The Belkin 802.11g Wireless Cable/DSL Gateway Router lets users share files and a broadband Internet connection among their computers-without using networking cables. It features 802.11g technology that makes accessing files and networked peripherals-such as hard drives, printers, CD-ROMs, and DVDs-easier than ever. 802.11g technology provides you with networking speeds nearly five times faster than the current Wi-Fi (802.11b) standard. An integrated, 4-port 10/100Base-T Ethernet switch also allows you to connect wired computers to the network. 802.11g technology is the easiest wireless network to implement. The Gateway Router uses the wireless 802.11g 2.4GHz standard to offer you the widest working range-upto 1800 feet-and greater interoperability in mixed networking environments. 802.11g technology is backward compatible with the 802.11b Wi-Fi networking standard, so it allows you to implement faster wireless technologies incombination with existing 802.11b Wi-Fi networks. An added Turbo Mode will isolate your network from 802.11b wireless clients and allow your network to transmit data at the highest 802.11g data rate.
Features- Creates a network in your home or office without cables
- 6 months of free Parental Control web content filtering-secure your home or office from harmful Internet sites
- Offers backward-compatibility with all 802.11b devices
- Sets up easily with Belkin Easy Install Wizard-automatically detects Internet settings and self-adjusts Router to get you online in under 3 minutes
- Ensures data and network security with wireless 64- and 128-bit WEP encryption
- Uses NAT firewall to protect network from outside intrusions by hackers
- Works with Macintosh® and PC computers
- Also supports computers running Linux or Unix OS
1 PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS
I know much about routers, and this is one of those bad ones. Lifetime warranty?? Maybe so but when the support treats you like a five year old and has to make sure you have rebooted it and upgraded the firmware in EVERY email, it gets irritating. It took me about 3 months to get a replacement. It also disconnects around 4 -10 times per day. Resetting it is a real pain and since my computer is on a different floor than the router, I can say i sure do get my excersise. When it does stay connected the Strength doesnt go past Low and the speed wont go past 18.0 Mbps. I'm maybe only 15 feet away from it. This is a very sad router overall.
2 Cheap but quite reliable
Talk about cheap, at < $30 this router is a really good deal, especially since it gives MAC/WEP/WPA security and the maintenance is pretty simple and webbased. no lousy softwares to load. I had a Microsoft MN-700 before that used to disconnect me every now and then and had to load a software for that. Not this Belkin one. It works pretty well with almost any wireless cards that i tried and I even tried some cheap USB wireless connector that i got from somewhere and it worked just fine. The help if needed is pretty straight forward. The footprint of the router is small to take just bare minimum realestate. I actually found the setup to be more extensive than Linksys' which is supposed to be the industry king. Heck, i don't need a king. i just needed that works and this one is just what i needed.
With some new faster and wider range standards in the offing, i think its futile paying too much for a 802.11g if its going to be replaced within say a year or so.
3 Works Fine, but has Some Key Useability Issues
I baught this router as a gift for someone. The first unit just wouldn't powerup so I called Belkin 1-800-. I got a rep in the first try. I just wanted to know if there was any fuse to check or a power switch on the router. It seems that either power converter unit was bad or the router had some assembly defect. To my utter surprise, three days later I had a UPS package at my door. Belkin service team has sent me a new router even without my asking for any replacement. I was really impressed that company trusted me, and saved me from the hassle of trying to return the dead router. Full marks to Belkin for great service - never before any company shiped me a replacement at its own cost.
I installed the second router using the CD that came with it after removing my trusted Netgear 814 (11b) router. Unfortuntely, the install software will stop at step 5- trying to connect to Internet, and application will lock up indefinitely. After a few tries, I gave up and called the Belkin customer support for help. Again,I got the customer support person on the first try. The Belkin rep asked me to reset router using a pin, power down cable modem, and the router, and then power up one by one. I came to know that you can configure it by opening page 192.168.2.1 on your browser, and no need to use CD supplied software.
Once it started working, the performance was excellent every where in my house. I got very good response across walls with good measured signal strength. I used both Ethernet ports and my centrino laptop with 802.11b interface. Both worked fine.
I have following key complaints against the product design:
1. Installation CD is useless and you may find some problems with it. So use (undocumented) web interface.
2. Router has no local "bad words" filtering as on my two year old netgear MR814b. It does have an excellent subscription based filtering software for first 6 months free, but I don't want to pay subscription for some thing that should be part of the router software. I was pretty disappointed since this would result me to install netnanny or something similar on all my home machines including office laptops.
