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Rating: 
Summary: Do NOT buy any of the Belkin Wireless Products!!
Review: After several hours of telephone support conversation, Belkin told me that there was simply too much interference in my apartment to allow for a connection between my Belkin Router my Belkin wireless notebook card. Mind you, I live in a one-bedroom apartment in Queens, and the distance between the router and the notebook is no more than 40 feet. On top of that, I don't have any cordless phone. So there I went and bought a range extender to place between the router and my laptop. Since then, I have spent several hours of technical support ON A WEEKLY BASIS, because the way they tell me to configure the connections and the wireless bridge just doesn't work! Oh, how I wish I had just bought a very long internet cord instead...
Rating:
Summary: WARNING! BELKIN OPENS YOUR HOME TO HACKERS!!
Review: As per recent Register and Slashdot articles, Belkin routers have the known flaw of not only redirecting random traffic to Belkin advertisements, but they also allow external web pages to modify your configuration.So the next time you type in your favorite web site; with this router, you might get Belkin's home page. BEWARE!
Rating: 
Summary: Product works well, watch out for firmware updates
Review: First of all, the installation of this product is relatively straightforward but the default factory settings will leave your system open (unsecure). In these times of increasing cases of hacking and with more and more wireless products being available, security is a major concern and you should make your first assignment to secure your system from attacks.
There are several options available for securing your connection that include eliminating the broadcast of your wireless network name (SSID), setting up encryption manually or automatically (either 64 or 128 bit) by using an optional passphrase and filtering out MAC addresses. Now, setting up the Wireless Access Point is not as straightforward as it seems, and here's where the documentation should be a bit clearer. The WAP setup has a web-based interface that requires an Internet browser such as MSIE or Netscape.
The default IP address (and URL) of the WAP is 192.168.2.254 with a Class C subnet mask (255.255.255.0), you could care less about it, but it is very important to know. In order for you to configure the WAP, you must set up your PC IP address (either the wireless client or the host PC that you will use to connect to the WAP) on the same subnet as this default address on the WAP. In my case, my DSL router belongs to a 192.168.1.xxx subnet, so I had to change my address temporarily to a valid one(192.168.2.100) as explained in the manual. Fortunately, the WAP setup allows you to change the WAP's default IP address to suit your needs. About applying firmware updates:
Problems arise when you apply new firmware, a common procedure that everyone should do when acquiring these kind of equipment, but should be very careful when doing so.
Firmware updates bring improvements, fixes and new features to your WAP and keeps it up to date. The problem I had was that the firmware changed the WAP's default IP address to 192.168.2.1, something I found out after researching networking.belkin.com.
The second issue was that my security settings were erased and my saved settings were not completely recovered, apparently because of some format compatibility issue not documented anywhere. Luckily, I put everything on paper and I was able to set everything back the way it was but believe me, looking at a "page not found" error after a firmware update is not for the faint of heart. Now about client connectivity. I own a DSL router connected to a simple 8-port 10MBps hub. I connected my WAP in one of the ports on the hub. My laptop (with a PCMCIA wireless card) immediately found the WAP. Reception should be fine if your wireless clients reside across open areas. Closed rooms are another story. In my case, although my bedroom (closed area) is much closer in distance to the WAP, there was no reception initially and noise was higher than in the living room (open area). For this reason I had to place the WAP in a more direct line of sight to my bedroom and in a higher position to allow for better reception. This required a longer patch cable than the 6-inch UTP cable included with the WAP. In summary, if you are familiar with networking PCs and know how your network is set up then you shouldn't have any problems installing and using this product, otherwise I'd recommend bringing someone with networking experience to help out.
Rating:
Summary: Product works well, watch out for firmware updates
Review: First of all, the installation of this product is relatively straightforward but the default factory settings will leave your system open (unsecure). In these times of increasing cases of hacking and with more and more wireless products being available, security is a major concern and you should make your first assignment to secure your system from attacks.
There are several options available for securing your connection that include eliminating the broadcast of your wireless network name (SSID), setting up encryption manually or automatically (either 64 or 128 bit) by using an optional passphrase and filtering out MAC addresses. Now, setting up the Wireless Access Point is not as straightforward as it seems, and here's where the documentation should be a bit clearer. The WAP setup has a web-based interface that requires an Internet browser such as MSIE or Netscape.
The default IP address (and URL) of the WAP is 192.168.2.254 with a Class C subnet mask (255.255.255.0), you could care less about it, but it is very important to know. In order for you to configure the WAP, you must set up your PC IP address (either the wireless client or the host PC that you will use to connect to the WAP) on the same subnet as this default address on the WAP. In my case, my DSL router belongs to a 192.168.1.xxx subnet, so I had to change my address temporarily to a valid one(192.168.2.100) as explained in the manual. Fortunately, the WAP setup allows you to change the WAP's default IP address to suit your needs. About applying firmware updates:
Problems arise when you apply new firmware, a common procedure that everyone should do when acquiring these kind of equipment, but should be very careful when doing so.
