| Belkin F5D8230-4 Wireless 802.11x Pre-N Router |
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Model: F5D8230-4
Brand: Belkin
Manufacturer: Belkin Components
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 216
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: |
Pre-N speeds and coverage mean 4x greater coverage than standard 802.11g and 4x greater speed than standard 802.11g
Wirelessly share a broadband cable or DSL Internet connection
Built-in 4-port 10/100 Ethernet switch
High resistance to wireless interference--the router will sense potential interference and shift to the clearest available channel
Note: Pre-N routing speeds require an optional Belkin Pre-N wireless networking adapter |
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| Description: |
| Belkin Wireless 802.11x Pre-N Router - This wireless network router features Belkin's Pre-N networking technology. Pre-N offers you amazing advantages in speed, coverage, & performance when compared to other wireless 802.11x networks. Some of the benefits include up to 800% greater coverage and up to 600% greater speed than 802.11g! If a standard 802.11g or 802.11b networking product is introduced into the Pre-N network, the Pre-N router will not drop to the lowest networking speed. When used with 802.11g & 802.11b devices, the Pre-N router improves their wireless coverage by up to 20%! Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) Support Web Content & Parental Control Filter (6 months free) - provides over 50 fully configurable filters Pop-Up Blocker (6 months free) - provides pop-up, adware, & spyware blocking |
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| User Reviews (216 total): |
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Q: Got a range problem? A: Get a Belkin Pre-N Wireless Router, December 20, 2005
By H. Spraggins (Philadelphia, PA USA)
I will not take up much of your time. I think this may be overkill if you have good range in your home - I would recommend getting a standing D-Link or Netgear router.
BUT... if you wireless card goes out of range then you need this router AND it does work. I previously owned a SMC wireless router with a SMC (and now Cisco) wireless card. Things worked good for a long time - then one of the router's antenna broke and then I moved the router to the basement and then went my coverage. In certain spots at certain times coverage was fine - in other spots or the same spots at other times the coverage was spotty (basically I had to flip my laptop over and around to get a signal).
Well no more!! I can safely say this is a perfect purchase for access from a basement all the way up into the attic (3rd floor). I am using the connection now as I type this review--> the router is in the middle section of the basement and the laptop is on the 2nd floor in the back of the house. We have wireless phones and all other kinds of interference.
A couple of nice to haves (but not present):
1) Print server
2) More functions in Administrator Tool.
3) Lower price on the Belkin wireless card - I have read the transmission rates and connection are even better when the two are combined but for $60.00+ US it did not make sense replace my existing card.
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Installation nightmare, December 15, 2005
By AK (Soldotna, Ak USA)
The router works great once you get it installed and after half an hour on the phone with your ISP Customer Service rep.
I called Belkin Customer Service first and that was a joke. "John" was clearly located offshore and I could barely understand what little input he had. He finally told me he could not help me but he would send an email telling me what to do to fix the problem... he never sent an email.
But again, once you find someone to help you get it to work it's awesome.
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great router, period, December 10, 2005
By sprigget
Have been using this router for over 6 months. First router was a Linksys, second was a Netgear (supposedly high speed). I have not looked back since replacing my other two routers. We live in a fairly large house (basement + 2 floors) and the signal can be read quite nicely throughout the house (in comparison to prior routers which generated weak signals). Setup was quite easy. I do wish the router had an on/off switch. When my broadband connection goes down (briefly, every 3 weeks or so), I need to shut down my cable modem and router and then fire them back up. Would be easier if I could just flip the off switch instead of pulling the plug. All in all, I am very satisfied with this product which also performs nicely with machines using cards made by other manufacturers. Thanks Belkin!
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Great W-lan capabilities, but a little disappointing concernig further options, December 2, 2005
By Roland
As the title says, the W-lan capabilities of this Router are great.
Even 2 floors above the router (solid ferroconcrete) I have still ~60% signal quality and high transfer rates.
On the other hand I expected more settings for that price.
-I missed the possibility to associate IP's with fix mac addresses
-My internet Provider uses an MTU that is outside of the ajustible values (Arcor Germany with 1488 and 1492)
-The setup Tool that came on a CD doesn't allow to configure the Router when the WAN port is not connected to the internet
(of course you can if you use the html configuration)
At the moment I'm using the Belkin as an Access Point and my old rooter keeps the connection to the Internet and works as a DHCP server
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So great that I own three of them!, November 27, 2005
By Benjamin M. Bethel (Phoenix, AZ USA)
I have two of these in a hotel that I own and they reach all but 3 or 4 of 106 guest rooms. I've never had problems, they've stayed on for months without having to be turned off, they're just fantastic! My guests are happy - especially since it's free to them!