3. There is no way to find out how many machines are on the network. So, my neighbor can use my Router, but I wouldn't know about it (I don't use a WEP Key.)
4. Needs some log file so that we can debug the problem when it doesn't work.
In short, the router works fine, but definitely needs some software improvements, specially installtion software user interface can be better, and definitely needs some local adult content filtering mechanism that doesnot rely on any subscription fee.
4 drop connection when security is enabled
I bought this model since it has a fat rebate which brings down the price to $10. Good for the price. And the stability is not too far above the price level.
Installation is relatively easy. Hooking the router up with my DSL modem and computer is trivial. Running the software on the CD is easy too. One thing though: since I use static ip for Internet connection, the quick setup does not support it so initially my Internet connection is not up. That's fine and I know it since many such routers only support dynamic ip address on the Internet side by default. I manually configured that through its web interface and then its wireless and ethernet connections start working.
Good so far. And I expect most people would be happy now. But since the default wireless mode does not use security at all which means someone could peek at what you visit or use my Internet connection, so I decided to add security to the router. Now the fun begins.
It took me half an hour to figure our which security mode is useable - I finally chose WPA-RSK mode since this is the only security mode I found working (after numerous reboots). But the story does not end here. It keeps dropping connection every 3-5 minutes. Yes, every 3-5 minutes! This is virtually unuseable.
I have to turn off the security feature and this works fine for only 20 minutes. The connection remains on and off periodically.
My laptop is only two feet away from the router, so signal strength should never be an issue for me.
I don't use any other features of the router, so no comments on other parts.
For the price and basic functionality, I gave it 2 star. I wish Belkin had more reliable product, but it certainly disappoints me.
5 Poor quality product with worst customer support
The router drops internet connection every 5 - 6 hours. I called
Belkin and after long discussion he said my issue was escalated
to level 3 and would be contacted 24 hours. No contact.
I called again and got the same response - "level 3", no contact
again. I sent email but they didn't reply, either ...
It's waist of time. I wouldn't buy any Belkin product ....
6 Finally, an easy to set up router that works reliably
I had been using a Netgear 802.11b router who's performance was so spotty that after many troubleshooting attempts, I gave up the idea of creating my home network. Thinking that maybe something in the house was causing interference, I recently upgraded to a Netgear 802.11g router. The result was even worse: the guided set-up was poor and I couldn't even get online with my main computer. I'm not a computer expert so I was looking for a product that can lead me through setup in a simple manner. Another friend who was having similar problems with his Linksys and Netgear routers suggested Belkin and that was the best advice I ever got.
With this Belkin router, within minutes, I got the network up and running. I get a 100% signal strength almost everywhere in my house (with the old Netgear, I never got more than 60%) and it works flawlessly. For my simple requirements to use my laptop in my living room and connect my TIVO to my PC, I needed something that was EASY TO SET UP and RELIABLE. For those requirements, unlike Netgear, the Belkin router fits the bill.
If you're looking for simplicity & reliability, this router won't disappoint
7 Poor Belkin's tech support
The tech support guy was soooooo ignorant,,,,
My problem was when the router tried to connect to the internet during the last stage of the setup process. It kept trying for about 10 times but failed. Their tech support seemed knowing nothing but following a standard proceedure and eventually directed me to my cable modem's vendor. The cable modem worked just fine with a wireline Datalink router.
The purpose of writing this review is tell you how I fixed on my own in case you have had the same problem: While it was trying to "connect to the Internet", I turned off the cable modem, and then turned it on. After that, the router found the Internet connection and everything else has been just perfect.
8 It may not be compatible with your network adaptor!
First off, this is my first Belkin product. My previous router was a Netgear MR814 that worked great until recently when it would lockup every other month. Not a big deal as restarting it would work. However, a super deal (Eight bucks after rebates) on this router was too good to pass up, so I bit this w/end.
Router # 1:
As with all my devices that I buy, I normally go to the manufacturer's page and download the latest drivers/firmware. Nothing different in this case. Once I got the router connected and was able to get online, I went ahead and updated the firmware. Thereafter, the router simply turned itself into an Access Point (or put itself into DMZ), and I could no longer access the router's configuration page (192.168.2.1). So, the router was basically open, with no security configured. Resetting the router didn't help. Belkin Customer Support was alright, but were not able to help me solve the problem. They recommended I get an exhange for another router. So I did just that, and that brings me to ...
