Review by VC for Belkin Wireless Router N1 Rating:
I bought this router on the strength of a number a of reviews but unfortunately it proved maddening. For almost a month I tried to get consistent performance from it before sending it back and plumping for a Netgear solution instead.
The installation was a breeze and all wired and wireless machines were able to connect with no problems. The issues I encountered were frequent website lockouts, problems accessing pop mail servers and the inability of Linux machines to get a consistent connection to update servers, or in the case of my Netbook, complete failure at all times.
I tried many times resetting the router to factory defaults and gradually enabling one feature at a time but it seemed to make no difference. Whether this is actually a faulty router, an incompatibility with Virginmedia Broadband, or just an option I never managed to find in the configuration I don’t know. The fact that this affected both wired and wireless connections may point to the router but I guess I’ll never know. What I do know is that as soon as I connect a Netgear Rangemax router everything was perfect.
Review by Kevin Rowland for Belkin Wireless Router N1 Rating:
I’m afraid this router has the potential to cause you ALOT trouble. I bought with a Belkin compat’ dongle. I simply could not gain any web connection that was sustainable. Has the potential to kick out a strong signal, for brief periods. The software that comes with this product is old. When seeking to update this from the Belkin website I found their latest update was from 2007. They really havent put any effort into its development. I called the Belkin support staff on a number occasions. On one occasion I was told to turn off my antivirus and firewalls and it should work fine! I put it him that he was suggesting the system would only work with nil security where he confirmed YES!! he’s obviously wrong but what a great bit of support there!! Thanks!!
This is a very unstable product with awful and dated software, really dont take the risk. I have bought the Linksys Ultra RangePlus Wireless-N Broadband Router WRT160N – Wireless router + 4-port switch – EN, Fast EN, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n (draft)This is a brilliant product, givinf a stable 150mbps plus from the far end of the house, is very stable indeed in online gameplay.
Review by D. Nunn for Belkin Wireless Router N1 Rating:
Bought this by mistake, although was not clear from description. Spent an hour trying to connect until phoned Belkin helpdesk (in India) who informed me that this product will not work with BT Broadband. I am sure it is a good product hence 3 stars, but never got it to work.
Amazon refund service excellent. Includes printed label for free return
Also bear in mind this product requires a seperate ADSL modem.
If you want one that works with BT and includes a modem you need the F5D8631UK4A at slightly more cost, but same connectivity rates and power.
Review by Jimmy L for Belkin Wireless Router N1 Rating:
I have been using this router for a week now and both my laptop and desktop have shown connectivity of 54Mbps all the time. I have even taken my laptop to the bottom of my garden (approx 40 metres away) and it still gave a connection of 54Mbps! However I have not used the Belkin N1 wireless adaptor (not included) with this router so cannot comment on whether it can supply the maximum link rate of 300Mbps.
The router uses blue lit icons to display connectivity status for security, wired, wireless, router, modem & internet; an amber lit icon indicates a fault.
The router also uses WPA, WPA2, 64 and 128 bit WEP encryption for maximum security and also comes in this seasons colour of gloss piano black
TIP: If using the setup assistant during the initial wired connection (and were wireless previously), make sure you have Windows Zero Configuration enabled (Start>Run>Services.msc) which can be located near bottom of the list. This can be turned off (recommended) once wireless connectivity has been achieved to avoid conflicts.
Review by M. Millar for Belkin Wireless Router N1 Rating:
I bought this router with two Belkin wireless-N cards – one for my PC and one for the laptop. But I just couldn’t get it to work. Spent a few hours on ‘chat’ with Belkin support who went through the usual routine and then advised me to return the router to the shop. I then sent an email to Belkin support. The chat support was very basic though the email support was fast (they even replied on a Saturday) and accurate.
The problem is the drivers on the cards! The router I had was shipping with the latest firmware, but both cards were shipping with drivers from 2006. The reason I hadn’t noticed is that each Belkin website around the world seems to have different versions of software. I was looking at the UK site which is still posting old drivers. Belkin support pointed me to their US site which has the latest drivers.
Except for one problem. The driver for the PC card is correct. But the driver for the laptop card is still old! The important thing is a file netmw145.sys. Both cards use this driver. The PC ships with v2.1.4.6 but the laptop software still contains an old version. If you have a laptop then you just need to copy this file from a PC. It resides in the c:windowssystem32drivers.
