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Belkin Wireless N+ 802.11n Router Black Description:

The N+ Wireless Router features a USB port on the back, that lets you connect a USB storage device. This allows multiple computers to easily access documents, videos, and photos on the storage drive over a secure wireless network. Four gigabit ports provide the bandwidth and speed needed for media intense applications like streaming music and video.

• Color: Black
• Brand: Belkin
• Model: F5D8235-4
• Format: CD
• Original language: English, French
• Dimensions: 3.62″ h x 9.13″ w x 10.16″ l, 1.97 pounds

Features

• Router lets you easily create a large Wireless-N network for the home or office
• MIMO antenna technology provides extended range and data throughput up to 300 Mbps
• Security options include Wi-Fi Protected Setup, WPA/WPA2 and 64-bit and 128-bit WEP encryption
• USB port allows connection of an external hard drive or thumb drive for networked storage
• Four gigabit Ethernet ports

Customer Reviews:

Finally, a reliable wireless router!
The Belkin wireless N+ router is the third wireless router I have purchased over the last five years. I have a three story house and the router is located on the first floor. The earlier routers did not cover the entire house and I had to use a wireless repeater. More importantly, these earlier routers were always having to be reset, sometimes on a daily basis. This new Belkin router has taken care of both problems. It gives a substantially stronger signal and I do not need the repeater any longer. More importantly, is has been absolutely reliable. I have not had any problems since plugging it in a month ago. Set up was a breeze. I am one totally-happy camper!

Great product…with issues. UPDATE
UPDATED 12/13

What does my title mean?

I was running a wireless G home network with a Linksys router (in fact, I have a review on that router!). I was happy with my setup but I wanted to upgrade to wireless N and maximize the throughput on my devices. For the record I have:

- Personal laptop
- Work laptop
- Nintendo Wii
- Xbox 360
- PS3
- DirecTV HR20
- Sony PSP
- Nintendo DS
- Dell media server

Running on my home network. Of those devices, the 360, HR20 and media server are connected via Ethernet. I’d researched the viability of going to a Gigabit network. For those that aren’t aware, basic Ethernet is capable of a maximum of 100Mbps throughput. You can imagine that might be a bit of a problem when you’re streaming HD movies across your server. I also noticed a significant performance impact when attempting to use my internet connection at the same time as browsing my local network, probably due to the fact that it’s not a dual band router. But it was severely annoying to me and I decided to go shopping.

I noticed this router down at BBuy, for just shy of $120. It seemed quite a bit for a router (I’m used to paying no more than half of that amount), but I noticed all of the features of the router and everything clicked into place. The router is more than a router; it’s actually a hub for just about everything you can imagine. There are some notable things missing, and it does have some issues, but it’s easily one of the best routers I’ve used in recent history (and I have used quite a few of different brands).

This Belkin supports a variety of protocols which I’ll go into momentarily. I want to first focus on the negatives of the device, as I think specific negatives will end up being dealbreakers for some - so I want to expose those first, and if none of them are that critical to you, then it’s just a matter of cost benefits.

The first negative is the most basic. The web interface is quite wonky, sometimes not responding to browser requests, sometimes loading a little strange (as in text all over the page), sometimes loading but looking like it’s not, etc. It’s just unpredictable and quite honestly I was ready to take it back due to its behavior. I stuck it out and figured out what it’s problem is…I’ll get to it in a later negative as it’s really a separate issue. As to the page itself, there are a lot of utilities presented, most very useful, but there are also utilities that are not present that I felt should have been..not really the page’s fault, and I’ll get to those later.

The next negative may be a nitpick. The Linksys routers allow you to not only view DHCP clients, but also boot specific ones off or even block them at a MAC address level. The Belkin can block (or allow) MAC addresses, but once a DHCP client is connected, you can’t just “delete” it from the list and kick it out. You can Deny it, but if an IP was already leased, it’s stuck until the client disconnects or the router is rebooted, which may present a security issue.

There is also what I would consider a glaring issue, and it may be fixable via firmware update (which isn’t yet available). The router functions in dual mode, local and WAN, so you can have internet and local network running concurrently. The problem is, you can’t navigate the LAN or the router’s admin page without both being active. So for example, let’s say I had no network and just wanted to use this for local network connections. You have to force the router to act as an access point - but of course, that disabled the ability to use WAN as an option until it’s changed back to the default. I hate to sound like a broken record, but the Linksys allowed you to still navigate the web page and use LAN resources regardless of the presence of a WAN connection. The real issue comes with configuration: I need to connect to the Belkin router and configure it before I can give it internet signal, else it will be unsecure. Can’t do that if the router won’t let me connect to its admin page!

