My Tireless Wireless Network Adapter: WiFi Certified And Almost Idiot Proof
Written: Jul 30 '06 (Updated Jul 30 '06)
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Pros: Easy to install, inexpensive, 24 hour toll free tech support, icon display.
Cons: My computer didn't like it at first.
The Bottom Line: Going wireless? Belkin's F5D7050 Wireless G USB Network Adapter worked wonders for me!
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| Freak369's Full Review: Belkin Wireless G USB (F5D7050) Network Adapter |
Over the past two years I have had five internet providers at my home. Verizon DSL was the worst and I hate to say that for obvious reasons .. and oh yes, there will be a scathing review of that in the near future. So why did I finally decide to go wireless? I got talked into it by a friend that was so sick of hearing me complain about the crappy 'less than dial up' speeds I had at home. I have to get this out of the way right now; I am not a computer savvy person. Oh sure I can use the ctrl alt del function like a pro but when it comes to fixing things, I usually end up making things worse. A great example of that was my computer monitor; I got a Mag Innovision on sale and paid dearly for it. Thanks to my almost new Gateway EV700, I don’t have any problems [crossing fingers]. I went through the install alone, determined that I could install it by myself. I swear on all that is holy, it took me over five hours to get it up and running but most of that was spent installing and deleting it over and over again because my computer kept telling me to insert the Windows 98 [second edition] disc into it … then it had the nerve to tell me that the disc was missing files. whatever
Belkin Wireless G USB Network Adapter [F5D7050]
My friend went with me to Staples when I was picking this out. He really wanted me to go with another brand but I liked the Belkin F5D7050 and it was under $40.00. This is what really got me. The cost of DSL was around $22.00 a month [plus a one year contract] so for the price of two months of DSL service I got a wireless adapter that I could use anywhere, on my laptop or my desktop. Surely it couldn't be that simple … this little thing no bigger than my MP3 player could really solve my internet problems? Well, before I get into the meat of the review I do have to say that if I could go back in time I would have gotten one that had more of a range to it. This one has an operating range of up to three hundred feet, suitable for home networking but not if you are going to try to grab signals from neighbors or businesses that offer free wireless service. This is all new to me, I am used to cables being plugged in and having to call tech support twenty times to get things to work … thankfully Belkin has awesome phone reps that really go the extra mile to make sure that you are getting the most from your purchase.
Installing this does require some patience, loading the software isn't hard but it does require you to restart your computer. In my case I had to install, remove and reinstall it over and over again because there was something "wrong" with my Windows 98 disc. To get things started just pop the Belkin disc into your computer and wait for it to load up. This is where I had my first problem and first string of error messages. I read the guide and saw that there was another way to 'unpack' the information needed but that didn’t work. Fate being the fickle beast she is, as soon as I started talking to someone from tech support [on hold for less than two minutes] the screen popped up and I let out with a string of foul words that had the operator in stitches. He asked me if I minded if I stayed on the line until everything was up and running – have you ever had someone in customer service say that to you? After about ten minutes of error messages he said that he could have a disc sent to me that would have the files that I needed to get the software installed but he did suggest that I get another Windows 98 disc and try to do a reinstall to see if that would fix the problems.
He didn't let me get off the phone until I screamed … the Yahoo page loaded and I was almost in tears. Sure, go ahead, laugh. That might seem funny to you but it was a huge wave of relief for me – not only could I tell my DSL provider to suck off [not just kiss off … suck off] but I managed to install it on my own [with a little help from Belkin tech support]. That moment of joy didn't last long. Pages were taking forever to load and the computer would crash every five minutes … even so … for a couple minutes I was online so I knew that I did something right. When the software installed it put a small icon in the system tray; this is what lets you know when you are connected however the book says that it should be green when you are connected and red when you aren't. Mine shows up blue with little moving waves around the top of it but I have my setting at the lowest possible until I can get the new drivers installed for the monitor so that might have something to do with the way things are displayed. That display icon disappeared somewhere around the fifth or sixth install but I did manage to get it back the last time I went through the process. And there it is, blinking away … such a joyful thing to see.
The total time to install is about three minutes but if you have a newer computer it could take a lot less time than that. Once you do the install you will be prompted to restart your computer but before that you will be told that you can now attach your adapter. When I did this it said that Windows detected a new USB item and started looking for software for it. This was the big mistake. When it asked me to put the disc in so it could do an install everything got screwed up so you may want to think twice about those prompts. When I did the very last install I hit "skip file" for all the Windows request and everything works perfectly. But that's just me, you may want to follow the instructions in the booklet and give tech support a call if you are having trouble. I went into system management and saw that the USB device was attached and that there were no missing drivers so I figured that Windows was being wonky … like that is anything new.
So what do you get when you purchase one of these? Well, the adapter comes with a little plastic cover to it so if you need to take it with you, it is protected from dirt and dust. I opted to use the USB cord that comes with it so I can have the adapter on top of my monitor. At first I had it on my computer [CPU] and the signal was very weak, in the book it gives you some easy trouble shooting advice and one of them was to keep the adapter away from large metal things, fish tanks and UV coated windows. The adapter blinks green when it is working but when you aren't surfing there isn't a light on; this is just the way it works for me, from what I read in the book the green light should be solid to have the best connection but I am far from a tech chick so I might be misunderstanding things. The booklet that comes with it is extremely easy to understand so even if you are clues about computers, it will walk you through everything that you need to do. You also get a yellow sheet that tells you that if you have trouble with this to call tech support instead of taking it back to the store. When I bought this at Staples I asked if I could return it if it didn't work on my computer or I couldn't get it installed. The clerk said yes but I asked a manager just to be sure. As long as everything that came with it was returned, they didn’t have a problem taking it back or letting me exchange it for something else.
The price on this was under $40.00 so it was a real steal for me. There were a few other Belkin models to choose from but I went with this one because it said it was faster. So how fast is it? That depends on the signal I am picking up but in all honesty, it is almost as fast as the cable connection I had in San Diego. Some things do load slower than others but I can't complain. I have internet at home .. internet that works … and even when I lose the signal for a while … I still can't complain about it. You do need to have a minimum of Windows 98 [second edition] installed on your computer so I needed to upgrade the laptop from Windows 95 in order for this to work on it. That only gets used when I am away from home but I do have to admit that I am more than a little spoiled with how fast this works on the desktop so when I have to use it on the laptop it feels like it is taking forever for things to load.
The Bottom Line
Even though I had some trouble doing the fist few installs I can't hold that against the software or product, that was all my computer. To me this is something that just about anyone can install on their computer as long as it meets the minimum requirements that are listed clearly on the side of the box. I still have a hard time believing that something this small and inexpensive was the cure for my internet woes. If I would have known about this a year ago I wouldn’t have gotten sucked into getting DSL service when another carrier I had [local dial up] went out of business. If you are thinking about getting a wireless adapter and don’t have the need for something more than a 200 feet range then this is a nice thing to look into getting. Don't let the things that I have said about the install scare you away from getting this, as I said, that was all my computers fault. For about $40.00 I got a really nice adapter that works about 90% of the time, there is some signal loss but it's never for more than ten or fifteen minutes at a time.
As always, thanks for the visit…
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2006 Freak369
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Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 40.00
Driver Availability: Windows only
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