Belkin F9K1102 N600 Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router Review

The Belkin F9K1102 N600 Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router is a rather average router. It looks good, even though the build quality isn’t great. Its performance is decent, but it won’t break any records. Also, it does pack some cool features but, at the same time, has a few issues that I am sure will be fixed with future firmware updates.

Before you decide to buy this router, I strongly recommend you go through this review and pay attention to its strengths and weaknesses, with the thought in mind that these weaknesses could already be fixed. Then, purchase it from somewhere that allows you to return it with ease, in case you are not happy with it. You should test it first and make sure you are happy with it, before purchasing it for good.

The Belkin F9K1102 N600 Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router is one of the quickest N600 routers at long range compared to other prominent brands. The router boasts sophisticated wireless efficiency for video streaming, online gaming, and other media-intensive usages. Belkin’s unique MultiBeam cutting-edge technology reduces dead spots and delivers exceptional connection throughout your house, enabling you to stream HD video on more gadgets in many locations.

The N600 DB can be set up in 3 simple steps, and pre-programmed security settings guarantee that your network is safe as quickly as its operating. With speeds of as much as 300 Mbps + 300 Mbps, 4 Ethernet LAN ports, and one USB port, the N600 DB offers convenient, multi-device connection.

The router also includes a suite of Belkin apps developed to improve your wireless experience.

Belkin F9K1102 N600 Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router Features

• Streaming and video gaming: The router has the ability to stream high-definition video efficiently as much as 15m away utilizing the 5GHz network. The 2.4 GHz network is also effective at video streaming from this range, although it isn’t as effective as 5GHz network.
• Wireless Speed & range: At distances higher than 30 feet, the router provides higher Wi-Fi throughput than equivalent routers. Under heavy simulated download traffic, the router offers 39% to 331% higher Wi-Fi throughput at 60 feet than equivalent routers. That makes this router the fastest N600 router at long range compared to other leading brands.
• Bands: Belkin’s unique MultiBeam antenna innovative technology delivers optimum throughput and connection by extending the range of the cordless signal, reducing dead spots so you can stream video from numerous gadgets and from numerous places in your house. The router’s effective signal strength is suitable for media-intensive applications like HD video streaming and online video gaming. Using 2 bands all at once (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) to offer speeds of as much as 300 Mbps + 300 Mbps, the N600 DB provides a quick, trustworthy connection throughout your house
• Multiple Ports: The router has an integrated powered USB port that can be utilized to share an external hard disk drive throughout your network. This drive can be accessed just by searching your network, and it will appear like other network drives.You can copy files to and from a connected disk; it can also be accessed at the same time by several users.
• Smart apps: Thanks to the simple, three-step setup for the Belkin N450 Dual-Band Wireless N+ Router, you’ll have the ability to establish your network in no time. Just plug in your router, link it to your network with the cable, then utilize the hassle-free browser-based user interface to complete the setup from your tablet, mobile phone, or laptop. And with the router’s hassle-free WPS push button, you can connect your gadgets by simply pushing a button.
• Self-Healing: Instantly identifies and resolves network issues and runs regular tune-up scans to keep your system running smoothly.
• Video Mover: Lets you play videos from your library on your television through gadgets like an Xbox 360, Blu-ray gamer, or PlayStation 3.
• Print Zone: Print Zone Enables you to link your network to a suitable printer and print wirelessly from any computer system in your house.
• Memory Safe: Memory Safe App automatically duplicates your files on an external disk drive so you can safeguard the files and information that are crucial to you.
• Easy Setup: You can install this router either by connecting it to your computer system with an Ethernet cable (the router features a 100Mbps switch) or by wirelessly connecting to it
• Extra functions: Blocks undesired material to all your gadgets instantly and automatically.
• The Router is supported by Belkin’s two-year limited guarantee and 24 hours a day, seven days a week tech assistance and comes complete with networking cable, power supply, setup CD, and user handbook.

Our Belkin F9K1102 N600 Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router review

Overall, I have noticed that Belkin have a big fan base, so I am here to see if the Belkin F9K1102 N600 Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router which, at least in theory, packs some interesting technologies and features, lives up to its claims. I am curious to learn if it is a good router and if it is worthy of running a home network. Let’s see what I have found out.

