Faster wireless router at Wal Mart for only $22

[catilley1092]

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a Belkin N 150 router at Wal Mart for $29.88, I believe. I found a faster one for less at the same store, with more features, for almost $8 less.

The wireless router is the TrendNet TEW-652BRP, and it's "N" 300, not 150, and has MIMO technology, not SISO. Along with Advanced Firewall Protection, MAC address filtering, Domain & Protocol/IP Filtering, and the latest wireless security protection (I use WPA2-PSK encryption for my wireless needs).

It was a PITA to setup compared to the simple Belkin, but once I had it setup, it's good to go, and works with Linux also.

The reason that I made the change so fast, I was in the sunroom, and it dropped signals a couple of times. At first, I thought nothing of it, until I went back in there again, it dropped again. Fortunately, as always, I saved my receipt for the Belkin, so I'll carry it back tomorrow. Wal Mart has a 100% satisfaction guarantee on everything they sell, no return shipping or restocking charges, so that's why I prefer to buy these types of items locally. No BS, and by the time I were to reship the Belkin, and pay the restocking fee, I may as well kept it as a backup.

And one other thing that I like, it has two external antennas, that (along with the MIMO feature) helps to eliminate "dead spots" (I hope).

And whether it's true or not, the box says that you can stream video, d/l files, talk online & play games all at the same time. I'll never know if this is true or not, but the Belkin didn't make close to those claims. It was just a basic router, designed for a (very) small apartment. Hopefully, this one will perform better, and I'm coming out $9 to the good on it.

Any feedback on TrendNet? Feel free to let me know.

Cat

 

[Nibiru2012]

Well, you've already made up your mind and purchased what you wanted, so whatever I say would be a moot point.

Do an online search for the trendnet you bought and see what the reviews are saying.

 

[catilley1092]

The reviews are mixed, but the bottom line, any wireless router for less than $30 isn't going to get 5 star reviews, or even 4 star. For me, the range is better than the Belkin N 150 was, and that's what I was looking for. The protection is also better, and the wired ports are as fast as the cable router.

Those were the main two things I was looking for, was a stable connection, which is good so far, and no loss of wired speed, the main problem with Time Warner's supplied routers. Their routers reminds me of HP's mouse & keyboard, a lot left to be desired.

I'll give it a shot, if I have problems, I know where I bought it, I can always take it back. I figure if it's going to screw up, it normally does in the beginning, as with most other bum products that I've purchased.

BTW, the reviews on my desktop were excellent, that's why I ignore them, unless everyone has a problem with the product.

Cat