Avoid this piece of junk!
Written: Mar 30 '07
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Pros: Cheapest USB wireless adapter.
Cons: Great if you want intermittent connection: you get what you pay for!
The Bottom Line: Don’t make any false savings by buying this wireless adapter. Pay a little more and get something from Netgear.
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| Raf_K's Full Review: Belkin Wireless G USB (F5D7050) Network Adapter |
Having moved home a few months ago, I am now sharing my flat with two others. This means a wireless connection has become vital so that we can share it effectively. As I own a 3-year old desktop computer, I needed to look for a wireless adapter in order to go online.
As I had about 6 available USB ports on my computer, I decided a USB adapter would be the wisest choice. Naturally, I went for the cheapest product I could find, thinking they would essentially all be the same. This turned out to be the Belkin 802.11g USB adapter, which cost me U$30 (or £20 here in the UK).
This device comes with software and a stand, so that you can place the adapter somewhere where it is most likely to get a clear signal.
Coincidentally, one of my flatmates bought the exact same one on the very same day, which gave me an opportunity to compare performances. This adapter was very consistent in that neither of them seemed to work at all!
After installing it, I noticed that the signal was average, which struck me as unusual considering its advertised range is 400ft. Granted, the modem sat in the lounge, directly above my bedroom, but still, it should be well within range. I moved the modem to my bedroom, where it is about 10ft from my computer and got good signal strength.
Having sorted this little problem, I realized that the connection was breaking every 5 minutes or so. I blamed it on the flimsy plastic stand, so connected it directly to a USB port. To no avail, the same problem kept happening.
After doing a bit of reading, I found out that quite a few other users had the same problem, which was caused by overheating (once it had cooled down, some 2-3 minutes later, it would work again for 5 minutes). My flatmate was having the exact same problem. Needless to say, we both returned ours and changed it for something that works (marginally) better. I personally got the Netgear WG311T 802.11g/b Wireless Adapter which works a little better.
Perhaps plug & play wireless adapters still have a long way to go until they're fully reliable. In the meantime though, you'd best avoid this one.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 29.99
Driver Availability: Windows only
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Epinions.com ID:
Raf_K
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Rafael K
Location: London, UK
Reviews written: 101
Trusted by: 49 members
About Me:
Back after a long work-inflicted absence.
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