Belkin - Who Has One

Hello all,

A few weeks ago my Belkin F5D8233 router starting dying, dropping the wireless connection > requires reboots daily which steadily started increasing so I got in touch with Belkin with its warranty and they offered me a replacement which was the Belkin Play Max F7D4301. I've literally had it 3 days now and its disconnected from the net and dropped the wireless connection which required reboots to get it working again. Before accepting the replacement offer I read loads of reviews and they all stated the Surf, Share and Play routers in the UK range all have connection issues as well as heating up a bit. I've updated the firmware on the router, tried a few work arounds with its settings but it still does the same thing. I don't use the CD setup with routers as its plug and play with its web interface so I didn't bother but with the issues I tried with installation of set and the same happened.

I accepted replacement Play Max for my old faulty router because I came across 1 comment on amazon review that said the new firmware release fixed connection issues but thats obviously wrong, it looks fake and is a fake as it doesn't do what its suppose to do.

How can Belkin have a whole range that has major issues! A routers prime purpose is to split 1 IP into 'xxx' amount of IPs allowing loads of devices to connect to the internet at once. Its flawed before even taking it out the box.

Now, I've again got in touch with Belkin and hope for another replacement but I just cannot accept a router from the UK range,

Code:

http://www.belkin.com/uk/networking/compare/wireless-routers

they all have bad feedback and personal experience with the best router in the range pretty much summed it up. Not even a day old and it lost the connection once, second day it played up the whole day and now I'm onto the third, the day I've had it with a brand new router. It needs to go back.

Belkin have a new generation of routers but there only sold in the US at the moment if I'm correct,

Code:

http://www.belkin.com/networking/wireless-routers/compare/wireless-routers/

Could someone please correct me if I'm wrong, is the link above to the new generation of routers Belkins has made? I've googled the range and I haven't found one review on amazon or any other site suggesting it drops the connection, heats up or needs several reboots.

Lastly as the title stats, has anyone got a play max - or better yet one from the new US range? Could you please offer your opinions on this please, I need this fake plastic tin replaced and as I have this warranty, I might as well get a working replacement from Belkin rather than buy another brand but this is incredible.

Save yourself time - if under warranty you have the right to a refund under "not fit for purpose" and buy another make ? I recommend Netgear - I have had many and never had a problem with any of them, easy to setup, use and just keep working !!!.

It may sound as a "fanboy" statement, but the best home router I've ever used, hands down, is an Apple Airport Extreme. This piece of hardware is truly amazing. If you can afford one, give it a try.

I once had a Belkin, FD5430 or something like that. A pretty old wireless router, it was pretty decent. Another good option, with some mixed reviews, are the Linksys routers. I also have one - it is in fact my DSL modem - but I do use only as a modem. My current AEBS still beats it.

ibshaw said:

Save yourself time - if under warranty you have the right to a refund under "not fit for purpose" and buy another make ? I recommend Netgear - I have had many and never had a problem with any of them, easy to setup, use and just keep working !!!.

Doesn't even have to be under warranty for that piece of legislation to work:

Item must last a reasonable amount of time for the purpose it was designed.


Also go for a Linksys router, just my opinion.

thanks for replies.

Belkins refused to send me the new US range router, they said the US distribution centre cannot post anything to anyone outside the states, only the European distribution centre can send me a replacement. I've given up and asked for a refund but now they want my receipt which I've lost. I was willing to stay a Belkins customer but reboots daily? unstable connection, no thanks.

I've googled till I got a bad headache, the routers I'm currently looking at are;

Not completely sure these ZyXELs support IPv6 but anyway,

ZyXEL NBG4604 or NBG4615
Problem with this is not many people are selling this model plus I'd rather it in black.

ZyXEL NBG-419N
Has excellent reviews but doesn't support gigabit

Netgear, D-Link, Buffalo, Linksys all make my mind spin, not sure which one to get.

More points to the AEBS score: 4 GbE ports, 802.11n in 2.4 and 5GHz bands - simultanously, USB disk and printer sharing, IPv6 support. Unfortunately, white only.

On the Linksys, go for the E series.

I was considering the apple router but I've come across TP-Links extreme gigabit, I'm going to give that a shot.

I had a belkin n+ router,it was the worst thing i ever bough in my life,i had it a week and sold it,my talktalk wireless n router is so much better.

Well, I have Belkin Surf+ 300 N+, it is my first router ever and it workes just great, never had any problems with it. Have you tried to play with settings like change channels, use 5 GHz, turn off DHCP and so on?

I am not surprised, that the most expensive version has the most issues, since more features = more problems. There is nothing like a gaming router, if the connection is stable the ping is the same, whenever it costs €10 or €1000.

tried all sorts mate, loads of work arounds its still a fake plastic tin. I just want a refund now, I'm tired being loyal to Belkin. I'll get the tp link and be done with it, tp links much better anyway