Next issue is more of an annoyance. When you make changes to router settings (any router), the router generally needs to restart itself in order to make the changes effective. I’m not sure if it’s the router or if it’s Vista, but I never had this problem with the Linksys, so I make the assumption the Belkin is at fault somewhere…when you make such changes, and then restart the router, you’ll get local connectivity back but not WAN. You have to manually repair your connection to get it to pull an IP again. I’m not sure why this happens, because again, I’ve never had to do that. If I didn’t know better I’d swear the router was “taking too long” to talk to my computer. Of course, since you can’t access WAN during this time, you also can’t access the admin page to verify everything was set, nor can you access other computers on your network to see if they are working successfully. Great.

Last but certainly not least, while it’s nice that this has a USB port for connecting USB drives, I was really disappointed that a faster technology (like Firewire 800 or eSATA) was not represented. I mean this is a Gigiabit router with Wireless N yet it’s using an archaic technology for the drive sharing. I guess it’s for more widespread compatibility, but it’s still a downer.

OK! The bad stuff is behind us. Let’s get to the features and the good stuff.

As mentioned this is a Gigabit router. This applies to the Ethernet ports on the back of the device. It effectively maximizes throughput, yes…but you need to make sure that the computer is equipped with a Gigabit adapter. The standard Ethernet adapter will only max out at 100Mbps. Communications seem a lot more efficient even with standard Ethernet, but you’re still not getting the most out of the connection. You can find a Netgear or other Gigabit adapter at your local store for less than $50. Once connected the router and card know to send the maximum stream through, so you should not have to do any configuration besides plugging it in and getting drivers updated.

The router supports four Ethernet devices maximum. These can be standard Ethernet, Gigabit or a combination thereof. It also supports Wireless B, G, and N…so if you have a newer laptop that supports Wireless N but other devices that use older wireless technology, you can use all of them concurrently and should not experience too much of a problem. There have been scattered reports of the Sony PSP not playing nice with the multi-spectrum setting. I have not yet tried it on mine, but I imagine it will not work because the PSP does not support WPA2 (more on that later) which I am using. Doesn’t matter, as I can always get updates manually and load them on the PSP with my computer. So far the PSP is the only device I have not yet tested. All others have sync’d up to the Belkin with minimal incident.

Unique to this router is the dual-encryption. With WPA2 you can configure a key that is then authenticated with both AES and TKIP. This means that devices that support only one or the other under WPA2 can still use the same key, without compromising your network selecting a lesser encryption algorithm. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this feature. The Wii supports AES while the PS3 supports TKIP, etc. It’s nigh to infuriating, and I’m glad that this router has implemented this technology so that I don’t have to deal with it.

Also unique to this router is a feature that I was on the hunt for and was told would be on expensive, high end routers: Guest Wi-Fi. Got friends who come over with their laptops? Want them to have access to your internet, but don’t want them touching your local network resources? Setting up Guest Wi-Fi allows you to do it. You can even configure it like the hotels with an interstitial page that will prompt the user to enter credentials before getting access. I was very pleased that this feature was included, because on occasion I may need to give a friend access to my internet but don’t want them to have access to my files. Unfortunately, you can’t set caps on bandwidth utilization, either per guest or even globally for the guest account. I would have liked that, so that I can pre-allocate only a fraction of my total bandwidth to prevent “bandwidth hogging” when someone’s at my place. Not a big deal, just something I would like to see in future firmware.

You can also connect a USB hard drive and access its files via a shared drive in Windows underneath the router. This is a nice feature if you just need access to the files, but USB is such a slow standard in comparison to the other standards present on the router that it’s almost frustrating trying to navigate the drive’s contents. There is a noticable delay when trying to access files that isn’t there when the drive is connected to your computer directly, and you know it’s not the router, but the delay between the slowness of USB and the speed of Wireless N and/or Gigabit, so there’s nothing you can do about it. Still, it helps when you’re trying to migrate files on or off of a USB drive to one of your other workstations, or use a USB drive as a central hub for file storage.

One other feature that is on other routers, but not implemented nearly as well versus the Belkin, is the ability to reserve IPs for specific MAC addresses. This way, even if the IP is dynamically assigned, you can reserve it specifically for that device’s future use, so you don’t run into IP conflicts on your network. As mentioned, other routers let you do this as well, but not nearly as easily. On the Belkin, you simply click the “Reserve” button next to the device, and click Apply. Two clicks and you’re done, whether others have signicantly more steps to do the same function.

The router does come with a software CD which isn’t necessary, but does speed up the set up process. You caninstall without it, but be prepared to dedicate a few hours to the cause if you choose to do so. My setup, all told, took about 6 total hours from beginning to end. Compared to the roughly 45 minutes it takes to set up the Linksys router, this disappointed me, but it wasn’t the features or anything…rather, the issue with the web admin page that I mentioned earlier that caused the majority of the problem. You should probably consider just using the CD if you don’t want to be bothered with it, because if you have a somewhat complex local network, you will get frustrated…guaranteed.

