| Belkin F5D8230-4 Wireless 802.11x Pre-N Router |
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Model: F5D8231-4
Brand: Belkin
Manufacturer: Belkin Components
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 221
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11n (draft), IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
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| Features: |
LAN Ports - N/A
WAN Ports - N/A
Warranty - Lifetime Limited Warranty
LEDs - Yes |
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| Description: |
| Powered by Airgo Network's True MIMO technology, Belkin Pre-N products improve wireless reliability and performance, and enable users to work with high-bandwidth applications, such as audio and video streaming.Belkin utilizes True MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) from Airgo Networks in its Pre-N products. True MIMO is the first technology to address the issues of coverage, speed, and interference in larger homes and offices.True MIMO is a smart-antenna technique that uses multiple antennas to transmit and receive wireless signals. It reaches a step further than other smart-antenna technologies by transmitting multiple signals on each antenna. As a result, Belkin's Pre-N products with True MIMO technology create a robust wireless connection while providing a larger coverage area with the bandwidth and quality of service needed to run advanced applications, such as streaming video or Voice over IP (VoIP).True MIMO is one of the underlying technologies being considered for 802.11n, a standard in the works for the next generation of Wi-Fi technology. |
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| User Reviews (221 total): |
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Dont buy if you want to host a web server!, May 29, 2006
By user (New York, NY United States)
Belkin offers a Virtual Servers config page which allows you to port forward any port to an internal machine. This is standard practice in routers these days, and it generally works fine, even on this Pre-N Belkin. HOWEVER, it does not forward Port 80!! If you point a web browser to the external IP of your Belkin, you only get the Belkin configuration page, it refuses to port forward to an internal web server. Most routers (ie a Linksys) let you access the config page only when internal to the router, but will forward port 80, if configured as such, when accessed external to the router. Not so with Belkin. It is a big disappointment. I purchased this wifi so I could host a web gallery of photos from my wifi connected home office PC. Belkin tech support was no help. The Jr tech kept putting me on hold, then started talking to me about the proper implementation of a VPN(!?!?!), and finally told me a Sr tech would call me back, but it never happened. Stick with Linksys. Complaints notwithstanding, if you only want wifi access, it has good range & throughput.
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Easy Set-up at a Great Price!, May 28, 2006
By user (The Show Me State)
Bought this to replace a WRT54GX2 I broke, mainly because they have the same chipset and my old router worked great, but this is cheaper. I am VERY satisfied! Installation is clearer and easier than the Linksys. Those who complain need to study the manual, as options are clearly described in one of the most readable guides I have ever encountered. Works flawlessly in a home environment consisting of Dell and Windows, even with the router in the basement and notebook on 2nd floor. Plan to try wireless networking with my new TIVO shortly. This is a very fine product in a world of complicated junk.
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Really Glad I Bought it!, April 29, 2006
By user (Berkeley, CA USA)
I don't know why others say they have problems, but this card worked right out of the box, with the included software with no problems at all.
With the associated F5D8230-4 Pre-N router, it connects at 108 Mbps, which is faster than the ethernet cards in most computers. In other words, it's faster than running a cable. I tested it with the laptop by copying a few files and timing them. I can't tell the difference between using the Belkin wireless components with the laptop at the far end of the house, or bringing the laptop to the router and using a cable for the connection. The network performance monitor built-into XP shows the same speed.
My other laptop connects to at its fastest speed, 11 Mbps, and when it does, it doesn't slow down the first laptop connected at 108 Mbps, both laptops perform at their maximum.
The signal strength is hard to measure because the little guages in XP may not be linear, but where I would get one or two bars before, I now get every bar lit most of the time. The signal strength seems better and I can use the laptops around to corners where they didn't work before, and even on the back porch.
I'm using WPA-PSK with a long password with no problem. I was previously using a Linksys with only WEP and it was cracked. Using a network monitor, I found someone could crack any password within a few hours and they were using my connection to download illegal music or video, I'm not sure which. With WPA there has been no outside access to this network even with the much stronger signal it has. So yes, WPA-PSK does indeed work, and the earlier review stating that it doesn't is inaccurate if my components are typical. He must have had a defective one.
My old Linksys router and WAP were versions 1, and they were nothing but headaches to upgrade and maintain. The software interface for the card and the html interface for the router make them very easy to manage. All in all, I'm extremely happy with this system.
