Belkin Wireless Play Max Router (F7D4301)

My experience with this router has been one major mistake after another. I didn't check the Amazon reviews before purchasing - my mistake. I bought it (not through Amazon) - my mistake. I threw away the packaging after setting it up and now I can't return - major mistake.

Although this thing was simple enough to set-up, it has been a major letdown for all of the reasons that other reviewers have mentioned. I've had it for 2 weeks now, and I count it a good day if I only have to reset the damn thing once. My devices all run more slowly than on my old router, and the stupid thing freezes up constantly. I've also run into multiple IP address conflict messages and have to reset it to prevent those messages as well.

I'm so frustrated that I'll likely trash the pile of junk and go buy another brand. Shame on me for buying this thing - and shame on me for not keeping the packaging until I knew how it worked (or didn't in this case).

I read the reviews, and I decided to give it a shot anyway since I've had good luck with connectivity in my house. In all honesty, the connectivity wasn't the issue with me. It was the configuration. Below is a detailed account of my experience trying to set this thing up:

When setting up a router, I always use the web-based interface. I don't like installing a program since there's no guarantee it will work with the operating system that I have. So I use the web-based set-up page as the basis for evaluating a router. So the first thing I do is set the administrative password. The default was blank. The next thing I want to do is change the IP address of the router under the LAN settings so that the network portion of the address (i.e. the first three numbers of the IP address) matches all the statically addressed devices on my network. I try to give the router the same IP address as my old router, which is 192.168.1.1. I immediately receive an error that the IP address...Read more

I too have to agree with the negative reviews. This router drops connections all the time. I was upgrading from a Netgear super G to this and was sorely disappointed. The router is in route back to Amazon for a refund as we speak. Another annoying feature is that the router itself will not allow you to make more than one change at a time without a reboot to allow for the settings to take place. Simple things like giving the network a name or setting the router password, let alone changing the channel you want to broadcast on.

My advise, stay away.