D-Link Skype USB Phone Adapter

See updated review - can't change the rating to 1 star but it should be... Easy install and quick setup. I already had a Skype account so this was ready to go in 15 minutes. I attached an old phone and the sound quality is fabulous. Much better than the laptop speaker/mic setup I had been using. Now that I know this works I might consider upgrading my router to accept a unit that does not require my computer to be on. What a short honeymoon!!! I purchased this in February 2009 & initially had a great experience. It worked perfectly. I plugged my DECT phone into it & the sound and operation were much like my landline. I then bought a Skype phone number & planned on switching many of my phone services to save money. Shortly after the original review I started getting errors. On boot up this hardware would be found as new again & require re-installation. Then the calls would be dropped after about 6 minutes. Then Skype wouldn't recognize the audio driver (Zoom). When a call was dropped there would be a cryptic error message that left me wondering if it was working or what. I went through various uninstalls, re-installs, re-boots, forced driver updates, etc based on my hours of research into why this was happening. I even called Dlink support. Dlink support is a hierarchy system. First, you get the people who can only read through a script of how to install. At any time your system does not follow the script, they don't know what to do except repeat the steps & say things like "Your computer should be showing this message. Something is wrong." DUUUHHHHH! It seems to be mandatory to go through this process with them so that you are referred to the 2nd level product specialist. This level is only slightly better. Once they exhaust all of their solutions based on a more complex script you're done. They don't have the training to tell you things like the driver is flaky & you should be using a different one. Or the latest Microsoft updates have impacted the drivers & you need to go back to a previous version. Or how to force Skype to recognize their driver. Since this is strictly Skype hardware they should at least know how to do that. In the end the amount of money (about $14 after rebate)I spent on this pales in comparison to the hours spent trying to get & keep it working. I'm searching around now for another product to perform the same function but in a reliable fashion.

So, like other reviewers, I recommend not installing the drivers that come with the device. Instead, get the US Robotics driver. It installed easily and I was able to make phone calls via Skype. However, people I call hear horrible, horrible static from my end of the line. I can make Skype calls from the computer that I have the device connected to, and I don't get any unusual CPU or memory usage, so I'm fairly sure that it's not the computer's fault. I've tried multiple phones as well, to no avail.

After months--I was overly optimistic in my initial review about this product. I played with it but it never went to a fully "operational" state on my system. Perhaps I was demanding too much, as I wanted it to run as a service, which could be done but never really worked satisfactorily. My impression is that D-link pushed out a minimal effort, to fill a product niche, that was overpriced for $60. Might be okay for $15-$20--it's really a cheap piece of hardware, but don't expect nearly anything out of this product that you'll get from a VOIP Gateway device these days for $40-$70. Unimaginative. The internals are off the shelf and the associated drivers are okay, but not great. The device works okay as advertised. I would now put 2-stars on this product (1 star at $60, 2 stars at $30, and 3 stars at $20. Maybe 4 stars at $10-$15.) ------------------------ Here's my earlier review. The adapter hardware is good, but the driver needs work. I found the autorun installation program clunky. The developers put a visually classy but functionally clunky proprietary user interface on the autorun install program, and for some reason the "choice" buttons are DOA on my XP Professional machine. Cannot even close the autorun install program. If you have that problem, just run the Setup.exe program directly instead of relying on the UI. Do not plug in the adapter before you run it. Skype should be running before you run setup. But not a fatal error--just rerun the Setup.exe if you're spacey like me. I really gotta read the instructions. My phone hooked up great! Now my BIG COMPLAINT. This is a telephone adapter that should work 24-7, no matter who is logged in on my multi-user installation, right? Wrong! The driver doesn't install as a Windows service, but runs as a startup application (specified in the Windows registry) under the current user credentials, and requires an Administrator account. There is an article in the Skype forum that describes how to install the driver as a Windows service. (And it works with similar product drivers from other manufacturers.) You need to do that to support a multiuser configuration in Windows. Otherwise, you'll lose connected calls when you log out. You'll also be unable to use the phone unless a user is logged in as an administrator. If you need to support multiuser logins, or you just want to run the adapter as a service independent of the user login credentials, then I suggest searching for "Dlink DPH-50U Adapter" in the Skype forum, and follow the instructions there to install the adapter application as a Windows service. A note of caution: The article is very detailed, but it's still an advanced user configuration, so if you're timid about opening the Windows registry, get a friend who likes messing around with Windows to help you. POST SCRIPT to this review: The hardware is fine. The driver is flaky. If you have installed this product and are dissatisfied with the problems described by various reviewers, uninstall the DLink driver and use the US Robotics driver ( USRobotics USB Telephone Adapter (NAM) ). Yes, the US Robotics driver works with this hardware device. On their product web page, click the Support link. 1) Download the appropriate (XP or Vista) US Robotics USB Telephone Adapter Utility from their Web site. 2) Unzip its files to a folder on your local drive. 3) follow their quick installation guide instructions (also available in PDF format on their Web site). When Windows gives you a choice to install automatically or to specify a location, choose to specify the location, and paste in the full path to the folder containing the unzipped US Robotics driver. Make sure that Skype is running before you install the driver and do not connect the adapter until after setup prompts you to (so Windows doesn't attempt a separate driver installation). After I switched to the US Robotics driver I stopped getting dropped calls, inability to dial, and so forth. The DLink driver can only run under an administrator user account. The US Robotics driver, I'm told, can also run under a non-administrator account. The US Robotics driver also appears to support multiple languages, although I haven't configured it for anything another than English, so I cannot confirm. US Robotics, DLink, Kinamax, AU and some similar Skype phone adapters apparently all use the same chip set, as their drivers are interchangeable. US Robotics has a pretty well written Web-based user manual that you can refer to for setup, usage, and configuration. Go to the Skype forums if you get into intractable problems. Also, if you do install another manufacturer's driver, make sure that you use Add/Remove Programs to remove the original driver before doing an install or you may have problems with the device (or worse--I won't go into my story as most of you aren't as foolish as me, but it required opening Windows in safe mode and reverting to the last successful configuration to get back where I started). Remove the files manually if that doesn't work or if they are left in the installation folder. And if you're comfortable editing the Windows registry, you may want to search for and remove any "TLinkAgent" entries from the registry. For those of you complaining about TLinkAgent appearing on Windows task bar, that's where it's originating--clean them all out and reinstall the drivers. Post Script to the Post Script: The support page at Dlink now lists a Vista driver for this hardware device. However, the XP driver appears to still be the original flakey 1.0 driver. FINAL THOUGHT: This is an immature technology, so requires some patience and indulgence on the part of consumers. I worked with software developers on version 1 of the Windows IP telephony (at a little software company in Redmond WA), and we're a world ahead now. In just a few more years all dialing will be local. Contrary to what the Telcos might want us to believe, for some years now there has been little cost differential between calling your neighbor across the street and calling the other side of the world. Monopolies have been soaking our pocket books; extracting excessive rents from other (more efficient) areas of the economy. And that goes for all the "special" services cell phone companies now provide--incremental charges for most of those services far exceed the incremental cost of providing them. That's why I love a little gadget like this. Leaves my pocket book fatter than it might have been without the gadget.

