| Belkin F5D8233-4 N Wireless Router |
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Model: F5D8233-4
Brand: Belkin
Manufacturer: Belkin Components
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 47
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: |
| Connect your notebook computer to a wireless network to: Stream Music, Share Photos, Enjoy online gaming, Surf the Web, Email and Chat Online |
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| Description: |
| Time to move up to the "N" degree. That's 802.11n wireless networking. It's an emerging extension of 802.11a/b/g. The router employs MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) spatial multiplexing techniques which greatly increases speed, coverage and the reliability of the wireless network and works with all 802.11n equipped devices. |
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| User Reviews (47 total): |
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Not recommended., March 21, 2008
By Loueloui (Sunny Florida)
I have had this router for about 9 months. The only reason why I got it was it was available at Wal-Mart, and I was working nights at the time which made shopping difficult.
This router has a very low quality chipset, and the technical support is at best, unconcerned with your problems. I get the feeling that they hear this all the time. The 'upgrade firmware' feature does not work, and for some reason it is routing my local ping requests through my ISP's DNS server.
**Beware the original firmware that shipped with this router has a serious security flaw, and allowed a remote user to control my router even with remote admin disabled. This in conjunction with the 'upgrade firmware' feature not working may falsely lead you to believe you have the latest firmware, and are protected. Again, tech support could care less.
This router will lock up under heavy loads, causing you to reboot it. Wifi range is okay, but not anything special.
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First time Belkin buyer, March 17, 2008
By muncho (London, UK)
This is my first Belkin purchase. I just couldn't justify the extra 20.00 for Linksys. I've owned Linksys and D-Link. Surprisingly my D link worked extremely well. Belkin was a bit of a nightmare to get set up. The Technical support at Belkin didn't know that my router had to be set up with a bridge modem. So it essentially skips over the login and password of my modem and communicates right with the server of my ISP. Luckily, my DSL company told me how I needed to set up my Belkin and so I called tech support back for the 3rd time and finally I got it set up. But once it was set up properly, it was awesome. Not impressed with Belkin technical suppport. One techie even hung up on me while I was on hold. I guess I shouldn't be too harsh on these guys. After all what do you expect when you ship all your tech jobs off shore to India. These guys are trying to help you at 2:30 in the morning.
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Belkin wireless N router, March 15, 2008
By Norbert Gaskins (southwest usa)
This router is simple to set up and works quite well. The security features are somewhat complex but you can download the manual and obtain whatever information you require to set up a secure network. Overall, I would say that this is an inexpensive router with some quality features that one who is starting out in wireless networking would find very useful.
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Works as compared to Linksys WRT54G V8, February 7, 2008
By SeedQueen (Illinois)
This router works!
I had a dropped connection more than once a day with the Linksys WRT54G version 8. I took that back and bought this, it hasn't dropped the connection once. The installation was easy enough. However, the wireless security was not part of the setup wizard. You had to know to go set it up.
I am using it with Motorola Wireless PCI Adapter WPCI810G driver 6.1.1. The driver allowed WPA2, but it didn't work using the windows network application. When using WPA and the windows network application, I would get a 'Windows was unable to find a certificate to log you on to the network [SSID]' message, though it would then connect with no problems. I don't get that message using WPA2 and the utility that came with the card.
I am also using this router to connect to the Linksys Dual-Band Wireless-N Gaming Adapter as a bridge so I can connect devices in another room. It doesn't seem to have any problems with the connection. I was unable to get the WPS to work between the router and the bridge for quick setup, but it works with manual setup. Not sure if it is the router or gaming adapter that didn't work for WPS.
The style is very contemporary and doesn't look bulky and ugly like other routers. The lights are informative, but bright at night in the bedroom.
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If you have a Mac... DO NOT BUY THIS ROUTER!!!!, February 4, 2008
By Alexander W. Lim
I have a MacBook Pro and I am sharing the wireless connection with a PC. My MacBook connection CONSTANTLY gets dropped. It tells me that I have a full signal, but I can not connect to the internet! Do not bother buying this router if you have a mac. My bro's PC works perfectly fine though! Still I give this a negative star review.
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DO NOT buy this router, January 27, 2008
By C. Flaherty
What a piece of junk this thing is. If you own a Mac don't even waste your money. This router is the only one that has ever given me problems on a Mac and it will continually drop the signal regardless of the type of security protocol you have set up. If I could score this lower than 1 star then I would. After numerous calls to customer service their solution was to set my security to 64-bit WEP! Who wants that?. Great so I spent all this money for nothing. Unless you want to continually hit the reset button, then don't buy this router. A better use for it would be as a bookend.
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Fast and Easy!, January 22, 2008
By scrappy_mom (Houston, TX)
My Linksys WRT54G is a few years old, and suddenly last week it began dropping our connections constantly. Each drop required a complete recycle of the modem and router to get it working again, and then it would only work for another 5-30 minutes before dropping again. Obviously out of warranty, not to mention this is the second Linksys we've owned that ended up dying the exact same way, I decided to try a new company.