Belkin N600 Hardware Specs

This test is from a router with the unit part code F9K1102 which seems to be the latest available on the market at the time of the review. The things I found worth highlighting are the following:

It offers a dual band, dual concurrent radio running at 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Therefore, you can have two wireless networks running simultaneously: the 2.4GHz runs using 802.11n & 802.11g or 802.11b standards while the 5 GHz using 802.11n or 802.11a. This means the 5GHz wireless connection can be used only by modern devices which support these standards and the improved speeds they enable.The router can be used to connect up to four devices via network cables. It also has a USB port where you can connect a printer or an external disk drive. It supports the following protocols for the connection with your ISP (Internet Service Provider): Dynamic, Static, PPOE and Telstra BigPond and it allows for a maximum of 16 wireless connections.

Belkin N600 N+ Unboxing

There is nothing spectacular about unboxing this router. Inside the box you get the things you would expect: the router itself, the power supply, a Setup CD with the User Manual and a short networking cable. Also, there is a card with details about preconfigured network names and passwords for the router. They must be used during the initial configuration and can be used later on as well, if you don’t care to change the default configuration.

I found the networking cable a bit too short. It is useful only for connecting devices that are placed close to the router. If you have a desktop beneath the desk and router on top of it, the cable cannot be used to connect the two. The router does look good. I like its shape and overall design. However, the plastic used by Belkin feels cheap and easily breakable. Also, there is no visible ventilation system, and during warmer days, the router does heat quite a lot.

Video – Belkin N600DB – Best Wireless Dual Band Modem Router Unboxing

Belkin N600DB - Best Wireless Dual Band Modem Router Unboxing - Cursed4Eva

N600 N+ Setup

The setup is a bit lengthy, but it is not hard to follow. The setup software on the CD guides the user through the physical connections that need to be made between the router, your Internet provider and the computers on the network.

Then, it detects the protocol used by your ISP. I liked that it identified it correctly on the first try. Then, it asks you for the required authentication details (if any). Since my ISP uses the PPOE protocol, I had to insert my account details. Next, you need to specify the connection details found on the card included in the package. If you don’t have it, look on the bottom of the router. They are found there as well.

Once those are entered and the setup has installed all the Belkin software it needs, you should be good to go. While some people will appreciate that the router has predefined names and passwords for the wireless connections, I really wanted to change them and create my own setup. I’m sure many other geeks will feel the same. And here is where the trouble starts.

Going through all the configuration menus and getting the set up done is a slow and painful experience. Any change takes quite a lot of time to get applied: 30 to 40 seconds for most changes. You cannot make a bigger set of changes and apply them all in one go. You must hit apply after changing anything in any one configuration menu and wait until it gets applied before you go to the next menu. If you take into consideration that you need to also make a firmware update, you are in for a long wait, until you have setup everything as needed.

Video – Belkin Wireless Routers Easy 1,2,3 Setup

Belkin Wireless Routers Easy 1,2,3 Setup

N600 N+ Performance

While I did not get the chance to make very exact measurements, I must say that, with what I did do, I wasn’t overly impressed with the performance of the Belkin N600 DB Wireless Dual-Band N+ router. It had average transfer speeds around 7 MB/s on the wireless connection, both on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. The latter was always slightly faster but not by more than a few hundred KB/s.Another disappointing aspect is the range of this model. I used it in a reasonably big apartment – approx 90 square meters in size. It was able to cover all the rooms, but the signal strength was weaker than with the old models. In the more remote corners of the apartment it had only 25-30% signal strength while the older model, I tested, had 30-35%. I was really surprised to see this, considering how Belkin touts their new wireless MultiBeam technology to be so much better than older technologies.

The same story goes for the wired connection. With the older router and others that I have tested, I was able to transfer files with 10MB/s second, even when downloading from the Internet. With Belkin N600 DB that is not the case. The maximum I achieved was between 8 and 9 MB/s but never 10. I’ve seen better speeds with other routers too and I can’t help feel that the N600 delivers average coverage and transfer speeds.