I bought the D-Link Skype adapter hoping that it would make it easier for the inexperienced users in the home to use Skype. Everyone knows how to use a phone, not everyone knows how to use Skype. Hardware-wise this product is great. It's small, easy to plug in and requires no AC adapter. Completely portable. The audio quality is great, much better than I had anticipated it would be. There's almost no loss of audio quality between your PC and the phone connected to the device. The call forwarding and dial-out features are awesome. I work in a no-cell-phone-coverage area, but we do have satellite internet access. Works out fabulous: I forward my cell to my home line, and my home line to my PC via Skype. And the other way around too: I can skype home and get a dialtone, and skip the whole VoIP rates mess. But not all is great. This thing is completely lacking software-wise. The drivers are a complete pain to install. It wouldn't surprise me if many of these adapters found their way back to the store due to buggy driver software that refuses to install. The bundled version of Skype refuses to work since there's a more recent version available. And worst of all, the newer versions of Skype have no speeddial! This adapter is BASED on speeddial. Nothing left to do but implement workarounds, which kills most of the joy behind the product. There's no support for Linux or Windows 7. It's impossible to work this thing on Linux even if you use a VM such as VirtualBox. In short, this is not a product for the novice. If you're willing to take a command prompt and hack away for half an hour to implement workarounds and fix faulty installations, you'll probably get the DPH-50U working eventually. But if you just want something that works and have no idea how to deal with buggy software, better pass this one up.

I am using the DPH-50U to connect my cordless phone to my PC so that I can use Skype-In and Skype-Out as a VOIP service. As long as you follow the instructions with the device (which are simple and straight forward) it is a snap to install. An interesting feature of this box is you can also hook up your regular telephone line to it (I don't have one so I cant comment on this too much) and then "choose" whether to place your outbound calls over the PC via Skype or on the landline. Of course, you'd prefer to make traditionally expensive calls over the Skype and maybe local calls, 911 calls, 411 calls, and toll free calls over the landline. Which brings me to my next point. In order to "tell" the box which line to put your outbound call on, you need to do some interesting dialing codes before dialing the number you wish to call... kind of like dialing "9" from your office to get an outside line. To use the skype feature to call 800-555-1212 I'd have to dial the following: ## 001 800 555 1212 * The ## tells it you are making a skype call, the 001 is the country code for the United States, then the phone number, and finally * is sort of like the "send" key on your cell phone, to tell the box you are done typing numbers and to initiate the call. This is a little cumbersome to be honest. Since I don't have a regular landline connected I'm not quite as familiar with the dialing requirements, but I think you just dial out the number and press * (so you don't have to do the ## 00 part as listed above) When I have an incoming skype call, this device rings my phone and you do not have to do anything unusual to receive the call, just pick up the phone. As a side note, since this isn't a rating on Skype but you should have a little background on the service as well if you are thinking of switching over to Skype for VOIP service, the call quality is quite good. Most of our Skype calls are to South Africa and the quality is the same as any other service I ever used, be it AT&T, calling cards, or other VOIP carriers. Another plus is that the US unlimited calling plan with Skype is (at the time of review) $2.99 a month.. Pretty affordable. But you need to have a PC and keep it on for this box to work, so for those with services like Vonage, they pay more ($25/mo) but do not require the PC and if they already have a PC are not required to keep in on 24-7 to receive calls. For me, my PC is on anyway so saving $22 a month was a pretty good deal and the hardware cost ($20) for this box is a real bargain.

