Belkin Wireless Play Max Router (F7D4301)

by Belkin

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 3.5 inches ; 1.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B003CJTNLS
• Item model number: F7D4301
• Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,000 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 24, 2010

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Get maximum speed and performance for media-intensive applications with the Belkin Play Max Wireless Router (F7D4301). This dual-band Wireless-N + N 300 router features high-speed Gigabit ports for media-intensive applications, so you can stream HD videos, play games online, and download large media files from anywhere in your home. Plus, the Play Max includes a suite of advanced integrated Belkin Apps that help you print wirelessly, auto-backup photos and important documents, download and manage big media files, and keep your network running smoothly.

Belkin Play Max Wireless Router (F7D4301) At a glance: Preconfigured security settings with WPS/WPA2 and WEP encryption Dual-band technology optimizes HD videos and gaming experiences Speeds up to 300 Mbps on wireless-N networks "Easy Start" gets you up and running securely in minutes Apps for wireless printing, automatic file back-up, downloading Torrents, and sending music from your computer to your stereo "Self-Healing" App automatically detects and fixes problems 4 LAN ports, 1 WAN port, and 2 USB 2.0 port support use with multiple devices Energy-Star-certified power adapter

The router is preconfigured for 256-bit WPA/WPA2 to keep your data safe and secure.

Music Labeler automatically labels your music tracks with the correct artists and titles. View larger screenshot. View screenshot of Daily DJ app.

Set-up is as easy as 1-2-3! View larger.

Dual-band N technology offers maximum speed and quality for streaming multiple media files.

Belkin Wireless-N Routers for Every User's Needs
No matter your budget and your needs, Belkin has you covered. In addition to the Belkin Play Max Wireless Router, Belkin also offers the Surf, Share, and Play wireless routers. Please view the table below to see which router is most suitable for you.

Preset Security Settings for Worry-free Surfing
The Belkin Play Max Wireless Router is preconfigured with 256-bit WPA/WPA2 encryption and 64/128 WEP encryption, so your sensitive data will remain safe and secure. The router's one-touch Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) means that securely connecting multiple users to your network is as easy as pressing a single button.

High-speed Performance with Dual-Band N Technology
The Play Max runs simultaneously on dual bands: 2.4GHz, ideal for data and web traffic, and file- and picture-sharing; and 5GHz, which makes it the choice for users that want maximum quality when viewing multiple media files. Whether you're a movie buff streaming HD video or an avid gamer that can't afford delays and fuzzy enemies, the Play Max's simultaneous networks eliminate interference and optimize performance for clear, quick data transmission that you'll appreciate.

3D Coverage for Your Entire Home
With dual-plane antennas and MIMO--or multiple-input and multiple-output--technology, the Play Max provides three-dimensional, whole-home coverage for a consistent wireless signal, even when walls and floors separate the router from you and your computer. This reliable, continuous signal also provides uninterrupted surfing and gaming for multiple users in your home.

Built for Entertainment with Media-Specific Apps
The Play Max also features several advanced applications that help you optimize your network's performance. "Bit Boost" prioritizes traffic on your network for video, gaming, and VoIP applications, while "Torrent Genie" lets you download large media files like movies, music, and games, even when your computer isn't on.

For easy audio management, "Music Mover" is an integrated music server that will play music from your library on your stereo through devices such as Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3. "Daily DJ" gives you daily personalized playlists that are based on your music library and tastes, while "Music Labeler" automatically scans over 40 million songs from the Internet database and matches unidentified tracks with the correct title, artist and genre.

Do More with "Memory Safe" and "Print Genie" Apps
Tracking digital files is a time-consuming task, and losing important files can be a major headache. Belkin's "Memory Safe" Application makes automatic backups of your irreplaceable photos and files easy. You simply connect an external hard drive (not included) to the Play Max, choose what to back up and how often, and "Memory Safe" makes sure it's protected.

Printing has never been easier than it is with the Play Max and Belkin's proprietary "Print Genie" Application. Simply connect any compatible printer to your Play Max, and you're ready to print wirelessly from any computer on your network.

"Self-Healing" App Keeps Your Network Up and Running
The Play Max also includes Belkin's "Self-Healing" Application, which analyzes your network and provides automatic detection and resolution of any problems. These routine maintenance scans help to ensure that you're always working on the clearest possible wireless channel. And if the network does require your attention, a notification will appear on-screen--no more guessing what the blinking lights under your desk mean.