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Really Great, April 19, 2006
By user
I'm not a computer expert, but know my way around well enough. Choosing a router was a real pain. There is no clear-cut winner or obvious choice with routers. I did much research and decided on this one. I'm very happy. The range is great. We don't have some sprawling estate or a great need to use Wi-Fi in the backyard; however, it is a large two-story house and this router gives full strength signal though out the house. Unlike my Linksys, this thing was very easy to set up. It was out of the box, and working within five minutes. I have a Mac and although the box claims the Install Wizard is Mac compatible, it's not. But all you need to do is go to the Belkin website, download the install wizard for Mac, and you will be up and running with no problems whatsoever. Couldn't be easier. Setting up the security was easy.
If you want good reliable wireless, you're going to need MIMO and this router works great. I like it very much. It's easy to set up, has great signal strength, and oh yeah, Belkin gives a lifetime warranty.
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Dont have it, just have a QUESTION, April 19, 2006
By user
Hi,
I recently got the new Belkin Router, The Pre-N, the thing with the 3 antennas, the new hottest hting. I have comcast hi speed internet, which is blazing fast and all that. 1 problem...when I use the wireless, its incredibly slow. When i download things its pretty fast but when im trying to play online game and the like, it crawls. I can only guess that my built in wireless card on my notebook is not communicating well with the router. Do i really need the 75$ wireless card that goes with my router. Also, even when i use one of the e xtra eternet slots in the back of the router, its still slow..what should i do?
I have Broadcom 54g MaxPerformance 802.11g built in wireless card by the way...
SOMEONE HELP ME
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Oh My!, April 18, 2006
By user (NJ)
In this review I am going to talk about my experiences with the Belkin F5D8230-4 Pre-N router and its companion, the Belkin F5D8010 Wireless Pre-N card.
But first, let me talk about my experiences with routers in general.
I have owned a half dozen routers throughout my home computing years. All of them have been Linksys brand simply because I always felt that they were the most reliable router company for the home consumer market. Up until recently, I have never had a single problem with a Linksys router.
In January 2006 I bought the Linksys WRT54GX4 which was touted as their newest most powerful flagship router capable of broadcasting Internet at high speeds throughout a large home. This was important for me since I have a very large house with multiple levels and a deck outside -- all places I would want to access the Internet from via my laptop.
The Linksys WRT54GX4 actually worked rather well for the first three months UNTIL I purchased a duo-core IBM Thinkpad laptop and started experiencing all sorts of problems. After a week of research I discovered that the Intel 3945ABG network card that is installed on most Duo-Core laptops has a compatability problem with certain Linksys routers. So, if your laptop is having such problems connecting to a Linksys router -- you now know the deal.
I had to find a new router. It had to be powerful and it had to be easy to configure. Someone on one of the Internet forums I frequent suggested purchasing a Belkin Pre-N router. That person claimed that it did a great job broadcasting an Internet signal throughout his large home.
I went to my local retailer and bought the Belkin F5D8230-4 Pre-N router.
Now I must say at this point that the first one I bought was defective right out of the box. The wireless function would not work. Belkin customer support suggested I return it for another. Fortunately, the replacement worked perfectly! Please don't let this experience deter your purchase decision as I feel the end result is worth the fact that sometimes these things happen.
Let me also say that despite many negative comments I have read on the Internet, Belkin support was very obtainable over the phone, though the guy I spoke to didn't seem very knowledgeable about the product as he had to refer to his manual to address the initial problems I was having before determining I had a defective unit.
Right out of the box, I was sort of surprised at the look of the router. Unlike the clunky Linksys I was replacing, the Belkin looked more like an elaborate paperweight. The design was more sleek and low-key than what I had seen in previous routers.
One of the most amazing aspects of this router outside of its performance is the ease of installation. For most people including myself, router installation and configuration is one of the most cumbersome tasks you don't want to deal with. Well folks, I am here to tell you that Belkin has made the process an absolute no-brainer. You simply pop in the supplied CD and via a on-screen walk-through process, my router was working in under 5 minutes. This was far easier to install than any Linksys router I have previously used. Kudos to Belkin!
So let's talk about performance...
The Belkin F5D8230-4 router performed just as I expected. It provided ample coverage throughout my home -- no more or less than the Linksys router I had replaced. I was somewhat dissatisfied with the loss of signal in the farthest reaches of my home and on the outside deck, and I needed something that would boost signal strength. Enter the F5D8010 Wireless Pre-N card.
Within days I ordered the Wireless Pre-N card hoping that it would increase overall coverage in my home as the manufacturer had promised. Upon arrival, I installed the software and then the card into the cardbus slot of my PC.
Now this is important: many have recommended that you do not install the software that comes on the installation CD but rather download it off of Belkin's website as it is more current. I took that advice to heart and had the software and card installed within minutes.