Router # 2
This one connected fine to the internet, and I was up and running within ten minutes. I didn't dare make the same mistake of updating the firmware. I was willing to live with whatever it came with. However, this one had a different problem. I'm trying to connect my (Dell Latitude D400) laptop to it via ethernet cable or even wirelessly. No matter what I did (including pray to it), it just would not assign an IP to the laptop. (When connected wirelessly, the laptop succesfully associated itself with my WLAN network, however, the router did not assign it an IP).
I then disabled DHCP on my laptop and manually assigned it an IP. I was then able to succesfully ping the laptop from my desktop through the router. However, the laptop was not able to ping the router, desktop, or any other IP for that matter. I ensured that no firewalls were running, and no MAC addresses were being blocked. The mode on the router IS set to 54g AUTO to ensure that it's backward compatible. Enabling or disabling the Wireless Bridge option doesn't change anything for me.
The laptop's ethernet port, as well as the integrated WLAN adapter work like a champ at work. So I know the adaptor and the ethernet port on my laptop are not faulty.
I also know that the cable is not faulty. I changed the cable as well as tried connecting to a different port at the back of the router. It did not help.
Finally, I called Belkin. After being put on hold for about fifteen minutes, I got a live person on the other end who suggested I try changing the duplex mode to half-duplex on the laptop's network adapter. That did not help either.
After ruling out all of the above, I've concluded that this router is just not compatible with the network adapter in my laptop. My network adapter has a Broadcom 570x Gigabit Ethernet Controller. Also, it is an 802.11b compliant device.
I'm quite confortable with networking, and have been doing it for a while. SO certainly not a novice at this. I have decided it's not worth losing any more sleep over this. My (almost) trusty ol' Netgear is back on, and the 7230-4 is on it's way back to the store.
9 Constantly drops / Dead after 3 months
I see all these problems in previous posts and it happens to me, too:
1. If you use cable modem (my modem is the newest Motorola surfboard): It drops and reconnects every 2-3 minutes. It's annoying since I need to login everything again. If you use DSL it's OK.
2. It's now dead after 3 months. Try 192.168.2.1 to access control panel and it will take SEVERAL MINUTES to bring it up. Did soft and hard reset but no luck. My network is wired and hasn't changed for a year. So it has nothing to do with my WAN service or wireless noises. Tech support just keeps telling me nonsense like that. (I have 3 windows computer and 1 linux server hooked to it, maybe I "overloaded" it?)
3. No firmware update in 2 years. A lot of bugs there. e.g. Needs reset from time to time; DHCP lease time is a joke (it always lease the lowest possible IP to you/never remembers your last IP)
Overall, stay away from any Belkin products except power cords or CD jewel cases. They are not serious network equipment maker. Don't buy even if it's free after rebate. Get a more reliable LinkSys, NetGear, D-Link... whatever.
10 do NOT buy
has firmware issues, will NOT allow port forwarding because of buggy firmware that hasn't been fixed for 18 months! don't expect a firmware upgrade to fix it; furthermore, the new version v1444 has packet loss issues and will not be a good wireless bridge
11 Don't think this is a router
The basic functions work fine. Connecting to the internet, vpn, wireless, etc all work fine. Don't think you are buying a router though. I can't broadcast video traffic, send point to point video traffic or set up multiple client IP firewall rules. Tech support recommends updating the firmware which I did to no avail. Without routing functions, my free router (after rebates) isn't such a good deal. Oh yeah, I'm having trouble with the virtual server too. BTW, My old wireless router (Brand D) didn't have any of these problems.
12 I WISH I WOULD HAVE BOUGHT THIS SOONER!
We have spent a fortune on "premium tech support" at around $30.00 per incedent for a 6 month old NETGEAR that kept losing the configuration every other week. We were never able to print or secure our network. I finally gave up and decided to try a BELKIN and it has been great. The tech support alone is worth much more than the price we paid. They are friendly and very helpful. We finally have a network that does everything it is supposed to do and costs about half what of what the original one did. LESSON LEARNED!
13 Fantastic! Better than linksys!
I got this router for my classroom at school. Set up was a piece of cake on my macs running 10.3. Up and running on the internet in less than 5 minutes!
