| Belkin Wireless-G Router DSL/Cable Gateway |
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Model: F5D7230-4
Brand: Belkin
Manufacturer: Belkin Components
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 244
Operating system: Macintosh
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, FastEthernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
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| Features: |
Creates a network in your home or office without cables
Ensures data and network security with wireless 64- and 128-bit WEP encryption
Offers backward-compatibility with all 802.11b devices
Sets up easily with Belkin Easy Install Wizard-automatically detects Internet settings and self-adjusts Router to get you online in under 3 minutes |
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| Description: |
| Belkin F5D7230-4 802.11g Wireless Cable/DSL Router - This device is a must if you have multiple computers and a hi-speed Cable or DSL Internet connection. With a built-in 4-Port Ethernet switch and support for 802.11g technology, you can share files, peripherals, or the Internet - with or without wires! DMZ Hosting Configures easily with any web browser or Easy Install Wizard 64- and 128-bit WEP data encryption Stackable enclosure and vertical stand (included) helps reduce the desktop footprint Includes - power supply, manual, quick install guide, RJ45 networking cable, & software CD |
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| User Reviews (244 total): |
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I am happy, October 24, 2005
By John Smith
Allright. First of all let me tell you that I have Roadrunner cable connection so I do not know how this router would perform with DSL. This is my first wireless router. I searched Bestbuy and Circuitcity websites to find a wireless router that costs less than $30 without rebates (because I have sworn NEVER to buy products with MIRs on them). I saw this router for $29.99 on the CircuitCity website and for $39.99 on bestbuy website. I went to the nearest bestbuy store (because I dont like circuitcity customer service) and started looking for the product on their shelves. I had the product code with me. The thing is, the product does NOT have two antennae and the unit is much smaller. The one that has two antennae costs more. Anyway, I stood in the store staring at the product wondering whether to buy it or not. They told me that there is no reshelving fee so I decided to take the chance. Ofcourse, they matched circuit city price.
I came home and opened the box, and the router was tiny (much smaller than any other wireless routers that I have seen) which made me wonder what exactly the carton meant by "upto 400 feet coverage". I thought maybe they left out the word "square" before "feet". Anyway, it came with an installation CD and the steps were fairly straightforward...except the penultimate one in which the router "checks for internet connection" and "reconnects upto 10 times if necessary" and which begged me to be patient.
/* Skip the next para if you have not yet bought the router - it will not make much sense to you. Just remember that the penultimate step in the installation procedure is bit crazy...probably because of a bug in their installation software and that it took me about an hour to get thru this step.*/
I was patient allright. It tried and tried and finally said that it could not make the connection...which was stupid. I switched off my cable modem and switched it on again (been using Windows for too long I guess!) and it did not seem to make much of a difference. Finally I thought maybe the cable (that connected my computer to one of the router's ports) was not connected properly. So, I unplugged the cable from its port and plugged it into the adjacent port. The thing then said it found the internet connection! I think it was a fluke. I am not sure it will work for you.
At this point, my computer found the router (and I was able to see the admin page by typing the given IP in the browser) but the router was still not connected to the internet (which was bizzare because the previous step succeeded *because* it found the connection). Anyway, I switched off the modem and switched it on and the router then said that it is connected to the internet. From that point onwards, it was simple and easy. I went through each of the menus in the admin page and set the security etc. I used both MAC filtering (only one machine uses the router) and WPA. I turned off SSID broadcasting as recommended. The security log leaves something to be desired. I thought I'd be able to see the urls being visited by the machines...but I was wrong (may be I just dont know where to look for them). The system log records the time at which a machine logs in and the MAC of the machine. The time for some reason was not accurate (It was one month ahead) - another glitch in the software/firmware.
After that, things have been great. I live in a 1-bedroom apartment. The connection speed is usually full 54Mbps. Some times it drops to 48 Mbps..but never less than that. Internet speed is blazing.
Overall, for the price I paid, I could have gotten one of those fancy routers (netgear for example).....but that is after MIRS and I hate MIRS. I am happy with this router even though the software, in my opinion, has some glitches. I would suggest to give this a try if you are getting it from a nearby store (so that you can return it if you dont like it). As far as buying it online is concerned, well, it depends on how good their customer service is (Can they walk you thru the installation procedure?) and I don't know anything about that.