Well, the Belkin F5D8010 Wireless Pre-N card did EXACTLY what it promised to do. My signal strength almost doubled. My WiFi strength meter went from 2 bars to 4 (out of 5). Surfing speed dramatically increased. It was almost as if my laptop was hardwired to the cable itself.
I was now able to use my laptop in areas that I could not before. As expensive as this combination of router and card was (about $200), it was worth every penny to get this sort of coverage with absolutely no dropouts or disconnects.
I would highly, highly recommend the combination of Belkin Pre-N router and PC card if you are looking for amazingly powerful coverage for a large living area.
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lack of functionality could be a problem in some cases, April 18, 2006
By user (New York, New York United States)
I have just installed this router for use in a large (about 300x200 ft) apartment, for guest use (using their own laptops). This means that it is not feasible to get the corresponding client cards and while the coverage without these is OK it still does not cover a the whole apartment. This would not be a probem but you cannot install a repeater or use WDS with this router. I am now stuck with a router that does not cover a large enough distance and cannot extend the network to cover the whole apartment. I think that this information should be much more readily available before buying this product.
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Setup a hassle, but this thing REALLY works!, April 11, 2006
By user (Chino Hills, CA United States)
First, the bad news: The client utility for the network cards is very buggy. Against the advice in the manual, I finally disabled the Belkin client software and turned on the Windows XP Wireless Zero Configuration Utility. After that, no problems at all. Unfortunately, it took a few hours to figure that one out.
Now, the good news. This thing ROCKS! It is totally stable and really pumps out a strong signal. The signal strength at my desktop machine, which is located on a different floor than the router, is excellent. I took a laptop machine with a regular 802.11g card (not pre-n) and went to the farthest corner of my backyard. Still getting a full-blast signal. Web surfing in the backyard...very cool. My wife said "why would you want to do that?" but that is not the point. It's just good to know that you can. I'm sure all the guys out there understand.
I've had this unit over a year and I've never had a single issue. I've never even rebooted it! We've been through a few power outages and it fires back up as if nothing happened. It continues to work great and I get a terrific signal everywhere in my house and yard. I use it with multiple Dlink DSM-520 Media Players to stream video throughout the house and it works great. No regrets; this is an excellent product.
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Great router, April 5, 2006
By user (Hampton, VA USA)
After reading all the reviews on various websites, I decided to buy this router for my new wireless network. I'm glad I did. It took me about 10 minutes to install it. This router has all the bells and whistles and it makes great connections from all over my house. This last bit of information is a shocker, considering I have an old house and all the internal wiring in the walls ruin cell phone reception...yet I have no problems with this router. I was also able to effortlessly connect an iBook (Apple) to this network. Security on this router is also very tight, so (if set up properly) you don't need to worry about hackers on your network. Tech support is also fantastic. I had to call them up to figure out something (user error) and they were polite and knowledgeable.
The only reason I didn't rate this at 5 stars is because this router is supposed to be blazing fast with wireless speeds...but there's a catch. It's only "blazing" fast if you have the other computer connected with the wireless pre-n network card. It's a propietary thing. Other than that, no flaws.
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This is NOT an 802.1X device, April 4, 2006
By user
This is an 802.11b/g/n device.
802.1X (often mistakenly called 802.11x) is an authentication protocol, and this router does NOT support RADIUS authentication, for those of you who googled for 802.11x and got this page.
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This router is everything described., April 3, 2006
By user (OKC, OK)
Connection setup was a breeze. Range is outstanding - I can get a "very good" signal strength in my laptop at a distance of 200 ft. in my car, around the corner, and down a hill in my apt. complex. I have had absolutely no dropped connections since I connected it 6 weeks ago. Currently using a Zonet USB wireless adapter for my desktop and an Intel Pro 3945 internal wi-fi card in my laptop. I'd purchase it again.
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No VPN, Intermittant performance, not quite there, March 26, 2006
By user (Brea, CA USA)
Purchased to replace my Linksys rounter as I needed a little more range within my house. Without a doubt, it does provide a wider range - sometimes. As stated in other reviews, it frequently cycles between a very strong signal to dropping out. The bigger issue is that despite what is stated it it's specs, it does not support most VPNs. This was verified by a Fortune 100 company's IT group. Had to ask them to verify this, as Belkin's tech support is a joke.
It's too bad they couldn't get it just right - when the signal is strong, it is faster and farther reaching than any B or G product I've used.
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Wortst Tech Vendor in mY book, March 23, 2006
By user (Pasadena, ca USA)
I bought this PRe-N Router, PRe-N PCI card, and PRe-N PCCard for a desktop and notebook. Two of the three products were DOA (dead on arrival). Every time, I would place the PCI card in the slot, the desktop (a new Dell) would not boot.
