• expired

Western Digital N900 $39 Dual-Band Router 7x Gigabit Ethernet, 2x USB Ports @ MSY

150

Hi all,

Saw this for via the MSY site and looks alright. It seems last year they had the same sale and was quite popular. Next cheapest was $84.50, so this seems like a very good deal in comparison.

Considering actually buying one.

Product Detail
Brilliant HD streaming with FasTrack.
With Dual-Band speeds up to 450 mbps on both the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, the My Net N900 delivers the ultimate Wi-Fi speeds for your entertainment.
Parental controls and Internet security.
7 Gigabit Ethernet ports.
With 7 Gigabit Ethernet ports you have plenty of high-speed port for your connected devices - HD game boxes, media players, Blu-ray Disc? players and more. Each port delivers 10x the speed over Fast Ethernet.
2 USB ports.
The convenient USB ports make it easy to add external storage, shared printers and scanners.
System Requirements
CD setup for PC: Windows® 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista®, Windows XP (SP3)
Mac OS X Leopard or higher
Web setup for Mac®: Safari® 2 or higher and type in //wdrouter or 192.168.1.1
Supported browsers for setup and advanced settings:
Internet Explorer® 7, Safari® 2, Firefox® 2, Google® Chrome? 7 or higher.
Type in //wdrouter or 192.168.1.1
Package Includes
HD dual-band router
Setup and resource CD
Ethernet cable
Power adapter
Quick Install Guide

Related Stores

MSY Technology
MSY Technology

closed Comments

  • I got this last time it was this price, just before Christmas. Experienced a few drop outs early but been pretty solid the last few weeks. I'm happy with it.

    • Yea with cases of drop outs I'm never certain whether it's the ISP or the modem/router.

      • +5

        if its the ISP your wifi wont drop

  • specs sound great for the price, but user reviews are far less enthusiastic.
    Anyone else here own one that can comment ?

  • Anyone know if you can enter DNS settings for Unblock US or similar into this router?

  • I bought one last time the deal was on. I've experienced maybe 3-4 drop outs since I bought it (4 months a go). I can't definitely attribute them to the router though.

    It's been pretty solid for me, although the 5ghz band is not showing up anymore - but I've never used it because the 2.4 was more than enough.

  • -3

    sounds like a real pile of …. if u ask me

    • It's $39.. I think its been great value for the price.

      • Does a pile of …. stink less if it's a bargain?

    • +2

      the router is a real pile of dots?

      • …. Tiny rabbit droppings ….

  • I bought one last time - connecting the HDD to the USB port and watching through my WDTV's in the house works flawlessly - also experienced a couple of drop outs early on but works well now.

    • Is it okay to have the HDD connected 24/7? Any issues? I have an AC powered one.

      • +1

        Absolutely. If anything, a mechanical drive is most likely to fail through repeated power on/power off cycles, rather than being continuously powered.

  • thanks for all the comments - keep them coming !

  • -1

    Users above posting "drop outs" should be a red flag on this unit

    • -1

      Do you enjoy being an alarmist?

      Perhaps make up your own mind, baaa baaa.

      • -1

        Do you enjoy making assumptions?

        • +1

          well.. you did assume the 3 people who mentioned dropouts is representative of every single unit out there.

          You made that assumption without knowing any details - were they using the 2.4ghz network or the 5ghz one? Was there local interference like their neighbour's tv extender, wireless cctv camera, or microwave oven? What dropped out? The actual wifi connection or the video feed, which could be due to network congestion?

          etc etc

        • +1

          Exactly what EUG said. I have used one of these WD900 routers every day for the last 6 months and no problems at all. Awesome unit for the price.

          In future Scytherbladez, perhaps comment on what you have first hand experience with, not baaa baaa black sheep.

        • -5

          I feel my knowledge of the unit is far too great to share with simpletons such as yourselves.

        • I feel your attitude is better suited to a circus than OzB.

  • +4

    A branded 8-port gigabit switch is $35-39. This is a 7-port gigabit switch plus router plus dual-band wifi AP plus two USB sharing ports plus parental controls for $39. Sounds good!

    • That's my line of thinking too.

  • hows the range with this?

