Belkin F5D8230-4 Wireless 802.11x Pre-N Router

by Belkin

Product Details

Product Manual [12.09mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 10 x 6 inches ; 2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0006A7X36
• Item model number: F5D8231-4
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (226 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 19, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

You're probably familiar with the alphabet of the wireless world--802.11b, g, and a--but another letter is right around the corner: n. While the 802.11n standard still has yet to be finalized, Belkin's Pre-N router gives us a taste of what's in store for the future of wireless... sort of (more on that below). The Belkin Pre-N is backwards compatible with 802.11b/g wi-fi cards and super-sizes them with some of the proposed, but not final, features of 802.11n and applied them to its Pre-N Router, which also doubles as a 4-port Ethernet router. It's touted to both extend range and greatly improving wireless throughput capacity to a maximum 108 Mbps (megabits per second) speed.

However, this is all theoretical, in a sense, due to the fact that routers never achieve the maximum throughput they're rated at (802.11b at 11 Mbps and 802.11g at 54 Mbps). But how does the Belkin Pre-N even hope to double this theoretical maximum? MIMO. That's Multiple Input, Multiple Output, which is an antenna technology that adds a third antenna to the one or two that your current router already has. With this added antenna, the Belkin Pre-N is able to send more data packets at one time, thus increasing the speed of transmission.

As mentioned above, Belkin is using technology and standards that have been proposed for 802.11n. But since nothing has been finalized, Belkin is ultimately guessing at what may come down the pike, and the Pre-N router is not guaranteed to work with the final 802.11n standard when it arrives in another year or so. Why, then, should you invest in pre-release technology with iffy chances of operability in the future? Because, thanks to its backward compatibility with 802.11b/g, it can be used to fill in the gaps of your wireless network today.

We tested the Belkin Pre-N in our home using a PowerBook G4 with an AirPort Express (54g) card, and we were able to compare performance to a Belkin 54g wireless access point (F5D7130), which we've used at home now for over a year. Upon connecting the Ethernet cable from our DSL modem into the Pre-N, then turning on AirPort to receive a signal, we were surprised to find nothing but an error message when selecting the Pre-N. Unfortunately, the Easy Install Wizard (found on the included CD-ROM) does not work with the Mac OS (despite being advertised to), and Mac users will have to use the "Alternate Setup Method" as described in the user manual--i.e., the Web-based configuration tool (which you should access initially via Ethernet cable to one of the router's ports). Setup was pretty simple, and we began to pick up the wireless signal strong and clear immediately.

As we began surfing, we didn't experience wholesale speed increases in our testing, the download times (using the FireFox browser for the Mac) felt somewhat springier. Our main test of accessing the New York Times front page (with a schload of images and graphically heavy ads) took 7 seconds with the Pre-N but closer to 8 seconds with our 54g access point.

The eye-opening difference came in coverage, and not just in long-distance browsing. We were duly amazed at the broad reach we got in signal, with steady, speedy downloads of QuickTime movie trailers as far as 150 feet away from the router in our neighbor's yard. When testing the control Belkin 54g access point, we couldn't even get a signal on our front stoop. But it was the blanket coverage of our home that impressed us the most. Our access point was notorious for producing inexplicable dead spots in our home (smallish at about 900 square feet), and the Belkin Pre-N covered those completely.

If you have a Windows-based PC, you'll experience even faster speeds and more of an expansive reach with Belkin's MIMO-enabled Pre-N network adapter or PC card. But even if you don't pop for the extra gear, you'll still be quite satisfied with the marginal speed increase and the improved coverage area that the Pre-N provides. And it will certainly whet your appetite for the full release of 802.11n. --Agen G.N. Schmitz

Pros:

• Great coverage and broad reach for 802.11b/g-compatible PCs
• Added speed and extended range if using Belkin's Pre-N network adapter and/or PC card
• Works with both Windows and Mac OS-based PCs

Cons:

• Mac users will have to set up the router manually via Web-based tool
• Pricier than other wireless 4-port routers, due to speed advancements

Product Description

Connecting the Belkin N1 Wireless Router to your cable or DSL modem lets you share your broadband Internet account with all your networked computers. Now you can exchange documents, share resources, and distribute large video and music files throughout your network within a greater range, at faster speeds. N1 offers the easiest setup ever, and our built-in Network Status Display lets you see your connections working. Each icon represents a network component, so you can easily monitor your connections for fast troubleshooting. Based on the 802.11n draft, N1 Wireless uses smart-antenna technology to enable multiple receivers and transmitters to send and receive data wirelessly. Intelligent MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) spatial multiplexing techniques build upon the widely deployed 802.11g standard by greatly increasing speed, range, and faster speeds of up to 300Mbps.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So Easy, It Was Scary, May 18, 2005

By 

Beverly Praiswater - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Belkin F5D8230-4 Wireless 802.11x Pre-N Router (Personal Computers)

This router was so easy to install, it was scary! After years of living in "Linksys hell" with their "b" router, version 2, I decided to take a chance on a new, highly-rated router. Out of the box, I had the Belkin installed and working immediately in 10 minutes or less!! I'm just an average user, but I highly recommend this router to anyone who is thinking of switching to wireless networking in their home. Well worth the money to upgrade.