I spent several hours on holdwith Belkin, no one would answer with hours of hold time. Finally the call would just disconnnect. Finally I returned them to the supplier and got replacements. Now the router would get obtain an IP address from Verizon DSL. No matter what I tried.. it just would not work. If I called tech support.. of course.. same problem no one would answer.
Also, trying to set up the pre-N router with the pre-N notebook card crashes the computer. The commonly labeled products are incompatible !!!!!.
I would highly recommend to avoid this product and Belkin in general as a supplier if you need any assistance along the way.
I am now planning to throw everything out and go with Linksys or DLINK.. Im just the end.. so frustrated..and on top of it all, people consider me a networking guru..
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Save your money and buy a Linksys!, March 23, 2006
By user (Alaska, USA)
I bought this unit to replace a Linksys 54-G wireless router(stupid me) that was working properly. I'm using a Dell Inspiron with built in wireless G and the router's signal lasts throughout the day then drops off and then it needs to be rebooted. When it is working, it drops to 35mb, then 24, 11, then finally 1! I never had this issue with the Linksys and I'm glad I saved it in my inventory. It's coming back and this one goes back to the store. By the way, I was on hold a total of two hours and no one ever came on to talk to me. Must be tech support in India! Don't buy this one, get a LINKSYS!!!!!
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Belkin Pre-N Router, good stuff!, March 20, 2006
By user (Seattle, WA)
Works great. Sounds foolish but be aware that the desktop Belkin wireles receiver that you attach to the back of your machine, actually goes in upside down from instructions.
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belkin wireless router, March 15, 2006
By user
the setup worked well until it was time to connect to the cable modem. I called tech support and was on hold for 45 minutes before being told to go to the website and look for a downloadable hardware update. this bit of advice should have been included in the setup instructions. the download was confusing but worked and the wireless connection is great. have not tried to set up VOIP. no VOIP references the Belkin router so I assume it is difficult or impossible.
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Disaster and No Service Provided......., March 11, 2006
By user (Walnut Creek, CA United States)
I'm not new to setting up wireless routers, I've done many without any problems. With the Belkin unit I elected to get a fully integrated set-up, and I also purchased the Pre-N notebook PCMCIA card. I've attempted a multitude of times to set this unit up on a secured enabled basis. The Belkin website hosting this setup will take you thru many steps to set up a router and in the final sequence, when one must select their specific router, doesn't offer the pre-N product as a choice. Also, trying to set up the pre-N router in tandem with the pre-N notebook card crashes both sequences. The commonly labeled products are basically incompatible.
I attempted three times to seek help thru their tech assistance line. All three times when I was being transferred to tier 2 after an average of 20 minutes plus including wait time on each call, the system (or person) disconnected me.
I would highly recommend to avoid this product and Belkin in general as a supplier if you need any assistance along the way.
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Works Great, March 10, 2006
By user
Signal Strength: Full strength on g card throughout 2 story 3200 sq ft house, outside
Speed: Pegged g card
Setup: Wizard- quick, 10 min- although last step indicated router could not find internet connection, closed wizard and router worked fine
Software: Fairly easy security setup
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Wow!, March 8, 2006
By user
I had a USR 22 Mbps wireless setup for years. It was always marginal in range and finally died. After reviewing the evaluations I bought a Belkin Pre N. Unbelievable; no comparison. Installations of com gear can be touchy but this was bulletproof on both ends (notebook). Range is fabulous; there is no place on a one-acre lot that I don't get a strong signal. This is truly a product that you install and forget................it just keeps doing its job.
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PRE -N is my new frieNd..., March 8, 2006
By user (Mentor, OH USA)
I am so happy with this router. First off, I have to say that setting up the router with my broadband connection was super simple. I just popped in the cd-rom and followed along with the directions. I love simplicity! I have been using Linksys products for the last 4 years, 802.11b to be exact. I am still using the wireless 802.11b cards for the time being till I can save up for the 802.11x pre-n card. The signal strength on the old wireless 802.11b router was always excellent, but I never got great download speeds, usually between 8kbs-25kbs consistently and in the 90kbs-100kbs range on a VERY good day (very, very infrequently). The pre-n router has me in the 190kbs-230kbs range consistently. A major difference, and still while using the wireless 802.11b cards. I am very impressed with the product, as well I assume are my neighbors in the entire condo complex, cause I am sure they are reading my pre-n router signal because it broadcasts so stinking far. To bad I just locked it up tight with it's great security features.
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