| 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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Belkin Pre-N Router, March 4, 2006
By user (Bay Area, CA)
I bought this router recently to replace my very reliable Netgear MR814 11b router. My Axim X51v for some reason would not connect to my old router (it is a known issue with the ver. 1 model of the MR814) and I was getting a Thinkpad with a a/b/g Wifi card. I was on the market for a 54g router with some major characteristics: ease of use, ease of setup, and performance (distance and speed). After reading a lot of reviews online, I chose the Belkin Pre-N. Even though I am not planning on using a Belkin Pre-N wifi card on any of my laptops, I read that it will still improve the performance of G and B antennas.
Setting up the Belkin was really easy - disconnect the old router and stick in the CD - follow the instructions and then plug the new router in and you are ready to go. After that open up a browser window and log into the router using the 192.XXX.X.X number supplied and make any changes to the settings that you want. The router interface is pretty basic - almost too basic, but it did do the job. I like the one-button firmware upgrade, as well as the easy security setup. But the MAC address filter was a little vague in its operation and didn't auto-detect all new MAC addresses (like my old Netgear). You also had to manually enter in the ones that it couldn't find.
I didn't have a 54G router previously, so I don't really know if the range or speed have improved in G format. But my old Gateway Centrino does seem to be a little quicker and the range is better. The MIMO antennas appear to be doing their job. I noticed that i was getting much better range from a DLink PCMCIA card. And i haven't had any compatibility issues. So far, the router has easily detected and connected to antennas from Intel (Gateway 450X), DLink (Wifi PCMCIA card ona old Compaq), Dell (XPS M140 and Axim X51v PDA) and IBM (Thinkpad) without a problem.
Final Grades:
Price - 3/5
Ease of Setup - 5/5
Eases of Use - 4/5
Features - 5/5
Interface - 3/5
Range - 5/5
Speed - 5/5
Compatibility - 4/5
All in all, I think that the Belkin Pre-N was a good deal. It was a little more expensive than a 54G solution, but the ease of use and performance make up for it. Computer savvy users may want a more technical interface, but for the casual user, the interface is probably just right.
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Perfect, Fast, and Stable, March 1, 2006
By user (Taipei, TAIWAN)
I purchased this specially from the US, so I can use it in my home in Taiwan. It has greater distance than any other wireless router I used. It's easy to setup and much cheaper than other routers in the same class. Just a note, it is not available in Taiwan yet, and the black market price for this is twice as much as I paid in the US. So I am very happy.
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Disappointed and Worst Technique Support (Long Waiting Time), February 27, 2006
By user (Valley Stream, NY United States)
1. I bought the belkin pre-n router based on the rating report, and I've tried to fix one month day and night. Internet is still not stable and everyday I need to reset the router in order to access online. In the beginning, technique support asks to exchange the new router, update firmware, change setting. Computer is still not stable. After trying one month, I give up the belkin pre-n router b/c I found out someone is also like to buy this router based on the rating and also feel very disappointed. And I change other router which is linksys WRT54GS. After I've changed to Linksys WRT54GS, all of the problems is solved
2. Everytime I called belkin technique support and the waiting time is "ALWAYS" over 30 mins no matter weekday, weekend, day and night.
3. Belkin Pre-N does have the good signal and good rang but it's not very stable. Too Disappointed....
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Fast, easy setup and great signal., February 24, 2006
By user (Seattle, WA USA)
I bought this router because I have 3 TiVos in my condo that are all on my wireless network. Their signal was pretty weak from across the condo and it made for slow transfers and some faulty connection attemtps. When I put in the Belkin router all the signals boosted significantly, and I really like the web-based setup. It has lots of advanced controls (I needed port forwarding and MAC address filtering) but comes with logical defaults for those who are afraid to configure it themselves. I'm not even using Pre-N network cards to experience the full benefit of the router, but so far it's been great!
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Really good range, February 22, 2006
By user (TN)
I bought this item based on reviews from Tom's Hardware Guide. It replaced a TriMode D-Link router in my network. My home network used to require a repeater to reach the other end of the house. I no longer need the repeater with the Belkin Pre-N router, and I'm not even using Belkin Pre-N network interface cards. The range seems really excellent. I am still a little skeptical about using a networking product from Belkin, but for the home user it's a great device. I am glad I chose it over a new D-Link device. Plus, Belkin has an excellent warranty policy.
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Finally a wireless easy to install!, February 21, 2006
By user (Granite Bay, CA United States)
I have been trying to install a wireless system at my home for years. I am fairly computerly literate. However, all the other systems were too complicated. Plus with all the trees we have on our property, they just didn't work.
I finally decided to try Belkin as a last ditch effort. I set it up in 10 minutes. It worked immediately. The range is amazing. We can't even get cell phone service out here. However, I can carry my computer everywhere on my 2 1/2 acre property and get internet coverage. And the speed is quite fast.
I highly recommend this product.
