Thread Renewed: Belkin Sharemax N300 300Mbps 802.11n 4-Port Gigabit Wireless Router w/ 2 USB Ports, DD-WRT, Tomato, OpenWRT - $22 Shipped
 

Expansys [expansys-usa.com] has the Belkin Share Max N300 Wireless N+ Router, model # F7D7301 (rebadged F7D3301).
$21.99 shipped, no tax except for Illinois. PayPal checkout available.
Router is BRAND NEW.

Stock firmware is pretty bad, but SDers have generally had great success using this router with DD-WRT or Tomato! :bounce:

2012-05-21: "Stock Usually Ships In 3 Days"

Hardware specs for v1:
Broadcom BCM4716 rev1
453 MHz CPU
8 MB Flash
64 MB RAM
2x USB 2.0
4 Port Gigabit Switch
WPS Button

Please check the wiki for information regarding 3rd party firmware!
Old thread for reference purposes.

Note: Thread was renewed per advice from serra, please moderate if inappropriate.

N300 Tips, Tricks, and Firmware
 

General Information
User Manual F7D3301 v1 [belkin.com]

READ THE GUIDES BEFORE YOU FLASH!
DO NOT FLASH FIRMWARE OVER A WIRELESS CONNECTION!
ALWAYS FLASH OVER A WIRED ETHERNET CONNECTION!
ALWAYS FLASH USING A STATIC IP ADDRESS!
YOU MUST FLASH DD-WRT FIRST BEFORE YOU FLASH TOMATO!

Flashing DD-WRT
Credits: RonR (FW)

Download these files before you start anything. F7D3301/F7D7301 ONLY!
1)MINI BUILD dd-wrt.v24-18946_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini_f7d3301.bin [dd-wrt.com]
2)MEGA BUILD dd-wrt.v24-18946_NEWD-2_K2.6_mega.bin [dd-wrt.com]
OR
3)BIG BUILD dd-wrt.v24-18946_NEWD-2_K2.6_big.bin [dd-wrt.com]

Once you have both files, make double sure that your PC is plugged into one of the four LAN ports on the back of the Belkin router, log into the Belkin router at 192.168.2.1 and set the factory defaults. Once that is done do a 30/30/30 reset (Hold reset button for 30 seconds, unplug power with reset button still held in for 30 seconds and plug power back in while still holding the reset button for 30 more seconds.)

Next, set your PC's static IP address to 192.168.2.8 with subnet 255.255.255.0
If you're using a NOTEBOOK make sure your DISABLE the WIFI radio before attempting this!
How to set your static ip. [howtogeek.com]

If you double checked and it's right refresh your browser at 192.168.2.1. You should now see a CFE Web Browser page that tells you to browse for a file. Browse for the file and point it to the dd-wrt.v24-18946_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini_f7d3301.bin file first. Click upload it should tell you that it received the upload and it's now rebooting. *VERY IMPORTANT* DON'T DO ANYTHING ELSE FOR THE NEXT 5 to 10 minutes and make sure you don't reset the router etc. Don't wait for it to finish, just give it a good 10 minutes!

Once done, change the static IP address on your PC to 192.168.1.8 with the same subnet of 255.255.255.0

Now open your browser and go to 192.168.1.1 You should now see DD-WRT firmware. Now change the root password make sure you save it and then from the administration tab click on firmware upgrade. Point it to the file dd-wrt.v24-18946_NEWD-2_K2.6_mega.bin OR dd-wrt.v24-18946_NEWD-2_K2.6_big.bin and click upgrade. This will take another 6 or so minutes roughly, so let it do it's job and come back in 10 minutes!

Once this completes you should be in eko's new mega build! Open up your browser to 192.168.1.1 and start using DD-WRT. For those who are going to use this router as a client bridge or repeater bridge, if your primary router is on 192.168.0.1 for example, you need to change the Belkins IP address to coincide with your primary router's network setup, so change it to 192.168.0.2 or something along the same path of 192.168.0.x..

Keep in mind, it takes about a minute for this sucker to boot and even show a first light. Don't worry if you plug it in and it appears dead, give it a while before you see the light come on.

NOTE: If you have problems get CFE Web Browser to flash the firmware (e.g. "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage" when uploading), you can also try flashing the ** MINI ** build through the Belkin routers firmware update page.. Understand that even though other users have performed the flash successfully, it is generally agreed upon that it is best to use CFE or TFTP to flash DD-WRT firmware onto this router.. Without saying, proceed at YOUR OWN RISK..

Flashing Tomato
Credits: NickB2B

1) Go here: http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/support/other-downloads?path=others%2Feko%2FV24-K26%2Fsvn15396%2F

Download: dd-wrt.v24-15396_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini_f7d3301.bin

2) Go here: http://www.linksysinfo.org/index.php?threads/toastman-releases-1-28-7493-4-5-6-7.36106/

Use the Mediafire link in the second post and download the build of your choice (I used the EXT version that has USB and NTFS support):
tomato-K26USB-1.28.7497.1MIPSR2-Toastman-RT-Ext.trx [mediafire.com]

• CFE menu only works when Belkin firmware is installed.
• If you already have Tomato or DD-WRT on this router, use administrator pages to upload factory firmware to go back to Belkin firmware

--Get into 'CFE Menu' Shortcut - Unplug the router. Hold down the reset button while plugging in the router. Let go of the reset button. (Credit to HaloFans).

Keep the reset button pressed in for the next three steps:
3) While the unit is powered on Press the reset button for 30 secs
4) Keeping the reset button pressed, unplug the power (do not let up on the reset button)
5) Plug the power back in and wait for another 30 secs
6) You can now let up on the reset button

Once the router is in this mode you will have access to a special "CFE menu".

7) Plug your desktop/laptop into port 1,2,3, or 4 and set your IP Address to 192.168.2.8 with a gateway of 192.168.2.1
8) Point your IE browser/Chrome (Do not use Firefox) to 192.168.2.1 and CFE menu will be available. (EDIT: I couldn't get it to work with chrome either. Had to use IE)
9) Load the bin file you downloaded in step 1

10) It will take about 5 minutes to load dd-wrt. After 5 minutes I opened a new tab and was able to connect to 192.168.1.1. (I think I had to reset my ip address back to dhcp in order to connect).

11) When logging into the ww-drt interface for the first time it prompts you for a password, I cleared the password just to be safe. (no need for a password if you are going to install tomato over it)

12) Navigate to the firmware upload screen and then load the trx file from step 2. I selected the option to reset the settings after flash.

13) I've seen mention of doing another 30/30/30 reset at this point but I skipped this as I think the reset settings option during the flash does the same thing.

13a) Enter the login: admin pass: admin to login to Tomato

14) Enable DHCP in the Tomato interface. You might have to reset your static IP to 192.168.1.8 in order to connect in and make this change.

NOTE: when cycling power to the router it can take up to 60 seconds before it's "booted up" and the green light is on. Be patient:)

Now to play around with the QOS settings. Any ideas on optimal settings for VOIP and NNTP?