Firmware updates bring improvements, fixes and new features to your WAP and keeps it up to date. The problem I had was that the firmware changed the WAP's default IP address to 192.168.2.1, something I found out after researching networking.belkin.com.
The second issue was that my security settings were erased and my saved settings were not completely recovered, apparently because of some format compatibility issue not documented anywhere. Luckily, I put everything on paper and I was able to set everything back the way it was but believe me, looking at a "page not found" error after a firmware update is not for the faint of heart. Now about client connectivity. I own a DSL router connected to a simple 8-port 10MBps hub. I connected my WAP in one of the ports on the hub. My laptop (with a PCMCIA wireless card) immediately found the WAP. Reception should be fine if your wireless clients reside across open areas. Closed rooms are another story. In my case, although my bedroom (closed area) is much closer in distance to the WAP, there was no reception initially and noise was higher than in the living room (open area). For this reason I had to place the WAP in a more direct line of sight to my bedroom and in a higher position to allow for better reception. This required a longer patch cable than the 6-inch UTP cable included with the WAP. In summary, if you are familiar with networking PCs and know how your network is set up then you shouldn't have any problems installing and using this product, otherwise I'd recommend bringing someone with networking experience to help out.
Rating:
Summary: Exactly as advertised!
Review: I bought this Belkin access point a few days ago. It is an excellent device! I bought it to bridge and extend my wireless G home network. It connected without problems to my Linksys WRT54G router. The F57130 is, to the best of my knowledge, the only access point that simultaneously acts as a bridge and a repeater. I am using it to augment my wired network, while ALSO using it to add wireless reach to the upstairs of my house. I would have given it five stars if it included a status indicator in its utilities. It's rather unusual to have a wireless device that cannot indicate signal strength -- but otherwise it works great!
Rating: 
Summary: Bridge Mode only works with other Belkin products
Review: I bought this bridge/access point based on the good reviews. However, I was using this as a bridge at home to a Linksys router. This seems to be the only bridge that does not connect to other vendor's routers. What a shame. The setup was reasonable, but a little more involved than other vendors. Back in the box it goes.
Rating:
Summary: Bridge Mode only works with other Belkin products
Review: I bought this bridge/access point based on the good reviews. However, I was using this as a bridge at home to a Linksys router. This seems to be the only bridge that does not connect to other vendor's routers. What a shame. The setup was reasonable, but a little more involved than other vendors. Back in the box it goes.
Rating: 
Summary: Works good, after a while, then BOOM.
Review: I got this one a while ago. First time it didn't flash the firmware correctly. Got the unit replaced. Then find out it had the wrong firmware TO BEGIN WITH. Get the correct firmware, ran like a charm. Then all of a sudden it just stopped working. This is only after about four months of use.
Rating:
Summary: Works good, after a while, then BOOM.
Review: I got this one a while ago. First time it didn't flash the firmware correctly. Got the unit replaced. Then find out it had the wrong firmware TO BEGIN WITH. Get the correct firmware, ran like a charm. Then all of a sudden it just stopped working. This is only after about four months of use.
Rating: 
Summary: Does what it says on the tin
Review: There's a firmware update at Belkin's site (you need to navigate the site directly rather than use the automatic check built into the box) which brings full 'g' compatability plus some sophisticated relaying and encryption features. What's it like to use? Well, it's pretty simple to set up. It needs a Javascript enabled web browser - so Linux, Mac, and PC users will have no problem setting it up. Follow the instructions and you can't go wrong. This box is intended for use with an existing network - machines connecting wirelessly will act as if they've been plugged into your network directly. For the more technical of you, the wireless MAC addresses appear as standard Ethernet addresses which means you can use your existing DHCP servers, etc, to administer your network. Security features offered includes a MAC whitelist, WPA and WEP encryption/login standards, plus the ability to hide your network so it doesn't automatically appear on network selectors. The system is fully compatable with Apple's AirPort (and presumably AirPort Extreme) cards as both use the same 802.11b and 802.11g standards. Range is difficult to test in my apartment - certainly, it is powerful enough to cover my home and half of an adjacent/one floor up apartment with a strong signal when situated on a bookcase in the middle of mine, without any tuning on my part to get it to an ideal position. It isn't a router (except between the wireless network and the wired network.) You cannot (usually) plug it into a cable modem or DSL modem directly. Belkin has a seperate box available that will do this that also incorporates the wireless functionality. More sophisticated boxes, such as Apple's AirPort hubs, include features like printer servers - this doesn't, it's just a wireless access point, something to connect your 802.11b/g devices to your Ethernet network. The device is a large plastic box, resembling a TV dinner you'd put in the Microwave. It has two positionable antennae permanently attached to the outside of the box but no socket to plug in a more powerful antenna. It comes with a mounting stand that allows you to position it vertically, or you can sit the thing down flat. Or you can put two screws in the wall and hang it from that. Happily the power supply is not a "pregnant plug", but a small box into which you plugged an A/C cable and out of which came the standard DC line. What's more to say? It's exactly what it advertises itself as being. It's inexpensive, at the time of writing, I have no qualms recommending it.
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