Review on Enhance Your Desktop's Connectivity with the Belkin F5D8000 Wireless Pre-N Network Card by John Barnett

EDIT: Now I understand why I could never get it to accept a WPA2 signal (WPA encryption is fine), even though the corresponding Belkin Pre-N router does offers. This card is NOT on the WIFI Alliance's list of compatible and approved products and therefore does not use the more secure WPA2 protocol, although it is part of a qualified Belkin Pre-N router and is considered essential for security today. No, updating the router or card firmware will not help. --------------------------------- ------ -- --------- --------------------------------------- -------- --- ---------------------------------------- ------ ---- ---- ------ Pros: Uses the speed of Belin Pre-N to some degree Cons: HIGH rate of disconnects; can be bearish in setup even for experts. Summary: In a nutshell: I have had this product for over two years, I purchased it with my Belkin Pre-N router. The stories of increased range and transfer rates via G are true, although I'd take the numbers with a grain of salt. to help me with the initial setup and this card couldn't find the router for two weeks, which turned out to be Belkin Pre-N and XP interworking for WPA security. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that despite beginner issues, the setup might not be as standard as you might think. After a year, my biggest concern is that after periods of inactivity, the connection to the router is intact. , but not my HTTP connection. This is not an issue for laptops or other wired devices on my network, which maintain a reliable connection to both the router and the internet whether connected, idle, or otherwise connected. I've tried with and without other devices connected to the network, assigning static IP addresses to each device, to no avail. Driver issues don't seem to matter either, and Belkin Tech Support is confused. For this to happen to a card designed specifically to take advantage of the Pre-N router is, as far as I can tell, an irreparable flaw in their assessment. If you can live with this annoying drawback of constant router software reboots and hard computer/router reboots, the connection is good and the range is great. I also find it very forgiving of physical obstacles.