The D-Link DAP-X1860 WiFi 6 repeater is a very interesting model to expand the coverage of routers such as the D-Link DIR-X1560, DIR-X1860 or DIR-X5460, all of them support WiFi Mesh with this new WiFi repeater from High performance, therefore, we can have in our home a meshed WiFi network with WiFi roaming to go from the router to the repeater and vice versa without interruption in communication, in addition, it also supports Smart Connect so that the Band-Steering technology works. In order to configure the repeater as Mesh, it is absolutely necessary to follow a series of steps, otherwise, it will act like a normal WiFi repeater without the Mesh functionalities. Today we are going to show you how we can configure it and what you should take into account.
Steps to configure the DAP-X1860 repeater with Mesh
The first thing we must take into account are the routers with which this WiFi repeater is compatible for Mesh, currently we have three models of routers that support this feature with this WiFi repeater in particular, these models are the following:
- DIR-X1560: this router is dual band simultaneous with WiFi 6 and AX1500 class, it is the lowest-end equipment for the WiFi 6 standard, it incorporates Gigabit Ethernet ports.
- DIR-X1860: this router is simultaneous dual band with WiFi 6 and AX1500 class, it is the mid-range equipment for the WiFi 6 standard, we have already analyzed it in RedesZone and it provides us with outstanding wireless performance.
- DIR-X5460: this router is dual band simultaneous with WiFi 6 and AX5400 class, it is the manufacturer’s top-of-the-range equipment for the WiFi 6 standard.
Once we have any of these three models, it is absolutely necessary that the wireless part of the D-Link router has the following configuration, otherwise, we will not be able to link this WiFi repeater and have Mesh WiFi, but it will act as a WiFi repeater ordinary.
- Smart Connect: enabled, it is necessary that the two WiFi networks (2.4GHz and 5GHz) have exactly the same network name (SSID).
- SSID and password: It does not matter what SSID and access password we put in the router, any one will work correctly, it does not need to be the SSID and default password of the router.
- Security: you need to have WPA / WPA2-Personal, that is, the security that comes by default, otherwise they will not link correctly.
Once we have a compatible router and with the configuration of the WiFi network with the default options (except WiFi network name and password), we can begin to configure the WiFi repeater with Mesh.
Repeater configuration with Mesh via Ethernet network cable
The simplest configuration we can do to synchronize the WiFi Mesh repeater with the main router is to connect it via cable. Once the router is turned on and with the aforementioned configuration, we plug the WiFi repeater in a place close to the router, because we have to connect it via cable. The steps that we must carry out are the following, it must be carried out in strict order:
- Plug the WiFi repeater into a nearby socket on the router.
- Wait about 2 minutes until we have an orange light flashing.
- Once it is flashing orange, we connect a network cable from the router’s LAN port to the Gigabit Ethernet port of the DAP-X1860.
- Now we will have to wait about 2 minutes until the LED of the WiFi repeater is green, once it is green it means that the router configuration has been imported correctly.
- We verify that we no longer see the default WiFi network of the WiFi repeater, and that it can be accessed via the web without problems.
- Now we can unplug it from the light and connect it where we need it.
We must remember that this method includes using an Ethernet network cable, no cable is included in the box, so we will have to have one to do it. In our opinion, we believe that it is much more convenient to configure this repeater through the D-Link WiFi app for Android and iOS smartphones and tablets.
Repeater configuration with Mesh using the D-Link WiFi app
The D-Link WiFi application is completely free, it will allow us to manage, administer and even install routers, WiFi repeaters and WiFi Mesh systems from the manufacturer D-Link. This application will help us configure the WiFi repeater with Mesh functionality, we can download it from the official D-Link application stores in Google Play and App Store:
If we use this D-Link WiFi application to configure the repeater with Mesh and using the D-Link router, the steps that we must follow are the following:
- Download the D-Link WiFi app, connect to the WiFi network of our D-Link router, unfold the left part of the app and click on «Add new device». Next, it will ask us to scan the QR code of the WiFi repeater, we do it and it will start with the installation wizard.
- In the installation wizard, it will tell us that we must plug the WiFi repeater into a socket, in the location where we are going to install it definitively or in a socket that is “close” to the router, for example, in the same room or in the next room. .
- Wait about 2 minutes until we have an orange light flashing, and the application allows us to continue.
- Now we will have to connect via WiFi to the repeater, with the SSID and the default password, once we connect we will not have Internet, but the app will connect to the repeater to start with the configuration.
- The WiFi repeater will scan all the WiFi networks around us, we select the 2.4GHz or 5GHz SSID of the D-Link router, we enter the password.
- We must configure to “clone” the main wireless network, in this way, we will have Mesh with WiFi roaming.
- Once the WiFi network is configured, we will have to enter the new administration key that we want.
- The WiFi repeater will restart with the new configuration, and we will have already configured the equipment as Mesh WiFi.
- Now we can unplug it from the light and connect it where we need it.
In the following video you can see step by step all the detailed menus of the D-Link WiFi app, and also what requirements we will need in the D-Link router for the configuration and start-up to be a success.
We hope that with this small guide on how to configure your D-Link DAP-X1860 Wi-Fi repeater with Mesh you can form a complete high-performance Mesh WiFi network, also, remember that you will have WiFi roaming and band steering so we only worry about enjoying our connection, without you having to connect to several different WiFi networks through different parts of your home. We will only have an SSID and password, automatically the WiFi Mesh system will place you in the 2.4GHz band or in the 5GHz band, and if we are near the repeater it will roam WiFi in a totally transparent way for you, without cutting the WiFi connection .
