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Belkin Wireless-G Router DSL/Cable Gateway

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The Belkin Wireless G Router lets users share files and a broadband Internet connection among their computers-without using networking cables. It features 802.11g technology that makes accessing files and networked peripherals-such as hard drives, printers, CD-ROMs, and DVDs-easier than ever. 802.11g technology provides you with networking speeds nearly five times faster than the current Wi-Fi (802.11b) standard. An integrated, 4-port 10/100Base-T Ethernet switch also allows you to connect wired computers to the network. 802.11g technology is the easiest wireless network to implement. The Router uses the wireless 802.11g 2.4GHz standard to offer you 400 feet of wireless coverage. 802.11g technology is backward compatible with the 802.11b Wi-Fi networking standard, so it allows you to implement faster wireless technologies in combination with existing 802.11b Wi-Fi networks.
Advantages

Creates a network in your home or office without cables
Offers backward-compatibility with all 802.11b devices
Sets up easily with Belkin Easy Install Wizard-automatically detects Internet settings and self-adjusts Router to get you online in under 3 minutes
Ensures data and network security with wireless 64- and 128-bit WEP encryption
Works with Macintosh. and PC computers

Package Contents
Wireless-G router, power supply, user manual, quick installation guide, RJ-45 networking cable, software CD

List Price:	$49.99
Our Price:	$34.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
You Save:	$15.00 (30%)

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Product Details

Product Length:	11.5 inches
Product Width:	8.25 inches
Product Height:	3.25 inches
Product Weight:	3.2 pounds
Package Length:	11.5 inches
Package Width:	8.2 inches
Package Height:	3.3 inches
Package Weight:	1.2 pounds
Average Customer Rating:	based on 242 reviews

Features

Creates a network in your home or office without cables
Ensures data and network security with wireless 64- and 128-bit WEP encryption
Offers backward-compatibility with all 802.11b devices
Sets up easily with Belkin Easy Install Wizard-automatically detects Internet settings and self-adjusts Router to get you online in under 3 minutes

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review: 3.0

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NOT COMPATIBLE WITH APPLE Jul 24, 2008
I bought this since it was cheap and I figured I could save a few bucks over linksys or netgear, but that is about as good as it gets with this. It is incompatible with Airport Extreme cards in older macs. The range is about 5 ft max with this and it frequently drops your connection every 20 minuets. Also I tested this with my iBook g4 and my iPhone and neither worked. I would not buy this due to all of the low ratings and get a linksys as I have an old wireless b from linksys that has been on 24/7/365 for about 4 years now!

Tenuous Connection Jul 20, 2008
Right out of the box this router had trouble establishing a consistent connection at any range. Every 5 minutes or so I have to repair the connection, which thankfully can be done laptop-side, but these outages make streaming and chatting impossible.

I did turn off Protection (from Auto to "Off") as was suggested in another review (just navigate to 192.168.2.1 and go to the SSID page), but unfortunately that didn't work for me. I understand that the way the router deals with encryption is potentially the source of the issue, but I am not going to remove security from my network.

Bottom line, pay $30 for a Belkin router and you are playing router roulette. Sadly, I bet on Black and it came up Red this time. I'm here on Amazon right now to buy a different router, and probably spend a bit more money on a Netgear or Linksys this time.

0 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Not very user friendly Jul 14, 2008
I've had this router for about 9 months or a little more. First off, I am not a techie type person, although I do know my way around computers for the basics and maybe a little more. When I initially bought it, I had to call customer service several times to get all the kinks out. It may have been that it was just my first time using a router. I had a hard time with customer service, because I couldn't understand what they were saying a lot of the time. I'm not prejudiced or anything, but it was very frustrating trying to get technical information from someone with a strong accent. This may be an issue with other brands, I'm not sure. Well, now since it's been a while since I purchased the router, I'm having trouble with my internet being slow when I am wireless. That's really frustrating since I'm paying for high-speed internet. I'm looking into buying a better one that is more user friendly, and I'll do a little more homework this time.

0 of 1 found the following review helpful:

DO NOT BUY!!!! Jul 12, 2008
The router we wanted was not stocked in the store so we took the Belkin on the advice of the clerk. It did not work at first. Finally after lots of resetting it allowed internet to the pc for a minute. I tried without firewall to same result. Finally, I could at least keep the internet to the pc but the laptop would not connect. Then after a week it started to work for five or six days. The connection would drop every 5 minutes. Then it would not work at all. Tech support was terrible. Total waste of time and when he sent me to the level two his only idea was to shut off the firewall. Thats when I hung up and boxed the thing up and returned it. Bought a Linksys and it worked perfectly.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Better Wired than my Linksys Jul 12, 2008
My level of computer competency: Advanced (knows what goes on inside)

First off, I'm going to say that this router's wired functionality trumps my Linksys 10/100 4-port router (Model BEFSR41). The linked model does not support high amounts of traffic over multiple connections (BitTorrent), and the aforementioned product seems to self-reset every few minutes during BitTorrent trafficking (and for a few hours afterwards), which is probably the one thing that I cannot understand further than "the router can't handle the weight."

Conversely, this product (which retails for half the price) can handle the same load of traffic... and it is also wireless. I switched to this product when I found out that the aforementioned problem is almost unique to Linksys routers, which ironically seem to hold more prestige.

The product itself functions very well. It handles any load that I can place on it, but the front-end is relatively silly to navigate through. To go back to the root, you have to leave the all-inclusive navigation menu on the left and go all the way to the right to click an unnecessarily small "Home" button; the Belkin logo at the top-left, where the Home navigation should sit, directs to Belkin's website. Also odd is the fact that two options in the "System Settings" screen (NAT and UPnP) have their "Apply Changes" buttons switched: Select the setting you want for UPnP and click the "Apply Changes" button under NAT to make your change. But don't forget to enter your "Current" and "New" password before making changes to either of these settings, or it will let you know that your password is too short before changing the settings that don't relate to password changing! (UPDATE: This is fixed with 9.01.10, and I didn't want to re-write this paragraph after I figured out that it exists, as you will have this problem unless you manually find the new version... see next paragraph)

Please note that the most recent version of the firmware at time of writing is 9.01.10. I personally had version 9.01.07 installed, but when I check for firmware updates, it lets me know that there's a new version available: 9.01.07. Visit http://www.belkin.com/support/article/?lid=en&pid=F5D7230-4&aid=5027&scid=221 and manually download 9.01.10 and upgrade it. With this installed, the router's "Firmware Update" functions now to tell me that there is no new version. Still keeping my 3-star rating, because I shouldn't have to hunt down new firmware updates... even though the firmware update fixes that problem in the firmware. Come on, Belkin... test things before you release them!

Aside from unnecessary difficulties in navigating to the home menu, the router does offer the functions that I need. Its wireless functionality is good. I can connect to it from upstairs, a good few feet above the router and separated by a floor and bed. The only problems that I have are with the front-end.

Also, I couldn't find a way to describe the feel of the plastic that this is made of... my significant other calls it "happy-meal plastic", as though it were a toy out of a combination food-and-children's-toy combo meal. It feels like the same type of plastic, so I will agree with that.

Other misc. notes:
--Lightweight
--Gets really hot... make sure there's airflow
--Not complicated: plug stuff into it and it works.

I give it 3 stars, because even though it works for me and I can work it, you don't get ahead of the competition by just having things work "eventually" (with the exception of Linksys... see first paragraph)... it should work "out of the box", and the "automated firmware update check" should actually update to the newest version, especially if the firmware fixes an error in changing something on "System Settings".