The Belkin set-up was so easy I found myself searching the box to make sure there weren't more instructions I was missing. I was never able to get Linksys working without calls to tech support, which is always a real PITA. After 5 minutes with the Belkin simple one-page instruction and install disc, we were live and ready to go. 3 of our computers run XP, and one is running Vista and there have been no connection issues with any of them.
I installed the router this morning, and have not experienced a single connection drop during the day today. If it starts pulling that crap, I'll update the review with details.
I also am extremely happy with the speed and range! The Linksys was unable to reach the back rooms of our home, but the Belkin gives us strong signal in every room of the house. It's much faster, not to mention it was $20 cheaper than a Linksys Wireless N.
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Another great Belkin product!, January 19, 2008
By BuckeyeDoc (USA)
I previously owned a 54g Belkin router for 3 years and never had any problems. Now I needed something a little faster for my PS3 to run on so I grabbed this one. It was as easy to set-up as my previous Belkin and much easier than a linksys I tried to set up for my in-laws. The signal strength is good on the second floor but not as strong as I expected (thus 4 not 5 stars). Data transmission is as expected but I haven't tried using an N USB adapter yet.
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Has some real problems on a mixed network, January 18, 2008
By The CoffeeGeek (Vancouver, BC)
Recently, we went mostly N-capable in our home, so I needed an N router - and narrowed it down to this choice. I wish I hadn't. We have 2 iMac (aluminum models) in our house, two N-capable notebooks, and some G products (iPod Touch, G wifi stereo, G wifi PSP, etc etc). For all the highspeed stuff we needed for computers, 100% N, except for the router. I've bought this one, and now, I've been through two of these units, and they both exhibited the same problem:
The Belkin will lose the DNS settings being fed to it by my cable modem showing a yellow flashing modem communication problem on its panel. It's completely random too. I can happen during high multi-use traffic, or when no one's home, and nothing's being downloaded or streamed.
The only way to get them back is by unplugging the unit, unplugging the cable modem, waiting 30 seconds, and plugging everything in again.
The problem isn't with the cable modem. It's with the router. I can take the network cable, unplug it from the Belkin, plug it into my iMac, and immediately have DNS / connection settings fed to the iMac and be on the Net. Unplug it from the iMac, replug it into the Belkin, and yellow flashing "modem error" light on the front of the unit starts up again.
I've put in a service email to Belkin about the problem (6 days ago now) and have yet to hear from them. I'm returning the item while I still can, and getting another N capable router from DLink. At least they're good on the customer service side.
I would not recommend this router.
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Boosted Signal Strength, January 12, 2008
By Marc A. Bishop
I originally had a Linksys WRT54G, which most people have, and was receiving 50%-60% signal strength with wireless G. Now that I have upgraded to Wireless N, it boosted signal strength to a solid 70%-80% on my home network. This is a must buy.
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A few hiccups, but still recommended (unless you own a Mac), January 8, 2008
By Uncle Zach (Boerne, TX USA)
I purchased this product to replace an aging Microsoft 802.11b router. For those of you who have continued reading despite my admitting to buying a Microsoft hardware product, this Belkin router has been a great addition to my configuration. It was relatively easy to set up, and despite a few problems, I've enjoyed it.
Belkin does do a rather good job idiot-proofing these things; the instructions are clear, everything is labeled well, and the installation is easy. However, I found the router wasn't picking up my Internet connection. A simple call to my provider fixed this, as they required me to change a few settings related to my MAC address. Once this was resolved, I was up and running.
I have a Windows XP desktop, a VOIP phone line, a MacBook laptop, and a Tivo running on the network, and everything was working well. Shortly, however, I found the Internet connection dropping out periodically - particularly on the Mac, as others have reported. I went to the Belkin support site, upgraded the firmware, and have not had a dropped connection since.
Now that things are solid, I find this little router has pretty good performance. My place isn't big, so range isn't an issue, but I have taken the Mac out to the backyard and have had little degradation in coverage. Speeds are great, even when transferring large video files.
Were it not for the initial connection problems, I probably would have given this router a 5-star rating. In my experience, these things are never without problems, but this has been one of my more pleasant runs with networking equipment.
UPDATE: Well, my Mac woes came back with a vengeance. My Macbook began to drop out with little warning; over time, the problems became more and more commonplace. I changed security settings, upgraded/downgraded firmware, used MAC filtering, and came just short of calling in an exorcist. All to no avail.
So, I'm trading it in for a Linksys product. If you have only PCs, maybe a Tivo or XBox, this Belkin router will probably do wonders for you. When it worked, it was blazing fast; indeed, on my Tivo and other machines, it was a great little rig. Unfortunately, Mac owners may want to think twice before purchasing this router.
