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The Graveyard - Products No Longer Supported => Routers / COVR => DIR-636L => Topic started by: zenomicon on August 04, 2014, 06:15:07 AM

Title: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: zenomicon on August 04, 2014, 06:15:07 AM
I own a DIR-636L router and have done some firmware tests because I was not satisfied how it performed starting with firmware 1.01. So here are the results :

> FW 1.01 - Limited Connectivity on WiFi when waking up from sleep

> FW 1.02 - Once every few days it starts acting up, dropping WiFi randomly no matter if downloading or not

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

> [MOST STABLE] FW 1.03 - [EDIT : GREATS NEWS] I experienced occasional WiFi drops in the first week of use, however it appears to have magically stabilized. Not a single drop for more than 3 weeks now.

  >> after trying different combinations of settings for testing FW 1.03, these are the settings which make the router as stable as possible :


   * Advanced DNS Services > OFF
   
   * DNS Relay > ON

   * QoS Engine > DISABLED

   * Firewall Settings > SPI OFF

   * Wireless 802.11 Mode > 802.11n ONLY >better speed<

   * Advanced Wireless > WLAN Partition OFF

                                > HT 20/40 MHz Coexistence > ENABLED >better speed<

   * Wireless Settings/Manual > Enable Autochannel Scan > DISABLED

   * Wireless Channel > MANUAL (search for a free one)

   * Channel Width > AUTO

   * WPA Mode > WPA2 ONLY >better speed<

   * Cypher Type > AES >better speed<

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

> FW 1.04 - Highly unstable (drops WiFi connection often when downloading)

> FW 1.05 - Highly unstable (drops WiFi connection often when downloading)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>> Region : Central Europe

>> ISP Service : Cable (PPPoE)

>> A factory reset was performed before and after the firmware update and set up from scratch.

>> SSID was changed from default

>> Wireless mode - Auto

>> Security mode - WPA Personal

>> Wireless device used - Notebook / Smartphone

>> No cordless 2.4 or 5 Ghz house phones or WiFi APs nearby

>> WiFi routers in the area - around 10 different routers


Hope it helps!
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: FurryNutz on August 04, 2014, 07:10:14 AM
Link>Welcome! (http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=48135.0)

Thank you for the feedback and information

FW Update Process (http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=42457.0)

Internet Service Provider and Modem Configurations

Wireless Configurations
Links>Wireless Installation Considerations (http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=48327.0) and Managing Signal Congestion (http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=53228.0) and Good Neighbour Policy (http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=10634.0)

Router Placement
Forum User - "Well I feel really dumb. After moving the router away from other electronic devices my speeds are back to normal. Just a heads up for anyone experiencing slow speeds, you might want to move it away from other electronics and see if that helps."
3-6' feet minimum safe distance between devices.
Placement on main level floor and central in the building and WELL ventilated is preferred. Not in basements or closets as building materials, or near by electronics devices could interfere or hinder good signal propagation.
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: FurryNutz on August 04, 2014, 09:13:41 AM
> FW 1.04 - Highly unstable (drops WiFi connection often when downloading)

> FW 1.05 - Highly unstable (drops WiFi connection often when downloading)

Does this happen also if you connect hard wired LAN cable to the router with your test PC?
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: zenomicon on August 04, 2014, 09:43:22 AM
LAN Connection works well, this only happens on WiFi, but keep in mind my tests were more WiFi oriented and therefore the tests were done more extensively in this area rather than on LAN.

Regards~
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: FurryNutz on August 04, 2014, 09:49:31 AM
What ISP Modem Mfr. and model # do you have?

Can you connect a wired LAN PC to the router and put some source files, 500Mb to 4Gb in size, on this PC and share out the folder. Then connect your wireless test PC to the router and do some Read and Write operations to the wired LAN PC and see if you notice the same thing...

Then change the WiFi settings from default to Single mode N, WPA2 and AES only on channel 13, disable HT 20/40Mhz co-existence if you have this feature under Advanced/Adv Wireless, using the same configuration as above...
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: mikkimus on August 04, 2014, 10:21:14 AM
Wait, has FW 1.05 been released officially? Can't seem to find it on D-Link.
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: FurryNutz on August 04, 2014, 10:41:56 AM
Not that I'm aware of...v1.04 is latest for your region and mine...
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: zenomicon on August 04, 2014, 10:45:33 AM
What ISP Modem Mfr. and model # do you have?