Flashing OpenWRT
This section is a work in progress.
Patching OpenWRT Firmware for the N300 [blogspot.com]
Dev Discussion [openwrt.org]

Reverting Back to Belkin Firmware
Credits: bennor (FW)

There are two ways to revert back to the Belkin firmware. I've done it both ways. You will first need the Belkin firmware. My router initially came with 1.00.06. First step is to download the Belkin router firmware if you do not already have a copy of it.

Version 1.00.06 (Aug 14 2010): http://cache-www.belkin.com/suppo....00.06.bin
Or the newer firmware...
Version 1.00.08 (Dec 24 2010) : http://networking.belkin.com/upda....00.08.bin

The Easy Way if DD-WRT or TomatoUSB is Loaded:
Easiest way to update or revert back to the Belkin firmware is within either the DD-WRT or TomatoUSB administration page(s), go to the firmware update page and select the Belkin firmware you downloaded from the link(s) above, and then upload it to the router. Wait at least 5 minutes during which the router may reboot one or more times. After 5 minutes, configure your computer with the static IP 192.168.2.8, mask 255.255.255.0 and then log into the router's administration page at http://192.168.2.1. The Belkin status page should then load.

If for some reason the router behaves erratically (especially the wireless connection) do a 30-30-30 reset and go to the CFE web page and hit the clear/reset NVRAM link, then reboot the router.

The Longer Way:

Start by configuring your wired computer for the static IP 192.168.2.8, mask 255.255.255.0. Ensure your computer does not have any other network connection (like wireless) active while it is wired to the router. Remove any other wired connections to the router including the broadband modem if one is connected.

Do a 30-30-30 reset. press and hold in the reset button for 30 seconds, continue to hold the button in while you remove power to the router for 30 seconds, continue to hold in the reset button and reapply power and wait 30 more seconds. The router indicator light on the top front should be off.

Using Internet Explorer log into the router's CFE web page via http://192.168.2.1. Just to be safe I hit the clear/reset NVRAM link on the CFE page before uploading the firmware, don't know if this step is really needed. Select the browse button and locate the Belkin Firmware listed above and select the upload button. You should then be notified that the file has been uploaded (or something along those lines).
Wait at least 5 minutes. The router will reboot one or more times during the firmware update process.

When 5 minutes have passed, log back into the router at http://192.168.2.1 and (hopefully) you will be at the Belkin status page. You can then reconfigure as needed.

With the Belkin firmware loaded you can use the Belkin Setup, Router Monitor Software and Apps program (installed from the CD or the link below) to install/access any USB-router connected printers. Using the Belkin firmware/Apps program I can access all of the features (scanning, fax, etc.) of my USB-router connected HP Office Jet J5700 series multi-function printer.

eXpansys-USA offers Amazon Payments, in addition to PayPal and credit/debit cards as payment options.

The usual sites offer 1.5-2.0% cashback at eXpansys.

I ordered 5/20 using Amazon payments (PayPal was borked, for some reason).
Received order acknowledgement e-mail within a half-hour.
Received shipping notice e-mail with FedEx tracking number the next day (5/21).
Estimated delivery 5/23.

Reassuring, as I'd never heard of eXpansys.
Turns out they have a 6-Month rating of 9.18 out of 10 at Reseller Ratings. [resellerratings.com] 575 reviews.
(for comparison, Newegg.com is 9.08 / 10, with 35980 reviews) Link [resellerratings.com]

Thanks, also added to the wiki.

I saw the Amazon Payments link on their website a few days ago (on the checkout page), but I am not seeing it on the checkout page today.

Is it showing for anyone else?

Thanks!

I've been loving mine, my linksys e2000s running tomato needed to be rebooted every night but these have been running great for ~1 month.

I just ordered the 2nd one for my friend tonight via paypal. Paypal icon was missing during the day.

I have been using mine for 3 days with original stock firmware.
It had on/off wireless signal twice (not required reboot).
Dropped both wired & wireless once (required reboot).
Eventually I will flash dd-wrt. But before I do it, I just upgraded a newer stock firmware this morning to see if this version encounter any signal lost issue.

Nope.

I don't see it now.

Darn, wanted to use Amazon gift cards to pay for this. Since the previous thread is 3 months old, are the ones they're sending out now still v1 with gigabit?

bought 3 last time. considering buying more just to have around... damn you SD.

AFAIK, still v1 w/ Gigabit.

i got one. heck, it's $21. I do have a E3000 but this has two USB ports.

does anyone know how to add an USB sound card to this router with TomatoUSB? I tried with my E3000 but failed.

complete junk, and the lame 3rd party fw's do not help

:lmao:

Obviously you haven't used either.

Tomato is freaking awesome.

:lmao: nice troll.

when flashed w. DD-WRT, can this be used in "client" mode? aka like a Gaming Adapter, where you plug in a regular ole ethernet cord to device to make it a wireless adapter? I've seen this type of thing sold for game consoles or TV's that aren't wireless...etc

Yes. This can be done with tomato too.

Can I use Tomato as a wireless repeater?

Not with tomato, but you can with dd-wrt.

thanks! i might just buy two of these to solve my foscam dilemna

edit: one more thing, in client mode, does it allow 802.1x (WPA2-Enterprise) authentication?

thanks agian - reppin ya

Bit the bullet this time around and ordered one to have on hand. Was able to find an old router for my older G devices and will use this and my E3000 to bridge my media server over N!

thanks OP!

Amazon Payments is back as a payment option. I thought I could use my Amazon gift card balance towards the purchase (I had read that you could), but it doesn't give me that option. :(

The option is still there in tomato in client mode but I can't say for certain it works. I can say WPA2-Personal works though.

Contemplating this, i just bought a refurb router a couple months ago but don't really need this. Is there any application for this besides basic internet shenanigans?

I bought my 4th one recently and started testing the 3rd unit's wireless N capability. I loaded the tomatousb firmware cant seem to maintain 300Mbps, best is from 54-130 Mbps. My laptop is using built in Intel Wireless N device.

Any good settings to make it stable at 300 Mbps?

Thanks.

ah ok. I think if it shows, it should connect. I would rather dd -wrt, seems to be more active

Sounds like you're using it in 20 mhz mode. 300 Mbps (really maxes out at 270) requires a double channel - 40 mhz of bandwidth.

The wireless status page is showing 300 Mbps. But as soon as connect my wireless client, the connection drops to < 150Mbps. Yes, I am using UPPER 40 Mhz setting.

Hmm.. then is your wireless card 300 mbps capable? Several models of wireless-n cards are only 150 mbps compatible. See for example: http://www.intel.com/content/dam/...-brief.pdf

Going to grab two of these based on recommendations in this thread. Planning to use one as the main router and the other as a bridge upstairs to connect TV components.

I'm reading over the flashing directions carefully, and am wondering, based on the set-up I'd like to have, would you guys recommend using DD-WRT or Tomato?

Furthermore, am I reading the directions properly to infer that in order to install Tomato (if i choose to do so), I must first flash DD-WRT, then reinstall the Belkin Firmware after doing so? The directions indicate that Tomato can't be installed without first flashing DD-WRT, but the Tomato directions also state I can't access a particular menu without having the Belkin firmware.

