My internet connection had become very flaky. I first thought my Netgear WPN824 was dying on me. I had thought that it was always disconnecting and I always had to reset it. I was just getting fed up and decided to go purchase a new router. I read a few reviews and decided to go with the Belkin N1 Wireless Router. After using it for a while, I’m beginning to think it’s my Comcast Cable internet that is disconnecting and not the router.

The Belkin N1 has disconnected once and I’ve had it for a few days. That was far less then the Netgear. I had to reset that router multiple times a day. I will have to test it out for a while to see if it is my internet connection or if the one disconnect was a fluke or not. In any case, I am very happy with the new router so here’s the review.

I picked up the Belkin N1 wireless router at my local CompUSA for $149. I had searched the internet for it and there was a few better deals but nothing too substantial and I wanted the router right away. Upon opening the box I have to say the unit looks nice cosmetically. I know that might not mean a lot to most people, but my desk is filled with a lot of Apple products. I’m not too picky as far as looks but I definately don’t want something that sticks out like a sore thumb. The glossy black top of the unit is nice. This unit uses three antennas on the top which probably accounts for the much better reception over the Netgear.

The installation was very easy even on a Mac. It comes with an installation CD but that is only Windows compatible. I have Windows machines but I figured I needed to do a lot of custom settings anyway so I decided to use the web interface. The configuration was easy and straightforward. I was able to obtain an IP from my cable company and setup the password for the router. I then setup my wireless connection with WPA encryption and setup port forwarding for the web servers. With each step there are icon indicators showing with pieces of the network are working and those that are not. It’s a nice touch during configuration as well as troubleshooting at a later time. When there was the single disconnect the “internet” icon for example was not on.

The range of the Belkin router is much farther that my old Netgear WPN 824. I want to say in the range of twice as far, but I don?t have any way of accurately measuring that so that is my best guess.

Performance is pretty good. After turning off protected mode and setting it to 40MHz I am able to stream large video files to the living room without any problems. I use Front Row a lot and it seems to work as intended over the Belkin N1.

Overall, I kind of feel like I wasted my money only because my Netgear probably still works fine and I’m having problems with my Comcast Cable. I am glad I got the new router and will continue to use it. With things like that I figure they should just work. With the easy configuration and icon indicators for the network it makes it very easy to use. There are a lot people using wireless basestations in my area and I have no problems using the Belkin N1 wireless router. If you are looking to purchase a new one I would definitely recommend it.