Update: It might interfere with some of your tv channels (if you use the indoor TV antenna).
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Another useless product, October 4, 2005
By Brett
I'm really beginning to wonder why computer manufacturers seem to think it's OK to push this junk out on us to waste countless hours of our time before returning it. Another day shot. This is nice and stylish, but like others complain, the connections suck--and I even paid full price. Unless it is in the same room (8 feet away), forget it. Mine is downstairs (maybe 10 feet away but through the floor), and I consistently get 4 or 5 bars in XP, but it takes several minutes to connect if at all and frequently drops after a few minutes. For example, it dropped during the few minutes to write this review, and I will be long done writing it before it reconnects. Ironically, my computer keeps connecting to my neighbors Netgear box next door even though it is only 2 or 3 bars. But, he is not using encryption. Maybe the encryption hoses this products ability to connect. Also, the firewall/DHCP feature set is utterly primitive, so I configured it only as an access point. One last problem is that it fails to boot with my real firewall (SonicWall) on the same network, so this requires another unplug and reboot. At least the firmware is more stable than the D-Link product which I am also wasting my time returning. Next up is probably LinkSys, but they get even worse reviews and the older blue ones don't even support WPA. Is it too much to ask that a product works for even a few hours? (P.S. 8 failed connection retries to submit this review--all 5 bars before I gave up and used my neighbors' router.)
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Good for novices..., September 8, 2005
By uber geek (Lindon, UT)
I purchased the router here, but received one that looks completely different and does NOT have parental control (but it had the same model number). I called Belkin and they informed me that they no longer made the one with parental control (but they still used the same model number!??). They agreed to exchange mine for an older one with parental control, and I received it in 2 days. I got it installed but found out that it only supports ONE VPN connection (that's only one--either one incoming or one outgoing). My old SMC allowed for multiple VPN connections in both directions simultaneously, which is a necessity for me. I guess I'll have to keep looking for good parental control.
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Serves multiple purposes; Very easy to setup; Overall Great product, August 26, 2005
By technohindu (Portland)
I love this thing. I'm amazed that you can use this thing as a router, access point, bridge, or even just a hub. I was a diehard linksys fan but at the price I decided to give this a try. I still use a linksys router to connect to my ISP and setup the Belkin just as an access point (to upgrade my network to G) and it is great! I haven't had any range problems in my loft and the security options are great with all my neighbors also having wireless networks. I highly recommend this router.
I agree with others that the provided software sucks but the router also has a web interface which is a walk in the park to configure. The thing does look kinda ugly and the little labels above the LEDs are hard to read but I'll deal with it.
I also got the Belkin Wireless access point and have had great luck with it also.
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connection problems!, August 23, 2005
By herry
This unit is a good wireless access point but a really lousy router and gateway. The worst flaw is that it can't handle too many connections, otherwise internet applications like Internet Explorer won't be able to connect to ANY web site! The WAN (DSL) connection also disconnects several times during the day for some unknown reason. I ended up stacking the unit with a Linksys gateway for my DSL because the Belkin has too many quirks and issues. If you already have a wired DSL/cable router and need wireless ability, this is a good choice, otherwise you can find something better.
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the worst, July 24, 2005
By Dimitry Pitel (usa)
i live in a 3 bdrm apt and it ALWAYS gets disconnected, it got disconnected as i tried to type this...so annoying. I'm going to just get a cable and stop using wireless.
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complete and utter rubbish, June 15, 2005
By Nikwax (Portland, OR United States)
I own this router along with a Belkin Access Point that I'm attempting to get to work together. I've had to replace the AP once already and the replacement is no better. I've just "upgraded" the firmware on the router and now the router has ceased to function. I'm about 8 hours into this project which includes a ridiculous hour on the phone with Belkin tech support plus trips to the post office to ship gear back to them at my expense. I'm about to give all of the Belkin gear away and switch to something that actually works (for example, I configured two AP's and a firewall/router at work in about 15 minutes).
And for a real laugh, Belkin's idea of security is to display the network's SSID without someone needing to log in. Um, right, that's secure.
