Mo' Belkin Blues... just wireless this time (Belkin Wireless G USB Network Adapter)

Member Name: SWSt

Product:	Belkin Wireless G USB Network Adapter
Date:	26/02/09 (177 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Neat little device, good strong signal and good reliability, cheap

Disadvantages: Installation can cause some headaches, connection a little slower and occasionally drops

When I moved into my current house, there was no upstairs telephone point, which meant I had to plug my wireless router into the phone socket downstairs. This was a problem, as my PC doesn't have a wireless card, so to connect it to the internet, I had to either set up my PC in the living room (which I don't like), or go through the hassle of trailing cables all the way upstairs.

Actually, there was a third choice: get a wireless adapter, which allows your PC to connect wirelessly, without you having to open up your PC and install a card. The adapters vary quite considerably in both price and features, but I settled on a basic Belkin model.

Features
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The more basic models should be fine for most needs. According to the box, it can pick up a wireless signal within a distance of about 50 metres (more advanced have a greater range). Unless you have a really big house, this should be more than enough to broadcast a strong signal from a downstairs router to an upstairs PC.

I'm not overly familiar with the technical gubbins behind wireless technology, but the important thing to note is that it supports the 802.11g standard (the most widely used one currently). It doesn't support the newer Draft-N standard, so you might want to consider that if you're likely to use your adapter for a long time. I have no idea what all of that means in theory, but in practice it should mean the device will work with your current router, regardless of make.

Set-Up
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The adapter is can bet setup in two ways. On laptops, you simply plug it into any available USB port; for desktop PCs, you are advised to use the cradle which comes with the adapter. This plugs into a USB port and the network adapter then sits in the cradle. This is actually pretty nifty on two grounds. Firstly, you can leave the adapter plugged in at all times, without risking accidentally knocking and breaking it. Also, because the wire is quite long (around a metre), there's plenty of flexibility in where you position it so that it doesn't get in your way. It's a neat little arrangement and far better than having the adapter permanently protruding from the PC.

Installation
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The adapter comes with good, clear instructions for setting it up. As with all PC equipment, these make it sound like a doddle You just pop the accompanying CD-ROM into your PC, follow the on screen instructions, plug in the adapter when prompted to do so and hey presto! Wireless technology at your fingertips.

Yeah. Right. The reality is I followed all the instructions and nothing happened. It's not that it didn't install - the relevant icons appeared on my desktop and the accompanying software worked. It just refused to detect the router. I fiddled around with the settings on my firewall, in case this was causing issues, but still nothing. I then got my laptop out and went online to see if other people had experienced similar problems, but that came up blank too.

At this point, I started to wonder whether the signal wasn't strong enough and if I needed the next model up. However, this would have cost around £25 more, so I was reluctant to do this before trying a few more things.

So, I resorted to the tried and tested formula of starting again from scratch. I removed the adapter, uninstalled the software, rebooted the machine and started the installation process once more. Again, I followed the instructions to the letter, doing nothing different. This time...Success! Why, I have no idea, but I'm glad I reinstalled, rather than rushing out to buy a different model. Why Belkin can't make technology that just works I'll never know.

Using the Adapter
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Happily, this is one of those things that once up and running, you can pretty much just leave to its own devices. The strength of the signal I receive is always either "Excellent" or "Very Good", so there are no problems getting connected. Just occasionally, the adapter drops the connection for no apparent reason and you are suddenly disconnected.

This is not a serious issue - it probably happens once every 20-30 times I connect, so it's a minor inconvenience, rather than a serious flaw. Nor is getting reconnected a problem - just click the reconnect button you're back on-line

A word of caution regarding the signal strength: since setting the adapter up, I have had the PC in two different rooms. In one, the connection never dropped; in the other room I've experienced the issue described above. Clearly the location of the PC will affect the strength and reliability of the signal. Depending on the layout of your house, you might need either to consider the location of your computer, or invest in the upgraded adapter with a greater range.

Inevitably, the speed of your internet connection is slightly slower than via a wired connection, although this is not particularly noticeable. A page which is heavy with graphics or flash animations might take a second or two longer, but for practical purposes this is virtually unnoticeable. Given that the speed of your internet connection can vary anyway, this marginal reduction in speed will have a very low impact on your surfing habits. Basic web surfing and email is fine and even more intensive applications such as Skype don't suffer. I suspect online gaming might prove more of an issue, though.

Conclusion
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You can pick this adapter up new for less than £20, making it a simple and cost-effective solution for making an older PC wireless enabled. It's not going to set the wireless world alight, but it's a lot easier than opening up your PC and installing a new network card, and tidier than trailing wires through different rooms. The trickiest part is getting it installed. Once that's done, it offers a reliable connection sufficient for most home needs.

© Copyright SWSt 2009

Summary: I dream of the day when Belkin make something that works straight out of the box!

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