Belkin N1 Vision still sucks

Check the comments page on the Belking N1 – http://kaz911.blogspot.com/2008/03/belkin-n1-vision-review-tale-of-no.html

As you can see complaints keep comming in – and despite a recent firmware update - the problem is still there (I fished the N1 out of the garbage to try again with the new firmware) But still no change - and setting display to power save does not help. It still drops connection and packets all the time, resulting in broken streams, broken skype calls, broken VPN connections etc. etc.

As you can clearly see - everyone have problems and it is a design fault with the Belkin N1 Vision. Belkin should do the right thing and offer every buyer their money back or a replacement router without the problem.

I think there are enough out there now with problems – and many of them do not know it is the N1 Visions fault.

So keep the comments comming on the really poor quality hardware from Belkin!

Belkin N1 Vision Review - The Tale of No Support

You might know by now that I have a liking for gadgets. So when the Belkin N1 Vision came to the market – I rushed out and bought one – for 2 reasons. First reason is it looks nice – that pleases the Misses J and it could be in our living room without house anger. 2^nd the display on the unit would give me early warning signs if my line was being abused. Nice 2 have.

I got the unit. And it is nice. Quite easy to setup – and display is fab. But some oversights on Belkin side – was obvious.

First problem – the nice graphs are ONLY on the front panel display. None of the information is available in the web interface. Why? In general – the Web interface will disappoint you a lot if you are used to "Full feature routers".

Second problem – the keys on the front panel are almost un-usable – so sticky are they. You can't just push them and they move. You need a firm grip with both hands usually to press any buttons on the device.

So far so good – nice device – nice feature set – great design - but….

The Belkin N1 Vision has a big problem. My Girlfriend kept complaining that Skype Calls was disconnected every 10-15 minutes. VPN got disconnected all the time. I checked with another router and it did not have issues.

Then I wrote to Belkin support:

My Letter 1: "The router "losses" internet connection every 5-15 minutes (or actually halts internet traffic) - this means fx. skype calls are disconnected every 5-15 minutes. This happens on both wired and non wired connections. This does not happen using another router on same line. It happens all the time - even with only one device connected. It happens on wireless and wired connections. Firmware: F5D8232-4_WW_1.00.11"

The letter of course detailed all info on the router OS etc.

The Belkin Reply 1: "(standard answer) – please reset router to factory defaults" (signed Harold Tomlin)

So I did…

But of course – no change.

My Letter 2: "Done it - but still same problem. Every 5-10-15 minutes the connection halts - disconnecting skype - streaming media etc."

The Belkin Reply 2: "Upgrade your firmware standard letter" (please notice I was running latest firmware: F5D8232-4_WW_1.00.11 as written before and still signed Harold Tomlin)

Guess the guys have problems reading mails…

My Letter 3: "I'm AM running latest firmware! Please read my MAILs!" (I'm starting to get annoyed)"

The Belkin Reply 3: "Please try to change your wireless channels (standard answer 3)" (still signed Harold Tomlin)

My Letter 4: "IT IS NOT A WIRELESS interference problem! Guys please put me through to some people who do not only send me standard letters. Put me through to SOMEONE who is just a tiny bit technical and process my case"

The Belkin Reply 4: "We understand that Every 5-10-15 minutes the connection halts - disconnecting skype - streaming media etc. We have had several reports of a problem with the F5D7230 version 7000. The issue appears to be caused by a bug in the SPI firewall code incorrectly dropping packets for mistakenly regarding them as not belonging to an active connection. As a workaround, this specific test can be disabled on an undocumented page in the web interface: Go to http://192.168.2.1 and login to the router. Go to the hidden page http://192.168.2.1/firewall_spi_h.stm. Untick the option `TCP Connection` under the `Stateful Packet Inspection` header and click Apply Changes." (still signed Harold Tomlin)

I thought at first glance that this was the answer.. Perfect!! Until I noticed it was for another router. The F5D7230 – not my F5D8232-4. And the page they referred to – do not exist in the N1 Vision.

My Letter 5: "My router is not a F5D7230 - but a F5D8232-4 and I don't have a page called http://192.168.1.1/firewall_spi_h.stm. Is such a page on F5D8232-4? And in that case what is it called then. (tried .htm .html etc.) Please reply to the question and do not just send me another standard answer."

The Belkin Reply 5: "Thank you for contacting Belkin Technical Support. We regret the inconvinience this might cause. if you need further assistance please feel free to write back to us and we will be happy to assist you. If you have any other questions or problems you may also call us toll free at 1800-223-5546 (Extn. 2064). Alternatively, call us on 310 898 1100 Ext. 2263" (still signed Harold Tomlin)

Another standard answer – but without any answer at all. I gave up. The N1 Vision is now sent away on an extended vacation to the garbage chute. And I'm NEVER Buying another product from that company. The firmware is still not updated – so there must be people out there with the same problems.

So from my point of view:

DON'T BUY BELKIN PRODUCTS!

Belkin is simply not worth the hassle!