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RobXMiller
join:2009-02-08
Denver, CO

RobXMiller

Member

Re: Belkin N900 Dual-Band Wireless Router

Belkin 900 arrived yesterday. A big snow came in so I spent the morning installing it. The Belkin 900 will take a morning.
Connected it and replaced the old $30 router. The power transformer does have a green light. But, plug in the power to the Belkin and there are no lights that show for either power or the network. Belkin 900 came with a fancy network cable to hook to the Comcast Internet Cable Modem.
The Install disk brings up, not so great user interface software. It leads the user through the process. After aboout 20 minutes, it can't connect to the Internet. (Yes, I power down the cable modem 3 times, and all that stuff).
The Install software has a number to call for technical help. I rings about 25 times, then disconnects.
Removed the new fancy cable that came with the Belkin N900 and replaced it with my old cable. Repower, reboot and restart the install CD. This time it finds the Internet IP. Hooray! I am now 40 minutes into the process. Some stupid lights blinking would have made a difference.
The Wireless name is a standard Belkin name. So, I change it to 2GH and 5GH. Belkin softare requires a re-boot with every menu item. And, a re-boot takes an entier 1 minute! Add a security password for the wireless, it takes a minute.
Now, my network has a different sub-net.
Midway, my Internet goes out! Belkin can't find it.
Restart the process of power down the modem, the Belkin - restart the software, no dice. It would be useful if Belkin had some indication of what was going on. Messages such as, "we are trying hard..." appear. But, the reality is that nothing is happening except another 4 to 5 minutes of messages each time.

after several attempts and another 40 minutes...
Unplug the cable to the Belkin 900 (internet) and jam it back in. Start to notice it really doesn't fit all that tight. Got some DUCT TAPE and tape the connector back in so it holds tightly in the socket. Now, the Belkin recgonized the Comcast Internet first try.
Geezz! Belkin, some indicator lights, some software that actually detected dataflow, or maybe even somone actually testing your unit one time... would have been much better. It appears the Internet socket in the router is loose.

Do I see a big difference over my $39 wireless router? Not really. To be fair, there is a slight noticable difference. And, I have not had time to try other features. My Netflix (Sears DVD player) picked up the IP first time, as did my HP All in-one network printer.
Wireless - I am sitting in my same living room with my HP Envy 17 3D laptop. The signal on my old $39 Tenda router was full bars. The The new Belkin 900 is 3/4 bars. And what was the reason to buy a $200 router? It claimed 9 antennas and the strongest signal. Granted, I don't have my field-strength-meter.. sigh... I just went to the garrage and turned the unit 90 degrees. My signal dropped to 2/4 bars. Evidently the flat side is not the stronger signal side. It is sitting exactly where the Tenda was sitting in the garrage - 22 feet away. Two walls between us.

I will be back on later to ask stupid questions about virtual networks. For a top of the line product with a (seriously) $15.00 cardboard box, really fancy box; I wish Belkin would have put that money into some serious User Manual for those of us who don't know a VPN from a Hick Peeing. As most novice would rather go to the dentist than read a Router Manual, this manual is even less special than others. You blew it Belkin. The interface falls in the same category of ... "ho hum".

I have a Tmobile Android if anyone would care to tell me how to set up the service. Will provide feedback on the antenna range.

mozerd
Light Will Pierce The Darkness
MVM
join:2004-04-23
Nepean, ON

mozerd

MVM

said by RobXMiller:

Do I see a big difference over my $39 wireless router? Not really. To be fair, there is a slight noticable difference.

I am sitting in my same living room with my HP Envy 17 3D laptop. The signal on my old $39 Tenda router was full bars. The The new Belkin 900 is 3/4 bars. And what was the reason to buy a $200 router?

Well, I did warn you that

All your clients will work with this new Belkin product but do not expect to gain significant performance improvements unless your 'clients' also support MultiBeam.

Why you expected different WHEN all your clients are not in any way shape or form COMPLIMENTARY is beyond my comprehension.