Can you connect a wired LAN PC to the router and put some source files, 500Mb to 4Gb in size, on this PC and share out the folder. Then connect your wireless test PC to the router and do some Read and Write operations to the wired LAN PC and see if you notice the same thing...

Then change the WiFi settings from default to Single mode N, WPA2 and AES only on channel 13, disable HT 20/40Mhz co-existence if you have this feature under Advanced/Adv Wireless, using the same configuration as above...

i will perform this test as soon as possible

I would like to mention i do not have an ISP modem since i live in a flat. Where I am, only people who live in houses have modems and those who live in flats have a direct cable from a box which is located in the block staircase.
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: zenomicon on August 04, 2014, 10:48:37 AM
Wait, has FW 1.05 been released officially? Can't seem to find it on D-Link.

You can find firmware 1.05 on the german website of dlink.com here : http://www.dlink.com/de/de/support/product/dir-636l-cloud-gigabit-router-n300 (http://www.dlink.com/de/de/support/product/dir-636l-cloud-gigabit-router-n300)
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: FurryNutz on August 04, 2014, 11:00:10 AM
I'll put this on the forum for the German link. Thank you.

Seems to be v1.04 with the German Language page loaded is all. I don't see any other information on this version.  ???

Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: mikkimus on August 04, 2014, 11:07:25 AM
You can find firmware 1.05 on the german website of dlink.com here : http://www.dlink.com/de/de/support/product/dir-636l-cloud-gigabit-router-n300 (http://www.dlink.com/de/de/support/product/dir-636l-cloud-gigabit-router-n300)

Thanks bud. Does it include english? I don't sprechen deutch  :D
FurryNutz, is it the same deal I have? The date of firmwares is the same.
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: FurryNutz on August 04, 2014, 11:10:21 AM
Ya I think it's just v1.04 loaded with German LP. You could remove the LP after it's installed and test.

I don't think there is any other changes other then the LP.  :-\

http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=60325.0 (http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=60325.0)
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: zenomicon on August 04, 2014, 11:14:00 AM
Thanks bud. Does it include english? I don't sprechen deutch  :D
FurryNutz, is it the same deal I have? The date of firmwares is the same.

Firmware language (BIN file) is english. It does come with another file which is the german language pack and it's purely optional.

FW 1.04 might be the same as FW 1.05 since i get exactly the same poor results on WiFi, but we can't be 100% sure even if the release date is a match.
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: FurryNutz on August 04, 2014, 11:22:02 AM
Ok, I found more info on the release notes...
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: zenomicon on August 04, 2014, 11:26:09 AM
Ok, I found more info on the release notes...

The complete changelog can be found in the download archive.
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: FurryNutz on August 04, 2014, 11:30:21 AM
Ya I added the few lines for this version and build. There were other builds of v1.05 that weren't posted however, notes had info on those so any and all of those fixes will or should be in this current one thats posted on the German site. This is only for the EU region!

Thanks for the info.

Enjoy.
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: mikkimus on August 04, 2014, 11:50:34 AM
It's the same deal FurryNutz. It matches by byte and date  :)
Germany leads, I guess.
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: FurryNutz on August 04, 2014, 11:54:45 AM
Well from looking at the release notes. there seems to be some differences between v1.05 builds and the v1.04 builds.

What is the FW date seen on the status page for v1.04 and v1.05? These should be different...
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: mikkimus on August 04, 2014, 12:07:50 PM
v1.05 says December 11, 2013. I don't recall v1.04.
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: FurryNutz on August 04, 2014, 12:15:55 PM
That should be right for v1.05. v1.04 should be around March or April 2013.
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: mikkimus on August 06, 2014, 08:09:45 AM
Firmware language (BIN file) is english. It does come with another file which is the german language pack and it's purely optional.

FW 1.04 might be the same as FW 1.05 since i get exactly the same poor results on WiFi, but we can't be 100% sure even if the release date is a match.