Super fast speed!
This replaced a linksys router running wireless g, and the speed on the connection has doubled! Downloading pages, and email has increased in speed conseiderably. I was amazed!
Highly recommend.
14 Almost there...
I bought the wireless router because the cable was installed in one room of the house (for the XBox Live) and I often use the notebook in other rooms. I decided to go the fastest (54g) possible, as the price difference wasn't that great.
Setup for me was an absolute pain, but that was due to no technical notes relating to my individual ISP (Telstra Cable in Australia) - So just when I was going to give up for the night and call Belkin the next day, it magically started working.
As far as speed, most parts of the house only acheive 24mbs, and others less. I have yet to get 54mbs, 44mbs is common though, and more that acceptable for surfing. (I wouldn't run XBox Live or PS2 Network Play wirelessly!)
With all the positives out of the way, gee this router annoys me. I now keep a paperclip next to the router for the regular resets. I might try to get it swapped over tommorrow where I bought it, but it seems to require resetting 3-4 times per week.
At least it has a 30day DOA (where I bought it) and a Lifetime warranty through Belkin.
Would I buy it again? Probably.
15 Needed a little help (ATTN SBC DSL customers)
First off: People who have EffecientNetworks SpeedStream 5100b DSL modems (I got mine from SBCYahoo DSL) will need to set your modem to 'Bridge Mode' to use this router. See your instructions to do this, it is pretty easy after you know you need to do it.
Okay, Router: I had the Belkin 802.11b router, and that thing was excellent for what it was. It was limited, No WPA and b speeds, but it worked perfectly out of the box and had excellent coverage. I don't have a g wireless card, but I figured I can future-proof myself a bit as well as upgrade my security to WPA. Out of the box you can see it has a different PCB layout than the b version, made me nervous since the b was such a solid performer. I hooked it up and it wouldn't connect to my DSL modem. I troubleshot for 2 hours and then called Belkin. They instantly diagnosed that unlike the b version, the g needs `bridge mode' on my DSL modem. So I contacted SBC and got excellent directions on how to do this, but still no connection. Long story short, I called Belkin back and got an AWESOME technician who tirelessly helped get this thing up and running. She even troubleshot my SBC-provided modem. We got everything set as it should be, no connection. Then I had to hang up to go to an appointment, and suddenly the router connected. Since then it has worked perfectly. No drops, no reboots and solid performance (does what it is supposed to do). Bottom line, it has been working perfectly for a week now, but seems a little more sensitive/touchy than the rock solid b version. However the features etc. are much more sophisticated. Within my test conditions wireless range is comparable to the b in the sense that they both give excellent connections throughout my house and yard, but it seems to reconnect every now and then. This is not a problem and I only know it is happenening because I see a "Wireless connection found" window every now and then, it is just curious. In all, this router is not as solid of a product out-of-box and through installation as the b version, but Belkin's excellent technical support makes up for that.
16 Excellent Product - Best Parental Control Software
This router was very easy to setup. I purchased it for the parental control. It uses technology licensed from Cerberian. This control is so good and fast that we completely forget it is keeping the bad sites from our computers. Once we were searching for cub scout pack meeting ideas and were blocked from a site. We used the override feature and quickly found that Cerberian got it right and the page should have been blocked. This is a great product, and worth every penny. I've purchased three additional units for relatives that wanted to surf without the smut.
17 Great Router for Both Windows and Mac
I bought this router in July when my Siemens Speedstream wireless router somehow fried. To date, I have only had to restart the router a handful of times (all during electrical storms)and since I upgraded the firmware in September, I have had no restarts.
The router works seemlessly with my G4 Mac with a Belkin PCI wireless card running 10.2.8 and my Windows XP laptop using a D-Link PCMCIA wireless card. The mac address filtering feature included in the router software is a very useful security feature for apartment building living and setting it up is very easy.
I highly reccommend this product.
18 Uses same chipset as more expensive Linksys and Apple
The Belkin uses the Broadcom wireless chipset, the same as Linksys, Apple, HP / Compaq, and many others, yet it costs far less. It's also got good parental control features that are free for the first six months. I got one for under $30 with free shipping and no rebate.
