Home > Consumer Reviews > Belkin N1 Vision Wireless Router (F5D8232-4)

I purchased this product as part of the project to finally make our house a "smart house". During this project I dealt with TV issues, Wireless printer issues, and even speaker issues. However this was pretty much the only thing where everything worked seamlessly and fluidly. I got home late plugged it in and 5 minutes later had a Wireless network up and running including security features. And the coverage...wow. We live in the country and I set this router up and I was able to pick up a signal on the end of our dock (about 600 feet away) that was decently strong and carried the speed well. It was great with setup to be able to do everything via the computer (not dealing with disks) and just being able to plug and play. The only problems that I had were 1 or 2 minor problems with the printer and the security encryption. The 1st time I had to toy around with it but after that I just made a backup of the settings and it happened again (after power failure) and just reset settings. Everything with this product has been a breeze and it comes highly recommended.

UPDATE - 11/20/2008

Do your research before purchasing this router! BUYER BEWARE!

This router failed last week and has been replaced with a different brand. It would not hold it's configuration after rebooting. It appears there are issues with heat and slowly breaks down the components inside.

I have sent it back to Belkin, and once the replacement arrives I'm selling it.

END UPDATE - 11/20/2008

This router replaced my D-Link DI-514, which was 802.11b. I wanted at least a 802.11g with hopes to go to N someday. Main hopes was to speed up connectivity to my work's VPN especially since all my PC's have wireless G cards. More on the VPN in a moment.

When I found this router, I fell in love, plus the coolness factor of the display sold me.


It was a breeze to setup, even though I didn't use the built in "wizard". I've had network experience in the past, so it didn't bother me to do it the "hard" way. I was able to update the pc's and laptops to use this router equally as painlessly. Currently I have running on this router: Vista pc, XP pc, XP laptop, Macbook, iMac, PS3, PSP, and Nintendo DS. All were very simple to get working with this router.

Now for the "bad" but fixable problem. It would NOT allow me to communicate via VPN to my corporate network using the Nortel Contivity client as I was able to do with my D-Link. I e-mailed Belkin tech support and they said: "Problem solved in version 1.00.13 of the firmware, available from the Belkin UK Support Site."

I updated to this firmware version and the VPN is working PERFECT! Thanks Belkin!

People have complained about Belkin tech support, but I was able to get my VPN working within two days of contacting them via e-mail. I'm sure a phone call might have had a quicker resolution, but it wasn't a top priority to get the VPN working asap.

Yeah, this router is a bit pricey, but it works well, and it sure is cool! I haven't tested the range yet, but I rarely use my network outside of my house anyway.

Some of the problems you will have:

Not compatable with Belkin Products. (can you belive it) I have a Belkin Network USB Hub and a USB N1 wirless and it is NOT working well. It gets disconnected all the time from the internet and the HD. I spent 4 hours with the customer support. Very nice people, but it was useless. At same point, they asked me to send the PRODUCTS (ALL) back to them. Then, we tried one more time and it worked, but few days latter stop working. Oh I forgot I already returned a N1 router to Belkin.

Good Wi-Fi coverage, but it is not connected as it should.

Handy LCD screen provides quick view of activity - Useless

Wi-Fi speed is in the middle range for 802.11n routers - This is true

No USB port for connecting hard drives or printers - True, I have Network
USB Hub and thy do ot connected well. But it is not working.

Navigation buttons were frustratingly hard to press - I never pressed them.

This is the worst router i have ever owned period.

first off I'm a Microsoft certified professional and I'm certified with the computer and technology association of America, ive spent well over 12 hours trouble shooting this router and ive called belkin about 7-9 times. setup wasnt to hard so it can have that.

As for the buttons on this thing to change views, there a joke and no its not my router its all of em. you have to push them soooo hard for it to work almost feel like your gonna break it.

the customer support is horrable no one can speak english.

my biggest problem with its it would disconnect everyone off the router every 30min-1 hour and you would have to disconnect and reconnect back then it would work for anouther hour then bam lost connection. Xbox 360, vista computer, Win XP computer everything, and i WAS using the lastest firmware and software on everthing including the router.

When i a new router (not a belkin) i will throw it in a ant pile light it on fire and watch it burn.

I have a large house and needed to extend my wireless network. I replaced an older Belkin pre-N router with the N1 Vision about 3 weeks ago. It took 4 days and 14 calls to customer service to get this to even a minimal level of functionality. Simply put, this device does not work as advertised. Customer service was indescribably bad, and the operators almost incomprehensible. No consumer product should be this difficult to use.

Eventually, I had enough of the Belkin experience, and I bought a couple of Apple Airport Extreme Base Stations. They were fully operational within 15 minutes.