Thanks again. I'm running it now. It's the same deal FurryNutz. It's definitely not v1.04 packed with LP.
Sorry for derailing your thread, now back on topic, slow wifi you say?
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: FurryNutz on August 06, 2014, 08:35:52 AM
Thanks for the confirming this.

Yes, let see if we can help to see about WiFi problems. Thanks for helping out.
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: zenomicon on August 09, 2014, 02:08:05 AM
What ISP Modem Mfr. and model # do you have?

Can you connect a wired LAN PC to the router and put some source files, 500Mb to 4Gb in size, on this PC and share out the folder. Then connect your wireless test PC to the router and do some Read and Write operations to the wired LAN PC and see if you notice the same thing...

Then change the WiFi settings from default to Single mode N, WPA2 and AES only on channel 13, disable HT 20/40Mhz co-existence if you have this feature under Advanced/Adv Wireless, using the same configuration as above...

Tried using these settings but WiFi still not stable. Not even with FW 1.02 which worked without problems at the beginning but then later it started to suffer from the same WiFi problems like the rest of the firmwares, but not acting up as often as the others.


EDIT : Testing FW 1.03...so far so good
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: FurryNutz on August 10, 2014, 09:47:28 AM
I wonder if this is a faulty unit in itself...
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: zenomicon on August 10, 2014, 12:17:18 PM
I wonder if this is a faulty unit in itself...

Definitely not a faulty unit. I searched the internet and a lot of people are experiencing the same problems, at least in my country.

So far FW 1.03 dropped just once...still testing it with different settings.
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: FurryNutz on August 10, 2014, 02:23:58 PM
I recommend that you phone contact your regional D-Link support office and ask for help and information regarding this. There could be issues in your region. There hasn't been much if any issues seen here in my region with this router. We find that phone contact has better immediate results over using email.
Let us know how it goes please.
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: mtztraktoros on August 11, 2014, 07:05:28 AM
I recommend that you phone contact your regional D-Link support office and ask for help and information regarding this. There could be issues in your region. There hasn't been much if any issues seen here in my region with this router. We find that phone contact has better immediate results over using email.
Let us know how it goes please.

Hi,
Please provide us in witch region You are and i will looking for You the direct contact!
Thx,
Gyuri
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: FurryNutz on August 11, 2014, 07:09:10 AM
"Hi,
Please provide us in witch region You are and i will looking for You the direct contact!
Thx,
Gyuri"

Definitely not a faulty unit. I searched the internet and a lot of people are experiencing the same problems, at least in my country.

So far FW 1.03 dropped just once...still testing it with different settings.
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: zenomicon on August 11, 2014, 11:26:27 AM
i think i solved it, but still need to do further testing just to be sure...will post the result soon
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: FurryNutz on August 11, 2014, 11:39:18 AM
Good, let us know what you have done to fix it.  ;)
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: zenomicon on August 12, 2014, 08:32:06 AM
no more drops on WiFi so far but I experienced something odd instead... My WiFi on my notebook was looking fine showing "SSID | Internet Acces" but when I tried to open some websites, only one of them loaded partially and the others didn't open at all. I tried again and it behaved exactly the same, meaning the same website as before loaded partially and the others did not.

Don't really know what to make of it...but problem was solved with a router reboot.

I will continue testing it.
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: FurryNutz on August 12, 2014, 09:02:18 AM
Keep us posted...
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: zenomicon on August 17, 2014, 07:08:53 AM
testing is finished, this is as close as i could get to making my router stable. Check 1st page.

Cheers~
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: FurryNutz on August 17, 2014, 12:10:41 PM
I recommend that you phone contact your regional D-Link support office and ask for help and information regarding this. We find that phone contact has better immediate results over using email.
Let us know how it goes please.
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests
Post by: zenomicon on September 27, 2014, 05:34:35 AM
Good news  ;D

no more drops for 3 weeks now. My ISP changed some equipment in my block staircase including my internet cable. It hardly has anything to do with my WiFi not dropping anymore or if it has, probably the signal is more steady/constant through the new cable which results in a stable WiFi Connection as well. Just a guess  :-\
Title: Re: DIR-636L Firmware Tests (RESOLVED)
Post by: FurryNutz on September 27, 2014, 10:02:03 AM
Any router depends on good ISP Service. Glad they go it running better. Enjoy now.