19 Easy set up and works great; lacks some advanced features
I bought this Belkin wireless router to see if it'd work with my company's VPN so I could work from home because the two Netgear routers I've tried only let me do it wired--not wirelessly. I'm happy to say the Belkin does indeed let me do VPN wirelessly! I was also happy about how easy it was to set up--after I realized I needed to totally unplug my cable modem first. I've had continuous, error-free connections since plugging it in, and I'm even getting slightly better signals through walls and floors, using a mix of b and g equipment.
There are a few features I don't like about, or are missing from, this Belkin as compared to other brands I've used--I'll just list the major ones here: 1) Anyone on your network, whether they're allowed on it or not, can see certain configuration information on the web interface because it's not password-protected. 2) You can't see a list of associated wireless devices. 3) You can't set whether you want to use only open or only shared key WEP (you also can't set some other advanced wireless settings that D-Link is known for, such as transmit power). 4) You can't see details of what was happening in the security logs (e.g. it says "Blocked by DoS protection" but you don't know what was actually blocked. 5) You can't manually release/renew the dynamic IP of the router. 6) You can't turn off NTP or specify the server.
It also has some features I like that my Netgear routers don't have, like the ability to specify a local domain name, restart and reset the router from the web interface, and set DHCP lease time.
The only problem I've had with it is it doesn't allow the 802.11b bridge I have to do DHCP. I can set a static IP and it works fine, though, so I'm not too upset about it. Also, I can't comment on the parental controls since you have to subscribe to activate them.
20 Watch out
It seems like i'm not the only one experiencing dropped signal, it lasts one second, and occures every 2-3 minutes, in the middle of work, youre disconnected and reconnected within a second, but you have to re-log into everything. Tech support doesnt know anything, too much wirelesss interuption when the laptop is next to the router. I would recommend a more reputable brand
21 Excellent Parental Control Feature
This router has a very good solution to the nagging
problem faced by many parents - how to prevent objectionable websites from being accessible to kids etc. Belkin has partnered with a third-party service to build a web filter into the router itself requiring no PC installed software to work. I was quite impressed with this feature, and now consider it an absolute requirement for any family PC. All the other parental control PC software solutions are much more inconvenient to use than this router based feature. Highly recommended.
22 Quick, easy, reliable
The router was extremely easy to setup, just like any other wired router, truly plug and play. The range is exceptionally good, with little sound interference and a constant broadcast of the full 54Mbps speed. The wired and wireless compatibility of this router makes it very versatile and convenient. The affordable price makes this router an excellent value. The only downside to the unit is the size, it seems unnecessarily bulky.
23 great router when it works
well i love the belkin and there networking products. but this product i have had probelms with. and i dont know whether it is the router or my dell laptop. now i have read reviews about dells and belin routers not getting along. but when i call belkin i just got a bunch of bs and no i dont see how that should cause a probably and blah blah blah i never have got a straight answer from anyone. i had my first router for months and not a problem. but then all of sudden i tried to update the firmware and it went south. got a replacement and then weeks later it went south and now i have a new one just in yesterday and now im having the same problem. my dell laptop has a singal and all of a sudden it drops the signal. doesnt see it and then reconnects to the router. once again i call and get the same o answer. it shouldnt be doing that i dont see what the problem is. but the research i have done is that dell laptops and belkin routers have a problem the intel processors inside dells cuz conflict with the router and cuz the signal to be dropped. but when i aksed the belking people well that shouldnt happen. so i dont know what the deal is. but im tired of being on the net and the next second my signal is dropped. so im calling dell and then if that doesnt work im gonna get a linkys. if anyone has any suggestions please email i have tried about everything i know heeroyuy_g01@sbcglobal.net but besides that problem i have i had this is a great router.
24 Painless setup, and works great
I've been using this router for a couple of weeks, and am entirely pleased so far.
Setup was quick and painless, and the box is right -- it really did only take about three minutes.
I'm using the router to connect wirelessly to my laptop, which uses an old 802.11b PC card from a different manufacturer. There are no compatibility issues; it works great and I'm glad I didn't have to buy a new PC card.
The range is more than sufficient in my house. My old 802.11b router was unable to reach from the spot I wanted it in, to the spot where I use my laptop. (It's only 30 feet away, but passes through a couple of walls and doors.) The Belkin seems to have no problem with the range, the walls or the doors.
I see a couple of other reviewers have noted the need to update the router's firmware. Mine came with the updated firmware already installed, so that may not be an issue any more.
Overall, my out-of-the-box experience was great and my daily usage has been hiccup-free. I've got no reason not to give five stars here.