I apologize for my ignorance on the subject, I'm completely new to this stuff.

I go tomato for easier to use interface, especially if you are new to this stuff. Do your 30-30-30 and then get into the CF menu. After that flash to dd-wrt. Once you done flashing to dd-wrt, flash to tomato right after. Both flashing parts are fairly easy since all you do is browse to the location, select the file, upload, and let it does its thing. 5 minutes later and you should be good to go. Make sure you read the wiki a couple of times to familiarize yourself with all the steps. So summarizing---Belkin Original firmware---DD-WRT---TOMATO.

I've never gotten 2.4GHz routers to successfully connect at 300Mbps with either tomato or DD-WRT. It requires two non-congested channels on 1, 6, or 11. If your neighbors operate on any of those other bands, then forget it, your router will not channel bond to give you 300Mbps. However, I seem to have good luck in getting 300Mbps on the 5GHz spectrum on routers that support 5Ghz like the Cisco E3000. There are many more channels to choose from for channel bonding.

So.. how long have you had yours?

Mine has been up almost two months with the stock FW. Works great.

Going along the lines of using one of these as a wireless bridge to connect an ethernet-enabled device, can I just set the router up for this purpose right out of the box, or would I need to alter the FW first in order to do so?

You will need to flash to dd-wrt or tomato.

i think i messed up.. my main router is a asus nt16. i bought two of the belkins as i wanted devices on the belkin to run a a 5g band... do i need to replace the asus to buy a dual band router?

i want to decongest the 2.4 band and i thought by buying two of these belkins, one being attached to the asus and the other to be a bridge for my other 4 devices as the solution

Help
thanks
r

The Belkin isn't a dual-band router though? So you don't get 5Ghz band with it. But on the bright side, you don't have to replace your Asus RT-N16, which is a great router.

k, so need help. i flahsed up through tomato and tried to change the lan ip and now ive rebooted and tired the 30/30/30 but cant back to 192.168.1.1. alli want to do is turn this router as a bridge so my light servers can move wirelessly

thanks

What do you mean by tried to change the lan ip? Do you mean the ip on your computer or the ip of the router?

so, I am thinking about buying two of these for my parents and putting tomato (or maybe openwrt) on them.

Any comments about the stability using tomato?
Are these rock solid with open source firmware?

Thanks big time to unlockedshaders, this worked out great. :woot:

Expansys shipped fast, (another reminder of how lame Amazon has gotten,) and with the instructions I have Tomato loaded and running doing A/B testing against my existing Linksys WRT350N (802.11n) network.

The Belkin is working like a champ. Have had several machines streaming off of it and it's a bit faster, even without the external antennas, than the existing setup. Actually it's working well enough that I'm thinking on making it our primary now.

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/8900/imag0429ud.jpg

Like my mod?
Sorry crappy pic

How can i display a picture in this forum?

Cool.:cool: Don't think I could pull that off, but am curious how much that improves your reception (and compared to other routers you may own).

Can you post exactly how you added the external antennas?

Not hard.

When you post or edit, hit "Go Advanced" (if you don't have that option set as default), scroll down to the "Manage Attachments" button. A new window will open with places for internet URLs or to browse your computer for a file.

Upload pix, close window, save post.

Image(s) will appear below your post like the product pictures in first posts do.

Edit: The paperclip icon is a drop-down for putting your uploaded images to the body of your post at the cursor position. (Not sure it's worth doing on slickdeals)

i just took off the antennas from my old asus router and drilled 2 holes and soldered the antennas. Even those these antennas suck within the same range about 10 feet on my half ass N netbook wifi im geting 60mbps compared to about 30 on the one without the antenna

On a speed test ofcourse

so has anyone setup openvpn on dd-wrt.v24-18946_NEWD-2_K2.6_mega.bin

I cant get open vpn to work if you found a working tutorial please link!

Wow. i was also planning to mod mine once it arrives at my door...but im planning to use a cheaper solution using the video below. maybe you can do these and see if it will improve the coverage. :)
(http://www.viddler.com/v/dec85889)

"Twice the range and twice the power"...that statement instills no confidence that he knows what the heck he's doing. :)

Anyways, the Belkin doesn't come with external antennas to mod in the first place.

Well geant90 manage to add external antennas, so its possible.

Well those antenna seem awhole lot better than the crap one i used.its about an inch of exposed copper in a line. Im sure that mod would give even better result on range

Again anyone on the vpn?

yeah and it doubled my throughput in the same distance. Now i hope if i get better antennas i can get a good amount of bandwidth at a further range

just grabbed one... I already have an older Belkin Play (dual band, not gigE) running Tomato... it has been rock solid. I ran DD-WRT on it for a year and that was buggy as heck and not even close to as many 'usable' features.

Tomato FTW ... Fyeah!

Thanks, in 4 1!

I just wanted to confirm this was a statement (vs a question) stating that this router is not a dual band (b/g OR n, and not b/g/n), correct?

Also for those who are using dd-wrt: does the router support multiple ssids?

Great deal! I got one and installed dd-wrt and very happy with it. Installed my USB printer and it's all good.

One quick question though: Trying to set up a guest network with separate subnet's and ip's. Found many instructions so it's not a problem. However, the only trick is that I want to share my non-wireless USB printer (hence no ip address of its own) to the guest network as well and I can't seem to find any instructions on the web.

Any suggestions?

Guest network on DD-WRT may not be on the same IP address to be secure.

Do you leave a PC on all the time? If you do what you may do is install Chrome Browser on both your PC you leave on all the time and the Guest PC. Setup Cloud Print and have it select to print to you Cloud Printer.

http://www.google.com/cloudprint/learn/

Thanks a lot!! That's a very good suggestion.

Ordered one to make my 2TB hard drive as network drive.

Since it has two USB ports, can I connect one to my 2TB hard drive and the second one to ROKU device...to access all content on my hard drive using ROKU “USB Player” App? Any thoughts?

I just need to dump movies using my laptop to hard drive (On Belkin router) and want ROKU to play movies….without switching the cables…..

Not sure if this works using a USB hub...I will try once I get it..but just need to know if it can solve my purpose.

If I use this router as an repeater, will I get 1 gigabit speed or half of it using the LAN ports? TIA

Followed dd-wrt link ("How to setup multiple BSSIDs using DD-WRT") to setup 2 BSSIDs. Can connect to both BSSIDs, however, the virtual interface can only be connected locally (i.e. no internet).

Any help is appreciated!

Happy camper here. Running Tomato and just plugged in my Rosewill 2 bay USB enclosure. Changed the network name in Tomato to match mine and both the drive show up. Streamed to my WDTV Live with no hiccups. Well worth the $20 just for this ability. Thanks to the OP and everyone with for the help setting this up. Becoming one of the better deals of the year.

Newbie to routers. I have a Samsung SmartTV that only accept wired connection. I also have mobile 4G hotspot. Can I buy this router to connect between my wireless 4G hotspot and my wired Samsung SmartTV? If so, how? Do I use DD-WRT? Need cheap stable solution. Will rep with my sincere thanks :)

What transfer speeds do you get to/from the USB enclosure thru the Belkin router? (e.g. copying one large file).

