Walkthrough guide for Installing and Setting Up the D-Link "DIR-619L" Wireless Router for Telekom Malaysia "UniFi" Broadband Services

The DIR-619L wireless router purchased from Malaysia (South East Asia Region)

Important Note !!! >>> This walk through is mainly applicable to Unifi and Maxis Fibre users. For other Service Providers, it is recommended that you consult from them first before configuring your router. This is mainly due to the configuration method I will be covering in this walkthrough, which could differ from other service providers.

This post will only go through on the necessary steps of installing and setting up the "DIR-619L"
D-Link router. Reason for this post is due to the fact that there are very little guides on setting up this particular router model as it is considerably new in the SEA market, from the time this post was published.

We will not be covering on any technical specifications and features for this router, however you may download and refer it from here.

Things to prepare for this installation:
i. Desktop /Laptop (For configuring the Router)
ii. New Router ("DIR-619L")
iii. "Unifi" PPPoE Username and Password (*If you have already forgotten it, follow the steps below. Otherwise you may skip straight to the "Important Tips" Section)

For Point no.3 you will have to call TM Hotline, if you are using a :

House Line ►dial "100" or  Mobile Phone ► dial "1 300 888 123" 

Be prepared to verify yourself to TM (Telekom Malaysia), to obtain the username and password for your Unifi account. Their usual security question would require you to provide them with the Unifi Subscribers IC number or their address of subscription. Upon successfully answering the security questions, the TM staff will provide you with your UniFi username and password. Write it on a piece of paper just in cases you forget about it. 

Important Tips :

The Router that I have purchased is from the SEA(South East Asia) market, meaning that any firmware you download from d-link's support page other than the SEA support pages will not work for your router devices. Due to the various types of ISP's (Internet Service Providers) which are running on different configuration setups that the end user will have to setup themselves in the event of replacing a faulty router or upgrading them. The walk through that I am about to show you will be / might be similar to those from their respective Service Provider Technicians. 

Scenario :

I am from Malaysia, and I have subscribed for a "Unifi" 5 Mbps Internet Line. I am looking to upgrade the router which was provided by my ISP (Previous Model: "DIR-619") to the "DIR-619L". Because the DIR-619L offers better WiFi Receptivity and because my old router is almost 5 years old, so I thought it was high time for an upgrade ☺.

Installation Steps:

Remove all the components and Parts that are provided in the Router Box. Ensure that you have all of the following items as shown here.

X1 wireless router

X1 power adapter

X1 Lan cable

X3 modular antenna 

First things first, ensure that no one is using the WiFi before proceeding with the upgrade installations. Just ask your family members or friends at your house, on whether they are using the WiFi services.

Once that is done, go ahead and power down your old router before removing any wiring from behind the Router. For the old model  ("DIR-619") there are no toggle buttons to power up and power down the wireless router device, you can just pull out the power plug which is located at the back of the router.

Reinsert the wiring into the new Router as follows. Do not panic if you are unable to find the red, and blue color ports on the new router devices, such as the one on your old router, the "DIR-619" (provided Router by TM). It is a good practice for me to always place my IPTV cable to the LAN port which is labeled as "1". So that it will be easier to remember, for the configuration of the IPTV to be done in the later stages of this walk through.

Physical cable layout for the new router. 

Cable "1" (LAN) is connected to any other PC or a switch if you have more PC to connect to the network.
Cable "2" (LAN) provides IPTV services aka Hypp TV as provided to all Unifi subscribers.
Cable "3" (WAN) brings in the internet connection from the ISP.
Cable "4" (Power) is your routers power supply.

For Configuring using Wired Connection (Recommended):

Before powering on your Router, ensure that a network cable is connected to your laptop/desktop. Upon Powering on the device, give the new router at least 1-2 minutes to completely boot up before accessing it.

For Configuring using Wireless Connection:

By default the router will broadcast a default factory wireless SSID. In case if you are not too sure what an SSID stands for, refer here. Connect to the SSID using the provided SSID and Password. Each router will be provided a different SSID and password. You can refer to it on the Router device itself, as shown in the picture right below here.

The default SSID and password that the router will broadcast straight out of the box. Used for configuring the Router wirelessly, you may change its properties later on. 

*Note that each SSID / Password paper can/may vary between all routers. 

To Access the Router, you will need an internet browser. In the Internet Browser, type in the default IP Address of the router which is "192.168.0.1" on the address bar.

You have to key in the default wireless IP address over here.