So, after tons of issues with my Linksys at home I went ahead and bought one of these to replace the Linksys - I live in a high rise and don't mind my neighbors using my connection - but I suggest that you operate it on 802.11G mode only not b/g, this way you won't be subjecting yourself to slower speeds. Also, I noticed that it was slow - painfully slow for some reason - so I changed the channel setting from 1 to 9 and now I'm at either 54Mbps or 24Mpbs with an "excellent connection" through 5 walls about 60 feet away from the router. Also living in a high rise there's literally dozens of wireless routers (and these are just the ones that broadcast their SSID or "name") in my neighborhood and none of them are interfering with the Belkin!
My gripe is that they still don't have a pre-n USB adapter for computers - it's either PCMCIA for laptops or a card you have to put into your computer. At my hotel we loan out - for free - usb wireless adapters - they work much better than cards because they have a cord for better reception. When will they come out with a USB version of the adapter???
Order it, it's really simple to use and you will not be disappointed!
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Excellent range and speed, November 16, 2005
By Access developer (Arlington, Texas USA)
I had a Linksys 802.11g router and a Dell Inspiron with a built in 802.11g card and antenna. I needed a wireless connection in a detached shop. The Linksys units barely had a connection with the Linksys router sitting in a window facing the shop. With the Belkin router and card the signal strength and speed are maxed out in the shop. This is with the router not even sitting in the window facing the shop.
I setup the router as an Access Point since I already have a router and switch. I had to call Belkin support a couple of times to get this working. On these calls I got through fast and the support advice was very good.
I highly recommend this router and the related PC Card.
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overrated, November 4, 2005
By yuanyg (IL, USA)
To be fair, it can get 3 stars, but I read a lot of good reviews about this router before buying one myself, while I am quite disappointed at this time.
The setup and configuration are easy and the wireless stuff works fine. My main complain is about its lack of flexibility in configuration.
To be more specific, I play online games and also sometime use P2P file sharing clients. The router keeps dropping legitimate packets even after I openned such ports in the firewall/virtual server settings. I don't complain that it tries to employ the heuristics to detect outgoing scans, but why doesn't it have a switch so that I can turn off this "feature" when I do NOT want it. Besides, when using P2P file sharing, it sometime get frozen and I need to reboot the router to get it working... and rebooting this particular model takes 60 seconds.
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Wonderful Range, Hi Speed, Excellent Value, November 3, 2005
By bonefarm.blogspot.com (USA)
The Belkin F5D8230-4 Wireless 802.11x Pre-N Router was easy to install. Setup was a breeze with the helpful setup CD. Belkin also includes an actual hard copy manual.
The router integrates well with various Linksys, Netgear, and AirLink wired and wireless equipment (switches, print servers, standard 802.11B/G adapters, and network storage devices. I still haven't tried Belkin's 108MB Pre-N adapter. I have been very satisfied with standard "G" adapters.
Overall throughput is higher and wireless signal is considerably stronger than with my older Netgear MR811 and newer Linksys WRT54GS with Speedbooster" technology. These routers have been more susceptible to cordless phones and other 2.4GHz equipment interference issues.
On the other hand, setting are changed through the web-based interface which is awkward, a little clunky, and slow to respond at times. However, considering how well the router performs, I probably won't need to change or reset settings very often.
I wish I would have purchased this router in the beginning rather than try less expensive Linksys and Netgear models. Also, as the price continues to drop, this Pre-N router becomes an even better deal.
Overall, I am satisfied with this Belkin's Pre-N technology and highly recommend this router to home users or small business owners.
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Does what it claims to, and nicely at that, November 1, 2005
By GarRick & Co (Phoenix Az)
I have a whole mountain of wireless routers, access points, and so on. Always either disappointing or annoying - or both
Now I have the claimed range and peformance. My Belkin does not drop the entire network to 802.11b speeds if a single 11b (like a print server or old laptop) is present.
I highly recommend this item, I've tried the competition & this is better. Its great for extending the reach of your network and/or keeping your .11g speeds in a mixed wireless environment
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Excellent speed and range, October 22, 2005
By Kenneth J. Schrader (San Luis Obispo, CA)
This router has excellent speed and range and is one of the best computer buys I have ever made. I bought this item based on the excellent CNET reviews and they were right on, this router has the best range of any on the market. The range is so good, that I was able to get good connection at 70 Mbps with my laptop 3 houses up the street (about 200 feet). This was unbelievable, after struggling for years with an old D-link router which would often lose connection and have poor speed from two rooms away from the router in my house.
