D-Link DWR-932 (Refresh) Review – Old Dog, New Tricks?

Unboxing

D-Link has several 4G hotspots available in their portfolio, and today we’re looking at one of the older model that got a more recent refresh, the DWR-932. Note that this model number is shared across two other models, both of which feature similar design but one features a monochrome status display instead of LED indicators. Ours is the third model sharing this model name that features a color display instead.

In the box we have three items:
– Micro USB cable
– Removable 3000mAh battery
– D-Link DWR-932 main unit

Note that retail units may come with a user guide, which is not present in our sample.

Walkaround

The size of the DWR-932 is fairly compact, slightly longer than the size of a credit card. At the front, you get a 1.5-inch display that presents all the essential information like signal strength, battery level, devices connected, et cetera; two keys situated on the side are responsible for power and establishing Wi-Fi connection through WPS protocol. Down bottom you get a single Micro USB port for charging, while top right features an integrated hook for tethering the device to bags or other objects.

The rear panel is removable, which reveals the battery slot along with two slots beneath: a Micro SIM slot (bottom), and a microSD card slot (top). The former is self-explanatory, while the latter can work as a network storage for connected devices – though it only supports up to 32GB, which isn’t a lot by today’s standards. Powering the device is a 3,000mAh removable battery, which can be installed once the SIM is inserted into the slot.

Specifications

D-Link DWR-932 (Refresh)

Full specifications available on product datasheet.

Product Type	Portable Mi-Fi Hotspot / Router
Wireless Specification	802.11n (Wi-Fi 4)
Antenna Topography	4G: 2x internal antennas (1T2R) Wi-Fi: 2x internal antennas
Operating Frequencies	4G bands: B1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38*, 40, 41* Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz *Band 38/41 support vary depending on region
Bandwidth Modes	Unspecified
Throughput Rating	Max. 150Mbps (DL) / 50Mbps (UL)
I/O	1x micro-USB (charging) 1x microSD card slot
Wireless Security	WPA/WPA2-PSK, WPS
Control Interface	Via gateway IP address (Web)
SIM Support	Micro SIM
Battery	3,000mAh
Dimensions	98 x 59.4 x 15.25 mm
Weight	105g

User Experience

You don’t have to do anything to set up the DWR-932 aside from installing the SIM card from the telco provider of your choice – once done, simply hold the power button and turn on the device, where you’ll see a small display presenting several key information, and they are (from top to bottom, left to right): signal strength, battery level, devices connected, number of messages received, operator name, usage time in minutes, and total data usage.

Press either side key and you’ll see the SSID and password information, and another press will reveal the QR code which allows smartphones to instantly connect the Wi-Fi. Press and hold the WPS key to initiate WPS connection, and press and hold the power key will turn off the device.

The only way of managing the device is through the web gateway page, which can be accessed by PC and mobile, but it’s not designed for mobile so you may have difficulties navigating through the menus while on a smartphone. You have several features here, one surprising example is the guest SSID feature that allows guests to use the network while maintaining privacy. However, unlike similar models we previously reviewed, band locking is not available in all the menus we can find.

A quick speed test on the DWR-932 saw Maxis 4G achieving 35-40Mbps in an open spot near Sunway GEO building (where we can get solid signal strength), though your mileage will vary depending on the network traffic and the telco provider’s infrastructure. We did the same for Yes 4G but fared worse, especially in spots where obstacles can get in the way. D-Link says you can connect up to 16 users via Wi-Fi, which is 8 connecting through primary SSID and another 8 via secondary (guest) SSID.

The Good

Let’s start with the good parts: the D-Link DWR-932 comes with a display that is easy for any user to see all the essential information right away, without needing to access the companion app or the management interface. Guest SSID support is another plus to enable bigger number of concurrent users, useful if your situation demands more connectivity than speed alone.

Additionally, the microSD card slot is a neat feature for file sharing – while it supports only up to 32GB, it should do just fine for light users to store frequently shared files on the hotspot for easy access; finally, user-replaceable battery in theory should enable longer lifespan of the device, though this can be ultimately determined by how long 4G infrastructure stays up, though you should be fine for a good few years before 4G phaseout is considered.

The Bad

There are several things worth pointing out for this 4G hotspot as well. For one, the confusion around the model number should’ve been avoidable – I’m not sure why this unit shares the same model number with two other models with different designs entirely, and from what I can tell there’s no identifier to differentiate between the models. If you’re buying this, pay extra attention to the variant you’re actually buying.

Moving on, Micro SIM support is admittedly dated at this point as we’re already using nano SIM universally, and some smartphones have even transitioned to eSIM. If you want to install a nano SIM on this device, you most likely need to find your original SIM packaging and extract the micro SIM frame to install it into the DWR-932.

The lack of a companion app also means managing the device can be difficult especially on a smartphone (where the web interface is hardly compatible with smartphone screens), and the device still using Micro USB is just simply not it in this day and age. Even iPhones use USB-C now!

Verdict

The current retail price of the D-Link DWR-932 is RM189 – more expensive than the DWR-930M we previously reviewed. While the refresh does bring a small bit of added convenience, the DWR-932 in general is lacking in several aspects to make it a good choice for those frequently on the go, especially with some parts of it being very dated by this point.

Special thanks to D-Link for providing the DWR-932 4G portable hotspot for this review.