D-Link
| D-Link | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Industry | Networking hardware |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Founder | Ken Kao |
| Headquarters | Taipei, Taiwan |
| Notable Personnel | Ken Kao (founder) |
| Products | Routers, network switches, wireless adapters, IP cameras, the VR Air Bridge |
| Parent | Taiwan Steel Group |
| Website | https://www.dlink.com |
D-Link (D-Link Corporation; D-Link Systems, Inc. in North America) is a Taiwanese multinational manufacturer of networking hardware. The company was founded in 1986 in Taiwan by Ken Kao as Datex Systems and was renamed D-Link in 1992.[1][2] Best known for consumer and small-business routers, network switches, Wi-Fi adapters and IP cameras, D-Link is tangential to the Virtual Reality industry through a single product: the VR Air Bridge (model DWA-F18), an official "Made for Meta" wireless adapter that gives a Meta Quest standalone headset a dedicated link to a gaming PC for wireless PC VR.[3][4]
History
D-Link traces its origins to Datex Systems, founded in 1986 by Ken Kao together with several partners; the company set up in Taiwan's Hsinchu Science Park and changed its name to D-Link in 1992.[1][2] In 1994 it went public and became the first networking company listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.[1][2] Over the following decades D-Link grew into one of the largest suppliers of consumer and small-and-medium-business networking gear worldwide, and by March 2008 it was reported as the market leader in Wi-Fi product shipments globally.[1] In June 2020 D-Link became part of the Taiwan Steel Group.[1] The company markets its products through dozens of sales offices across more than 40 countries.[2]
In January 2017 the United States Federal Trade Commission sued D-Link, alleging that security weaknesses in its routers and internet-connected cameras left consumers' data and live video feeds exposed. The case was settled in July 2019 with no finding of liability against the company; under the settlement D-Link agreed to maintain a comprehensive software-security program subject to independent third-party assessments every two years for ten years.[1][5]
VR Air Bridge
The VR Air Bridge (DWA-F18) is D-Link's only product aimed at the VR market. It is a small USB dongle that plugs into a gaming PC and creates a dedicated point-to-point Wi-Fi link to a Meta Quest headset, allowing PC VR games to be streamed wirelessly without routing traffic through the user's home network.[3][4] D-Link describes the device as an official "Made for Meta" accessory developed in collaboration with Meta, combining D-Link's Wi-Fi 6 firmware with Meta's proprietary VR streaming algorithms.[3][6]
The adapter was announced on September 30, 2022 and went on sale on October 4, 2022 at a price of about 99 US dollars.[4][7] It launched first in North America; D-Link announced European availability in September 2023.[8] Initially built for the Meta Quest 2, the device was later confirmed to support the Meta Quest Pro and Meta Quest 3 as well; an October 2023 D-Link press release positioned it for the newly released Quest 3.[6] The VR Air Bridge has also been sold through the Meta Store, where it was offered at a substantially lower price than at general retail.[9]
How it works
In a typical setup the user's PC connects to the home router by Ethernet or Wi-Fi, while the VR Air Bridge plugs into a USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) port on the same PC and broadcasts its own dedicated 5 GHz Wi-Fi network solely for the headset.[9][3] Because the headset talks to the PC over this private link rather than over a shared home network, the connection avoids congestion from other devices, which can reduce latency and stutter compared with Meta's standard Air Link feature on a busy or weak router.[4] The dongle supports the IEEE 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) standard with WPA2 and WPA3 security, measures roughly 95 by 30 by 10 millimeters, and weighs about 23.6 grams; it ships with a USB extension cradle.[3] Using it requires a VR-ready Windows 10 or 11 PC running Meta's PC VR software, and Road to VR noted that owners with a strong router may not see a benefit over plain Air Link, suggesting buyers test their existing wireless setup first.[4][3]
Discontinuation
According to Meta's support documentation, the D-Link VR Air Bridge stopped receiving firmware updates in December 2024 and is no longer supported on any Quest headset.[9]
Products
D-Link's catalog is overwhelmingly general networking equipment; the table below highlights its main product categories alongside the one VR-specific device.
| Category | Examples / notes |
|---|---|
| Routers and gateways | Consumer and SMB Wi-Fi routers, mesh systems, DSL and cable gateways[1] |
| Switches and access points | Managed and unmanaged network switches, wireless access points and repeaters[1] |
| Wireless adapters | USB and PCIe Wi-Fi adapters, including the VR Air Bridge[1][3] |
| Surveillance | IP cameras and network video recorders[1] |
| VR accessory | VR Air Bridge (DWA-F18): dedicated Wi-Fi 6 wireless link for Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro and Meta Quest 3; announced 2022, unsupported after December 2024[3][9] |
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 "D-Link". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-Link.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Brand Story". https://company.dlink.com/en/about/brand-story.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 "DWA-F18 VR Air Bridge". https://www.dlink.com/en/products/dwa-f18-vr-air-bridge.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "This $99 D-Link Dongle Brings Quest 2 a Dedicated Wi-Fi Connection for PC VR Gaming". 2022-10-04. https://roadtovr.com/d-link-quest-2-wireless-vr-air-bridge/.
- ↑ "D-Link Agrees to Make Security Enhancements to Settle FTC Litigation". 2019-07-02. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2019/07/d-link-agrees-make-security-enhancements-settle-ftc-litigation.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "D-Link DWA-F18 VR Air Bridge Tailored for Meta Quest 3". 2023-10-10. https://www.dlink.com/en/press-centre/press-releases/2023/october/10/d-link-dwa-f18-vr-air-bridge-tailored-for-meta-quest-3.
- ↑ "D-Link's DWA-F18 VR Air Bridge Enhances VR Experience for Meta Quest 2". 2022-09-30. https://www.techpowerup.com/299490/d-links-dwa-f18-vr-air-bridge-enhances-vr-experience-for-meta-quest-2.
- ↑ "D-Link VR Air Bridge for Meta Quest Headset Is Now Available in Europe". 2023-09-20. https://www.dlink.com/uk/en/press-centre/press-releases/2023/september/20/dlink-vr-air-bridge-for-meta-quest-headset-is-now-available-in-europe.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 "D-Link VR Air Bridge". https://www.meta.com/help/quest/2093693094163790/.