Customer Reviews

Belkin F5D9230-4 Wireless-G Plus MIMO Router

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

The original version of this router was version 1000, based on the same platform as Belkin's F5D8230-4 Pre-N and the Linksys WRT54GX routers using Airgo's v1 technology and a Broadcom engine. It got an excellent review from Tom's Networking guide.

Then Belkin put a whole new circuit bard inside the same case and called it Version 2000. It used Airgo's v2 technology and a Realtek engine, and got roundly criticized on the equipment forums for being an inferior product.

The latest version is 3000, which isn't even based on Airgo technology any more. Now Belkin is using Ralink technology, and it's essentially the same router as the Airlink AR-525W, SparkLAN WRTR-300 or Compusa's store brand MIMO router, any of which can be found in stores for about 25 bucks. The version 3000 technology bears no resemblance to the Airgo version that got such a good review at Tom's. In fact, the router with the Ralink chipset (the Airlink) came in dead last and was the only one to receive a rating of "not recommended" in Tom's roundup.

Of course there's no way to tell in advance which version you'll get, but it's a pretty good bet you'll get the latest one. The only way to tell is to look at the sticker on the bottom of the box.

This practice of changing the internal electronics without changing the model number is a really annoying practice. It's hard enough to do all your research and decide which model to buy, so then to end up with something entirely different from what you thought you were getting is just maddening. Your best bet is to just stay away from this one.

This router drops my connection every few minutes. I've spent hours on the phone with Belkin and replaced the whole thing. A quick internet search finds dozens of people reporting the same problem, with no solution offered.

It's just no good.

great router, much better than dlink, better than netgear and linksys. i used to have belkin 54g wireless router, but due to setup restriction i wasnt getting full signal with it in my room upstairs on the 2nd floor. upgraded from 54g to mimo and now i am getting almost 100% signal strength on the top floor. make sure you match it up with a mimo lan card to get the max strangth. i used this router with a 802.11b lan card and still got about 90% signal strength on the top floor. the setup is very easy and straight forward. much hassle free than netgear. it took me hours (literelly) to setup the netgear 108 router for her and still it was acting, where as it took me about 10 minutes to set up this belkin mimo. good job and product belkin. oh yeah dont forget, belkin has lifetime support and warranty. might come in handy in the long run. netgear and linksys has only 3 years i believe.

Extremely low wireless speed and I did confirm it on the Cox Las Vegas test. Skype dropped calls every 1.5 min or so when it was ran wirelessly using this router. Poor range not as advertised. I have had good luck with other Belkin products but what a disappointment :{{{{ ( The set up was about an hour including unpacking, rebooting etc...)

I also have the problem of random disconnects. We had a techie come in and try to set it up for us, he got it working, but the thing still randomly boots us off. It does the job, I guess, of giving us a connection, but it's got almost no reliability. I hear it's got a lifetime warranty; good, we can return it.

This router does not come with the proper firmware installed! However, with just a few steps and some patience, this router becomes an absolute BEAST, even without tomato flashing.

I see a lot of complaints about this router from users complaining about constantly dropped connections, which in turn is detrimental for gaming. I found this to be true even after successfully portforwarding for all my games, and was VERY CLOSE to returning it to the store to pick up a Linksys, but after reading many forums online, I found the solution:

YOU NEED TO UPDATE THE FIRMWARE FROM BELKIN'S MAIN WEBSITE.

The version bought at Walmart is F5D9230-4 v5000. The firmware (updated in 2008) brings the firmware from v5000 to v5111.

1. Install the router as instructed within the box/manual.

2. Download the firmware from Belkin and install it to the router as instructed from the Belkin site.

3. Click the "DNS" tab on the left-hand side and click "Clone Mac Address"

4. Turn off the router after everything successfully installs, do a hard reset on your ISP's dsl/cable modem, wait 60 seconds, and turn the modem back on.

5. Turn the router back on (plug the power cord back in) and wait 15 seconds, then restart your computer.

6. Check the router config (192.168.2.1 in your browser) to see if the version has been updated to v5111. Try your games now, and you will be amazed at how awesome this router is!

I went from a D-Link and a Linksys WRT54GS2, and this Belkin F5D9230-4 (v5111!!!) outclasses both of them in speed and stability. It has been over 5 days without a single disconnection, and speedtests confirm that my download speed is at 23.31mb/s and upload is 6.09mb/s!!!

- Chris

I had to return this after trying it out for a couple of weeks. The up-time was good, better in fact than a Linksys one I was trying to replace with it. The range was acceptable but not stellar. The aspect that drove me nuts was the Web-based UI. I've tried several of these by Netgear and Linksys without complaint. But with the Belkin one, if I was accessing it while wireless, each change would force a reboot to the router, making the idea of a Web UI a joke:
- I would edit the option and click save
- The "edit" page would post to the "action" page
- The router would reboot, thereby dropping my wireless connection
- The admin interface would time out and show a "page cannot be displayed" error
- I'd go back to the root and have to login and start the process all over again

Now imagine trying to enter a list of allowed Mac IDs greater than one and realize you can only add them one at a time, each requiring a reboot (I maintain a list of ~8 allowed addresses). I was going quietly nuts. I ended up spending $20 more for the Netgear RangeMax Wireless Router (WPN824). So far, so good.

To the person who said "For all of you complaining about dropped signals, here's a little trick: Go to Start/Settings/Network Connections/Wireless, click on the "Properties" button and then on the "Wireless Network" tab and deselect the "Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings" box" that would be great except the problem is not with just the wireless disconnecting, it's with the router dropping all connections to all PCs, wired and wireless. It's not so noticable when you are just surfing the net, but when you're doing anything network intensive such as playing World of Warcraft or any other MMORPG, it's VERY frustrating because you will get disconnected at least once every 5 minutes. At first, yes, I thought it was just the wireless as I was playing on my laptop, but no... sure enough it does the exact same thing on the wired desktops. I can run a ping -t to google from a wired desktop and it will time out every 30 seconds or so. THIS IS UNACCEPTIBLE!!! I am returning this piece of junk and getting a NETGEAR!! NETGEAR FTW!!!

Not only was this difficult to set up (even a generally polite but sadly ill-informed technical helper from Belkin was baffled regarding the simplest steps and keyphrases) but once I finally managed to get it to work (by simply as a last resort resetting the router with a paper clip) it had practically no range whatsoever; in fact, my MacBook Pro placed within 2 inches of the router itself only received a 75% signal, and once the threshold of the room was crossed, the signal disappeared altogether. A free four-year old Linksys router which I received with my Earthlink "home networking" package (and which this Belkin was supposed to replace) always worked with a full signal everywhere in the house and rarely failed, and Linksys is supposed to be notoriously Mac-unfriendly. Anyway, I hope that there are enough UPS trucks in America to handle the returns that this item -- mine included -- will require.

Easiest wireless router setup that I've come across. Works great and has a very good range. I get a very good signal at the opposite side of my house and on the floor above the router. I highly recommend this router.