Home > Consumer Reviews > Belkin F5D7132 Wireless-G Universal Range Extender

I just purchased two of these because of their versatility. I am using them as access points, although I did try the different configurations just to see how well it worked. Basically, you can use it three ways...

1. Access point. Connect to it with a hardwired connection and configure it through the web interface. Use the quick installer to detect it a little easier.

2. Range extender. Use the button on the back if you don't have encryption on your network. If you have encryption, best way is to connect with a hardwired connection and put in the Encryption settings manually through the web interface. I suggest starting by setting the router's settings first. Allow it to reset. Then go back in and set the Parent Network. The site survey is the easiest way to do it. When it saves and restarts, DISCONNECT the wired connection. You should be set.

3. Bridge. For network A, make sure you have an Access Point. If not, configure one of these as an Access Point (as stated above). For network B, plug one of these into the wired network B and configure it according to the instructions for Range Extender (as stated above). However, don't disconnect it from Network B when you are done. The unit in Range Extender mode will link to the access point and allow all hardwired connections on Network B to access Network A.

Everything worked fine for me without a single hitch. Just know that the auto button will only work if you have no encryption.

I'm adding that I have unplugged and moved the two units I have numerous times as I was finding the ideal placement, and they never lost their config. If you are losing config when you lose power, you may have a defective unit and/or maybe there is a problem with your electrical wiring. Perhaps a surge protector or inexpensive UPS would help.

UPDATE: One thing I discovered with these is that they seem to remember which interface you connect to it with. In other words, if you start configuring it through a LAN connection and at some point switch to connecting to it wirelessly (or vice versa) from the same MAC address, you will have trouble connecting to it from the wireless side until the device's ARP table (I guess) clears. An example of where this could be an issue is like if you have more than one access point on your network, and you are using this as an AP, you may access the configuration screen from one part of your network, but if you then move into range of the AP and try to access the configuration again, you can't unless you reset the AP. I hope that's clear enough... Basically, if you can't connect, try resetting the AP. As long as you are not going into the configuration screen often, you probably won't have any issues. Otherwise, try to always access the configuration from a computer that is hard-wired to the network.

It took about 10 minutes to setup and I had a full strength signal in areas of my house that were poor at best. I have been using it for about 3 months now with no problems and always a strong signal. I never thought it would have been this easy and so inexpensive to improve my signal stregth. My Netgear wireless route provides very good signal strength for one end of the house, but there are areas at the far end that had a poor signal. There was no easy/cheap way to run a wire, so this was a perfect solution. I have just bought one for my in-laws and it works perfect at their house. I highly recommend it and you can not beat the price.

I've been trying to extend my neighbor's Linksys router (which I setup for them and which we both agreed to) for 2 weeks now. We're only 20 feet away but since they are older buildings the walls are thick. I got full bars in the bathroom but 0-20% connection in the kitchen, 20-40% in the bedroom, and 0-10% in the living room. Now I have 100% all around! I set the extender in the restoom and it broadcasts all around. Awesome, and at only $40!

I follwed reviewer Chovy's advice and I was all set. The only confusing part for me was step 11 because he just said in general fill in all the fields of your router. All you need to fill in is on the "basic" settings on the left hand corner. The only thing I did was click on "site survey" and connect to the router. Just make sure you turn all wireless security (WEP or WPA) off! You can turn WPA or WEP back on after you got the extender working. I am using WPA-TKIP with no issues.

As for Vista, just set the thing up using an XP machine. But once it's all set, you can connect wirelessly with a Vista device. I have an XP desktop wirelessly connected as well as a Lenovo X61s Vista connected. Works great!

I have a wireless router hooked up to a cable internet connection and the primary computer is about fifty feet away from the router with several walls and a kitchen (lots of EM distortion) in the way. After installing the wireless range extender, the signal strength was boosted from 32% to 68%. This is actually faily impressive considering the low cost and the fact that this house was constructed with several materials that hurt radio signals such as tinted UV windows and large iron structures.

The installation was very simple but there are a couple of minor problems that I encountered that, if you follow these instructions which are actually not in the Belkin manual, you should be fine.

1. If you have any kind of encryption enabled on your router, the extender will be able to connect to the router but won't relay any signals. You'll need to connect your computer directly to the ethernet port on the wireless extender and access the configuration menu by typing in 192.168.2.254 in your browser. You'll also need to change your IP address to do this. Information on how to do this is found in the online Belkin product manual, NOT the quick setup guide that comes with the product. Once you're in the configuration menu, change the wireless extender's encryption protocol to match your router's and that should do it. Make sure to use the same 64bit sequence and key number. Now your extender will have the same SSID and encryption as your router and the network should be up and running.

2. The only other consideration is where to put the extender. There has to be enough signal strength coming from your router to the extender for it to boost and send out again. I found that placing the extender one third of the distance from the computer to the router so it was closer to the router worked very well. Anything further away and the extender's "searching" light keeps blinking and there is no connection.

In conclusion, if you're looking for a seamless way to double the signal strength on G and B wireless protocols without spending a ton of money, this is it. Most instances all you have to do is push a button and it matches your router's name and channel but if you have encryption, as stated above, there's about five minutes of more work to be done but well worth it.

I was prepared to spend all evening fooling with this thing after reading the reviews about how difficult the set up is. I bought it to use as an extender, not a WAP. I was very happy I had read to disable security on my router, because that could've been frustrating. It didn't mention that in the quick start manual.

I disabled security, then followed the quick start guide. It was easy. I plugged it in, pushed the easy connect button thing on the back for 10 seconds, and hoped it was ready to go but I wasn't very optimistic. I moved it to its home 2 rooms away, plugged it in, and couldn't tell if it was working. I downloaded the user manual (there was no hard copy included) and found that the address of the unit should be 192.168.2.254, so I navigated there through my browser, and there it was. Something in the instructions had recommended using the cable to connect the extender to the router to configure it. I never took the cable out of the box.

I set the security on it and reset it on the router and tested my wireless signal in distant areas of the house. The signal had improved greatly. It took me 15 minutes to do the whole thing and it worked as advertised. I'm very happy. I would've given it 5 stars, but the stupid power cord was short and made positioning the equipment in an aesthetically pleasing way difficult. Another foot would make all of the difference.

Still, it's great that my signal no longer drops out in the back of the house. As a matter of fact, my signal there is stronger than many other parts of the house now. It was well worth the inexpensive price.