D-Link Exo AC2600 (DIR-882) Enthusiast Router Review

Interface: Initialization and a First View

Initialising the router only takes a few steps and you’ll be done in minutes. Most things are done automatically, but you’ll need to set passwords and similar settings yourself.

In case the router can’t detect your internet connection, it will come up with a window like this. It will help you connect everything properly. If the internet cable is connected, you’ll automatically be taken to the first step.

By default, the D-Link DIR-882 configures both networks in a smart network with the same name. This eliminates your need to know which to connect to. Instead, the router will pick the best-suited network for your device. That’s why we only have to set one network name and one password during this step.

The only other thing you need to define during the initialisation is the password for the router itself.

You’ll get a summary of your settings, allowing you to write them down or take a screenshot for later reference.

All that’s left now is to apply the settings and wait for the router to load the actual interface.

When the interface loads, you’ll be presented with a screen like this. If there are any errors in the setup, it will be clearly highlighted in the network diagram.

Dashboard Functions

The dashboard is more than a pretty diagram of your network. You can click each part and get details below.

It’s quick and easy to view all the vital information this way and each page has a hotlink to the individual settings. That makes it quick to navigate to the page you’re looking for, without using the menus.