    • +2

      The overall performance of the My Net N900 Central turned out to be very good. As mentioned, its streaming performance over our iiNet ADSL2+ Internet connection was flawless (we used services such as NBA LeaguePass, NBL.TV and ABC's iView) and its wireless networking performance was stellar. We observed fast rates when using both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks, from short-range and mid-range distances. The router supports simultaneous dual-band operation and it is rated at 450MBps for each band. We tested the wireless performance using a laptop equipped with an Intel Centrino 6300 Advanced-N adapter, which can handle those speeds, and we served data from a PC attached to the router using a wired Gigabit Ethernet connection.

      Using the 2.4GHz band, our short-range test, which is over 2m, averaged a rate of 13.55MBps, which is a very good result. However, it was even better in our mid-range test, which is over 10m. In this test, it recorded an average of 14.5MBps. using the 5GHz band, our short-range test averaged a rate of 24.16MBps and our mid-range test averaged 17.68MBps. These results are faster than what the Netgear R6300 produced using the same laptop in the same tests, although the Netgear router performed better in the short-range test when using a Netgear N900 USB adapter on the same laptop.

      http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/review/western_digital/my_net_…

      • +1

        Not the central version, slight differences

        • The router supports … 450MBps for each band
          … our short-range test … averaged a rate of 13.55MBps, which is a very good

          (Theoretical) 450Mbps -> 13.5Mbps (practical) is considered very good?

        • As written on an FAQ on smallnetbuilder:

          Practical/real world wifi throughput is generally 30-40% of the stated theoretical figure taking into account environmental variables
          So 13.55MB/s seem much in line with that.

        • Ok sorry.
          http://reviews.cnet.com/routers/western-digital-my-net/4505-…

          The My Net N900 HD offered mixed performance in my testing. Note that I tested the router prior to the date it's available to the market, meaning it might come with on-release firmware. Generally, routers get better with firmware updates.
          At close distance, about 15 feet away, the My Net N900 HD offered stellar performance on the 5Ghz band, averaging 195Mbps. This speed topped the chart of N900 routers on this band at this range. When I increased the distance to 100 feet, however, the router's data rate was lowered to just 74Mbps; still fast, but slowest among N900 routers.

          On the 2.4Ghz, the router's performance was about average at both 15-foot and 100-foot ranges, registering 58.1Mbps and 16Mbps, respectively.

          I noticed that the 2.4Ghz band didn't do very well with range, either; the signal got hard to reach starting at about 200 feet away. The 5Ghz band, however, did much better with the stable range as far as 270 feet way. Note that the router was tested at CNET HQ, where there are many other Wi-Fi access points and clients, which interfere with the router's signal.

          In stress tests, the router's 5Ghz band passed my 48-hour trial easily without disconnecting once. The 2.4ghz band, however, disconnected once after a few hours.

          The My Net N900 HD did well as a network storage server when coupled with an external hard drive. In tests via Gigabit Ethernet, it scored about 15MBps (or 115Mbps) for writing and around 20MBps (or 160Mbps) for reading. This was fast enough for casual sharing of data and media streaming and comparable to the performance of the Asus RT-66U or the Linksys E4200 v2.

          Overall, I wish the My Net N900 HD's performance were better, though it's already very decent. Hopefully the router will get more stable and offer better performance with updated firmware.

        • So 13.55MB/s seem much in line with that.

          13.55MB/s is 24.1% of (theoretical) maximum, considerably below 30-40% you're quoting.

  • Does anyone know if this is dd wrt compatible?

    I couldn't find it so i don't think it is =/

    Currently using a modem + WNDR1043 with dd wrt and i just need another router for the other room…

    • +2

      no it does not as they are based on the Ubicom platform.

      • Well thats a shame =( great price for a gigabit router

    • -1

      I have an N750 running OpenWRT without any issue. N900 should work with OpenWRT as well.

    • Scratch that - I got the model wrong.

  • Is there a wifi bridge function in the stock firmware?

  • Does anyone know if this router will work with both ADSL and NBN? Do I need a special router for NBN or can i use this one (or my existing wireless router) for NBN.

    Thanks

    • Routers are all standardised, so yes it will work for both ADSL & NBN.

      Setup cabling as follows:

      -ADSL modem standalone or modem router AIO—->router
      -NBN NTD—->router

      • Thanks!!!
        The guys at Activ8me said i need a special NBN wireless router and that my ADSL one wont work. Darn them!!!