Fast, Easy Three-step Setup

An easy three-step setup will get you up and running in minutes. Simply plug the Play Max into your modem, plug the router into the wall, and insert the included startup CD into your computer for quick, painless on-screen setup.

To set up your network, you will need a computer with a Windows XP (32), Windows Vista (32/64), or Mac OS X operating system; an installed network interface card and TCP/IP networking protocol; Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Safari; and minimum 64 MB RAM. You will also need a minimum 1.8GHz processor and 512 MB RAM. In addition, you should allow for 100 MB of disk space per 1000 songs.

Smart Design with Energy Star Power Adapter
The versatile Play Max features four LAN ports, one WAN port, and one USB 2.0 port for use with multiple devices. Its innovative design also includes an Energy-Star-certified power adapter to minimize your energy use and reduce costs. Plus the router's sleek black case and vertical, small-footprint design keep it unobtrusive.

The Belkin Play Max Wireless Router is supported by Belkin's 2-year limited warranty and 24/7 tech support.

What's in the Box
Belkin Play Max Wireless Router (F7D4301), power supply, setup CD, networking cable, cable tags and PSU tags.

	Surf	Share	Play	Play Max
WIRELESS-N	N300 802.11n	N300 802.11n	N+N300 802.11n	N+N300 802.11n
SPEED	up to 300 Mbps	up to 300 Mbps	up to 300 Mbps	up to 300 Mbps
COVERAGE	Great	Great	Best	Best
IDEAL FOR	Surf the Web, email, and instant message from anywhere in your home	Share photos and files, and print wirelessly from anywhere in your home	Play music, games, and videos, and surf from anywhere in your home	Stream HD videos, play games online, and download large media files
FEATURES
EASY START Simple set up
PRESET SECURITY Preconfigured encryption settings
APPS
SELF-HEALING Detects and fixes network problems
PRINT GENIE Print wirelessly
MEMORY SAFE Automatic back up
MUSIC LABELER Matches music tracks with correct info
MUSIC MOVER Play MP3s wirelessly on your stereo
DAILY DJ Personalized playlists everyday
VIDEO MAX Optimized streaming video
VIDEO MAX HD Optimized streaming HD video
TORRENT GENIE Download torrents without a computer
BIT BOOST Prioritize network data streams

Product Description

Belkin's PlayMax Wireless Router with the latest Dual-Band N technology, gives you the fastest, most reliable speeds for streaming video, playing music and gaming online.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Whoops - Shouldn't have bought it, May 10, 2010

By 

L. Mortensen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Belkin Wireless Play Max Router (F7D4301) (Personal Computers)

My experience with this router has been one major mistake after another. I didn't check the Amazon reviews before purchasing - my mistake. I bought it (not through Amazon) - my mistake. I threw away the packaging after setting it up and now I can't return - major mistake.

Although this thing was simple enough to set-up, it has been a major letdown for all of the reasons that other reviewers have mentioned. I've had it for 2 weeks now, and I count it a good day if I only have to reset the damn thing once. My devices all run more slowly than on my old router, and the stupid thing freezes up constantly. I've also run into multiple IP address conflict messages and have to reset it to prevent those messages as well.

I'm so frustrated that I'll likely trash the pile of junk and go buy another brand. Shame on me for buying this thing - and shame on me for not keeping the packaging until I knew how it worked (or didn't in this case).

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Worst router functionality ever!, May 7, 2010

By 

C. Bae - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Belkin Wireless Play Max Router (F7D4301) (Personal Computers)

I read the reviews, and I decided to give it a shot anyway since I've had good luck with connectivity in my house. In all honesty, the connectivity wasn't the issue with me. It was the configuration. Below is a detailed account of my experience trying to set this thing up:

When setting up a router, I always use the web-based interface. I don't like installing a program since there's no guarantee it will work with the operating system that I have. So I use the web-based set-up page as the basis for evaluating a router. So the first thing I do is set the administrative password. The default was blank. The next thing I want to do is change the IP address of the router under the LAN settings so that the network portion of the address (i.e. the first three numbers of the IP address) matches all the statically addressed devices on my network. I try to give the router the same IP address as my old router, which is 192.168.1.1. I immediately receive an error that the IP address is being used by the "Guest Access" (or something to that effect). I have no idea what this is, so I click on that setting. It turns out that the feature is turned off already. So what gives?

