Belkin F5L009 5-Port Network USB Hub

Other products by Belkin

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 8.4 x 3.5 inches ; 1.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000QSN3O6
• Item model number: F5L009
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (107 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank

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  Electronics > Computers & Accessories > Networking Products > Hubs

• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 14, 2007

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description Your home computers are networked wirelessly, but with all the digital photos, video and music your family has been collecting, they're all running out of hard drive space. And what's more, you and your kids each need access to a printer. With the Belkin Network USB Hub, you can give each computer on your network direct wireless access to up to 15 devices, including an external hard drive to store your family's digital media and a printer that everyone on your network can share. With this convenient, easy-to-install device, the days of purchasing separate printers and peripherals for each of your computers is over.

Share up toFifteen Devices Wirelessly
The Belkin Network USB Hub allows you to give every computer connected to your network access to up to 15 USB devices. (The Hub itself will connect directly to five devices, but it also lets you "daisy chain" three additional USB hubs to it, so that you can connect a total of 15 USB devices to your network computers.) While the Hub is specifically designed for printers and mass-storage devices, it also works for most other USB devices, including most standard webcams, keyboards and mice, multifunction machines, scanners, and media readers.

Enjoy simple setup and operation right out of the box. View larger.

Included software manages all the devices attached to the Hub. View larger.

The Belkin Network USB Hub is ideal for: Sharing up to 15 USB devices wirelessly, including printers, digital cameras and scanners Backing up and accessing data from a shared external storage device Playing music from an MP3 player connected to a USB dock (using USB speakers)

The perfect solution for connecting to your USB devices and drives from a wireless laptop. Note: The Hub requires a a wireless router, which must be purchased separately. View larger.

You can even dock an MP3 player and play music through your USB speakers wirelessly. If your device has a USB connection, chances are that everyone on your network can access it wirelessly. (Some high-speed devices, such as high-definition webcams and video docking stations, may not be compatible with the Network USB Hub.)

Once the Hub is set up, you simply plug your USB devices into one of its five USB ports, and the Hub seamlessly installs software that makes USB printers and other devices appear to be connected to your network computers. The convenience of this direct USB-connection emulation requires that only one user be linked to each device at a time. So if your daughter is editing video on the external hard drive, the software lets you contact her to request that she disconnects from the drive so you can access it. With printers, the Hub automatically disconnects users after completing a print job, so that other users on your network can print.

Quick and Easy Set Up
Even if you don't have an external hard drive or other peripherals you want your computers to access, the Belkin USB Hub is one of the best ways you can share a printer on your network. It not only effectively functions as the industry's first reliable print server, it's also one of the easiest to install. Set-up takes less than three minutes with the included CD. Simply insert the set-up disk, and in five easy steps you'll be ready to go. If you have the Windows firewall activated on your PC, the Hub will automatically detect it and ask you if you wish to allow it to work from behind the firewall. (Users of other firewalls must manually add the device driver to their list of allowed programs.)

While the Belkin USB Hub works best with the Belkin N1 Wireless Router (a router is not included with the Hub), it will work seamlessly with any existing wireless router. The distance and quality of the connection of your computers to your USB devices will depend on the quality of your router and your Internet connection. And aside from having a wireless network and USB devices you want to connect to, the only requirement is that your computers are running Window XP or Vista.

NOTE: The Belkin USB Hub connects directly to your existing wireless router. The Hub does not have routing capabilities, and does not include a router. You must purchase the router separately.

Warranty Information
3-year Belkin Warranty

What's in the Box
Network USB Hub, power supply, RJ45 Ethernet cable, quick install guide, and setup installation CD.

Product Description

NETWORK USB HUB

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome! If you understand how USB works...., January 9, 2008

By	Duncan Mowatt (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The posts that are complaining about sharing devices, connection issues, etc. need to understand that the problem is with the USB protocol and not the device. USB devices are not designed, or even able, to run on multiple devices at once. Have you ever plugged an external drive into two computer at the same time? Why would this be any different? If you need to access a hard drive from multiple computers at the same time, get a NAS drive. The device also is not designed to power external drives, like the usb powered western digital drives noted in a review. I actually have gotten one to work with no problem, but after talking to a few Belkin guys they don't really know what will or won't work with the device. Any drive that has its own power supply should work with no problems.
Also, you can share between computer easily. If you have to do something with a different computer, you can either request the devices (sort of like IMing) or just click on the disconnect button. Simple, like ejecting a device.
If you understand what this, its awesome and works like a charm. I've gotten all sorts of cool stuff, from midi devices, DVD Burners, Printers, Scanners,cameras,etc. to work with it. The only reason I'm giving it a 4 star is because I accidently plugged in the wrong power cable (12v not the 5v) and blew out the power supply. It should have a buffer, but Belkin replaced it for the cost of shipping, so I can't be to upset about. I actually found myself missing it within a few days of messing with wires!
Also, MAC drivers ( doesn't work with Leopard yet) are available here:
http://www.belkin.com/support/article/?lid=en&pid=F5L009&aid=8547&scid=0
Works great on my Powerbook G4!