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Very Disappointed, February 19, 2006
By user
I thought I was going to love this router and all my computers would share a faster single. Well it didn't work out like that I had to reinstall it 3 times on my main coputer and it still didn't work and to make matters worst after i added and rebooted the third time my hard drive crashed now I have to send off for a restore disc. My laptop can still get the signal but the router stops sending basically when it wants to so I lose my connection in the middle of work and can't get it back up for sometimes hours. My other belkin routers work like a dream and this is a nightmare. I've lost everything off my other comp and this one I'm afraid is not far behind. I don't know if I'll ever buy another belkin product.
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Unstable wireless, stable wired, February 14, 2006
By user (Stamford, CT USA)
I purchased this router with very high hopes for it's range. The MIMO lived up to the hype as far as signal strength, but the router was just too unstable. I returned it and opted for the Linksys WRT54GL instead.
Here is why I sent it back:
1) The wireless did not work properly. I had a single machine with excellent signal strength associated with the router (WEP enabled, Firewall enabled). Certain websites (via SSL mostly), would simply hang. Examples: www.gmail.com, www.aol.com, etc. I put up a packet sniffer on both sides of the wireless connection and many of the packets never got to the router. I tried reducing the MTU on the wireless card, but that had no effect. Tried changing channels, standing 3ft away from the router, etc. Nothing worked. At the same time, plugging the laptop directly into the router via ethernet eliminated all the problems. The wireless card in the laptop is a Orinoco Silver 802.11b card which works with several other Access Points/Routers with no issue.
2) The router would lock up from time to time. For seemingly no reason, the router would stop responding. You could not get to it via the web interface and the only rememdy was a hard reset.
3) The Access Point mode either does not work or is counterintuitive. Since I have another router, I decided to try using the Belkin Pre-N router just as an access point. Once I flipped the setting in the config, the router stopped working all together. I tried every combination of wires in the back that I found others had tried, but the router was locked up. A hard reset was the only rememdy.
4) Lack of support. There was no updated firmware, and no knowledge base articles on these issues. I tried to call technical support, but after holding for several minutes I gave up. The only support seemed to be many unhappy users posting to blogs/newsgroups about the same issues and lack of response from Belkin.
I ordered this router with very high expectations, but was extremely disappointed in it's lack of stability. Using the device as a router for the wired portion seems to work well, but anything having to do with using it as a wireless device was useless.
My hope is that some day Belkin will update the firmware and I can give it another shot, but for now it needs more testing.
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Totally, totally sweet, February 12, 2006
By user (Chicago, IL)
I can sit in the back room of the coffee shop across the street from my house and get 4 or 5 bars off this thing. People in NW Indiana are probably stealing my bandwidth.
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A really good product, February 7, 2006
By user (NYC, NY)
Had I not seen so many negative reviews about this router recently, I would not write this review. But for some reason there are plenty of them posted on this site, so this is my $.02 worth.
This is a great product from the small details such as instructions, packing, and design to the router itself.
Before this, I had a CompUSA 802.11g router that died after three months of less than flawless service. Back then, I thought this was bad, but after my next one, a Linksys, went down during its first week, I recognized that three months is a quite decent life span for this wireless technology, though `wireless' is not really an accurate description as my Dell notebook was not able to connect with either the CompUSA nor the Linksys router.
The pre N router worked just fine from the start, and now that my notebook's finally gone wireless, I've gone crazy from happiness.
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Great Performance, but POOR Firewall. Power Users Beware!!!, February 7, 2006
By user (Bay Area, CA)
I bought this to replace my D-Link 624 due to it cutting out and degraded performance over time (probably due to the increase of other wireless networks in my apartment complex).
The good: This blows away my old router in speed. No dropouts, just solid performance. Installation was pretty easy...
...until I got to setting up my VNC, Web, & FTP servers...
The bad: The firewall stinks. You have very limited configuration options. Port forwarding also doesn't work correctly. If you want to host a website, FTP server, VPN, VNC, etc on your network to view or access from the outside world... This router will not work for you. Read the other negative reviews about this. There are workarounds, another reviewer on here used his old router (with the wireless disabled) to handle WAN traffic, and this one to handle the wireless. Ugh!
Advanced power users BEWARE!!! Regular users will never know and this will be a great product for them. CNET editors rated this #1 which is why I bought it. Unfortunatly I've lost some confidence in their editor picks.
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Great Router, January 31, 2006
By user (USA)
I've used several wireless routers in the past, and this one blows them all away in range and speed. I currently live in a three level townhouse. My router is on the first floor and I often use my laptop on the third floor. I've had to settle for wireless b, because my g router just didn't have the range. And even with b I often had interference from one or more of the five or 6 other routers in the area, from my neighbors. And yes, I did try all the channels. This router works flawlessly. Great product. The other routers I used were Linksys.
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Not a full function router!, January 31, 2006
By user (St Augustine FL)
The Belkin Pre-N router turned out to be fast, but incapable.
I run a web site and an FTP site inside my LAN, and must access them locally for maintenance. This is not possible (in a very practical sense) with the Belkin router! In a way it can partly be done by using the local ip address, but it is very labor-intensive, inconvenient and can't be totally successfully done...
The previous Netgear router did this maintenance fine, but alas, it locked up or froze frequently.
So it's off to find another router that neither locks up nor prevents me from doing maintenance.