I try to eliminate some variables by turning off DHCP. Still can't change the IP address. Then I turn off the router features by turning the device into an access point, and doing this gives me a prompt to set the IP address. Ah ha! This could be it. I set the IP address and commit changes. Uh oh. Big mistake! Once the router resets, my browser navigates to page that reads "Guest Access" with a prompt for a password. What? As I said, the Guest Access feature was turned off to begin with. So I enter the administrative password that I set at the beginning, and I receive a message that the password is incorrect. Great, there's a default password for "Guest Access", which I didn't bother checking since THE D@MN THING IS SUPPOSED TO BE TURNED OFF!!!! Now I have no way to get back into the router setup. My only recourse is to stick a pin into the reset button hole to reset it to factory settings.

At this point, I should have packed this sumb1tch up to return it, but I'm a stubborn fool. I start all over, but this time I first set the "Guest Access" password. I get to the point of turning the device into an access point (mind you, I do want to use the router features, but I'm only trying to diagnose my original problem of not being able to set the LAN IP address). After applying the changes, the router resets as expected, and I get the "Guest Access" page again. I enter the password (that I now know since I set it myself), and the response is something like "You are now connected to the Internet". Again, WTF??? It still doesn't allow me to get into the setup page. So I now know that turning off the router features is a no go. I reset it to factory settings again.

I conclude that there's an issue with using the 192.168.1.* network which apparently is completely reserved by the "Guest Access" feature whether or not it's turned on. I decide to change the router's IP address to 192.168.0.1. Success! I know I still have to reconfigure other devices on the network with static IP addresses, but at least I'm able to set the router's IP address now to something other than the default of 192.168.2.1.

I now move on to setting the wireless security settings. I select WPA2-PSK. I notice the AEP is the only available encryption method (no TKIP). No biggie since that's what I was using anyway. At this point the router isn't connected to my cable modem. I want to check the wireless connection speed first. I connect to the router using the 5 GHz band, and check the connection status. While still clicking around the router settings in my browser (still no Internet connection yet), I see that the connection speed reaches the maximum of 300 Mbps, but it doesn't stay there long. It fluctuates quite a bit. It gets as low as 90 Mbps, but it seems to average around 200 Mbps. In contrast, when connected to my old router which only supports the 2.4 GHz band, my connection is capped by my adapter card at 144 Mbps, but it rarely drops below 130 Mbps. I consider this an acceptable trade-off, however.

OK. Now onto connecting the router to the Internet. I connect my cable modem to the WAN port, and I set the connection type to dynamic. The router resets, but no Internet connection. I power cycle the cable modem as well as the router for good measure. Still no Internet connection. Thinking there might be a modem provisioning issue, I change the MAC address of the router to that of my old router. Amazingly, this does the trick. Now I have an Internet connection! I now go all my statically addressed devices (desktop PC, server, and printer) and change the IP addresses.

Everything is looking good so far. I check if I can access a website that I'm hosting on my server. Oops. I forgot to set the virtual server settings. I go back to the router setup page, and set up the virtual servers like on my old router. It's a little bit more cumbersome since you can add servers using a port range. However, I like the fact that you can set the private port number to something other than the external port number. My old router lets you add servers using an external port range, but it doesn't let you set the private port number. Anyway, I set up all the virtual servers, open up a browser window, and navigate to my website. Take a wild guess what renders. That's right. It's the D@MN router setup page! What's going on? I check the settings for remote router configuration, and it's turned off! So why is this page coming up? I change the URL to one that I know doesn't exist on the router's web-based setup, and I get a 404 error. Essentially, my web server isn't receiving the HTTP requests. I check my web server configuration, and every thing is OK. I even remembered to change the IP address that the web server is listening to. I fiddle around with the router some more, and I eventually give up.

Now, I've had problems setting up routers before. Even setting up Netgear business-class routers using Telnet wasn't as frustrating as this experience. Admittedly, the router works OK if you're just using it to access the Internet. But if you want to use it as the router for your own internal network and want to set up your own web server, stay away from this product. I'm warning you.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't Buy POS Play Max Belkin, April 22, 2010

By 

Moofish - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Belkin Wireless Play Max Router (F7D4301) (Personal Computers)

I too have to agree with the negative reviews. This router drops connections all the time. I was upgrading from a Netgear super G to this and was sorely disappointed. The router is in route back to Amazon for a refund as we speak. Another annoying feature is that the router itself will not allow you to make more than one change at a time without a reboot to allow for the settings to take place. Simple things like giving the network a name or setting the router password, let alone changing the channel you want to broadcast on.

My advise, stay away.