        • Depend on how they define 'special'. They make it sound like their HW is proprietary & req. for it to work on their network. Thus making you think its an obligation to buy it off them. 95% of the time they just open a new unit out of the box & input their setting/config so when it reaches you its just 'plug & play' (for the ultra newbies).

          Times are hard, some businesses do anything to lure in unsuspecting ppl as new customers & lock you into a contract.

    • for ADSL, you need one more modem. And for NBN it should work out of box

  • The USB ports in this router is pretty fast. I am able to achieve consistently 16MB/s transferring large files using the 5ghz band laptop

    However, as the wifi transfer rate, it is not as good. I can only do about 10MB/s with several dropouts.

    My set up to achieve 16MB/s laptop —>[wifi 5ghz] dlink 868l (router)—> [wire] wd mynet N900 —>[usb] wd my book

  • I purchased this model last time MSY had it on sale.

    It's been too flaky for me, quite a few dropouts and was giving the wife much annoyance … which in turn gave me annoyance being on the receiving end!
    I now no longer use it… shame, was really liking the gigabit ethernet

    Maybe I got a dud.

    • quite a few dropouts

      You have brick walls inside? Many networks in your location? Adapter detect many networks? If so, airspace maybe too crowded so switch to another channel.

      • Thanks for your thoughts - it's not solid brick internally and not that many networks around - only 2 others and quite weak.
        I live in a small townhouse so it's positioned nicely in the middle (under the stairs). Strength is very good all over the house.

        Tried changing channels and even disabling as much functionality on the router as possible (such as the fancy Qos)

        My current router I'm using is stable… it's just old (wireless G / 100 mb/s LAN), so was liking the faster speeds on the N900 when up.

        I wonder if it may get too hot when under load?
        I read somewhere that people even tried downgrading to an older firmware which runs the internal fan constantly.

        Wish they had a firmware upgrade for it to help address the dropouts…

        • Which band were you using?
          A friend of mine had terrible dropout problems with his 2.4GHz wifi network at work. The signal strength was good but he kept getting timeouts. There weren't many wifi networks in the area either.

          I checked with with my spectrum analyser and found a neighbour running a wireless cctv camera or tv extender which caused major interference on the channel he was on. I changed channels to the quietest channel and it has been working fine since.

          2.4GHz is a shared band, so even if you don't see many wireless networks around, it doesn't mean there's no interference.

          e.g. the big chunk in the centre was the interfering signal:
          https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018117/wifi-interferenc…

          (not saying the WD router is faultless - just saying interference could be there even if there are few networks around)

        • Very cool analysis!

          I was trying to use 5GHz band as much as possible.
          Found my devices would often jump onto the 2.4 Ghz band as the 5GHZ one takes longer to find for some reason.
          (I'd try to prioritse the 5Ghz on the devices where possible)

          Maybe it might be worth totally disabling the 2.4Ghz (if possible) - can't recall without firing it up!

        • awww, how come you get all the good toys ?

        • Found my devices would often jump onto the 2.4 Ghz band as the 5GHZ one takes longer to find for some reason.

          Ahh.. if you set different SSIDs for the two frequencies, you can effectively force your devices to only use that band. e.g. myAwesomeNetwork and myAwesomeNetwork5G.

          http://www.storagereview.com/images/Western-Digital-My-Net-2…

        • awww, how come you get all the good toys ?

          It has saved a lot of time and hair-pulling, so it's much more than just a toy now. :)

  • why don't they make modem/routers with more than 4 ethernet (gigabit) ports?
    i want 1 dsl modem port
    5 x ethernet (gigabit) ports
    wireless N

    • +1

      use a switch?

      • the thing is i dont think packing so much into one box is worth the bother

        i wouldnt buy any modem router now

        i prefer the freedom to change wireless routers with new technology

  • I have ordered this unit from msy.com.au online, still waiting for confirmation from msy… still no response.
    Will I ever get a response??

    • Yay, Finally I got the order confirmation!

      • Simon, did you get it for $39 or $79… that's the price they had on the site around the date you posted the above.

        • griftr, I ordered online on Saturday with pickup option, was waiting for the confirmation for few days, Price is now looks like $79. Good unit.

Login or Join to leave a comment