Home > Consumer Reviews > Belkin Micradigital 802.11g Wireless Cable/DSL Router F5D7230uk4-E

I have put off going wifi for a long while because of the price for a decent router but when I saw this little thing I thought id give it a go (especially because me and my gf have been fighting for the single internet connection to allow us to work at home due to the February snow).

The unit was surprisingly easy to set up with my Virgin Media modem, plugged it all in then once the router was connected I had to reset the Virgin Box once by turning off for 30seconds, the whole set up must have taken no longer than 10 minutes. I get perfect connection at my pc desk where the router is located but still get a good signal downstairs at the other side of the house (be it a small house), this has enabled me to also connect my wii. The wii does lose connection occasionally but you could hardly complain when its so cheap. Thanks Micradigital.

Ive been using this router for about two weeks now. Id be a moderate internet user and find that the router just seems to die sometimes and it needs a hard reset (it has to be plugged out at the mains). Othertimes it just seems to loose the internet connection and requires a restart. Im in Ireland using Irish broadband internet. I think this may be causing the problem a little since this router is connected to a POE device.

However, this item is at a really good price. For the majority of people it'll probably work fine and its probably worth a try for less than 20 quid including postage and packing.

I was suspicious about a wireless router at this price, especially as I couldn't find anything as cheap at either Morgan or Maplin. But this baby just plugged in and got to work without any software. I'm using it with Virgin cable and previous routers have struggled with the range (two floors, through thick walls). It's also very small and smart-looking and the plastic casing means it doesn't get as hot as metal versions.

I'm not very tech minded so initially I wasn't too confident about the low price. When I received the router it was simple to plug in and get it working wired-network however I just couldn't get it to do wireless. In fact following instructions, trying to do this 'n' that, the box locked up and my laptop settings had been changed by the router, I could no longer access internet at all! I was so downed by with this shiny box with lots of LEDs. I e-mailed problem to Belkin who sent a solution, the router now works fine - it's cool (literally), compact yet fast, wireless works good upto around 180ft all round. The only down side is that when cables are plugged in at back, the box lifts up from the front and sometimes router falls backwards due to the position of the stand (which is sadly non-adjustable). All-in-all, yeah this is a good value for money if Belkin can improve the stand and include a more detailed manual so that users don't end up pulling their hair out trying to set it up.

Obviously, I was attracted to this item for its comparatively low price and naturally, I was a little skeptical about its quality at first. My fears ended up being completely justified. This router is cheap for a very good reason-it is not a good product.

The only bright sides to this purchase are that it is so cheap, as well as dead easy to set up. So far, so good then. Unfortunately, when it comes to actually doing what it is supposed to do i.e. establishing and maintaining a connection to the internet, it falls flat on its face.

My router is connected to my virgin cable modem by ethernet cable as instructed, and I connect, or rather, try to connect, to the internet wirelessly through my laptop, which is wireless enabled.

At times, it just won't connect, and then when it does, it loses the connection and requires a computer restart to re-connect every ten minutes or so. It is not a signal issue; this is always excellent as I have a very small room. Now, I would be able to look away from these 'minor' inadequacies in light of its low price, but the fact is that I spend more time trying to establish a connection and then keep it for longer than twenty minutes at a time then I do actually surfing the net.

Now don't get me wrong; overall, this product can be said to do the job if by that you mean performing its function every so often and for extremely limited time periods. But if you require any shred of reliability then I fear you will be extremely disappointed. Let the buyer beware! I'm going back to ethernet cable now until I can afford a decent router.

Belkin Micradigital 802.11g Wireless Cable/DSL Router F5D7230uk4-E