Belkin Dual-Band Wireless A+G Networking

Reviews: Networking

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Richard Poelling
Kurtis
Belkin
Mar. 27, 2005

Specifications

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Quick Note on Support

Most of the time, I don't need to contact technical support. When I do, it is very rarely a joy. This was really no different. I contacted Belkin's support number listed on their website and went through about 5 different menus before a real person answered. I really wasn't surprised to find that the tech support was pretty much clueless as to the existence of this product; it has only just recently showed up on their website in the last few weeks after being shown at CES earlier this year. Basically, my problem was that the PCI card failed to connect to the "g" signal of the router. The "a" channel had no problem, but it just didn't like the "g". Some fiddling here and there yielded nothing. In the end they offered to escalate the call to level II or III. Rather than transferring my call, they told me they would call me back. Never believe a tech support person who says "we will call you back," because as I thought, they never did. I would have preferred a "sorry, we have no clue, this is a new product" over the silent treatment I got.

To make things a bit more interesting, not ten minutes after hanging up the phone with tech support, the router freaked out and shut down both radio channels. Pulling the plug and rebooting the router failed to fix the problem. At one point in time, the router just blinked on and off stating it was booting for 15 minutes before I unplugged the thing. Whether by luck or brute force, the thing finally reset itself, or at least half of it. At one point I got the radios back up, but could not connect to web interface to configure them. I finally just turned the thing off for a day and was able to get everything back up and running the next day.

Conclusion

Nothing is ever simple. Just when you thought the standards had settled down and everything was playing nicely together, the onslaught of new speed-boosted products deluged us with numbers and letters, which only the truly geeky could decipher. To complicate things further, past standards have risen from the dead; enter Belkin with their A+G group of products. All is not lost; Belkin has done a good job of integrating the two separate standards into a viable product that the average user can work with.

As with past wireless devices, the advertised speed doesn't equal the actual speed. In my testing, I was only able to max out at around 40 Mbps, which is far from the 108 Mbps advertised. To be fair, 40 Mbps is not bad. Even the fastest Internet connections are only in the 3-4 Mbps range, so unless you are doing large file transfers you will never know the difference. For the most part I was happy with the Belkin A+G router, except for a few kinks during the testing, the router has performed well. Most of my problems seemed to arise after changing the speeds on the router, something the average user probably won't be doing on a regular basis, but it is still a black mark nonetheless.

With the inclusion of a second radio using a different frequency, you do have a better chance of getting a signal somewhere. Since both channels perform similarly, except in range, all you need is one to get a signal and you will be in business. Finally, I will add my usual beef with Belkin about the failure to provide a visible security configuration with the initial setup. This is mainly because the average person will set up the Internet and just stop there. With this router in the default configuration, you will then be broadcasting in the open on two channels rather than one!

With everything on the table, it only comes down to the final question: is this router for you? For the average person, this router may be more than you need; if you have problems getting wireless signal, it is probably due to distance rather than interference. If this is the case, the additional "a" frequency probably won't help you. If you are looking for support for both "a" and "g" channels and want increased speeds, then this router does fit the bill. At $149.99 this router is in the higher price range, but I think for what you get it is a good product. The router freaking out does concern me though, as I'm still unsure what went wrong; assuming it doesn't become a habit, this router should fulfill its job well.

Pros

Dual channels A+G
Maximum compatibility (802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g)
Nice Virtual Server setup Screen
Ability to change into an Access Point rather than router
Awesome built-in switch (92 MBps)

Cons

PCI card seems flighty
The lack of security awareness during initial setup
802.11a has poor range
Belkin's wireless software seems useless
Odd mounting holes on back

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Page 1: Introduction & First Looks
Page 2: Network Setup
Page 3: Network Setup Cont'd...
Page 4: Adapter Setup
Page 5: Testing
Page 6: Quick Note on Tech Support & Conclusion

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1 User Comment

1 - Posted by Guest on July 15, 2005 - 5:38 pm

Thankyou for a through review. The only question I have is will a 2.4 ghz phone interfere or will the router automatically adapt the right band. Thanks Tim

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