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Using it for a Print Server - Easy and Elegant Solution, July 7, 2007

By	bhamy (Shamong, New Jersey) - See all my reviews

While apparently not very good for sharing hard drives, as I've read here, I've had excellent performance as a print server.
After wrestling with an actual Print Server from another company for 6 or 7 hours, only to find out my printer isn't compatible, I was desperate to avoid a repeat. Lots of research led me to question most of the other print server choices and their compatibility with my Samsung ML-1450 Laser Printer.
The Belkin Network USB Hub box said "Industry's 1st reliable print server". The Best Buy computer guy said that it was so new he hadn't heard any feedback about it. I decided to take the plunge and I'm so happy I did. It's a little more expensive than other print servers, but what's a Saturday of frustration worth to you?
The "secret" of this thing that separates it from the others is that you don't need to mess with a bunch of IP addresses. It comes with a small resident program that you install on each computer that convinces it that the printer is actually plugged in directly. As a matter of fact your XP will pop up with the Discovered New Printer message, even while wireless through the router.
All you do is plug the Hub into your wireless or wired router, then into your USB printer. You then install the Control Center (takes just a couple of seconds). When you run the program you can already see the printer there on the list. Since a printer can only be "Connected" to one computer at a time, you simply direct the computer, through the Control Center, to connect, print, then disconnect when finished. The last step is to go to your printer icon through the Control Panel and through Properties, and click on the "Virtual USB Printer Port" in the Ports section. That's it! It was so easy. The Control Center automatically told the XP firewall that it needed access. There are also very detailed, easy to follow instructions (pictures) on how to set other common firewalls made by the big companies.
It's also great that since it connects directly through my existing wireless DSL router, I don't even have to program it for WEP or WPA-PSK codes. The computers do all the "talking" and they're already coded.
I don't think you'll regret getting this for a Print Server. I guess you can connect lots of other things through it... Worst comes to worst, it'll take only a fraction of the time to find out it doesn't work for you than other brands! How's that for an endorsement!

128 of 161 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't judge a book by its cover, July 2, 2007

By	Robert Hernandez (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I read about this product back in May my first reaction was, "Finally!" I've been looking for a suitable device to replace my Wife's laptop as the "network sharing hub." Unfortunately, the Belkin 5-Port Wireless Network USB Hub is not the answer to my prayers.

"Wireless"

Belkin makes many claims that this device doesn't truly live up to. Just so you are clear, this IS NOT a wireless device. You have to plug the USB hub into a wireless router in order for the "Wireless" functionality to be present. Granted, Belkin discloses this limitation in the fine print but I still find it incredulous to even label this a wireless device when it clearly is not.

"Device Sharing"

Belkin's idea of "Device Sharing" is absurd. Only one computer can be connected to a given device at a time. This limitation includes Printers AND Hard Drives. Forgive me for saying so but that IS NOT device sharing. I can forgive Belkin for forcing this limitation on Hard Drives but not for Printers. User's won't want to deal with the added step of REQUESTING access to the printer before sending a print job. How the Belkin engineers/product managers overlooked this fact is mind boggling.

"Drive Compatibility"

I've also found the Belkin Hub's compatibility with USB powered drives to be hit and miss. For example, my Western Digital 60GB Passport external drive is detected by the Belkin management software, however, the instant I try to access the Passport drive the Belkin device chokes on a fur ball and claims the Passport is "requesting too much power." Sorry, but I'm just not buying that. USB Flash Drives, on the other hand, seem to work for the most part.

"Data Transfer"

Transfering Data is also hit or miss. I wouldn't recommend transferring large files to a Belkin managed drive if you are connected wirelessly. Not only are you subject to signal strength conditions but I have found that any communication failures WILL disconnect ALL of the Belkin managed devices. Transferring data between two Belkin managed drives seems to work reasonably well however, with transfer speeds only a bit slower than what a PC is capable of.

"Setup"

Setup of the Belkin device is probably the only aspect that I am able to positively comment on (hence the 1 star rating). Assuming you have a home network up and running, setup is simply a matter of connecting the Belkin Hub to the network and installing the Belkin Control Center software on a PC. After that, any devices you connect to the Belkin Hub will automatically connect to your PC just like a standard USB device does. Of course, this assumes that another user on your network doesn't already have control. Also, there is a caveat with regards to Printers. According to the manual, you must have the printer drivers installed on your PC before the printer will work via the Belkin hub. I'm not sure what would happen otherwise.

"Conclusion"

Belkin may be able to turn things around by providing functionality improvements via the software update feature that comes included in the Control Center application. However, I don't have much faith in such a possibility since Belkin doesn't have a track record of providing such updates. One can only hope that the open source community will be able to come up with a suitable firmware/software alternative. As such, I can't bring myself to recommend this Belkin device to anyone unless it was 1/3 the price and you didn't plan on sharing any of the devices on your network.

Sorry Belkin. I really wanted to like this product.