Short answer yes, long answer... maybe.

It -is- possible, but it depends on your device, and if you can find the appropriate modules needed for the belkin.

I've been using a clear ispot 4g modem as a backup connection for my home network. I have an ASUS rt-16 with dd-wrt running with this configuration. The device needs to support RNDIS for it to work, the ispot does, after you unlock it. Here is a thread I used when setting it up.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/view...hp?t=79336

HTH!

you wouldnt have to set it up as a repeatr but no you can even change the wan port to a lan port and itll be just like a switch just disable dhcp and firewall and your good to go

I thought the point of the special build for the Belkin F7D3301 was so that you could flash thru the Belkin router's firmware update page? And if you do CFE/TFTP, you can just go straight to the regular DD-WRT build?

Anyways, I updated thru Belkin router's firmware update page with mini Belkin build, no issues.

Does this support torrent downloading with Tomato?

will this work bridged to an asus n12 in ddwrt mode
 

I currently have 2 asus routers ddwrt wireless bridged together. One router (wirelrss g) is being used for its ports,and as a acess point. The other router (wireless n n12) is connected to my cable modem and has a NAS hooked up to it. Ddwrt is set in WDS MODE


As of now, the transfer rate between the g router ports (desktop computer) and the NAS is really slow. I think it is because the weakest point is the g router thats bridged.

Would this router in ddwrt mode speed things up? Would the two routers in "n" mode help?

If you connect this router to your main router through wired connection while connecting your computers to this router through wifi, you get gigabit LAN connection but the name here for the router is access point.

A repeater/extender connects to the main router through wifi and serves client (computers, mobile devices) through wifi as well, the wifi speed is halved.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire...ion_system

Rule of thumb: if the device uses one network interface (ex. wlan0 ) for both data in and out communication, the speed is halved. On a router the wireless controller and the wired controller are two difference network interfaces.

Yes.

I would suggest using Shibby's mod with Transmission (BT client) built into the firmware (no optware needed) - tomato-K26USB-1.28.RT-MIPSR2-092-BT-VPN.trx

Use tomatoes firmware, I get max around 80mbps and sustained for ~20sec, yes it is 10MB/s. It tooks about 3 minutes to get to that speed. This was through 3 bedroom walls, 30' away. There is something funky with dd-wrt firmware for this router.

I've got a few questions as I head into the great unknown tomorrow and try doing this for the first time...

To clarify again, someone answered this for me earlier, but I after looking over the instructions, I'm still not 100% sure.

My first step, obviously, should be to get the main router up and running using the stock Belkin Firmware. After that, I want to (resets notwithstanding) flash DD-WRT, and then flash Tomato directly after?

The reason I'm confused, is that the guide indicates that you must have the Belkin firmware installed to access the CFE menu to flash Tomato, but I was told I don't need to revert back to the Belkin firmware? Any clarification here would be great.

After that one is up and running, I'll be installing a second one as either a Wireless Bridge or a Bridge Repeater (depending on what kind of signal I'm getting upstairs). To do this, do I need an additional computer? Or can I use the same computer (my Macbook Pro) to set it up? If so, do I simply unhook the main router and plug in the second one until it's all set, then move it into place away from the modem and primary router?

I'm starting to understand the processes by which I actually install the firmware, but it's the initial setup that I'm a bit lost on.

Finally, I've heard that people are having luck achieving greater speeds by switching their routers to 802.11n Mode only. I did a compatibility check with any devices I might be connecting wirelessly and found that all of them, except for my father's laptop (an old company piece of crap) is 802.11n compatible. Would I be better off leaving everything in mixed to suit his needs, or should I run an old crappy router off of one of the primary router's LAN ports and broadcast only in b/g? Anyone have any advice on that?

Thanks to anyone who can help, I hate to be a pain, but this is completely new (and exciting/scary) to me.

well,if its in factory setting then belkin firmware is the initial installed firmware (no need to flash belkin) and you just need to flash dd-wrt and tomato. (follow the instruction in 1st page)

i just recently received mine and haven't tested 802.11n mode only. but for me, if the claims are true, then you're better off in 802.11n mode only and let your dad use a different router connected to one of Lan's port. (just my two cents)

Set everything up yesterday and thus far, seems to be working really well. Flashing DD-WRT/Tomato was far less challenging than I expected. By the second one, I really had the hang of it and did it in about twenty minutes. First one took forever because I was so meticulous to make sure I didn't mess anything up.

I'm getting fantastic wired speeds off of the main router, much better than my old one. Wireless seems to fluctuate. I've seen it as high as 270 and as a low as 65 (or 36-54 when testing my Dad's laptop with the primary router, which is only b/g).

Set up the bridge with no issues as well. X-Box in the living room connects seamlessly to the bridge, both Netflix and Amazon Instant appear to be working pretty well. I did notice a slight lag in the audio that appears to improve after a couple of minutes. Can't tell if it's the connection, or the low-end sound bar we have in the living room causing the delay (the X-Box is the only device attached to the sound bar that isn't connected via HDMI - it's just my old spare 360).

My only question left, is, per the recommendations above, I'm going to give a third router a shot to support my Dad's laptop. His computer is upstairs, which is where the Bridge is located. Any significant drawback to connecting the b/g router to a LAN port on the bridge rather than the primary router? I tried it last night and it works, I just don't know if it'll cause any significant hits. Speed for his isn't my concern, he just needs to the internet for basic functionality.

Going to play around with USB sharing today I think.

Sounds like those performance numbers may be estimates (i.e., speeds reported by the adapter, which are pretty much worthless) rather than actual. You should measure it w/ tools like NetCPS [netchain.com], Iperf [ucf.edu], etc.

nevermind... forgot to enable dhcp

I was actually looking for something like that. I tried measuring the WiFi on my laptop using Mac's Network Utility, and I was getting 130Mbps, which sounded a little more reasonable.

Any specific tools for Mac you know of that do this? I can't seem to find any.

I got mine today. There was some confusion setting it up in client mode, but it is now working wonderfully with the DD WRT big build. Adequate signal across the house and through many walls to my e3000 (the main AP), not bad for $20.

I didn't look use the connect speed. I used the actual throughput of 802.11n mode only and it is 80mbps. If i use g/n mode, it drop to g speed too often. There are notes and documentations on this issue as it is part of design to fall back speed.

I set my Belkin with DD-WRT build 18946 to N-only, yet my LG Optimus V phone which only supports G still links up fine via WiFi. So I'm not sure if the N-only setting even works in this build.

After 2 days of work (most of the time being spent on understanding Access Point, Repeater, Subnets, etc.), finally got this baby running the way I wanted it.

I got a lot of help from the DD-WRT forum and this board. I was a newbie in setting up networks - I normally would just configure my router by using the original firmware. Flashing DD-WRT is truly new to me and I didn't even know what it was when I got my Belkin.

