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Introduction
Updated 6/19/2009: WAN DHCP problem and 802.11b support
| At a Glance | |
|---|---|
| Product | - Belkin N150 Wireless Router (F6D4230-4 v2) - Belkin N150 Wireless USB Network Adapter (F6D4050 v2) |
| Summary | Single stream Ralink-based router and matching USB adapter built with draft 802.11n 1x1 chipsets but Wi-Fi Certified only for 802.11b/g |
| Pros | • None come to mind |
| Cons | • Basic routing feature set • Not guaranteed to work with draft 802.11n clients • Awful wireless uplink throughput stability • High download routing throughput variation • Trouble with dynamic WAN IP connection |
I have been writing about pseudo-draft 11n routers since Cisco came out with its now-discontinued Linksys WRT100 and its WRT110 replacement. The basic premise of these products is to take single-stream draft 802.11n hardware that currently can't be Wi-Fi Certified for Draft 802.11n and promote it as 802.11b/g compliant (and usually b/g Wi-Fi Certified). (This latest exercise in consumer misdirection is described in more detail in Buyers Beware! Single Stream Draft 802.11n Products Bring Back Spec Spin.)
The rub comes when manufacturers also promote these products as providing some sort of enhanced performance over 802.11b/g. First, they provide no performance enhancement when used with 802.11b/g clients, since they must fall back to standard b/g protocols when communicating with those clients. But more importantly, since single-stream routers are not recognized in the 802.11n specification and the Wi-Fi Alliance currently won't certify them (or single-stream draft 11n clients), they are not guaranteed to work with Certified draft 802.11n clients.
NETGEAR has also jumped on the "N150" bandwagon with its WNR1000, but is not selling a companion N150 client card. D-Link has a "Wireless 150" router (the DIR-600) "coming soon", but also doesn't have a companion adapter. I expect Cisco to eventually also jump on the bandwagon with some sort of single-stream router, although they probably will use a different marketing term because, well, they're Cisco.
Belkin, however, has decided to boldly go where no one else will and has both its N150 Wireless Router and companion N150 USB adapter on store shelves. So even though I do not approve of any of these "G plus", "N minus" or whatever you want to call them Frankenrouters, I decided to get Belkin's version in for review to see how it performs with regular 802.11g and draft 11n products.
No Guarantee
I asked Belkin what its policy is regarding interoperabilty of the N150 with draft 802.11n Certified products and got this response (bolding mine):"What is Belkin's policy regarding interoperability of N150 products with draft 802.11n Certified products?
• N150 is interoperable with all Belkin N products at N150 speeds. N150 is certified for interoperability with other WiFi-certified products at 11g speeds.
Is N150 interoperable with competitors’ 802.11n products?
• N150 is certified by WiFi to be interoperable with other WiFi b/g products, at 802.11g speeds; this includes competitor products with the WiFi b/g certification.
As there is no WiFi certification program for 1x1 N, we cannot guarantee that competitors’ products are interoperable with N150 at N150 speeds. For best results, we recommend that our customers buy Belkin ‘s N150 Enhanced Wireless USB Network Adapter."
So with the warnings out of the way, let's get to the review. Figure 1 shows the N150's no-frills front panel, with only the series of backlit icons used in Belkin's revamped router line. Note that none of the icons blink to indicate activity.
Figure 1: N150 Front Panel
The rear panel layout (Figure 2) doesn't have link/activity indicators on each of the auto MDI / MDI-X 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports, either.
Figure 2: N150 Back Panel
If you like to wall-mount your router, then you'll need to build a little wall-mounted shelf for the N150. There are no screw mounting slots and I couldn't remove the base without fear of breaking it off. Also note that the single antenna is external and moveable, but not upgradeable.
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User reviews
View all user reviewsAverage user rating from: 10 user(s)
Piece of Junk,died after 2 months of use.
this router is sh*t,makes my internet connection and xbox live laggy.i now have already 1 year Linksys E1000. Linksys E1000 is awesome,xbox live stopped lagging and connection is more faster and stable with this router. I took a hunting rifle to my old Belkin N150.
Average product N150
I bot belkin N150 since it had a very attractive price, i bot in Jayanagar Bangalore for 1.4K,
installation is simple since its done by Airtel guy, it takes 10min max.
We ourself doing seems to be tough.
Regarding performance its ok range is it can cover your house max, if ur looking for greater coverage like a apartement or two floors it seems to be tough. range is not that great.
Some times it refuses to connect.. i dont know why.
Final words its a average product, value buy.
Put up with this router for more than a year...
Replaced an older Belkin that had given up the ghost hoping to get better reliability. Required occasional weekly resets which I figured was normal. After about 6 months, required daily (sometimes 2x a day) resets after losing wireless connection or losing the connection with the cable modem altogether.
Finally decided to replace it with a Netgear a couple weeks ago and the Netgear has worked flawlessly without requiring a reset since it was plugged in.
Wished I would have replaced the Belkin sooner or have just bought the Netgear in the first place.
Solid
This wireless router out of the box had some issues. Windows 7 would not allow me to initial connect to the wireless router as it said the password was incorrect. I had to contact Belkin and they had me connect to the router via a CAT 5 cable. They said the software was not compatible with Window 7. Okay I was able to connect via CAT 5 and configure the router. I then connected my iPad and things seemed okay. After about five minutes the router was not available via WiFi. So I had to reset the router, and reset the router, and reset the router... see where this is going. So I went to bed and in the morning the router still was not working correctly. Then I reconnected my laptop via CAT 5 and updated the firmware. Since I updated the firmware, it has operated without an issue. Now the only problem I have with the router is the lack of a link light status on the LAN ports. A very small thing but it would certainly make this router almost untouchable if Belkin would add just the basic features that are found on simple switches.
HORRRRIBLE
I can attest that the other reviews of this product are accurate. I was actually just browsing around the site and noticed the "Worst rated routers" (by visitors) and laughed out loud when i saw the router I'm looking to replace at the top of the chart!! The router is tremendously unstable. I thought i had a defected router, but sent it in and received a new one, and less than a month later the replacement started crashing, too. So far the only "nice" thing about owning a Belkin product is that you can send it in without fuss to receive a new one if you think something is wrong, but you can't get around the fact that the product itself is crap. I'd highly, highly suggest NOT purchasing Belkin, and ESPECIALLY do yourself a favor and don't buy this router.
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