After trying many ADSL modems with integrated wireless routers such as 3Com, I decided to give this one a try firstly because the other devices were so hard to install that I gave up and second because I've read so many reviews saying that it's so easy to install that even a novice like me would have no problems. I purchased it from Ebay (usually not my favourite retailer) and received it the following day. The router came with one ethernet cable, one LAN cable, power adaptor, CD-rom and a brief manual. I popped the CD-rom in and connected the modem to my PC. The CD-rom contains a detailed help manual, but not any installation drives or anything like that. The modem is ready without needing any drivers. After accessing the modem's settings and making three-four changes such as typing in a primary and secondary DNS, I was connected to the internet within 5 minutes. Next came setting up a wireless LAN on my laptop. This took me much longer due to the fact that my integrated wireless card had been disabled and I did not know that. Had I known that, I would have been online in less than 5 minutes, but since I'm completely new to this and this was the first time I had ever held anything like a modem router in my hands, it actually took me over 45 minutes to realize what was wrong. All in all, Belkin's ADSL wireless router with modem is a great device that is easy to set up and does not require any knowledge. The connection is 11g (if this means anything to you), and is apparently much faster than the 11b connection. It also seems faster than the modem I had before. The wireless LAN connection is very good and reaches through 2 walls (I was so excited that I tried to connect my laptop in every single room to check this). The wireless security settings are 64 bit/128 bit encrypted and WAP, which apparently is one of the newest and best security setting that will keep intruders out. The connection can hold for quite a while and does not drop. You can open as many sites as you want and it's still very fast. The modem is grey but a bit bulky. All in all, an excellent device that will find an internet connection easily and will not need many changes. You will get it working in no time.
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Advantages: Reliable, easy to setup and use, small footprint. Disadvantages: Gets very got through constant use, wireless adapter software can be annoying at times
Jun 6th, 2006
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