I was very much on the fence about buying this product because of some of the reviews. But for $9.99 after rebate, I figured it was worth a try. I use Skype primarily for communicating with my out of state employer. I had a Logitech speakerphone that I used with Skype, but I really wanted to be able to use my wireless phones in the house so I didn't have to be at the computer during our entire conversations, and I didn't want to spend more than $40 for a solution at the moment. I didn't have any problems installing the drivers on Vista Ultimate (just download the latest drivers from the website and follow the instructions). I'm also NOT having any issues with the program crashing or hogging memory like others reported. I use a VoIP provider (similar to Vonage) as my primary phone service because it's always been better than my Skype service, and I was happy that this device works with it just like it's a regular phone service. This device has no problems so far with my VoIP service or the Skype service on Vista 32-bit. This product was a great deal! EDIT: Epic Fail. There are no drivers from D-link or any other third-party that will work with this device on 64-bit OSes like Vista or Win7 64-bit. D-link says this is an old product that will no longer be supported.

I only paid $20 for this product, but it has many shortcomings. The biggest shortcoming being it drops call frequently. Pros: Installation was simple. Install the drivers, plug up the hardware, and Skype immediately recognizes the device for use. You can call out and receive calls using an ordinary land line phone as advertised. Cons: Experience dropped calls usually within 5 minutes of call. No drivers for Windows Vista 64. The indicator lights are really bright, too bright. I recommend spending more money on a better product. I bought the Zoom 5900 and I haven't dropped a call yet. Plus the Zoom product has Vista drivers. A problem not related to hardware, but more likely Skype itself is that after the computer sits for a while incoming calls can't be received. I've disabled sleep and lower power modes. I haven't tried disabling the screen saver yet, but this occurred with both the Zoom and Dlink products. I'm sure I'll figure it out but this is something that this type of product may exhibit. Since it's replacing my land line I thought it was worth a mention.

Third update, Feb 24, 2010. It was good while it lasted, but Windows 7 put the kibosh on using this device. After researching a bit, I found that a similar device, the Zoom, has a 64-bit driver so I thought there was nothing to lose by trying it. Well, turns out I was wrong. Not only did it not work on Windows 7, apparently (according to DLink's tech support), even installing the driver corrupted the firmware on the adapter, so when I tried to reconnect to my XP computer, the device was not recognized. DLink says I "abused" the device and voided my warranty. So, don't try that. I am now back to using Skype on PC only. I'm wary about purchasing any type of Skype device to use with Windows 7. --TS _____________________________________ Original reviews using Windows XP I just installed my DPH-50U and it could not have been easier. I heeded the advice in a previous review and downloaded the newest drivers from D-Link. I also downloaded the quick install guide and kept the PDF open while I was installing. The instructions were flawless and every step worked exactly as shown, except in the case of locating the drivers. (One thing to remember is that when you download drivers and are not using the CD, you need to change the option shown in the instructions from installing automatically to installing from a specific location, which is the folder to which you downloaded the drivers.) To dial out, I have to first type 001 as the country code -- 1 or 01 do not work. I didn't have to do any configuration at all to get SkypeOut to work. The hardest part of the whole thing was finding a place to plug in the power supply for the phone. Even though the adapter doesn't need power, most phones do. I just installed, so I haven't had a chance to use it much yet, but both SkypeIn and SkypeOut seem to be working. (Now if I could just get local SkypeIn number I could completely ditch my landline.) Update (May 09): I've had my Skype adapter for about a month now and I couldn't be happier with it. I will be moving shortly and plan on using Skype instead of a landline. Something I discovered just today is that I'm not limited to the cordless phone connected to the Skype adapter. The multiple handsets that came with the phone work as well, so I can have phones scattered around the house. Of course that makes sense but somehow it didn't occur to me that I could use the extension handsets with Skype. Second update (July 09): I'm not able to hear Skype's built-in voice mail when the D-Link is plugged into my computer. However, the D-Link adapter has its own voice mail, which is easy to access and simple to use -- so that's what I use now as my primary voice mail. (An FAQ on the D-Link website describes how to use it.) However, if I'm on the phone, and Skype voice mail picks up the call, I have to unplug the D-Link to hear the message. A bit of a pain, but it doesn't happen very often. I'm still very pleased with this purchase and with using Skype as my primary phone service.