Martin

For a while now we have been configuring our network to suit our needs – we have a wired segment for our main server and client PC’s and we have 2 small computers we use for all our multimedia – one is currently hooked up to our HDTV and the other is in the process of being converted to do the same.

We have been using a D-Link DIR-300 Wireless G Router and it has been superb, it works great sharing our media content from our home server and watching DVD iso’s over wireless while sitting in front of our HDTV.

Problems started to occur when we realised that our new home was big enough to support two of these set ups… playing 2 DVD’s at once on a wireless G seems almost possible – if you ignore the odd frame skips and occasional jitter – then things are still perfect (we also use our media putes for regular Desktop log ins too and occasionally add an old wireless enabled laptop into the equation).

I have always prefered cables for all my PC’s, but a larger home and not wanting to lay them loose around the place (channeling cables into the walls was not an option either – although would be nice) and seeing how well we have utilised our Wireless G, an upgrade of our trusty D-Link Wireless Router was needed.

So why did we choose Belkin? …well for one – while doing some impulse shopping, we saw the Belkin Wireless N1 Wireless Router and not only did it look nice, it also offered:

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*.

*NOTE: The standard transmission rate–300Mbps–is the physical data rate. Actual data throughput will be lower.

As with all Belkin products, they come with a Lifetime Warranty – even though opening our shiny new Belkin N1 MIMO Wireless Router and finding the wireless part didn’t actually work, we phoned customer support and were told to take it back to the store for a replacement .

We opened our second one and promptly set it up and connected 2 computers wirelessly with security disabled and although at this point I had not tested any speeds or media playback wirelessly, We saw the signal strengh was strong.

After enabling WPA/WPA2 security, we tried to connect our wireless computers once again and it soon became apparent after reading the computers log files and testing various wireless security levels that the Belkin N1 MIMO Wireless Router was refusing to issue a local IP address via DHCP.

Setting a local IP address manually on each of our wireless computers we were able to connect – it was now time to playback a DVD’iso to one of the wireless computers.

1. Opened our shared media directory from our home wired server and waited.
2. Made a coffee and then checked signal strength (the coffee and signal strength was strong).
3. Our media directory eventually appeared, so I right clicked a DVD iso and selected ‘Open with VLC’ and waited.
4. Checked signal strength, log files and finished my coffee.
5. Eventually, we have media playback on one computer and playback seems to jitter and freeze.
6. 10 minutes into watching the DVD iso, the whole lot froze.

Still not detered, we figured that maybe we have set something up wrong so back into the settings, I removed all security on the router and set it to use a fixed unused wireless channel rather than relying on auto channel selection (at least DHCP works again now).

We then repeated steps 1 to 6 above on one PC, then the other PC, then both and achieved the same results.

At this point, I decided to search Google for ‘Belkin Wireless Dropouts’ and discovered I was not alone and the blame for this was varied and dependent on who answered the questions.

• No, the unit is not close to a microwave or a cordless phone
• No, the unit has not been placed behind any walls (we were testing and setting up) – the unit is in direct line of sight between our PC’s
• Yes, I have disabled all security, but I am refusing to drop the Wireless settings down to B then G because the box says it is a N1 MIMO wireless router (If I wanted G, then I would have got a second D-Link)

On the Whirlpool Forums, the question of ‘Are Belkin Routers Good?‘ was asked and  opinions are varied but it seems a lot of people are having problems. My personal favourites are:

I just purchased one to replace a DLink G604T and it seems fine – a breeze to set up for ADSL2+ and for wireless and security. But then anything that works must be better than what I had before.
posted by bboraj on 2008-Sep-1, 3pm AEST

Great, they got a Belkin Wireless Router and it works!

Hmm spoke too early on merits of Belkin – its been behaving badly and may be banished back to where it came. The wireless seems pretty unstable.
posted by bboraj on 2008-Sep-2, 7pm AEST

Oh dear, a day later and now they are not happy! So whats the best answer?

Just change the unit!! Two cans and a piece of string might be better!!! at least if string breaks you know where problem is!!
posted by grabman on 2008-Sep-2, 9pm AEST

We headed back to the store for the third time (this time without bothering with phoning Belkin customer support) and demanded a different brand. For a little more money, we chose the Netgear RangeMax Next Wireless-N Router Gigabit Edition.

Exactly the same specifications and promises that Belkin have written on their boxes (wireless speeds of up to 300Mbps and advanced MIMO technology), but for the extra $26 we got 4 x 1GB (BASE1000) Wired ports where the Belkin only supplied 4 x 100MB (BASE100) ports.

It took me minutes to plug it in and set it up to use WPA/WPA2 security and shortly after, we were playing our DVD iso’s across the network once more but now using the Wireless N speeds we upgraded to.

Conclusion

If I had never had wireless before and maybe if I did not know too much about computers, I most likely would have just accepted the Belkin Wireless Router as doing its job but being able to compare with an older D-Link Wireless G Router and an equivalent specification Netgear Wireless router seems to suggest that out of the 3, Belkin came last in the performance stakes.

I have always thought highly of Belkin Products but now will only ever buy cables branded by them – even if their wired technology is solid, their wireless is not and as such I will choose different brands for those purposes from now on.

As for our Netgear Wireless N Router, it is now happily set up in the center of our house and has no problems with the demands we put on it (we can also connect our wireless enabled mobile phone and laptop from half way down the street).