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3 bad routers before I gave up, December 16, 2007
By Nathan Allan (Provo, UT USA)
Maybe I just happened to get 3 bad Belkin routers in a row, or maybe these things are just poor quality. The first one worked well for almost a year before it started to flake out. I liked the software, so I bought a new one because I liked the idea of upgrading to N technology anyway. The 2nd one immediately started flaking out and got worse. It would cut out for a few seconds every couple minutes. Belkin was good to replace my second router after a long series of support calls, but unfortunately the replacement had similar problems. For somebody casually surfing the web, the problem might not even be noticed, but is a disaster for anything remotely real-time such as VoIP, terminal services, or games. After this 3rd router I had had enough. I didn't even *want* a replacement from Belkin so I went out and baught a DLink and have been happy since (not a single router reset after months!).
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to replace westell 327, November 27, 2007
By krunchnik (memphis,tn)
I purchased this router to replace my westell,I wish I would have realized that you have to use a modem with this router,my westell has the modem built right in.This review is not solely written for using this router but possibly will be of some help to the next purchaser.In set up you do need a existing working modem,and to be internet ready.
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Another one bites the dust, November 7, 2007
By Michael C. Eckhardt (Seattle, WA USA)
I have the same issues above with this router. I have several Mac's, and a MacBook on this router. The Macbook won't stay connected which drives me nuts. My mom has a different Belkin router, and I have no problems at all.
I switched to an Airport Extreme, no problems.
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nices, November 6, 2007
By J. Jackson (Detroit, MI)
I have two PC's and one mac in my house, and the instant I set up this router the PC's connected to it flawlessly and everything was honky dory comfy cozy, but my macbook had a similar problem as some other people complained about, it would lose connection frequently. After looking online, I only saw a bunch of people complaining about it and never telling anyone how to fix it, well I installed the firmware update (you can find this at belkin.com) and i haven't lost connection since!
So, yeah... If i had only PC's i would have given this router 5 stars due to how easy it is to set up, how strong the signal is, how easy it is to set up a password and etc, but i'm giving it 4 stars simply because i had to install updated firmware to get it to work properly with my mac. In belkin's defense though, it was very easy to update the firmware.
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Easiest Setup Ever !, October 27, 2007
By William T. Jones (Imperial, CA USA)
This was almost too simple to setup and get running. Further, it performs admirably. The best part was putting the encryption/protection in place. Click, click and WPA was installed. The whole process from start to finish - maybe 5-7 minutes.
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Problems on Mac Network, October 17, 2007
By Pencil Pusher (USA)
I tried this router for about 2 months on a home network consisting of 4 Macintosh computers, an Apple TV, an Airport Express, and one PC with a wireless card. There were consistent problems maintaining wireless connections although all the devices were within close range. In fact one wireless card and the Airport Express I never could get to connect - tried every configuration I could think of, resetting and restarting everything, enabling and disabling security, etc., and finally gave up. The ethernet portion of the router worked fine - wireless was the problem
I ended up replacing this router with an Apple Airport Extreme which immediately connected up with everything (including the pc) and hasn't given any trouble. Not sure what the trouble with the Belkin was.
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Great Router, October 10, 2007
By Dog enthusiast (Dallas, TX)
Great router. Works well with our system, alot better than my previous one. Better reception and reliabillity.
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Flawless, Sleek, Easy and Hassle-Free, September 15, 2007
By R. Aguilar (New York, NY)
I purchased this router on sale at a retailer, and I was surprised to discover that you won't find many reviews on this product across the Internet, so here are my observations.
With it's black outer casing, this Belkin N Wireless Router is a sleeker-looking model of router. Not only does this product work for me, it looks nice enough for me to want to have on top of my work desk! It uses a simplistic system of lights that show you the status of any part of your network setup. It shines a nice blue hue when all is well, and flashes amber when there's trouble amiss. Troubleshooting is almost a no-brainer.
I got this installed into my network at home, and in less than 5 minutes I was up and running. I use a Macbook Pro, and the network cooperated with it nicely. One thing you want to do once you set it all up is to set a password for the router by going into the System Settings. Also, if you plan to use wireless (which is a basic purpose to have in the first place), then secure it by naming your wireless network and assigning it a password.
Your mileage may vary, but as for me, no "intermittent disconnections" or "flaky coverage" here, and my Mac's wireless can detect about an average of nine other wireless networks in my area... pretty high traffic, but the Belkin holds well against interference. Throughput is as good as the ground-up connection you're getting. Users who have superfast access like Verizon's FiOS will love the throughput as they go wireless on this router, combined with 802.11n. In fact, I still get four bars on my iPhone's wi-fi from the router as I sit in my car in the driveway!
Anyways, that's my experience. I give it five stars because of its sleek design, no-hassle installation, and it works very well for the price you pay.
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Belkin Tech Support is Bad, September 8, 2007
By frustrated customer (Georgetown, TX)
I have had this router for two months and it shutdown; no lights, no internet connectivity. Followed instructions in owner's manual but it would not re-start. Called the technical help number and the recording told me to disconnect the power to cable modem and the router; wait a few minutes and reconnect the power to the modem and then the router. The router would not start. I finally emailed Belkin Customer Service. After 5 days they replied with the same advice I previously got over the phone. I emailed again asking for instructions on returning the router. After four days I still have not received a reply. I would not by another Belkin product based on this incident.
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