

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