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Brand: Belkin
Model: F5D8233-4
Price: $50.00
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Connecting the Belkin N Wireless Router to your cable or DSL modem lets you share your broadband Internet account with all your networked computers. The N wireless router uses draft 802.11n technology and Intelligent MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) spatial multiplexing techniques which greatly increases speed, coverage, and the reliability of the wireless network. N wireless router offers a quick and efficient way for people to distribute music, photos, and files among the networked computers in their home. ....read more
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Great reliable router for a decent price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have no complaints. I’ve had this router for a few months now and it has provided us with nothing be flawless performance. Infact, since I set it up, I’ve never had to mess with it, no restarting or anything! The speed seems to be plenty up to par, seems to have some neat options like the standby mode (I have not used this feature yet). The unit looks pretty sleek too! The only issue I encountered was with the software setup disk, it seemed is if it wasn’t working right, but then it ended up working after all, the windows set-up wizard picked up where the software left off. So, no probs! I would definitely recommend this router to any home owner or even avid internet users and gamers.
Belkin wireless is blazing fast, but hard to install on Mac
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
it took an hour on the phone with Belkin support to get my new router working with my Mac. The person I spoke to was anxious to help, but clearly clueless about Macs and had to keep asking someone else for assistance.
Once installed, the router is blazing fast. However, I have to unplug it before i put my Mac in “sleep” mode. otherwise it will freeze my Mac. So, it seems not exactly 100% compatible, but i don’t mind doing that one thing every night.
Friends who use Mac have told me they find this router incompatible with Mac and that they returned it. I haven’t done that.
No for Linux…look to Netgear instead
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Should have spent a little more for the Netgear Router that I knew worked. But the Belkin N router looked nice and spec’ed out well. Problem with running Ubuntu is that the setup CD doesnt work. Usually they dont and you just setup through the browser… but after doing that… it STILL sucked. So I am guessing there is SOMETHING in the Windoze version that I didnt see while running Linux that makes it work. THAT, or it is just garbage. Weird.. but the WIFI worked well, it was the hard-wired LAN that didnt. Oh well… bye-bye Belkin. Then I got the Netgear and was running a secure WIFI house in under 5 minutes.
Failed on the 2nd Day… the negative reviews are true
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
Let me just start by saying that I never write reviews for any products (good or bad), and I don’t pay much attention to the negative reviews on any products before I purchase them if the positive comments outweigh the negative ones and I am the type of person who is lucky enough to have never purchased a lemon.
All the electronics I have bought in the past have worked as advertised for me. Well my luck ran out when I bought the Belkin N F5D8233-4 router. When I first got the router in my mail it worked like a charm…fast, and reliable connection. I did have a little bit of trouble with the installation but after a quick rest on my ISP modem and everything worked fine… and yes I am not a tech geek but I do work in the IT field so I am not a novice when it comes to setting up wifi. The hardware is attractive but what good is looks when the circuits fail within 24 hours of plugging the router in.
I called belkin tech support because my router had pretty much failed at this point and the internet light and the modem lights weren’t lighting up. The tech support was nice, it wasn’t their fault but after 30 mins of pointless tinkering around with the router they offered to replace it with a new one but at this point and after the negative reviews on Amazon regarding this router I decided to just return it and try a new brand. I order the Linksys n ultrarange plus.. I hope it’s not a disappointment like this one.
Take it from me, the guy who always had good luck with electronics and didn’t pay attention to negative remarks on a product. This belkin router really is faulty and will more than likely fail… go with another brand.. or a different belkin model… DO NOT GET THIS ROUTER.. Save your self some time and headache.
A terrible purchase experience with a Belkin product
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
When I purchased this router in Nov 2007, I was excited to be upgrading to N speeds, as I was replacing my venerable NetGear WGR614 802.11g router which had finally failed after years of solid service.
I have reposted my review in several sites around the ‘net, in the hopes that savvy consumers who do their pre-purchase research will stay away from this awful piece of junk masquerading as a router. It’s nothing that will last you for years of service, but will instead frustrate you and make you appreciate better-made hardware from other vendors – ANY other vendor than Belkin.
This review will focus simply on the long-term ownership experience of 12+ months of using the F5D8233-4, as other reviewers have covered the basics such as installation, general features and initial impressions.
At first blush, my experience was good: excellent speeds and no issues with my various PC’s( 1 XP and 1 Vista )sharing the same network with my Xbox360. I was pleased with the wireless performance, though I did not try to max out the speeds in initial tests as I did not replace my older laptop until Sept 2008, with which I still reached 150mbps speeds on a regular basis. The newer laptop, with its built-in N adaptor, maxed out near 280mbps consistently at admittedly short ranges of 20-30 feet.
Problems began around July 2008, when I would come home to find the ‘internet’ light flashing amber on the router. At first I thought this was due to a cable service interruption or hiccup, so I took no notice. Until I began happening more and more often, sometimes 2-3 times daily over the course of the next six months. NOT HAVING A RESET / POWER BUTTON only aggravated this issue, for the router’s plug is not the easiest to find in the dark to unplug, wait, and plug in again.
I was perplexed; the router had been protected by a UPS throughout, wasn’t overheating and wasn’t being used for anything close to heavy loads for a consumer-grade router. I contacted my ISP, Shaw cable, who ran tests on different days to confirm my connection was indeed, solid. I installed( and un-installed )OpenDNS to see if that- would cure the router’s random ills; no effect. I tried disabling the wireless, using only 1 PC at a time, disconnecting the Xbox, and every other combination /cure I could think of week to week, to no avail. The flashing internet light still appeared at random, despite it all, even with NO hardware other than the cable modem connected!
I made the rounds of various support forums, as well as firing off emails to Belkin, whose end replies were summarized as ‘it is working fine.’ Similar to the response from Microsoft concerning an Xbox360 HDMI flaw, but that’s a different story. I considered sending it in for replacement, as it carries a lifetime warranty, but unfortunately Belkin is located in the USA and their website proclaims that ‘Canadian customers are responsible for custom charges including, but not limited to, brokerage, taxes, duties and other fees.’ Thanks, but I’ve already paid enough, especially in wasted time and didn’t want to add more financial insult to injury if Customs decided to get aboard.
Obviously the router wasn’t fine, but by that point I’d had enough – constant lockups while downloading, surfing or playing online games had given me a bad taste for this particular bit of Belkin gear. So, this month I gave up and purchased a D-link… after many careful reviews first, again.
The F5D8233 has turned me off purchasing any technical product from Belkin, meaning that anything other than the simplest laptop stand or USB light is nowhere on my radar from Belkin. Shame on them, for peddling this awful router to consumers, with a ‘Lifetime Warranty’ and technical support show they do not try hard to stand behind their products.