N600 Cool Features

Leaving the average performance aside, the N600 router does have some cool features. First, I very much enjoyed the Quality of Service (QoS) that allows you to manage the network traffic and gives priority to Internet video, games or voice & video chat.

I also liked its ECO Mode which allows you to turn off the wireless radio at specific days and time intervals. If you know you won’t be using the wireless connection, you can set it to shut down and not waste so much energy. Plus, you won’t have any unwanted guests using the wireless network.

Another cool feature is that you can schedule regular maintenance to be done automatically. At least in theory, this should help with having a better experience when using the router.

Video – How to change your Belkin Router Settings

How to change your Belkin Router Settings

N600 Problems

You cannot reserve IP addresses based on the MAC – many other routers including older Belkin models have this very useful feature. Belkin N600 DB doesn’t! Therefore, if you reinstall Windows on a laptop or reset the wireless connection settings, it will receive a different IP. That is especially annoying for geeks who need to use IP addresses in certain scenarios, instead of computer names. I really hope this feature will be enabled in a future firmware update.

Computers lose connectivity once or twice per day – this happened especially to my desktop, connected via a LAN cable. The cable was fine, the router wasn’t. Invariably, my desktop lost the internet connection once or twice each day. It wasn’t for long – generally a minute or so – but it was always annoying. And no, the Internet wasn’t down.

The other devices and computers connected via wireless were able to browse the web. This seemed to occur especially when more computers and devices were connected to the network, as during the evening: 3 computers plus 2 smartphones and a wireless printer were connected at the same time.

The router loses connectivity once every few days – this did not happen as often as the previous problem, but it did take place. There were times when no device had Internet access and I just couldn’t access the router’s configuration page. It simply wouldn’t load. The only solution was to manually reset the router. After the reset, everything was normal again.

The Homegroup feature in Windows won’t work between computers connected to the network via different means – for example, you can use the Homegroup feature between computers connected via network cables. No issues there! The same when you try to use it only between computers connected to the same wireless network. But when you mix the connection methods, you won’t be able to have all computers join the same Homegroup.

If you have a desktop connected via cable and a laptop via wireless, you won’t be able to have them join the same Homegroup. This problem was encountered by others too. A search on Google revealed other people having similar troubles. This was a major show stopper for me as it did not allow me to share data with ease through my home network.

N600 Tip

I had a weird issue where my ping and upload speeds were fine, but my download speeds were very slow. I went into the settings of the router and Disabled QoS WMM and when it rebooted, it worked perfectly.

Belkin F9K1102 N600 Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router Customer Reviews

“I am in no way a technical person, so this isn’t a very technical review – just a simple review for a product that fulfills a need. I needed a wireless router that had the capability of streaming Amazon Prime Instant Videos to my new Sony blu ray player. A highly technical cousin who professionally works as an IT troubleshooter did some research and thought this would be a good choice and so far, I’m pleased with the product. It was easy to install and was pretty straightforward. It’s been streaming Amazon instant videos flawlessly with a good strong connection and I’ve been able to simultaneously use my laptop while having the streaming video as well. No skips, freezing or other common wireless streaming problems thus far.

I think it’s nice that people with more technical backgrounds are able to review the product in detail, but some of the reviews were so over my head with such seemingly nit-picky points that I wasn’t able to really use those reviews to determine whether or not this would be a good product for me. Everyone these days seems to know a person who is kind of their own personal “Geek Squad”. If you’re not a computer technically minded person then ask your “Geek Squad” person if this is a good choice for your needs.” …. Read More

Video – Belkin N600 DB Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router Unboxing

Belkin N600 DB Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router Unboxing

Belkin F9K1102 N600 Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router Review Verdict

The Belkin F9K1102 N600 Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router is a rather average router. It looks good, even though the build quality isn’t great. Its performance is decent, but it won’t break any records. Also, it does pack some cool features but, at the same time, has a few issues that I am sure will be fixed with future firmware updates.

Before you decide to buy this router, I strongly recommend you go through this review and pay attention to its strengths and weaknesses, with the thought in mind that these weaknesses could already be fixed. Then, purchase it from somewhere that allows you to return it with ease, in case you are not happy with it. You should test it first and make sure you are happy with it, before purchasing it for good.