Not sure if this would be helpful, just to want share some configs that I went through (hopefully people can tell me if I did it right too) -

Objectives for my home network:
1. Have 2 subnets, each has its own SSIDs: One for private shares, one for guest network
2. Both subnets can print from the USB printer that is connected to the router
3. Add a G-router as access point with only guest network available (wanted to do both networks but I didn't want to waste the current G-router)
4. Block G-router from pinging and accessing the DD-WRT GUI.

Steps:
1. Researched on the internet in setting up 2 SSIDs. Initially I followed the article "How to setup multiple SSIDs using DD-WRT" but it did not work for me. Finally I followed the DD-WRT guide on setting up "Multiple WLANs" and it worked! This guide worked for me until the part "Restricting Access" (i.e. firewall commands).
2. Now that the 2 subnets are set, I changed the ip address of my G-router to match the guest network subnet and let it uses its own DHCP server. Plug an ethernet cable into the WAN port of the G-router. Internet access is OK but guest can access my DD-WRT GUI.
3. Tried the firewall rules from the DD-WRT guide and they mostly don't work in my situation (for some reason). So I did more research and found the followings:
a. Set up my machine with a private IP address. Configure the firewall in DD-WRT as follows:

#Enable NAT on the WAN port to correct a bug in builds over 17000
iptables -t nat -I POSTROUTING -o `get_wanface` -j SNAT --to `nvram get wan_ipaddr`

#Block ping from outside 10.0.1.55 (Home Machine)
iptables -I INPUT ! -s 10.0.1.55 -j DROP -p icmp --icmp-type echo-request

#Block everyone else except Home Machine accessing DD-WRT GUI
iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --dport 23 ! -s 10.0.1.55 -j DROP
iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 ! -s 10.0.1.55 -j DROP
iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 ! -s 10.0.1.55 -j DROP

b. Now only my home machine can access DD-WRT GUI.

4. Not sure if the above firewall commands are comprehensive enough, e.g. I can't find a working firewall command to restrict br1 from accessing br0, so I did a little test to see if people logged into the guest network can see my private shared folders. The answer seems like a "no" (plus I get firewall software notification whenever someone wants to access my home machine). This is sufficient for my purpose (probably no good for a business/public network). Guests can still access the printer because my router is without the relevant firewall command. I understand people can print from Chrome but I do have guests who use Apple computers and they only have Safari.

I think that's it. Initially I wanted to access the G-router GUI from my home machine, so I tried "Linking Subnets with Static Routes" (setting up static routes on Belkin and RIP2 on my G-router). Couldn't do it. Gave it up finally.

Hope this helps someone.

I am curious how much would it cost for a router with the power of DD-WRT nowadays? In addition, I got wary of flashing it to Tomato (because the instructions posted in this thread for some reasons seems unclear to me as well) so I decided to try DD-WRT first. Maybe Tomato can achieve better?

I have 2 laptops and a desktop in one room all wireless N connected to the Belkin router on the second floor. Both laptops register 10-12 mbps download speed and the desktop only gets 2-4 mbps. I'm using Airlink wireless N and the desktop has a cable card on it. Is there a way to increase download speed on the desktop? Streaming is so choppy and unacceptable. Thanks in advance for your help.

NVM. I'm an idiot.

deleted

Sorry to dig up an oldish thread, but I'm stuck on trying to set up this router as a wireless bridge to hook up an ethernet enabled receipt printer in my restaurant. I've successfully flashed DD-WRT firmware but that's as far as I've gotten.

After the firmware has been flashed, what's the next step? I imagine it has something to do with setting a static IP address for the printer, but how?

Thanks in advance for your help. Rep points on standby to anyone who can help!

Seriously this router has been great with the latest stock firmware. I was planning to use dd-wrt or tomatousb but I really have not found the need.

Here is how to set up a wireless bridge:
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index....ess_Bridge
To assign a specific ip address use a static lease:
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Static_DHCP

question: can this router's USB support more than 2TB after tomato or DD-WRT? i have a drobo that i would like to use as a NAS.

thanks in advance!

Trying to flash, but I can't get the CFE to work using 30-30-30.
Hmmmm

EDIT: to be more specific, when I do the 30-30-30, the router comes up and I am unable to connect to http://192.168.2.1 at all. (No CFE, no default system config either)

I then power cycle and the default settings come up.

I do have a static ip of 192.168.2.8

EDIT2: looks like you can't use google chrome.
Only worked with Internet Explorer.

Is there a reason why I get half the download speed with Tomato than I do with the original Belkin firmware? I ran speed tests with both of them and with Tomato I get 13 mbps download speed over wireless while with the Belkin firmware I get close to 25 mpbs download speed.

Ordered 3 of these Belkin units. My old WRT54G is on it's last leg. Needed a replacement. Figured this is a good, cheap upgrade to 802.11n. Couple questions:

1. Anyone know if the latest Belkin firmware can do bridge mode?

2. Any internal pic of how to solder on external antennas?

Thanks.

Did you just use the Router's GUI config page to search for the update or was it the update that was downloaded from the site?

1. Anyone know if the latest Belkin firmware can do bridge mode?

although the Belkin site says this was possible I couldn't get it to work with the stock firmware. Once I installed Tomato it was a snap

Yes, under " Utilities > Firmware Update" then "Check for New Firmware Version > "

I am using 1.00.08 it came with 1.00.06

you can find pictures online of the inside your self easy! Also, once you see it youll realise how easy it is with only a total of 4 solder points

this shows the antenna solder points for the two internal antennas.

http://infodepot.wikia.com/wiki/B...F7D3301_v1

Is this the specific pic & if so solder to the center?
thanks for sharing!!!
Belkin Internal [wikia.com]

Do you have the channel width set to 40Mhz in Tomato? It defaults to 20Mhz.

Is it N only
 

Does anyone know if this support b/g as well as N. I'm more interested in knowing G support.

Found it!
 

Not sure how accurate this information is, but the following site says it does support b/g also.
http://infodepot.wikia.com/wiki/B...F7D3301_v1

All these wireless N routers can support legacy wireless clients when set to broadcast in mixed mode however your network will only be as fast as the slowest client. So if you have N and G clients on your network, everything will run G speeds or theorhetical max of 54 Mbps

Is this the slowest ACTIVE client? If I have a laptop that uses G or B, and it is not connected to the router, will I be able to take advantage of N speeds on the devices that are running?

The radios are ran in either N mode or mixed mode (b/g/n). The radios can't dynamically decide what clients are 'active' at a given time. You need to do some reading. This isn't your personal tech support thread so lets stop posting in here.

Ordered one and received it today, DOA (won't power on)..... Have to RMA it. Has anyone experienced the RMA process with expansys?

Was it a refurb?

It's one of those F7D7301 units from expansys. Arrived in complete retail package, looks like new to me.

From reading everyone's posts and what we have all received, I don't think Expansys is sending any refurbs.

charsiubao007, first boot may take a while. Did you try pressing the reset button for 30 seconds to reset any settings that may be preventing boot? If not, refer to the 30/30/30 rule in the wiki or starting posts for how to completely reset the router and clear NVRAM.

Ummm the power light should still come on even if it takes 5 mins to boot. If the router hasn't been touched how would there be corrupted settings in the NVRAM? Even if there was the power light should have some behavior, come on, blink etc.