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PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS, April 22, 2005
By A Rasmussen (Wisconsin, USA)
I know much about routers, and this is one of those bad ones. Lifetime warranty?? Maybe so but when the support treats you like a five year old and has to make sure you have rebooted it and upgraded the firmware in EVERY email, it gets irritating. It took me about 3 months to get a replacement. It also disconnects around 4 -10 times per day. Resetting it is a real pain and since my computer is on a different floor than the router, I can say i sure do get my excersise. When it does stay connected the Strength doesnt go past Low and the speed wont go past 18.0 Mbps. I'm maybe only 15 feet away from it. This is a very sad router overall.
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Cheap but quite reliable, April 19, 2005
By ak2005 (Cincinnati, OH)
Talk about cheap, at < $30 this router is a really good deal, especially since it gives MAC/WEP/WPA security and the maintenance is pretty simple and webbased. no lousy softwares to load. I had a Microsoft MN-700 before that used to disconnect me every now and then and had to load a software for that. Not this Belkin one. It works pretty well with almost any wireless cards that i tried and I even tried some cheap USB wireless connector that i got from somewhere and it worked just fine. The help if needed is pretty straight forward. The footprint of the router is small to take just bare minimum realestate. I actually found the setup to be more extensive than Linksys' which is supposed to be the industry king. Heck, i don't need a king. i just needed that works and this one is just what i needed.
With some new faster and wider range standards in the offing, i think its futile paying too much for a 802.11g if its going to be replaced within say a year or so.
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Works Fine, but has Some Key Useability Issues, April 18, 2005
By Benjamin Kent (NJ, USA)
I baught this router as a gift for someone. The first unit just wouldn't powerup so I called Belkin 1-800-. I got a rep in the first try. I just wanted to know if there was any fuse to check or a power switch on the router. It seems that either power converter unit was bad or the router had some assembly defect. To my utter surprise, three days later I had a UPS package at my door. Belkin service team has sent me a new router even without my asking for any replacement. I was really impressed that company trusted me, and saved me from the hassle of trying to return the dead router. Full marks to Belkin for great service - never before any company shiped me a replacement at its own cost.
I installed the second router using the CD that came with it after removing my trusted Netgear 814 (11b) router. Unfortuntely, the install software will stop at step 5- trying to connect to Internet, and application will lock up indefinitely. After a few tries, I gave up and called the Belkin customer support for help. Again,I got the customer support person on the first try. The Belkin rep asked me to reset router using a pin, power down cable modem, and the router, and then power up one by one. I came to know that you can configure it by opening page 192.168.2.1 on your browser, and no need to use CD supplied software.
Once it started working, the performance was excellent every where in my house. I got very good response across walls with good measured signal strength. I used both Ethernet ports and my centrino laptop with 802.11b interface. Both worked fine.
I have following key complaints against the product design:
1. Installation CD is useless and you may find some problems with it. So use (undocumented) web interface.
2. Router has no local "bad words" filtering as on my two year old netgear MR814b. It does have an excellent subscription based filtering software for first 6 months free, but I don't want to pay subscription for some thing that should be part of the router software. I was pretty disappointed since this would result me to install netnanny or something similar on all my home machines including office laptops.
3. There is no way to find out how many machines are on the network. So, my neighbor can use my Router, but I wouldn't know about it (I don't use a WEP Key.)
4. Needs some log file so that we can debug the problem when it doesn't work.
In short, the router works fine, but definitely needs some software improvements, specially installtion software user interface can be better, and definitely needs some local adult content filtering mechanism that doesnot rely on any subscription fee.
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drop connection when security is enabled, April 7, 2005
By H. Wang (Santa Clara, CA USA)
I bought this model since it has a fat rebate which brings down the price to $10. Good for the price. And the stability is not too far above the price level.
Installation is relatively easy. Hooking the router up with my DSL modem and computer is trivial. Running the software on the CD is easy too. One thing though: since I use static ip for Internet connection, the quick setup does not support it so initially my Internet connection is not up. That's fine and I know it since many such routers only support dynamic ip address on the Internet side by default. I manually configured that through its web interface and then its wireless and ethernet connections start working.