25 do not by this router
I have only given it one star because there is no option for zero stars.I have owned one of these routers for several months. It is a totally unreliable piece of crap.Constantly fails to connect to web sites. Constantly needs to be de-powered and re-powered to establish a connection. Do a little research and you will find many people with the same problem/opinion. Stores should not be selling this product at any price. Caveat emptor!
26 Do NOT buy any of the Belkin Wireless Products!!
After several hours of telephone support conversation, Belkin told me that there was simply too much interference in my apartment to allow for a connection between my Belkin Router my Belkin wireless notebook card. Mind you, I live in a one-bedroom apartment in Queens, and the distance between the router and the notebook is no more than 40 feet. On top of that, I don't have any cordless phone. So there I went and bought a range extender to place between the router and my laptop. Since then, I have spent several hours of technical support ON A WEEKLY BASIS, because the way they tell me to configure the connections and the wireless bridge just doesn't work! Oh, how I wish I had just bought a very long internet cord instead...
27 Easy setup
This was my first time setting up a router. I've heard from a few people who had difficulty setting it up. I was nervous at first. The box say installs in under 3 minutes. I was pretty skeptical. I took it out of the box, put in the cd. The software is easy to use. It gives a good detailed step by step instructions. It's a matter of plugging in cords. It was so easy and I will definitely recommend it to people I know.
28 INCOMPATIBLE with Intel Centrino processors
I bought the Belkin F5D7230-4 a few weeks back when I bought a new Dell inspirion 600m with Intel Centrino 1.5 GHz.
Though the setup was easy (nothing great because all routers are easy to set up). But I found that router kept dropping my connection every few minutes. I finally called Belkin support and they told me that Belkin routers have an issue with some Intel processors.
The tech support told me to call regular customer service. When I did, Customer Service said that even if there was a problem (notice they didn't deny it) it should have been fixed by now.
FINAL VERDICT: Save your money. Buy Netgear or Linksys routers. If you still want to buy Belkin and if your laptop has intel chips it will be a good idea to call Belkin customer support and verify if that particular router supports your particular processor. Also keep the receipt of your router in case you have to return it to the store. Remember, Belkin will NOT refund your money.
29 Great for bridging
This product did exactly what I wanted it to do -- I bought two of them and made one really big wireless network in my house. One is hooked up to my DSL and the other one range-extends the wireless network to the other part of the house. This particular model of Belkin router is super easy, and not at all flaky like some of the others I have used (...). I have used *a LOT* of wireless products and this is the best one by far. (I've set up: Apple, Linksys, Orinoco, D-Link, and Netgear stuff. Most of it is crap). This product is also good for people who don't use Windows.
30 Not Disappointed
AT first, like one of the other reviewers I also had some problems setting up the router with my Verizon DLS. But after looking it up online I found out that I needed to add "@verizon.net" to my user name after I did that the router connected and ran smoothly.
The Wireless Signal strength and range are pretty good. Belkin has some good technical support both over the phone and online.
Two things to suggest don't bother with the Easy Install Wizard CD that comes with the box it causes more headaches then it helps just use the Web-based Advanced User Interface. I know it says Advanced but it's pretty straightforward and simple, just read the manual of how to connect the router if you don't know.
Also the router comes with most of it's security features disabled, just remember to Enable them.
I highly recommend this router, works great, and it's pretty inexpensive.
31 Really good customer support
I bought a 54g so that I could use wireless TIVO. The router has excellent range as my computer is upstairs and my TIVO is down stairs. The installation was SUPER easy. Just use the CD and you don't have to do a thing to get under way.
The administrative web site was also easy to use. Configuring WEP and MAC address filtering were very easy. The only thing I would caution is that the web interface allows you to delete the MAC address entry for the computer that it's installed on WITHOUT warning you first. You then have to flash the router's memory and start over.
Their tech support also rocks! I called 6PM on a Sunday and they took my call in less than 5 minutes and I didn't even have to prove I bought the router.
I highly recommend.
32 Support is Fantastic
I don't own this product however I did purchase a different Belkin wireless access point: the F5D6130 v2.
I was having some trouble setting up the device. I called their European support line. The lady I spoke with was able to help me without transferring me once! She knew what she was talking about and I was up and running in no time.
