D-Link DSM-G600 Network Enclosure Review

Two words: Great Idea


Two more words: Manufacturer's Recall


D-Link's DSM-G600 Network Enclosure is an amazing idea in theory. A network enclosure is basically an empty box that you can add a hard drive to. On the back of the unit is a network port and a wi-fi antenna. Thus, you can connect the enclosure to your router or existing network.

What's the purpose of this? You can share media in your entire house without having to leave your computer on all of the time. You can stream video or audio to any devices in your home as well. You can also get access to all of your files when not at home (provided you have a stable internet connection). The DSM-G600 also has two USB ports on its back. This enables you to plug in additional hard drives and make those shared on the network as well.

The DSM-G600 was bought for me as a gift. I put a 500GB hard drive in mine and turned it on. Setup was not too bad, and the drive was working for a few days. I did notice that even though the manufacturer claimed gigabit speeds, the performance was not much faster than a standard network connection. Either way, I was just sharing music, so that is not too bandwith intensive.

After three days the unit just shut off and turned back on. It did it again and again. And then, it didn't turn on again at all. The power switch was broken. I called D-Link and they were quick to tell me that my unit was defective. In fact, the whole line of DSM-G600's were defective because of a recall on their system boards.

What was their solution, you ask? "We'll ship you another unit." Hmm. Let's think about that one for a bit. This technician just told me that ALL of their products are defective, and now they want to send me a replacement defective product? I asked how they could ensure that this unit won't be defective and the technician said, "We can't guarantee that." On top of that, they wanted me to pay for shipping! D-Link can kiss my ass.

Well, after about two or three minutes of assorted varieties of verbal abuse, I told them to have a great day. I am returning the unit directly to Best Buy, where I purchased the product. It's amazing that Best Buy didn't pull the product from their shelves when they knew about it. Compusa apparently took the product off of their shelves 8 MONTHS ago because of this recall.

2.5 out of 10.