Good so far. And I expect most people would be happy now. But since the default wireless mode does not use security at all which means someone could peek at what you visit or use my Internet connection, so I decided to add security to the router. Now the fun begins.
It took me half an hour to figure our which security mode is useable - I finally chose WPA-RSK mode since this is the only security mode I found working (after numerous reboots). But the story does not end here. It keeps dropping connection every 3-5 minutes. Yes, every 3-5 minutes! This is virtually unuseable.
I have to turn off the security feature and this works fine for only 20 minutes. The connection remains on and off periodically.
My laptop is only two feet away from the router, so signal strength should never be an issue for me.
I don't use any other features of the router, so no comments on other parts.
For the price and basic functionality, I gave it 2 star. I wish Belkin had more reliable product, but it certainly disappoints me.
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Poor quality product with worst customer support, March 26, 2005
By I hate Belkin (CA USA)
The router drops internet connection every 5 - 6 hours. I called
Belkin and after long discussion he said my issue was escalated
to level 3 and would be contacted 24 hours. No contact.
I called again and got the same response - "level 3", no contact
again. I sent email but they didn't reply, either ...
It's waist of time. I wouldn't buy any Belkin product ....
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Finally, an easy to set up router that works reliably, March 25, 2005
By XPhila (Philadelphia, PA)
I had been using a Netgear 802.11b router who's performance was so spotty that after many troubleshooting attempts, I gave up the idea of creating my home network. Thinking that maybe something in the house was causing interference, I recently upgraded to a Netgear 802.11g router. The result was even worse: the guided set-up was poor and I couldn't even get online with my main computer. I'm not a computer expert so I was looking for a product that can lead me through setup in a simple manner. Another friend who was having similar problems with his Linksys and Netgear routers suggested Belkin and that was the best advice I ever got.
With this Belkin router, within minutes, I got the network up and running. I get a 100% signal strength almost everywhere in my house (with the old Netgear, I never got more than 60%) and it works flawlessly. For my simple requirements to use my laptop in my living room and connect my TIVO to my PC, I needed something that was EASY TO SET UP and RELIABLE. For those requirements, unlike Netgear, the Belkin router fits the bill.
If you're looking for simplicity & reliability, this router won't disappoint
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Poor Belkin's tech support, March 22, 2005
By Slan (Plano, Texas)
The tech support guy was soooooo ignorant,,,,
My problem was when the router tried to connect to the internet during the last stage of the setup process. It kept trying for about 10 times but failed. Their tech support seemed knowing nothing but following a standard proceedure and eventually directed me to my cable modem's vendor. The cable modem worked just fine with a wireline Datalink router.
The purpose of writing this review is tell you how I fixed on my own in case you have had the same problem: While it was trying to "connect to the Internet", I turned off the cable modem, and then turned it on. After that, the router found the Internet connection and everything else has been just perfect.
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It may not be compatible with your network adaptor!, March 15, 2005
By fair 'n balanced (USA)
First off, this is my first Belkin product. My previous router was a Netgear MR814 that worked great until recently when it would lockup every other month. Not a big deal as restarting it would work. However, a super deal (Eight bucks after rebates) on this router was too good to pass up, so I bit this w/end.
Router # 1:
As with all my devices that I buy, I normally go to the manufacturer's page and download the latest drivers/firmware. Nothing different in this case. Once I got the router connected and was able to get online, I went ahead and updated the firmware. Thereafter, the router simply turned itself into an Access Point (or put itself into DMZ), and I could no longer access the router's configuration page (192.168.2.1). So, the router was basically open, with no security configured. Resetting the router didn't help. Belkin Customer Support was alright, but were not able to help me solve the problem. They recommended I get an exhange for another router. So I did just that, and that brings me to ...
Router # 2
This one connected fine to the internet, and I was up and running within ten minutes. I didn't dare make the same mistake of updating the firmware. I was willing to live with whatever it came with. However, this one had a different problem. I'm trying to connect my (Dell Latitude D400) laptop to it via ethernet cable or even wirelessly. No matter what I did (including pray to it), it just would not assign an IP to the laptop. (When connected wirelessly, the laptop succesfully associated itself with my WLAN network, however, the router did not assign it an IP).
