Belkin F5D6231-4 Wireless Cable/DSL Router
by Belkin Components
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List Price: Our Price: $36.95 You Save: $28.24 (43%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $5.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Belkin F5D6231-4 Wireless Cable/DSL Router
Customer Review: Works well
Summary: 4 Stars
I got this hub to upgrade my security features from my older wireless hub. The addition of MAC filtering, and the ability to disable the broadcast of the SSID, were exactly the security features I needed, so I could drop the encryption. The range: I get marginally more range than my previous hub, so I can now use it without a repeater.
The case: Cheap plastic. It's the only thing so far I take away from it. But to their credit they include a base, so I can stand it on end. I can even wall mount it too, but the holes to me seem to be 'backward'.
One thing I learned with this hub, is that you DO NOT turn on remote management. I'm on Road Runner, and the administrative functions kept getting locked up by an IP address in the 140 range. It was annoying for a few hours until I figured it out. I think it's the dirty no-good scum hackers/spammers trying to get in. (Make sure you change the default password to prevent access.)
Customer Review: This thing is junk, save yourself the trouble
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this because it was cheap and I just wanted to use it as an extra network switch, and possibly an access point later. First thing I wanted to do was change the IP address so it coincided with the rest of my network. By doing this the router gets confused and changes to a random IP. It still works with the settings you had in it before changing the IP but you can't connect to it to configure anything else. If you try to use the "Access Point Only" mode, that doesn't work either and the router stops working altogether. In both situations you have to reset it to factory defaults and start all over. Belkin has no fix for this problem, I called them. Their solution was unacceptable and here we are a couple years after I bought this thing and they still haven't fixed it. Buy Belkin cables, stay away from all their electronics with firmware and/or software, they don't support them very well.
Customer Review: Good...not great
Summary: 3 Stars
MicroCenter was running an excellent sale on these suckers, so I took one home to consolidate my network. The web interface was pretty slick (and highly Mac-compatible), and setup was a snap. The free 24x7 tech support was awesome. Unfortunately, there were two problems with the router that made me take it back:1. It's not compatible with anything but IP over ethernet. If you want to carry anything besides IP packets between wired and wireless ethernet (e.g., AppleTalk frames), then you're outta luck. Tech support assured me this would be addressed in a future firmware upgrade (which it was for this router's predecessor).
2. After a hard or soft restart, the SSID is broadcast regardless of setting. If it was disabled before, the only way to disable it again is to enable it and then disable it. Since this can happen without notice, it poses an unacceptable security risk in my opinion.
Customer Review: Don't waste your money
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased this product about amonth ago. It does work but only if I stay within 10 feet of the base station. I have usb cables that let me get futher away. I have spent countless hours on the phone with their technical support. Everytime they gave me the same suggestions. Do you have any 2.4 ghz wireless phones? No. Ohh?? Did you change the channel? yes. Ohh? Try turning your computer off then back on. Ok. Did that work? No. Let me elevate the call. Then I got the same none solution anwsers from the next guy. I recomend researching your wireless product well. If it gets lesss than a 70% positive feedback from at least 100 people run. If they support it for 30 days run. I ended up buying a DLINK |DI-624 2.4GHz it cost around the and it works. I can go anywhere in my house and it works (so around 150ft from base that is as far as I have tried).
Douglas
Customer Review: Buggy web setup interface, stable once you get it going
Summary: 3 Stars
Some parts of the online setup interface on this router do not work well at all. Sometimes it seems that changes will only take effect if you stand on your head, click the mouse button with your pinky finger, and pray that the Belkin gods will see the wisdom of your configuration and apply your changes.
That said, the router is quite reliable once you do get it set up. I have used it in a standard home router configuration and also as a simple access point in a college dorm (letting the university's downstream DHCP server handle address assignment). Both setups result in reliable performance and good signal strength within a reasonable distance of the unit.
The only gripe I have about this router aside from the quality of the setup interface is that it only features the relatively weak WEP security, and not the superior WPA.