No lights, no sound (should at least hiss?) from the unit at all after plugging into the power. Should at least show some signs of life?

I will try the 30 second trick later in the day...

thanks

I thought mine was dead too, but it eventually showed signs of life after a 30/30/30 reset. I first upgraded the Belkin Firmware before doing DD-WRT and Tomato. On Shibby Mod after playing around with the Toastman builds. I found this more stable, and don't intend to overclock.

No dice. Did the 30-30-30 reset. This unit is dead.

RMA sucks..

Please allow up to 30 days from the day you return your package for
your return to be processed and either refunded or exchanged.

Expansys is not responsible for packages lost in transit, please ship
your return with delivery confirmation or other means of tracking the
delivery. Prepaid labels are available for defective returns only.
Expansys is not responsible for shipping costs of non-defective
returns. Orders under $100 which received initial free shipping are
not eligible for prepaid return shipping.

Looks like I have to pay to ship this back for RMA...

If it doesn't boot there can BE no 30/30/30 reset. You probably messed with the firmware then found it was 'dead'. Even if the firmware is borked and the CFE has somehow been erased the unit will at least power on.

My belkins just came in and I was looking over the flashing process. Am I correct in assuming that the mini build of dd-wrt is needed for tomato because the tomato firmware file can't be loaded directly from the stock belkin firmware?

I hope mine comes in "live", I ordered on the 8th and expected delivery is the 18th-they must deliver by covered wagon!

Yes, you are correct.
Problem I had was that I could not get the dd-wrt mini firmware flashed on mine thru the CFE page. I did the install directly from the existing Belkin firmware and it worked for me.

Guys mine didn't show a power light for several minutes the first time, so don't assume it arrived dead.

does the power adapter multi input voltage (110-220v)?

Tried it again since I don't want to shell out $9 to ship it back... Plugged in for 10mins+.. still no signs of life. So this one is definitely dead...

Recieved my Belkin routers today. After messing with them pretty much all afternoon and evening, here are my thoughts:

1. When running Tomato firmware on the router I would get about 10 Mbps less on speedtest.net than when running the stock Belkin firmware or dd-wrt. So I ditched Tomato and am running the mega build of dd-wrt.

2. I am using a second one of these as a wireless bridge. Connection speeds are not all that great. The client is not that far away from the router but there are a few walls in between the two. Also, the 2.4 ghz band is pretty crowded around here. I detect 6 or so AP's from other houses. With all that said I was hoping for more than ~20 Mbps between the two (see attached below).

The attached pic show the bandwidth, as graphed by dd-wrt when I ran NetCPS as a server on a box hard wire to the router and NetCPS as a client on the box connected to the wireless bridge. Pretty poor speeds.

Well, if you have a lot of competition for the same freq, that's going to severely affect your bandwidth. Remember, all the routers using the same freq. are essentially behaving as if they were using an old hub. When they detect interference, they back off a random amount of time and try again. And all that "stumbling" kills your bandwidth. And if there are other non-network devices using the 2.4GHz band (cordless phones, microwaves, the list is endless given that 2.4GHz is open to virtually anyone), it's even worse since those devices typically grab the freq and hold it until they're done (that's why, for example, a 2.4GHz cordless phone always kills your network, but not the other way around).

That's always the problem in assessing wireless performance. There are just too many environmental conditions unique to you. And some you won't easily detect. You can think you're not exposed to interference and unwittingly be bombarded by odd devices from neighbors, signals reflected in odd ways, etc. As I said before, that's why the next guy will report back completely different results, this time w/ stellar performance. It's always a crapshoot.

so basically, it would be a good idea to find a router which does 5ghz huh?

If you're in a crowded 2.4GHz neighborhood? Yeah, anything you can do to shield yourself from others. And nothing's better than being on a different and presumably less crowded freq. Of course, if everyone in your neighborhood thinks the same way, results may not be as good (even so, the 5GHz freq has many more non-overlapping channels, so there's inherently more "elbow room"). And then you’ll have to invest in 5GHz client adapters as well, so there’s an expense involved.

That or man up and run some cable. Issues and latency dissapear.

Yep, everything about wireless sucks, except for one thing -- convenience. Wireless is more expensive, more complex, less secure, less reliable, slower, etc. It's amazing the lengths we'll go to as humans for convenience sake.

Probably a good idea since I live in a apartment complex.

I run some nice cat 5 to my desktop, the wireless would be for my 360 and the girlfriend's laptop.

Does having a router that does gigabit ethernet help out my desktop much?

it would only help transfer speeds between other devices wired to the gigabit switch.

At least you could try Tomato on it! I've had one of these since they first popped up at this price months ago. Ran the latest official firmware for the longest time having never gotten the time to mod it. Finally put DD-WRT on it, ran it for weeks, was a happy camper with it. Today decided to try out Tomato and looks like it fully bricked it. No lights, no CFE mode, network cable unplugged message in windows, like it doesnt even exist. No power issues as it will still spin up a hard drive plugged in the USB port, but all else is fail.

Just dug the thread up to order another one since it doesnt appear I can do anything with mine. Tomato is not getting near the next one. :(

x2>>>>>>>>

Would you even need DD-WRT or Tomato? Seems the latest stock firmware works fine with best USB performance. I went stock->DD-WRT->Tomato->latest stock firmware on one of mine.

No 120 only

I was thinking about going with the stock firmware, but a couple things stopped me:

1. No bridge support.
2. With the stock firmware I could not find where to assign IP's to specific MAC addresses. I kept thinking it had to be there but I didn't find it.

DD-WRT seems to work well on it. I have not tried USB support yet though. Sounds like USB printer support via dd-wrt can be nightmare. Not sure about USB drive support.

As far as actual need goes, While DD-WRT/Tomato is overkill, the stock firmware wasn't cutting it either. Stock firmware was stable enough with the latest revision, but only really good enough for those needing to get several computers on the internet or maybe share nothing more then the default media sharing in windows. As far as basic windows networking goes, the stock firmware doesnt even allow homegroups to work correctly.


I've been using DD-WRT for many many years, and should of stayed with that as it works for me. All of my home entertainment is networked, right down to my tv tuners, so thought I would give tomato a try since it supposedly has better QOS, but obviously didnt work out. I'll stick with WRT on the new one. :D

Any reviews on the range / speeds of the wireless in this? I currently have the wzr-hp-g300nh, and I've had issues with the router randomly rebooting, and wireless speeds drop to 54mbps after 1 day of being on.

I would really prefer tomato, and this router is cheaper, so I could theoretically sell my bufallo router on eBay, buy this, and come out ahead.

Happened with me also when flashing to Tomato. However I think you need to use ONLY Toastman Tomato versions. Anything else would brick the router. I tried using a Tomato firmware from TomatoUSB.org and it bricked my router. No Power lights or anything.

However Chief yours sounds better than mine cause the USB powers up. Are you sure you just forgot to use a static IP and turn on DHCP. Tomato doesn't have DHCP server on by default so you need a static IP and login and turn it on. Once on then you can acces web GUI without static IP.