The default factory IP address for this router is "192.168.0.1"

You will later then be prompted for a username and password. The default factory setting values for the username and password are as follows:

Username : admin

Password : 

*Password by default is kept as blank.

Router Firmware Check :

Upon successfully logging into the router, ensure that your firmware and hardware version are as follows, before proceeding with the following steps.

This is important because as mentioned earlier, routers which are purchased from other regions apart from SEA, may not work with the following configurations which we are about to go through in the later parts of this walk through.

My router Hardware Version and Firmware Version are as follows :
(Normally found at the upper right part of the web page.)

Hardware Version : B2 Firmware Version : 2.05SG

If your device does not come with the same hardware / firmware version, perform the following checks:

a. Verify the purchase origin of the router. Make sure that it is from the SEA region. If it is not purchased from the SEA region, I can recommend that you follow steps 4 onward and give the configuration a shot. However there would be no guarantee that you can establish connection with your ISP, as I have encountered similar problems under these circumstances before.

b. Visit the Singapore D-Link support page, as all of the SEA router models firmware will be available for download in here.  If you are unable to find the same firmware version as mine, you can attempt the download of the latest available firmware by selecting the firmware which was released on a later date. After that, you may try out step 1 and also give the configuration a shot. However there would also be no guarantee that you can establish connection with your ISP, as I have encountered similar problems with these circumstances before.

c. Once you have downloaded the Firmware package keep it onto a directory where you can remember easily. For Example, I always like to keep my file on the Desktop Directory.

1. Login to the new router and follow these steps accordingly.

*Note, ensure that your router is being accessed via a network cable and NOT via wireless. As this is not recommended by D-Link for any firmware flashing process. As this is most probably not the most reliable way to do the flashing/firmware upgrading process. To confirm this, go to your network settings and verify the connection as shown below here. Also the diagram below will illustrate how the connection between your laptop and router will be like.

Physical connection of Laptop to Wireless Router via LAN cable.
Source taken from http://www.linksys.com/ca/support-article?articleNum=132275

2. Once the Router's firmware has been successfully updated, your previous configurations might be overwritten to the default configurations (factory settings). This will not be a concern for a new router device. 

*However for those who have previously configured the router. It will be good to take note of the important configurations that you have previously set into your router, Such as "LAN", "Wireless Settings", "DDNS", etc. So as to not forget what you have previously configured.

Installation Steps: (Continued)

3. You should be able to setup the following, once you have completed step number no.5.

Upon successfully logging into the router, you would come to a wizard page which look similar to this, ignore the wizard and enter the "Advanced" Setting.

Upon entering the advanced option you will be presented this menu, first enter the setup tab (on top), followed by the Internet connection options (on the left side)

Ensure your internet connection is set to "PPPoE (Username / Password)" and insert the credentials you have obtained from TM. 

To enable IP TV services, just change the LAN PORT 1 to IPTV, this settings can be found right after the PPPoE credentials entry options.

Wireless SSID and password configurations can be set under the "Setup" tab and "wireless connection" option.

SSID is the name of your wireless network, users and guest may discover them while scanning within your WiFi proximity. Where as Network Key is the assigned password required to access that WiFi network. 

Do not forget to save your settings once configuring them. (Save setting button is at the bottom of the page)

4. Upon Completion of setting up the router. The router will attempt its connection to the ISP network. Normally it would take roughly about 5 - 10 Minutes before you will be able to successfully have an internet connection for your house network. 

5. To test the connection, ensure you are connected to the router via the assigned or your custom SSID , and open a web browser by browsing a web page of your choice. You should be able to access that web page afterwards.

For a more advance method of testing internet connectivity using Windows OS, you may continue to Point No. 6.

6. If you are using the windows operating system of 7 or later, you can hit the "Start Key" and key in "cmd" followed by hitting the enter button. This would bring you to the command prompt of the operating system. 

Typing in "cmd" into the start menu of Windows 8.1, to access the command prompt.

You can verify internet connectivity by typing in the following command "ping google.com" and pressing the "Enter" button. You should be able to see ping responses such as the following.

Note, that the information in the red circle indicates that there is a reply from the web servers. If you see other messages such as "Request Timed Out", "Destination Host is Unreachable", it means that you are unable to connect to the internet. But i can assure you, if you follow the walk through accordingly chances are that your router will be configured correctly. 

Which means that you have successfully established connection to the internet, and that you have configured your DIR-619L Wireless Router correctly.