Can't route, won't route (Belkin Cable/DSL Gateway Router)

Member Name: scarysuzzy

Product:	Belkin Cable/DSL Gateway Router
Date:	02/11/08 (13 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: If I think of any I'll let you know

Disadvantages: It has them all

Got one of these to share my cable line in student digs with high hopes of using the ultra-fast (at the time) 2Mbps connection. Disappointment was not far around the corner...

The unit looks like functional enough with plenty of flashing lights on the front and a smattering of ports on the back. It starts up in about 30 seconds and then you're ready to configure it.

Which is not all that simple. Sure, there's a wizard-like interface to guide you through the essential settings, but the device can inexplicably freeze at times in the middle of making changes.

The experience doesn't get much better when you're supposedly up and running. It can go for a few minutes and then your connection will suddenly stop working. At this point it's difficult to determine if it's the router or your ISP at fault - the configuration screen will often lie and tell you it's disconnected when it's not! The only real cure is to restart the router and wait for it to come back online. This is a real pain and pretty inexcusable in my opinion. You don't even need to be using it heavily to make it fall over.

Summary: Unfortunately we can't give it 0 stars

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