Belkin Play Wireless Router

Pros: Pros: (1) Price (nominal benefit). (2) Ease of setup. (3)Dual-band support (although, both bands perform weakly).

Cons: Cons: (1) Extremely weak performance: frequently lost connections. (2) Slow slow slow slow. (3) Incompetent technical-support staff. (4) Poor design: no front-panel displays, cheap plastic components and construction, very poor heat dissipation).

Summary: I bought the Belkin Play wireless-N router at Costco. The setup was straightforward. I had a line-in coming from a Motorola SurfBoard 6120 modem, and had an HP PhotoSmart D7360 printer plugged into the USB port. I had two computers networked with the router: (1) a wired connection to my desktop PC, and (2) a wireless connection to my laptop. IMPORTANT NOTE: The router *significantly* slowed down BOTH the wired and wirelessly-connected PCs. The dl/ul speeds (as tested by Speedtest.net) dropped from 20 mbps/5 mbps, respectively, when both computers were connected directly to the Motorola SurfBoard 6120 modem, to a little over 5 mbps/1 mbps, respectively, when connected to the Belkin Play wireless-N router. In addition, the performance was very splotchy; I was having problems opening pages on both computers (frequently receiving messages such as: ?Server not found?).

I spent some time with tech-support, who I found to be extremely incompetent in their understanding of the Belkin Play wireless-N router, and networking solutions in general. In fact, the agent I talked to told me that the drop in speed would happen with any wireless router (!?!). After that conversation, I poured through some more of the online reviews in greater detail. All in all, I believe the poor ratings given for this router are more a norm than the exception. The reason I bought this router was because of the high rating CNET gave the Belkin N+ Wireless Router. I have no experience with that router, but I can certainly attest that the Belkin Play is not worth purchasing.

I returned this router and purchased a Netgear RangeMax Wireless-N Gigabit Router (WNR3500L). This router is fantastic. It costs a little more than the Play ($100 as opposed to $75). The setup was a little more difficult than that for the Belkin Play, but the performance has been outstanding. I have not had one ?server not found? error to-date.

Bottom Line: The Belkin Play at $75 is an extremely weak performer. I would not recommend buying this router. I would strongly suggest returning this router if you have already purchased it.