The router was up and running within one hour from opening the box. I did have to turn off my cable modem and the router for a minute to get an internet connection during the setup, but the fact that this may need to be done was clearly explained in a warning card in the box and in the setup program.
The setup program and book were detailed and clear, and a phone number is provided in several places if you have problems (many other companies do not offer this).
I highly recommend this product for those who have had connection and speed problems with D-Link of Linksys routers.
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It's OK --- Just don't use it as a WAP only!, October 19, 2005
By Robert K. Lanza (Tucson, AZ USA)
Works fine as a router, but when I tried to use it as a WAP only it lost it's internet settings --- EVERY TIME! And forget about Belkin tech support. They are useless. But for a home environment, where you are using it as a router, with NAT, it's totally fine. Gives good coverage. Don't worry about the Pre-N standard and the fear tactics that say it hasn't been standardized. Who cares? It works, so, well, it works.
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Belkin F5D8230-4 Wireless 802.11x Pre-N Router, October 19, 2005
By J2EE (LA, CA)
Belkin is very easy to setup. It comes with a installation wizard CD and make the job easy. I have it installed for almost over a month
and it never needed to be reset. I used it mainly for WPA encription for wireless G device and it works faultlessly. I do not have wireless N device for my laptop yet so I can't comment on the
performance on N setup.
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This is the best., October 18, 2005
By gina_sf (San Francisco)
Soooo easy to install. In few minutes, i was up and running. And at what speed!! wow.
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An excellent boost in range, October 16, 2005
By Kristi Kennelly (Walnut Creek, CA United States)
Bought this because my old linksys A/B/G router's range pooped out far too soon. Installation was simple, the design is a bit sleeker than my old router. Range saw a pretty dramatic improvement, I'd estimate about 3x. What used to be on the very fringe of recieving any signal now gets a respectable 36 Mbps, certainly enough to get maximum bandwidth from my 3.0 Mbps cable internet connection. I haven't purchased any Pre-N cards as of yet due to their expense, but things are just fine with my old A/B/G cards.
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Belkin F5D8230-4 Wireless 802.11x Pre-N Router, October 16, 2005
By Pradeep Mall (Cedar Knolls, NJ)
Excellent reception...Very powerful. It has a amazing range. I had a Linksys-B router for 2 years which was nice too but this is a great product. It didn't have any compatibility issues with my desktop USB Linksys wireless adapter. Everything works like a charm.
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Belkin Wireless Router F5D8230-4, October 8, 2005
By MacLover (Florida)
Plug-and-Play with no hassles, extended the range of my network about three times what it had been with Apple's Airport Extreme. Totally reliable so far (1 month).
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Awesome!, October 3, 2005
By M. Herdeen (Ocean, NJ)
Bought this router 2 days ago. Was previously using an SMC Barricade. Had router installed and configured in 10 minutes using installation disk. Set SSID to previous SSID name and all wireless devices in my house linked up with no problem. 3 computers and 2 Tivos running wireless. Increase in signal stength/range is incredible. Devices 2 floors up from the router are now getting 80-85% signal strength (previously were at 45-50%.
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Not for Gaming Players, September 29, 2005
By UT2004 Gamer
Stay away from this router if you are planning to use the firewall capabilities and you play on-line games. They have a feature within their firewall that is not configurable, and it flags multiple incoming UDP packets as being a "flood", and starts dropping them, EVEN IF YOU HAVE OPENED THE PORTS WITH THE VIRTUAL SERVER SETUP !!
Yes, I am yelling, because this is a simple fix that Belkin seems to refuse to correct. This is most likely the reason for Tom's problem with VOIP.
So until Belkin corrects this, I would stay away from this product.
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Belkin F5D8230-4 Wireless 802.11x Pre-N Router, September 26, 2005
By Joseph Cesarelli
Simple to set up right out of the box, and works extremely well at any location with good signal strength.
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Easy set-up, good performance, so-so compatibility, September 23, 2005
By Guitar Grrl (city of angels)
I've had this router for about a week now. Let me start out by saying that I first bought the Belkin Pre-N desktop card - that turned out to be a complete nightmare. I initially thought my card didn't work because I didn't have this router, but that was not the case. Even after buying this router the Pre-N card did not connect.
Now on to the router. Setup took about 10 minutes, and you can easily configure WPA security and MAC filtering (I would recommend this). All my 802.11g cards picked up the new router and connected right away. I'm at a constant 54mpbs, the max on my network cards. If I was able to find a pre-N card that actually worked, I would maybe get 108mpbs.. but no such luck :)
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