33 Waste of time
I had Linksys "B" router and wanted to upgrade to "g". I got a good deal on a Belkin G router and tried installing it. After two nights and almost 6 hours on the phone with customer service, I gave up and returned it. My past experience with Belkin products has been very good. However, now having used their technical support, I think Belkin's customer service stinks. They kept trying to blame my pc, modem and Verizon DSL. Well, after I gave up with their router and plugged my Linksys back in I was fine. Belkin has a long way to go with improving its tech support. This may have been one lemon but I'm turned off for life.
34 Belkin
I have used many odd Belkin cables and devices. They all have worked very well. Their service is great and prompt with all questions answered promptly. I have the 54g and it works very well. The problems in these reviews comes from people who do not set up thier computers properly. You set your blocks etc. on ones computer. They are not the falt of the device. Happy Computing
35 Worked great after update
I bought this product quite a few months ago and had trouble with it at first. I had to reboot it every 2 or 3 days. The setup and configuration were really easy.
After applying the latest update a couple months ago, the router hasn't had to be restarted yet! It is working great and I am able to travel my entire house with a strong connection. With the latest update, I highly recommend the product.
36 Not Bad
I was frustrated with this product at first, even after applying the firmware update. Connectivity came and went at a whim. I finally tripped across some advice online about changing to channel 5. Tried that and haven't had a problem since.
37 Satisfied After Excellent Install Experience
I decided on this product, but not until after reading many reviews and discussing with many sales people (most of whom were clueless, I'm afraid) in several different computer stores, over several weeks, and frankly procrastinating for another four weeks (because of the mixed reviews) about the wireless routers that I was considering (Linksys, Netgear, D-Link, Belkin). I came to the conclusion that between Linksys, Netgear, and Belkin, my choice really didn't matter, as it was an equal gamble. I initially decided on a Linksys, but when arriving at my local computer store found that a Belkin rep was visiting to push this new product and with deep rebates so I bought this 54G wireless router, a PCI wireless card, and a notebook adapter. When installing I followed the directions EXACTLY, without even the smallest deviation. All computers on my network are XP OS. All installations and expectations were completed and met without any incidents.
38 Good for basic stuff, not for networks w/ web-type servers
This router is fine for simple network Peer to peer, hooking up multiple computers to the internet for web browsing. However, the routers software has serious flaws on it's port forwarding/virtual server configuration. Basically, it won't allow you to enter in your settings. This means you can't run a web server, ftp server, etc with through this. Tech support is non-existant. I've tried the lastest and older firmware, they all have the same problem.
39 Belkin wireless DSL/Cable router is the pits!
I bought this router to hook into my broadband wireless network at home, because I wanted to be able to have my friends and family to be able to use their laptops via the BBW ISP. I have been using the Belkin for five months and it is a chronic pain in the you-know-what. The ISP technical folks I have consulted on several occasions have repeatedly told me that they absolutely do NOT recommend the Belkin -- it is unreliable and a constant problem. I have tried to get assistance from Belkin, but to no avail. Why did I buy this piece of garbage?
40 Belkin 54g Wireless Router: The Future (When it works...)
I had just received cable Internet access in my household, and I needed a convienient way to share the connection with the three computers in the house. Ethernet seemed impossible, so I went the wireless way with the Belkin 54g Wireless Router. One major hiccup aside, the router has worked pretty well.
Setup was painless. I plugged the cable modem into a designated port on the router, turned on the machine, installed the device and drivers (drivers before device, or the thing will not install easily) for the matching PCI cards on all the computers, and bada-boom, bada-bing! Windows XP immediately recognized the router on all the computers and connected me to the network.
Everything worked flawlessly until about a month ago. The router, all of a sudden, would not connect us to the Internet. We called Belkin, and support was not too good. A two-hour wait and about an hour spent diagnosting the problem. I continued to tell them that the router was probably faulty, but the support staffed denied that a replacement was necessary until after an hour on the phone. They sent us the new router (with the new firmware for the updated 802.11g standard), we called up for an RMA number, and we were set. Router continues to work very well.
One note: look for upgrades at www.belkin.com. I was an "early adopter" of the 802.11g standard, and by the time it was finally an "official standard," new security features had been put in new firmware.
Final verdict: Great product, works excellently, but don't expect great support from Belkin when it is needed.
41 Utterly Fantastic
I've dealt with multiple routers, from companies D-Link and Linksys. NONE were as handy as this!
