Belkin N1 Vision

This looks really promising, I like it a lot! : )

I have been looking to get the ADSL 2 version for some time now, and now with this review, it's pretty much sold.
Now to save up for it.

Sam

I have the standard ADSL version and it's a great router, especially since dad paid lol.

its a shame that most routers are basically shite until you get special firmwares for them. In this case a beta which should have been released when the damm thing was made avaliable!

Ive got a netgear wireless N router that i use as a basic wireless access point but even THEN its unreliable. Good job i have a custom build PC as a router instead of the useless router.

ive had one of these for a while, theyre not bad at all

can you load ddwrt on it?

looks like i found a new gadget to beg for dad to buy

Whatever happened to routers that were just routers?

Everything these days has a router, a switch, a wireless AP, and who knows what else. Then, the firmware gets ignored untill the last minute, and everything sucks.

Seriously. It's got gigabit. So what? I can buy an 8 port gigabit switch and a cheapie linksys router (and put linux on it) for less than the Belkin N1 costs (and if you really want wireless N, add an separate access point, but if you're actually using gigabit's bandwidth, wireless is a waste anyways). That way, you get more ports, a much better router, and way more configuration options. Hell, for that price, you could almost put together a small intel atom based PC-router, and then you could *really* configure anything.

I'm after a new ADSL2+ Router with Wireless 'N'. This looks like it could fit the bill?

Does it has a QOS so you can prioritise gaming traffic?

Would anyone have any suggestions for any other routers or go for this one?

Thanks :)

I have one question, as I have a mix of G and N wireless devices in the house will the N1 vision downgrade the N wireless when a G device tries to connect, or will it allow both devices to operate at their full speed?

Wolfe, I think you have missed the point about why someone may want a product like this.

The vast majority of people do not want to buy a cheapie linksys router and put linux on it then couple it to an 8 port gigabit switch. (My time is too valuable to be messing around with stuff like that). Most people dont mind paying a little bit more and getting a fully configured package all in one - and this one does have features that are desirable.

I did consider this router a while ago, but then read a review that said the firmware was bugged beyond belief, and it was unreliable. Sale lost... instantly. ~really Belkin.... get real.

And yet despite the fact that the new firmware (BETA... not even properly released yet!!) fixes the issues, Im still going to hold off. The economy means this would be a luxury purchase now, not a nice to have...

My trusty old Netgear DG834 lives to see another day. Wow that router is like 90+ years old in 'router years' now.. and still works fine!!

>>>Iwog, most routers have combination settings, so it would be N + B +G or N +G or N to choose from. (My ancient netgear does this with B+G)

How can you give it 9/10 ease of use when it 'requires' a firmware update?

Originally Posted by p3n
How can you give it 9/10 ease of use when it 'requires' a firmware update?

not sure why you think it is hard to do that (download update, loginto router, click browse and click upload/update) at best its an 5 min job

Had this router for ages and it is really nice good to see a review of it as never saw a good one before i got it

Kinda fancy, innovativel and also maybe even practical, I like it!

Have had some issues with my router lately.. lets see if it's dying already. Last one got blasted (literally) when it started losing the connection every time the hoover/lamp/what ever larger electic stuff was switched on.

used this router for the last year, and it was utter sh*te. a couple of times it reset itself to factory defaults when i was just changing a setting in the port forwarding. a firmware update seemed to fix the problem (or maybe it was just completely rewiring the network so i wasn't actually using the n1 at all), only for it to crap itself some months later and refuse to boot. replacement we got from belkin seemed to have memory leaks as it would occasionally completely freeze up.
after that experience, i think i'll stick with D-Link (shocking as that may be)

Sebbo - The release firmware for the N1 Vision is, admittedly, utterly poo, as we mentioned in the review - it's bug filled and totally unacceptable. Thankfully though the beta firmware fixed ALL the issues we had with the router, and as it's a tiny download and an easy fix, we decided it shouldn't negatively effect our opinion, although was worth mentioning.

The high price tag puts me off, I would have paid around £60/70 quid for these features asI want to merge my gig switch/ap/adsl hardware into one.
If a version of WRT was cooked for it, then that would be bliss, but afaik theres no adsl functions in WRT......please someone prove me wrong (I miss WRT!)

Me thinks Belkin paid Bit 44p to write such a positive review ;)

I bought one of these recently and it already had the latest firmware on it, I have the version with the adsl modem built in. I got it so I could have gigabit between 2 wired computers and stream to a pc connected to the tv in another room. Works well so far, had no problems with it. lcd is a bit of a gimick, and it seems to flick back to the standard view and not stay on the traffic meter, but I didn't buy it to look pretty.

Originally Posted by <A88>
Me thinks Belkin paid Bit 44p to write such a positive review ;)

Well that's more than we pay him