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great range, but disappointing throughput and reliability, May 12, 2006

By 

E. Harrison "gidgesharry" (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Belkin F5D8230-4 Wireless 802.11x Pre-N Router (Personal Computers)

I loved the Belkin at first but as I got to know it, I found this item wanting greatly. I read about similar bad experiences online -- just google search Belkin pre-N crashes -- with the Belkin Pre-N router and with the Linksys WRT54GX (essentially the same router, both with identical chipsets using the Broadcom BCM4704 processor). I had been having all manner of problems with my Belkin Pre-N for some time. So I finally decided to rate this product negatively. As an aside, I have just ordered a Netgear RangeMax NEXT Wireless Router with Gigabit Ethernet from Amazon to replace it after reviewing a bunch of positive reviews on the new slew of routers based on Airgo's Gen 3 chipsets.

I loved the Belkin at the start. It had amazing range in the two environments I deployed it in. In fact, when I bought it, I took my laptop outside and walked 300 feet into the park adjacent to my house before I lost the signal. It has amazing range and no dead spots unlike the D-Link DI-624M I upgraded from.

But, ultimately, the Belkin has been trouble for various reasons. First, it really never provided the throughput boost I needed. It averaged 1.8MBps (14.4mbps) on the wireless side (with the paired Pre-N card) and about 7MBps (56mbps) on the wired side. PCMag reviewed it saying they got 40mbps paired with the Pre-N card. Then there's the wired side. Nowadays, all decent new computers including my laptop have had gigabit Ethernet as standard for a couple of years now. I don't know why these wireless routers don't provide gigabit wired as standard.

But, my real problem came from the constant crashing. Today for example, I was streaming iTunes to an Airport running Firefox and transfering large files via pcAnywhere on the Network and....boom, crash, dead wireless link. I couldn't get the thing to communicate wirelessly to anything on the network, so I had to go and manually restart. What a pain. This happens multiple times daily and has become a real bore.

So, finally I figured out where the problem lies. It's all on the wireless side. I ran some heavy simultaneous traffic through the router for 5 minutes today (large file transfer via pcAnywhere, Internet usage, iTunes wirelss transfer and streaming video from my server). The router crashed. I couldn't connect to other computers on the network from my laptop, I had zero Internet access, and iTunes stopped streaming. Then I transferred part of the traffic load to the wired ports and tried the same experiment. The router crashed again within 5 minutes. But, this time I checked the computers on the wired side and they worked flawlessly, everything was humming on all cylinders, file transfer, Internet access, you name it.

So, my diagnosis is that the chipsets in these models based on Airgo True Mimo Gen 1 cannot handle heavy wireless traffic. They simply crash the wireless side of the router after a point without affecting their wired routing ability. The DHCP lists are still operable with the IP addresses reserved as before, but there is simply no access to the wireless router clients while the wiredclients remain unaffected.

I've decided to give up after months of this type of unreliability and am going to move to a model based on Gen 3 True Mimo with Gigabit Ethernet. From what I have read they have the same or better range, better wireless throughput than wired fast ethernet (100mbps) and gigabit wired ports. I just hope they can handle the traffic. Only time will tell.

As for the Belkin Pre-N Router, I am extremely disappointed and would rate it 2 stars out of 5. Good range, mderate throughput. But it simply can't handle heavy wireless traffic loads.

52 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you need to speed or range go for it, January 7, 2005

By 

Charles Bittner "Disabled comedian & gamer!" (New England USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Belkin F5D8230-4 Wireless 802.11x Pre-N Router (Personal Computers)

Here's the situation, if you need to expand your wireless coverage on a G. network or B. then this router will do the trick. Have been using this for more than a week now and the throughput is amazing, superfast. All my G. signals are pegged!

N. products will not be out for about a year. So if you drop the cash on this bad boy. You'll have some time before that standard comes out. And it will improve your reception of any networks you have up and running now. One computer I had running on G. in another house from the router was low about 50% reception is now running at 100% and never fluctuates.

So instead of buying a range booster. I just bought this bad boy.

I still haven't got it to work with my Linksys network storage drive, but I'll figure that out eventually. (This problem has been fixed). What I had to do was change the IP from 192.168 2.1 to 192.168.1.1 and a storage Link showed up fine!

Overall, I'm very happy with this product I bought this because of the fact that the N will not be out for a year or more so if I invest in this now. It's not like it will be quickly replaced.

Peace out