The most galling part of this experience is the attitude from Belkin: "none of our routers does loopback". "You must go outside your network to do maintenance".
If they had been upfront about this, it would have saved me many hours, many dollars and many telephone calls to India.
Well, now you know -
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Belkin didn't ring a bell, January 31, 2006
By user
I bought it because many ppl rate this high, but for me, it wasn't pleasure to get it. I had 2 of it but one didn't work properly. It worked for 10 minutes fine, but then suddenly lost signal and didn't work at all. I reset it and tried it but samething happened, so I just returned it.
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One of the best Routers available!, January 30, 2006
By user (Christchurch, New Zealand)
I bought this router after reading many reviews on the internet. I finally decided to buy it and I wasn't dissapointed. It is an amazing device and it was very easy to set up, took me just under 10 minutes. It has a great range, fast stable connection and good encryption. I really don't have anything bad to say about it! A great router.
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Not as great as I'd hoped. Distance claims seem overrated., January 26, 2006
By user (santa rosa, ca United States)
Got the Belkin about 3 weeks ago. Using a PC with XP. Setup was fine, but couldn't get good service 50 feet away in the house. Got a refrigerator and washing machine in the way. Went to the setup home page to change my wireless channel from auto. No improvement on channel 1, no improvement on channel 6. Changed to channel 11 and disaster. Channel never loaded and my computer was frozen. Did a restart. Did a reinstall of the router and nothing, router couldn't connect.
Called support. Support took me through all the repair steps, then decided I must have a dead router. Exchanged router the following day. Same problem on new router.
Exchanged router. Didn't try to change wireless channel. Still get only three bars in the room next to the router (1 wall--no real barriers except sheetrock) Still can't get any signal at the back of the house. I'm looking for a range extender.
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Once again utter failure--, January 25, 2006
By user (Seattle)
I have already thrown my first Belkin Router away. Believe or not this one started out great with easy setup and throughput increased from 700Kbps to about 2.6MB using Speedtest as my measure. This lasted about 4 weeks. Then utter disaster, lost connections every 10 minutes. The product just failed miserably. How aggravating to keep pumpting money into what I thought would finally be a stable wireless solution only to have it fail after 4 weeks of operation. I am using the Belking pre-n card in a normal xp configuration. I ended up running ethernet cable back over the link simply to attain stability. What a pain--stupid wires running across the property because of the utter failure of the wireless companies to get stability in their offering. Reading the other reviews apparently I am not the only one with this experience.
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Requires rebooting once a week or more, January 24, 2006
By user (Montreal, QC)
This box was mainly used as a wired router by my house because we just had the wired Cat5 cable setup in place and we lived in an area contaminated with several 802.11 signals criss-crossing my house. So I can't really comment on how this box compares to other wireless boxes in range or signal power, but I can say that while this router is fairly user-friendly, and after cloning my computers MAC address, was up and connected to the internet... that this router seems to be buggy.
Port-forwarding was simple to setup on it, it features advanced features like UPnP, auto-updating, and external (WAN) configuration, and everything seems to be good. But then the whole thing, using the latest firmware, will just crash every couple of days to every two weeks and need to be unplugged and plugged back in. I found that kind of annoying, when it would happen in the middle of a conversation or a download, or when I would wake up and find my internet didn't work. I've used other routers that don't crash for months on end; this one just felt like it was every week I was getting on my knees underneath my computer desk and restarting it. Hopefully a future firmware release will lessen that crash-proneness of the device.
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After trying others, this one worked as advertised, January 18, 2006
By user (Boston, MA)
I am very pleased with this router. Installation had a hickup, but it was my fault, I tried to install another device on the router during the quick setup which confused it. I was able to quickly resolve it after reading the manual. Yes, sometimes you have to read the manual...
I have 2 notebooks with 102.11b adapters, and 2 desktops with 102.11g adapters on my network. I was looking for a WAP that would increase my signal strength, and was not looking for faster speed.
Having had good success with previous Linksys routers, I bought the new WRT54GX2. I had a horrible time with the Linksys device. The setup was straight forward, but I experienced a 4X slower speed with the 102.11b adapters, and a 2X slower speed with the 102.11g adapers. I spent hours with Linksys support to no avail.
So I decided to do some research and the reviews were overwhelmingly in favor of this Belkin router/wap. So I decided to try it. It actually works as advertised. I am seeing a better than 20% signal strength improvement with the b/g adapters. The speed has actually improved. And the signal strength is as good as the new Linksys. I have no problems with PPTP and VPN connections, even though I have read other reviews complaining of issues. I have actually never experienced any drop outs either. Playing internet games on a WAP is always a problem, and my son connects directly to the router because of these issues.
The bottom line is it works. No more, no less.
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Great range and speed, January 14, 2006
By user (Anaheim, CA)
I purchased this product along with the corresponding Belkin PCI Pre-N PCI adapter after numerous attempts and failures trying to extend the range of my old D-Link DI-514 wireless router with a D-Link DWL-G710 range extender.
Setup and installation for this product was quick and easy and worked the first time! I highly recommend this product along with the Belkin Pre-N PCI adapter as they both greatly increased the range, strength, and speed of my wireless signal.
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