Don’t let what I mentioned deter you, though. This is still a great router for the price, quite powerful and comparable to those you might find in companies. But it’s not for beginners. If you’re not sure what you’re doing, find an expert. If you do know what you’re doing, this is one of the best there is.

UPDATE: I believe I may have found an inherent defect in the security. I was able to replicate the issue twice, and I’m going to research to see if it’s a known issue.

When setting the security settings on the router, there is an option to set the encryption method and key. For the key you can tell the router to obscure the PSK as you’re typing it. Apparently, if you do this and submit the page, it clears the password and the encryption setting, allowing unsecured connections! This is an issue…a big issue. I only identified it when my laptop stopped connecting to the router and I was resetting everything to get back up and running (rebooting fixed the underlying problem), and was going to change the password anyway. Just be forewarned that this might be a glitch that they need to fix; not sure yet. I might even put up a video review about it.

I like it!
Surprisingly, there are not many highly rated wireless routers out there to pick from. It seems like the best ones only get about 3-star reviews. I am upgrading from a Linksys wireless-g router that is a few years old, and wanted to make sure whatever “n” router I purchased it would be worth the money, and shows an improvement in functionality.

We’ll, this router delivers. I’ll try to briefly bullet the reasons why:

* Set up was very easy using the provided CD/tutorial. Took about 20 minutes total.
* After 4 days of use, no dropped signals or functionality issues at all.
* Ability to hold a flash drive (plugs right into the back of the router) that can be accessed by other computers is very convenient. Now, when I use my work laptop at home I can access or transfer files to the house laptop easily.
* LED screen on the router is easy to read and shows you what is or isn’t working.
* I am now running internet speeds significantly faster on “n” versus “g”. You’ll see a big difference with this.
* I am getting much stronger signals all over the house versus my Linksys router
* Amazon’s price of $87 makes it worth the price.

I highly recommend it to all.

Amazon.com Product Description
For those who need the fastest wireless connection, the Belkin N+ Router will have you flying down the fast lane. Thanks to the 802.11n Draft 2.0 technology that provides up to 300 Mbps of data throughput, and a wide variety of high-performance features, the N+ Router is the ideal choice for demanding Internet users.

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The Belkin N+ Router: Supports latest 802.11n Draft 2.0 technology for speed up to 300 Mbps. Uses smart MIMO antenna technology for extended range. Features built-in USB port for connecting storage devices. Is backwards compatible with older wireless networks.

Connect your desktop or notebook to a network wirelessly at speeds up to 300 Mbps. View larger.

Compatible with 802.11n Draft 2.0 for Incredible Performance
Using the latest, 802.11n Draft 2.0 technology, the N+ router offers outstanding range thanks to smart MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) technology. This router offers enough range to easily cover most homes or office spaces.

With data throughput of up to 300 Mbps, the N+ Router can handle media-intensive applications that take up large amounts of your bandwidth. The router will easily handle high-demand network activity such as streaming music and HD video, playing games online, downloading large files, and making Internet phone calls, all without hiccups or slowdowns.

If even this isn’t fast enough, the N+ router also has four gigabit Ethernet ports for ultra-fast wired connections.

Backwards Compatibility for Ultra Convenience
The N+ router is backwards compatible with all Wireless-G and 802.11b networks and devices, which means that you can continue to use your current computers and peripherals that are on the older standards.

Keep Your Network Safe and Private
With support for Wi-Fi Protected Security, you can ensure that your wireless network is safe and secure with a single button push. In addition to Wi-Fi Protected Security, the N+ router also supports 256-bit WPA/WPA2-Personal, and 64-bit and 128-bit WEP encryption to ensure that your data is protected.

Easily Share Storage with Your Whole Network
The router features a USB port that allows you to connect a USB storage device, such as a hard drive or thumb drive, and share its contents with all the computers on the network. With an attached storage device, you can store music, videos, and photos in a central location for everyone on the network to share and access.

Elegant, Informative Design
Featuring an elegant and smart vertical design, the N+ Router saves space and looks good on your desk. LED icons let you know at a glance the status of the connection, if security is enabled, if USB storage is being accessed, and other useful information. There’s also a “Download Speedmeter” Bar of LEDs that constantly measures the download speed of your network.

The Belkin N+ Router is backed by a 1-year warranty and includes free 24/7 technical support.

Winner of the CNET Editors’ Choice Award

What’s in the Box
N+ Wireless Router, quick installation guide, user manual on CD-ROM, power supply, Ethernet cable.

There’s enough bandwidth for video and music streaming, gaming, and other network heavy applications.