Belkin Play Max Wireless Modem Router NN+ (802.11n, 300 Mbps) with Easy Set Up, Self Healing, Priority Streaming & High-speed Internet Access for HD Streaming & Hi Speed Gaming (F7D4401uk)

Hi,

When I saw all the feature, sorry 'apps', that this router has, I couldn't wait to get hold of one. I'd read an awful lot of negative reviews, so I was quite apprehensive. Here's my take on things:

- Software & Firmware, make sure you update the device, I didn't use any supplied firmware or software.
The first thing I did was find the PC software and device firmware from the Belkin (UK) website under
the support section, this was very easy to find.

- ADSL connection - I haven't seen any drop outs, very stable.

- Wifi, very strong and stable on both bands,
It does run dual band at the same time, great for avoiding the microwave!
PC's with N adapters on 5GHz, old stuff around the house (a/b/g) on 2.4 GHX, great.
You can't link the 2.4 + 5GHz together to get even faster speeds, even if you have the play adapter.

- Vuze Torrents, * YES *, I'm still getting my head around this but it does work.
Once you have devices enabled in Vuze the Belkin appears as an offline downloader.
When your computer goes to sleep, the belkin continues to download the torrent to a 'downloads'
folder on a USB drive connected to the USB port on the back of the router.
I can't find any explicit docs around this, but what I do is:

1) In 'options'-> 'devices' uncheck 'automatically manage downloads;.
2) add all my torrent into Vuze
3) Right click on torrent and manually enable torrent for 'offline download'.

(this is my quirky bit)

4) Disconnect or switch off your PC wifi adapter.
- The Belkin is now downloading your torrent to the local USB drive.
5) Remove the torrents from Vuze, and close Vuze
6) Connect wifi back

There is probably a correct way, but if anyone has a manual on this, please let me know.

- NAS, - I have a 1TB buffalo USB drive connected to the Belkin play max to facilitate the torrent downloads
This is the slowest link in the world! 15-20 minuts to transfer a 700MB file!
I'm already looking at getting a QNAP 210 or 1000P to do both the NAS and Torrent function.

Summary:
- I moved from the Belkin N to the Belkin Play Max for all the new features
and to avoid drop outs with the Microwave (so at least I get the microwave bit covered).
- The new 'Apps' are much better on other products.
- Access control is still only by time and MAC address (very basic, no family safety stuff)
- The WiFi connection is very good.
- Nice to switch off PC while torrents download.
- I feel ok about my purchase for the price.

I decided to replace my existing router as I was demanding quite a lot of it and it was showing its age.
Prior to buying this Belkin model I did quite a lot of research about the new technologies out there and based my decisions on that, the reviews on this router seem to vary quite dramatically and I will address that further into the review.
I made the decision to purchase this router and was pleased when it landed on the mat a couple of days after ordering, prior to receiving it I had looked on the Belkin website and downloaded new firmware versions and software specifically for this router as they had tweaks and fixes and would advise you do the same.
That meant when I set the router up I had the freshest software and up to date firmware.
The user interface of the router is very friendly and I found it extremely easy to look at and change any settings that I needed to.
I had already looked at my ISP settings prior to disconnecting my old router and was up and running in no time at all.
From this router I run a wired internet connection which has seen a massive increase in speed and reliability, it also services another computer wirelessly, a nintendo Wii and a new xbox 360 which is used heavily for xbox live.
Now this was the true test of this router, would it allow me to play online games on the wired computer whilst the Xbox 360 was being used as well, the old router would complain bitterly if this was done and the xbox 360 signal would suffer for it, lag, drop outs and interupted gameplay were the norm.
However the Belkin router has performed perfectly, the xbox plays as well as the wired computer and no longer suffers with any lag and has not lost a connection since the new router was installed.
World of Warcraft is the game of choice on the wired and wireless computers and the Belkin router has improved the signal on both and the Latency in game is lower than ever before, quite strikingly different in fact.
As the router is UPnP compliant it has meant no port forwarding for the xbox or to play warcraft was needed and has simplified the process of connection, every piece of wireless equipment I have has connected without issue and with the minimum of fuss.
The router comes with lots of "bells and whistles" which are easily tailored to suit and if you are experiencing isses with use, the Belkin web site has a wealth of information available to help sort out any issues.
I have had this router connected now for 2 weeks and have suffered no dropped connections and I think the Xbox is in love with it as it plays so well.
I also believe that a little forward planning has made my life easier, I am sure without doubt that some people may not have had the experience I have had with this router and there can be a myriad of reasons why this can be, conflicts in set up can certainly be a major headache and I say that everyones opinion is valid.
But, before I installed this router I had done the following
1: Researched the router so was happy it was suitable for my needs.
2:Prior to receiving it I trawled my ISP website and wrote down ALL ! the necessary settings required for the router set up and not just the basics.
3:I downloaded the latest software, firmware and had a copy of the router manual ready on my desktop in case of problems with connecting to the internet.
The router has performed without issue since I installed it and it is used daily for a number of hours and a high demand is placed on its performance, I would have no reservation in giving it a thumbs up and am more than happy with it.

This modem/router is easy to set up, and provides a solid connection to the internet, and it does allow you to connect wifi devices to the dual bands simultaneously - my laptop happily connects to the 5Ghz network, while my Pure Evoke Flow and my Philips Network Player connect to the 2.4GHz network, accessing internet radio without a problem.

Previously, the good news stopped there. The reason I bought this modem router was to allow the Evoke Flow and the Philips Network Player to stream music files from a NAS device connected to it by ethernet. The NAS device has a uPNP compliant media server. All this worked happily with my now deceased D-Link modem/router. Unfortunately, it turns out the Belkin Play Max with the firmware it ships with does not allow wirelessly connected media players to see media files on an ethernet connected media server. If you can plug the player into an ethernet connection, the server appears, but go back to wireless and it disappears again.

But the good news is that there is a brand new firmware update that fixes the problems. Provided you enable the automatic firmware update check, the new version will be found and installed. After that everything works fine.

So, with the new firmware I can happily update this review and up the score I gave to a 5 - the rock sold internet connection, ease of installation and the ability to work on the dual wifi band simultaneously being the main reasons.