I then disabled DHCP on my laptop and manually assigned it an IP. I was then able to succesfully ping the laptop from my desktop through the router. However, the laptop was not able to ping the router, desktop, or any other IP for that matter. I ensured that no firewalls were running, and no MAC addresses were being blocked. The mode on the router IS set to 54g AUTO to ensure that it's backward compatible. Enabling or disabling the Wireless Bridge option doesn't change anything for me.
The laptop's ethernet port, as well as the integrated WLAN adapter work like a champ at work. So I know the adaptor and the ethernet port on my laptop are not faulty.
I also know that the cable is not faulty. I changed the cable as well as tried connecting to a different port at the back of the router. It did not help.
Finally, I called Belkin. After being put on hold for about fifteen minutes, I got a live person on the other end who suggested I try changing the duplex mode to half-duplex on the laptop's network adapter. That did not help either.
After ruling out all of the above, I've concluded that this router is just not compatible with the network adapter in my laptop. My network adapter has a Broadcom 570x Gigabit Ethernet Controller. Also, it is an 802.11b compliant device.
I'm quite confortable with networking, and have been doing it for a while. SO certainly not a novice at this. I have decided it's not worth losing any more sleep over this. My (almost) trusty ol' Netgear is back on, and the 7230-4 is on it's way back to the store.
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Constantly drops / Dead after 3 months, March 14, 2005
By hb (Willimantic, CT USA)
I see all these problems in previous posts and it happens to me, too:
1. If you use cable modem (my modem is the newest Motorola surfboard): It drops and reconnects every 2-3 minutes. It's annoying since I need to login everything again. If you use DSL it's OK.
2. It's now dead after 3 months. Try 192.168.2.1 to access control panel and it will take SEVERAL MINUTES to bring it up. Did soft and hard reset but no luck. My network is wired and hasn't changed for a year. So it has nothing to do with my WAN service or wireless noises. Tech support just keeps telling me nonsense like that. (I have 3 windows computer and 1 linux server hooked to it, maybe I "overloaded" it?)
3. No firmware update in 2 years. A lot of bugs there. e.g. Needs reset from time to time; DHCP lease time is a joke (it always lease the lowest possible IP to you/never remembers your last IP)
Overall, stay away from any Belkin products except power cords or CD jewel cases. They are not serious network equipment maker. Don't buy even if it's free after rebate. Get a more reliable LinkSys, NetGear, D-Link... whatever.
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do NOT buy, February 27, 2005
By Nam Nguyen
has firmware issues, will NOT allow port forwarding because of buggy firmware that hasn't been fixed for 18 months! don't expect a firmware upgrade to fix it; furthermore, the new version v1444 has packet loss issues and will not be a good wireless bridge
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Don't think this is a router, February 9, 2005
By Cheryl Ransick (Edwardsville, IL United States)
The basic functions work fine. Connecting to the internet, vpn, wireless, etc all work fine. Don't think you are buying a router though. I can't broadcast video traffic, send point to point video traffic or set up multiple client IP firewall rules. Tech support recommends updating the firmware which I did to no avail. Without routing functions, my free router (after rebates) isn't such a good deal. Oh yeah, I'm having trouble with the virtual server too. BTW, My old wireless router (Brand D) didn't have any of these problems.
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I WISH I WOULD HAVE BOUGHT THIS SOONER!, February 3, 2005
By McCaw (Ft Worth, TX)
We have spent a fortune on "premium tech support" at around $30.00 per incedent for a 6 month old NETGEAR that kept losing the configuration every other week. We were never able to print or secure our network. I finally gave up and decided to try a BELKIN and it has been great. The tech support alone is worth much more than the price we paid. They are friendly and very helpful. We finally have a network that does everything it is supposed to do and costs about half what of what the original one did. LESSON LEARNED!
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Fantastic! Better than linksys!, January 28, 2005
By don130 (Maryland United States)
I got this router for my classroom at school. Set up was a piece of cake on my macs running 10.3. Up and running on the internet in less than 5 minutes!
Super fast speed!
This replaced a linksys router running wireless g, and the speed on the connection has doubled! Downloading pages, and email has increased in speed conseiderably. I was amazed!
Highly recommend.
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