This one was up and running in just minutes. The only issue I had wasn't even an issue (One of the lights on the front was blinking when it didnt have to, which worried me). An update to the firmware fixed this! Even the update was quick and painless! Just download the file from the site, go into the configuration and select the file, and you're done!
Also, another thing, the Tech Support is WONDERFUL! They were able to guide me through the Firm Ware installation without any confusion.
The only quarrel I had with this Gateway was its range, but that was fixed by simply adjusting the antennaes a bit. I can usually get a 50%+ signal 2 stories down! Its amazing.
42 Dependable Wireless Router
I have used the Belkin F5D7230-4 54G wireless router using 128-bit manual WEP encryption for security and a Belkin F5D7010 54G wireless cardbus adapter in an HP Omni Book for the past 7 months without any problems. The Omni Book is typically used downstairs in the living room while watching TV while the DSL modem, router, and desktop PC are upstairs in my home office. Signal strength and throughput are great. The router looks great too! Its pewter/silver colored case matches my Epson printer and Fellowes paper shredder.
43 A Good Product
I've not yet added a "wired" computer to this yet, so it's only operating with a single wireless laptop, but setup went very well once I had everything connected properly. After setup, Belkin uses a specific URL through which you can reconfigure the router, and that seems very convenient, although I've nothing to compare this system too.
I only have 2 problems thus far: I can't seem to be able to activate the encryption features on the device, and since hooking it up I've been unable to access my Norton Anti-Virus Live Update feature. I've had Belkin products before, however, and trust that the support people will help me with both issues. I don't regret purchasing this unit.
44 F5D7230 does not work properly in the UK via NTL
Do NOT buy this router if you are an NTL subscriber in the UK. The parental control requires direct access to the router to set the parental control and this is not possible because NTL uses hidden proxies. What will happen is that your web access will be intermittent and you will be frequently asked by the router to set your parental control settings. Of course, whether you chose to disable or enable, the update will fail. Belkin's answer to this, is that you should take the router and plug it in to another ISP connection. They failed to answer the questions 1) will this parental control problem appear again when the firmware is updated, or 2) when the router is restored to factory defaults or 3) when the router is disconnected from the power for a reasonable time. I have asked for a refund of money and I will buy something else - but definitely not a Belkin.
45 Quick setup but time consuming issues
I originally bought this particular wireless router after deliberating a couple weeks looking at CNET's review sections. I took it out of the package, plugged it in, and my laptop instantly recognized the network and I was good to go. However, once the router had to be disconnected for a few minutes, everything was shot. It took me about 3 hours to get it back up. This was the only issue, and it was quickly forgotten because, oddly enough, the internet IN port is taking a cable from an OUT port coming from another router that is receiving the internet signal. In my haste I set it up this way figuring that it should work. I can't access the wireless router but I can log into the main router. It's basically acting as an access point, and is giving me good range (it's in my basement, and I brought my computer out of my house and into my car, about 75 feet away from the house before the signal died. Most people are concerned about range with wireless routers and access points, and I can tell you that it is dependent on many things, like the construction of the house and strength of signal. I typically use my laptop 2 floors up from the router at a distance of about 40 feet. There I get "Low" signal strength, but can get a rate of about 250 Kbps. The case is plastic, but then again wireless technology is not going to be in any pretty packaging anytime soon. It will mount on the provided stand and has 2 moveable antennas which should ALWAYS be pointed up, not at your supposed position in the house. Overall I would recommend this product because of good performance and easy setup. Read the directions!
46 Easy to Setup and Use, but Not Perfect
I bought the Belkin 54g Wireless Gateway Router about two weeks ago and have been mostly impressed with it. I choose this product because Belkin is Apple friendly and there were large discounts available. I ended up paying less that [money] after discounts.
The product was well worth the cost. It was very easy to set up (even in a mixed Apple / Windows environment) and is easy to use and configure. As a note, I'm using a Belkin 54g Wireless card in a Windows XP laptop computer.
The wireless range seems to be good, but I have not experimented with it too much. I've mostly stayed within my house, where it has had no range issues. There have been a few cases where my wireless connection was lost for no reason, but that has not been a frequent problem.
All of the router functions work properly (firewall, encryption, etc.); however, I've had problems using the Virtual Server function to use one of the computers on my network as an FTP server. It works fine as a web server, so there may be Belkin firmware issues that need to be re-solved before it works properly with an FTP server.
Overall, I have been happy with this product and would recommend it.
