Saturday, May 26, 2012

Belkin router review: End of a 6 year journey

I have had my old router since the year I graduated high school. It was not in continuous use as for 2 years I didn't have internet. Once I did get home internet I pulled out my old trusty Belkin router and hooked it up and it worked perfect. As time went I noticed a fall in quality and speeds. No more could I stream Netflix to my Wii, and web pages on my iPhone and tablet either took 5 mins to load or give funny errors. Other times my WiFi network would just  disappear and id have to reboot the router to get it to work again. Recently I made the move to cancel my Dish Network services to go 100% internet TV and that's when the not being able to stream became a problem. In the last few weeks I had been contemplating getting a new router with the money I saved from canceling dish (anywhere from 55-80 a month.). I kept trying to hold off but the other day I was trying to do something and it just got to the point I was so annoyed I decided to do a speed test. This is what I got:



So finally I admitted defeat that my f5d7230-4 wireless G router has reached the end of the road. 
RIP  2006 - May 25th 2012 (I had thought it was peeling on the front turns out it was just a  protector sticker coming off that I had missed.)
I set up plans to go purchase a new one on my day off (5/25). As I hadn't even looked at routers since I got my old one I took my time to see what was all available. The G router covered my entire home so I was not worried about distance as I remembered the G was the lowest you could get when I bought it. I was more worried about how much speed the router could handle and how many devices at once as that is what I was having issues with in the past. Because my Belkin had been so good to me and their tech support so helpful when I had called in the past as a tech newbie with my first router, I was partial to them. Id had a good experience and I just didn't want to give that up and possibly end up with another company that wouldn't be so helpful. Finally what they always say at work made sense to me, Customer loyalty. I had never really felt loyal to a company before as I realized today that I felt loyal to Belkin. So in going through this experience I learned something about myself! So I picked up the pretty shiny black Belkin that would match everything else on my desk that had the highest speeds/specs. The price difference was about double ($80+) what I had paid for the old one ($40), but I figured if this one lasted me as long as the last it would be well worth the price. Another great thing is I am familiar with the settings layout of the router and had it set up in less than 15 mins with cabling and personalizing the SSID and password. 

Here is my new beauty. N750 DB N+ MODEL: F9K1103V1
I went to connect my iPhone to the WiFi then I noticed it was already connected. Apparently because I used the same SSID and password even though it was a different router my iPhone 4s auto connected to it! I ran a speed test to see what I was getting now with the new router and I am pleased with the results.

Its like night and day and I'm glad I made the change and the decision to stick with Belkin. How have your experiences with Belkin been? Ever had any issues or was yours positive like mine?


8 comments:

  1. This is something my son needs and wants for christmas. I am going to get them out! Thanks you for your review.

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  2. wow my wireless goes on and off I got the feeling now is my router >.< thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Most likely as they say you should replace them much more often then I tend to replace them.

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  3. I love belkin! Thats what I use!

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  4. Dang I bet this is what is wrong with my speed. I keep cussing but that hasnt changed anything LOL. Guess its time for a new router myself, might have to go with a Belkin. This was a super awesome review and I learned a thing or two.

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    Replies
    1. Most likel if a new router doesn't help then you know for sure it's your providers fault. Glad I could be of service.

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  5. I always thought you should renew your router/modem every so often

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