Belkin N1 Wireless Router Review

I recently bought a Belkin N1 Wireless Router to replace the D-Link Wireless ADSL Modem Router which had died after 2 years of loyal service. I thought I’d now sum up my thought in a review on the Belkin N1 Wireless Router after a couple months of use.

I live in a house with rather thick stone walls which doesn’t aid the transmitting of wireless signals, so I accept that fact that my wireless range may be less than other people’s may be. The D-Link Wireless ADSL Modem Router had a range of around 15m which I thought was quite good given it only cost me about £50 at the time.

So when it came to replacing it I was willing to spend a bit more money on something that would perhaps give me more range. I ended up spending £130 on the Belkin N1 Wireless Router – more than I’d wanted to spend, but I needed to get back online! I was initially rather impressed with it, the setting up was very simple and easily completed and the router itself has some easy to understand status light symbols on top of it. The standard wired networking aspect of this router works very well, I’ve got two PCs and an Xbox 360 hooked up to it and they all worked well together from the start without any problems.

However, once I got round to testing the wireless range of this new Belkin N1 Wireless Router, I was a little discouraged to see that it was no better than my previous D-Link Wireless ADSL Modem Router, if anything it was a slightly weaker signal. Obviously, the Belkin N1 standard is more about shifting more data at a higher speed than range, so good for those who do that – however I’m more interested in basic network and Internet access as far round the house as possible.

I would also have to mention that it does need to be regularly reset/restarted by pressing the button on the back of the router. I’m not sure why this is, whether it’s a fault that might get fixed in a new firmware release or perhaps it’s just one of those things when something is running 24/7, like my Sky+ box needs regularly restarting.

All in all I’d say the Belkin N1 Wireless Router is good product with a high build quality, it does come with a premium price compared to the alternatives on the market, but if you know what needs you have and approach the Belkin N1 Wireless Router with it’s limitations in mind, I’m sure you’ll get along well with it! It’s a good product, but not perfect by any means!

Have you had any experience with this wireless router? What do you think of it?

UPDATE: In the 18 months I’ve now been using this wireless router, I would just add that I’ve had fairly consistent and long-running issues in terms of my internet connection being dropped quite often and the device requiring lots of resets/reboots to correct the problem.

I recently bought a Belkin N+ ADSL wireless router and you get read my review which details my experiences with it and why I eventually took it back to the store.

Written by Simon Barker on December 9, 2007 · Filed under Tech

Read more about: adsl, belkin, belkin n1 standard, buy, computer, d-link, modem, review, router, technology, wireless network, wireless router

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