Belkin should thank DD-WRT for creating a reason to buy this router and pay them for the amazing firmware that DD-WRT and Tomato provides. Seriously.

I get no lights or anything. Just happened to plug a hard drive in to make sure it didnt just lose power coincidently. I get no activity or anything, just verification the router is receiving power since the hard drive lights up. Despite getting the cable not connected message in windows, I tried all the respective possible static routes, even using a switch in between so that windows would at least try the connection instead of saying there is no physical connection. The thing is dead as a door nail as far as I can tell. For $20 however, no biggy. Not worth going to drastic measures like jtag or shorting the nvram chip to try and get it working. I'll just wait till the next one comes in and call it good with DDWRT. For now I dug out my old WRT'd linksys 54GL to stick in it's place.

can some one tell me who the confirmation email came from I seem unable to find it

never mind forgot I used amazon. out for delivery today

The range on this kind sucks though. But I heard flashing it to Tomato boosts the range? Does it also boost the performance? Anyways, I haven't looked at Tomato yet because people on here posted that they are getting their routers bricked. Also I'm running on stock firmware updated to 1.00.08.

Apparently this used to be called the F7D4301 and can be flashed with DD-WRT.

Supported Belkin devices [dd-wrt.com]

What's with the low Belkin prices? Are they exiting the business?

This one is a simultaneous dual-band .n router!

Just moved to this from a 4-year old WRT54GL.

Range doesn't appear to be any different to me. I'm reading about the same dbm at different weakspots that I had with the WRT54GL.

Running Toastman's standard tomato build on this, and I'm loving it already. 453mhz for the price of $20 *faints*.

Usually people get best wireless performance on stock firmware. But with DD-WRT or Tomato, you can boost wireless transmit power which can help with range in the router->wireless client direction.

No issue with Tomato as long as you stick to Toastman build.

deleted

Oh sweet! Anyways, now I want to switch my password for the router and I can't. router/wl_main.html nor 192.168.2.1 isn't seem to be working it's not loading. =.="

Got mine, flashed to Tomato, no problem. But range sucked compared to the Apple Airport Express it replaced, but I was able to go into the advanced Tomato settings, and increase output power from the default (0=default) to the maximum of 400mw (I don't know what the max of the actual router is, but that is the max in Tomato) and now it kicks butt over the Airport.

With greater range comes more noise in the signal. Can't remember where I've read this, but something to take into consideration.

external usb
 

I'm having problems using my external hard drive with this router. I tried using dd-wrt and tomato and I tried a few options with each, NAS, SCP, FTP. I still can't find the drive. Anyone have a suggestion? Do I have to create the ex3 Linux partition? I was hoping for plug and play.

I'm not a Tomato expert, but are you using the usb version of tomato?

I used the version of wrt and tomato given by the OP. There's just a USB setting that needs to be turned on. I was hoping I could just plug it in and use it as a network drive after that but it seems a lot more involved

Weird, I would think NAS plus ntfs would work fine. But maybe not :) Have you read over this? http://tomatousb.org/tut:how-to-s...otal-noobs

Thanks for the link. It looks similar to what I've read, I was trying to do this without setting up the Linux environment, but it looks like I have to. I can't believe it's so hard when the belkin firmware says you can just plug and play USB drives

Will this belkin be IPV6 compatible? Since most ISPs will move to IPV6 soon!!!
Will this belkin work with Verizon FIOS router?

Thanks

There's no way most ISPs are going to *move* to IPv6 anytime soon. They will certainly *add* support for IPv6, but IPv4 will be around for many, many years. Well beyond the useful life of this device. There’s just no way ISPs can demand everyone throw away all their IPv4 devices overnight. Not unless, like the switch from analog to digital TV, they provide their own adapter, or router (seems unlikely). IPv4 and IPv4 compatibility will be here for a long time to come.

Frankly, it’s not even an issue for the Belkin router per se, since I doubt most ppl here are going to use the Belkin stock firmware anyway, but rather dd-wrt. It’s dd-wrt that needs IPv6 support, at least on the WAN. Even so, I’m sure IPv4 support via NAT will continue on the local/private network (e.g.,192.168.1.x) for many years, if not decades.

As far as the FIOS router, you can ALWAYS chain routers, WAN to LAN. The only thing you have to do is make sure each is using DIFFERENT networks. So if the FIOS is using say, 192.168.1.x, you could use 192.168.2.x or 10.0.0.x on the Belkin. Of course, you’d be double NAT’d and have two firewalls, which *might* present a problem w/ remote access. But for strictly outbound activity, usually a non-issue.

Thanks for the answer! agreed it will take sometimes for ISPs to upgrade home users to IPV6. But there is a big push on Gov agencies to go with IPV6 by end of this year!!!

Man, this router is freaking lovely. Running it for a few days with nary a hiccup.

=) Can't believe I paid only $20 for the specs of a e4200. Lol.

Are you running on Tomato or DD-WRT?

Thanks

the e4200 is a dual band. this is single band.

I bought two from the Amazon deal @ $20 each and I put Toastman Tomato on it. I had to install the dd-wrt mini_f7d3301(or f7d7301).bin first before, installing either the Mega or Tomato version. Both flashed fine with Toastman Tomato: http://www.linksysinfo.org/index.php?threads/toastman-releases-1-28-7493-4-5-6-7-8-9.36106/
Tomato is definitely easier to use.

I used this Belkin to bridge it to his FiOS router, to replace a wired switch he had in his closet but primarily to provide 300mbps Wireless-N (his revision FiOS router only has neutered 65mbps Wireless-N). And to avoid double NAT and to allow all devices on both routers to talk to each other.

I had found simpler instructions on the web that I'm trying to relocate now, but here's the guide on DD-WRT:
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index....cess_Point

(for other people, I know eibgrad already knows how to do all those)

I flashed the following version of Tomato on my Belkin last night. Hooking up my 2TB NTFS formatted USB drive truly was plug and play.

tomato-K26USB-1.28.7500.2MIPSR2Toastman-RT-Ext.trx

Check out the Fatwallet thread on this router. A link to the above Tomato version is in the Fatwallet thread's wiki post.

Thanks. Maybe I need to reformat my external.

Running standard Tomato with no extras as I don't need the bells and whistles.

Doesn't apply to my situation as I don't care for the 5ghz range. :)

I will not pay an additional $100 just to get the 5ghz simultaneous range.

I don't know why I didnt think of this before, but I just plugged my portable WD hard drive into the router and it popped up. Can you not use externally powered HDs with this router?

If anything externally power drives should be less trouble than USB powered ones. Mine is a WD 3.5" externally powered drive and have had no problems. Even have Tomato set to spin down the HD when there is no activity. Seems to work well. Of course I really don't know if it is spinning down the drive or not.

can i just use this as a file sharing router thru usb port without connecting it to the internet? or do u have to be connected to the internett to access the usb external hard drive?

Hmm tempted to get this when I get paid tommorow. My D-Link DIR-615's wireless has become flaky lately even while using DD-WRT on it.. Bought it used for $20 and have had it for about a year so figure I got my use out of it..

