Belkin N Wireless Router (F5D8233-4)
See it at Amazon.com for $39.50Average Customer Rating
(3.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
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(4 out of 5)nices
I have two PC's and one mac in my house, and the instant I set up this router the PC's connected to it flawlessly and everything was honky dory comfy cozy, but my macbook had a similar problem as some other people complained about, it would lose connection frequently. After looking online, I only saw a bunch of people complaining about it and never telling anyone how to fix it, well I installed the firmware update (you can find this at belkin.com) and i haven't lost connection since!
So, yeah... If i had only PC's i would have given this router 5 stars due to how easy it is to set up, how strong the signal is, how easy it is to set up a password and etc, but i'm giving it 4 stars simply because i had to install updated firmware to get it to work properly with my mac. In belkin's defense though, it was very easy to update the firmware.
(1 out of 5)Pretty, but useless
Short story: installed and configured the router, and discovered that I couldnt stay continuously connected for more than about 20 minutes. Firmware updates did not help. Different network cards, different client computers with different drivers did not help. Basically, its a lemon.
My old linksys router would kick me out about every 2 hours, which is why I was looking for a replacement router in the first place, so this was a giant leap -- just in the wrong direction.
Configuration was easy enough, but be aware that the idiots who built this thing designed it to show a banner page to anyone who can access your WAN IP that displays them the SSID in use, the MAC address of the router, the firmware version, etc., on the login page. Breathtakingly stupid.
For interest's sake, I have since returned this router to Amazon, and replaced it with a D-link DIR-655 (paired with a DWA-643 Express card) which performs flawlessly for me (even under Windows Vista!). The D-link box doesnt display an over-informative banner page, doesnt kick me off at all, and is *very* speedy. Claimed throughput is 300Mbps, and I've seen transfers get within a couple of Mbps of that over my home LAN. It's a much better piece of hardware, and not very much pricier.
(5 out of 5)Fast and Easy!
My Linksys WRT54G is a few years old, and suddenly last week it began dropping our connections constantly. Each drop required a complete recycle of the modem and router to get it working again, and then it would only work for another 5-30 minutes before dropping again. Obviously out of warranty, not to mention this is the second Linksys we've owned that ended up dying the exact same way, I decided to try a new company.
The Belkin set-up was so easy I found myself searching the box to make sure there weren't more instructions I was missing. I was never able to get Linksys working without calls to tech support, which is always a real PITA. After 5 minutes with the Belkin simple one-page instruction and install disc, we were live and ready to go. 3 of our computers run XP, and one is running Vista and there have been no connection issues with any of them.
I installed the router this morning, and have not experienced a single connection drop during the day today. If it starts pulling that crap, I'll update the review with details.
I also am extremely happy with the speed and range! The Linksys was unable to reach the back rooms of our home, but the Belkin gives us strong signal in every room of the house. It's much faster, not to mention it was $20 cheaper than a Linksys Wireless N.
(5 out of 5)Fast Set Up; Versatile Uses
If this router was any easier to set up, it would have unpacked itself and leapt out of its box! I practically had to pinch myself when it launched on a desktop PC before I thought it had been fully connected. That it works smoothly, securely (128 bit WEP) and effectively across Mac and PC desktops, Mac PowerBook, TiVo on wireless home network using DLink USB B adapters, Vonage VOIP router, and HP and Lexmark wireless printers speaks to its versatility. The user manual and browser-based set up provide helpful and interesting guidance to settings that allow getting the most out of the router if you are using VOIP (a chronic problem for me previously) and have lots of 802.11b traffic or interference in the area. This replaced a DI-624, and there is no comparison. I chose it over the competition based not only on Amazon users reviews but also on those on CNET and other tech-oriented web resources.
(5 out of 5)Great results
I bought this because my old wireless router was beginning to have problems. I specifically bought a Belkin because the product description specifies that it works on Macs as well as PCs. I have Macs in our home. It took about two minutes to set it up using my internet browser. Just click a few settings and we're in business. Range and speed is great throughout the house now.