The N+ is one step up from Belkin’s entry-level draft 802.11n router (the N Wireless) and is differentiated from that model by its gigabit WAN and LAN ports and a USB port that will make a USB flash or hard drive available as a networked share.
The two-antenna design (2T2R) uses a Ralink RT2880 SoC that supports 125 Mbps of routing throughput and at least 200 simultaneous connections. As with other Belkin routers, routing features are basic, with no QoS or content filtering.
Wireless features include a Guest Access mode providing Internet access isolated from internal LAN and WLAN clients via a separate SSID. Guest access can be secured via a password-protected captive web portal or a separate WPA/WPA2 passphrase.
The N+ and its companion N+ Wireless USB Adapter support Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), WEP and only the Personal (PSK) modes for WPA and WPA2.
Unlike the Belkin N, which had no significant throughput degradation in WEP, WPA/TKIP or WPA2 wireless security modes, the N+ and N+ USB adapter reduced speed when connecting in WEP and WPA/TKIP when running uplink and only WEP running downlink.
Wireless best-case throughput in the default 20 MHz bandwidth mode averaged 61 Mbps running downlink and 70 Mbps uplink over a 1 minute test. Switching to 40 MHz mode improved throughput to 84 and 85 Mbps for down and uplink, respectively.