Yes. The USB feature (for whatever purposes you choose to use it, file sharing, printing, etc.) functions completely independent of how the router is used and/or configured. Doesn’t matter if the router is configured as a router, client bridge, repeater bridge, AP, a simple switch, etc., it would have no effect on the USB device and its functionality, only its accessibility.

thanks for the info..

Congratulations!

I tried various online instructions to set up an isolated Guest WiFi network in addition to a Home network off this router and eventually gave up in favor of the stock firmware.

FWIW, I have 4 wireless routers at home, 3 reconfigured as APs, and all with either DD-WRT or Tomato but have never been successful with setting up Guest Accounts :-(

On a different note, this is my first Belkin after Linksys and Asus and the physical construction of this one is the poorest of the lot.

how's the stock firmware?

****EDIT: I just found a table that states that the mega builds of shibby are for routers with more than 8MB. I have downflashed mine back to the BIG versions. This router should take any version other than the MEGA or AIO (at least for Shibby). It did seem to work fine though.***


Received this today. Went to CFE and threw on DD-WRT mini and then Shibby Mega Tomato (AIO would not fit! :( ). Working with no issues so far. I think it has a better signal than my RT-N16, LOL. Edit: Not a stronger signal but the ping is better (5ms vs 12ms). Not sure why.

Compared to my Linksys E2000 and the Belkin has the same chipset (one revision newer and over 100MHz faster), same flash ram (8MB) and same ram (32MB). Add USB ports and the fact that this is NEW, it's hard to justify getting an E2000 or any other router for this price! :)

Can't beat the price!

That's quite a downgrade just to get a guest ID. As I and others have stated, I don't think this is nearly as good a deal w/ the stock firmware (I know I wouldn't have bought it under those conditions). Why try to force a single machine to provide guest access? All you need to do is place your old wireless router on the modem and daisy chain the new router behind it.

[modem](lan)<-- wire -->(wan)[old router - open](lan)<-- wire -->(wan)[belkin w/ ddwrt]

Now users of the old router have access to the internet but are otherwise prevented from accessing resources on the new router due to its firewall. I would also recommend assigning a static IP from the old router to the WAN of the new router, then place that same IP in the DMZ of the old router. That eliminates the hassle of having to port forward both firewalls when dealing w/ remote access.

Too many ppl try to make one router do it all. And sometimes it’s the wrong approach. It can often be a management headache. In the case of dd-wrt and guest IDs, you're then into all kinds of manipulation of the firewall w/ iptables to prevent cross-network access. But it's so unnecessary. Using multiple routers will accomplish the same thing. You may even gain other advantages, like not having to use the same freq. or channels! Nothing to code and the assurance it’s right because you have visible feedback of how things are connected physically, not just logically.

Not sure if anyone trying to set up a guest SSID has used this guide or not but I'll throw it out there anyway:

http://code.google.com/p/tomato-s...interfaces

Good luck! :)

Thanks , I'll mess with it later :)

Side note: I think this will only work if it's the main router connected to your modem and not simply an access point connected to another router. Otherwise, you'll need to tinker with the main router and VLANs to the access point to get it to function (I'm guessing anyway).

I've wondered why after all these years, guest WiFi hasn't made it into the GUI for DD-WRT and Tomato. Stock firmwares make it so easy to set up.

Tomato is making some progress, with the Toastman builds at least. I can setup guest WiFi on that in a couple minutes thru the GUI, but it's still not straightforward.

Finally got mine the other day and set it up. I got this router so that I could connect and network an external hard drive with music and movies. I planned on using the stock firmware if it did what I wanted, which it did. But to access the shared drive you have to install Belkin's software on each PC/Mac so that was a no go for me. Put Tomato USB on though and it works great. Able to watch HD movies on a laptop upstairs while the router is downstairs without any problems.

Does Toastman USB allow NTFS write to the external hard drive attached to this router? Reading the drive is easy but writing to NTFS is essential as I need to be able to write files larger than FAT32 will allow. each file is about 6-8gb?

I have a shibby build on mine, and it has a checkbox for ntfs support, so I am assuming it supports it.

Yep. I have no problem reading or writing to my 2TB NTFS drive hooked up to this router with Toastman's Tomato release.

tomato-K26USB-1.28.7500.2MIPSR2Toastman-RT-Ext.trx

You can find a link to it at the Fatwallet thread about this deal.

I was able to write to my drive, speeds weren't great though. Five minutes for a ~370MB file.

Gigabit ethernet card?
 

If this router is Gigabit, then I need to upgrade my pc's NIC to Gigabit.
Any deals?

Why would you have to upgrade? Gigabit lan ports are backwards compatible. If you're doing it for only for internet access, won't help unless your connection speed is around/over 100mbps (give or take a little).

How is this router for network (USB) drive sharing and streaming content? Everyone says that its good, but can you just watch a movie from network drives?

I hear it's a lot slower with NTFS though.

Putting HD on the Router
 

If I put my Data HD (NTFS) on the Belkin router with Gigabit NIC, will it be slow?

The reason for doing is wherever I am in the house, I can work on the same document.

Dual band?

also is this a good backup for a e3000 thats possibly will fail due to heat..

I've watched movies over wireless so far with very little problems. Occasionally the video pixelates for a second before correcting. Haven't played with signal strength yet though, that could help.

Single band. It's a good backup for anything IMO unless you absolutely have to have the 5GHz band or unless you have some high powered router that has an extended range (I doubt this has that much power although it seems to get about the same reading on signal as my RT-N16 (both with Tomato)).

hmm, idk if it will be suitable, ive actually been using the 5ghz for very complex stuff and have it bridged to another in the other end of the house, 1080p videos running threw 3 tvs at the same time, I know my e3000 is about to bite the dust though, cause i can smell the burning metal smell (not sure how long it will take for it to finally do that) but anyways maybe ill just hold out for the right ac router if they drop within the next 6 months, hopefully this one will hold up till then

Here is the dual band version of this router for $40. Unclear if it has dd-wrt and/or tomato support.

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Play...600+router

+1 on this router.

My new Panasonic plasma smart TV didn't come with wireless built in. Since Pansonic wants about $60 for the wifi dongle (via Amazon), I went with the N300 from Expansys to create a client bridge. Very carefully followed the directions in the first post in this thread for flashing to DD-WRT. Then these instructions for creating the client bridge: http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index....ent_Bridge.

I now have my TV plugged into it via ethernet, and it works great. I also have my HTCP plugged into it as well. Just as I had hoped, the N300 has better bandwidth than the USB wifi I was previously using with my HTPC. Can't wait to get another ethernet cable and plug my PS3 up to it, as it should get better bandwidth with the Belkin than the built-in wifi on the PS3.

It's not a Broadcom chipset so it does not have Tomato support. Maybe DD-WRT though. (Edit: Looks like there is a mini build of DD-WRT for hardware version V1).

It streams well through the USB 2.0? 1080/720p rips?

Will a USB hub work with the ports in this? Have 4 externals I would like to connect to it.

my friend has a guy that wants him to get this router for the 8 ports +wireless to set up an office network
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Pro...6833122446

-can I do the same thing with 2 of these instead

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Play...600+router

thanks