(out of 20 reviews)
Review by VC for Belkin Wireless Router N1
Rating:
I bought this router on the strength of a number a of reviews but unfortunately it proved maddening. For almost a month I tried to get consistent performance from it before sending it back and plumping for a Netgear solution instead.
The installation was a breeze and all wired and wireless machines were able to connect with no problems. The issues I encountered were frequent website lockouts, problems accessing pop mail servers and the inability of Linux machines to get a consistent connection to update servers, or in the case of my Netbook, complete failure at all times.
I tried many times resetting the router to factory defaults and gradually enabling one feature at a time but it seemed to make no difference. Whether this is actually a faulty router, an incompatibility with Virginmedia Broadband, or just an option I never managed to find in the configuration I don’t know. The fact that this affected both wired and wireless connections may point to the router but I guess I’ll never know. What I do know is that as soon as I connect a Netgear Rangemax router everything was perfect.
Review by Kevin Rowland for Belkin Wireless Router N1
Rating:
I’m afraid this router has the potential to cause you ALOT trouble. I bought with a Belkin compat’ dongle. I simply could not gain any web connection that was sustainable. Has the potential to kick out a strong signal, for brief periods. The software that comes with this product is old. When seeking to update this from the Belkin website I found their latest update was from 2007. They really havent put any effort into its development. I called the Belkin support staff on a number occasions. On one occasion I was told to turn off my antivirus and firewalls and it should work fine! I put it him that he was suggesting the system would only work with nil security where he confirmed YES!! he’s obviously wrong but what a great bit of support there!! Thanks!!
This is a very unstable product with awful and dated software, really dont take the risk. I have bought the Linksys Ultra RangePlus Wireless-N Broadband Router WRT160N – Wireless router + 4-port switch – EN, Fast EN, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n (draft)This is a brilliant product, givinf a stable 150mbps plus from the far end of the house, is very stable indeed in online gameplay.
Review by D. Nunn for Belkin Wireless Router N1
Rating:
Bought this by mistake, although was not clear from description. Spent an hour trying to connect until phoned Belkin helpdesk (in India) who informed me that this product will not work with BT Broadband. I am sure it is a good product hence 3 stars, but never got it to work.
Amazon refund service excellent. Includes printed label for free return
Also bear in mind this product requires a seperate ADSL modem.
If you want one that works with BT and includes a modem you need the F5D8631UK4A at slightly more cost, but same connectivity rates and power.
Review by Jimmy L for Belkin Wireless Router N1
Rating:
I have been using this router for a week now and both my laptop and desktop have shown connectivity of 54Mbps all the time. I have even taken my laptop to the bottom of my garden (approx 40 metres away) and it still gave a connection of 54Mbps! However I have not used the Belkin N1 wireless adaptor (not included) with this router so cannot comment on whether it can supply the maximum link rate of 300Mbps.
The router uses blue lit icons to display connectivity status for security, wired, wireless, router, modem & internet; an amber lit icon indicates a fault.
The router also uses WPA, WPA2, 64 and 128 bit WEP encryption for maximum security and also comes in this seasons colour of gloss piano black
TIP: If using the setup assistant during the initial wired connection (and were wireless previously), make sure you have Windows Zero Configuration enabled (Start>Run>Services.msc) which can be located near bottom of the list. This can be turned off (recommended) once wireless connectivity has been achieved to avoid conflicts.
Review by M. Millar for Belkin Wireless Router N1
Rating:
I bought this router with two Belkin wireless-N cards – one for my PC and one for the laptop. But I just couldn’t get it to work. Spent a few hours on ‘chat’ with Belkin support who went through the usual routine and then advised me to return the router to the shop. I then sent an email to Belkin support. The chat support was very basic though the email support was fast (they even replied on a Saturday) and accurate.
The problem is the drivers on the cards! The router I had was shipping with the latest firmware, but both cards were shipping with drivers from 2006. The reason I hadn’t noticed is that each Belkin website around the world seems to have different versions of software. I was looking at the UK site which is still posting old drivers. Belkin support pointed me to their US site which has the latest drivers.
Except for one problem. The driver for the PC card is correct. But the driver for the laptop card is still old! The important thing is a file netmw145.sys. Both cards use this driver. The PC ships with v2.1.4.6 but the laptop software still contains an old version. If you have a laptop then you just need to copy this file from a PC. It resides in the c:windowssystem32drivers.