Anyone good with Belkin routers?

[Sprogget]

I've just had to replace my old Belkin G router for a new one. I went with a Belkin F6D4630 N router, partly because the Belkin interface is easy & partly because it's at work & I needed it there & then, so it was an emergency trip to PC*****.

Now, what I'm finding is if I set it up with WPA, it closes port 110, so my pop3 stops working & if I switch it off, or turn it to WEP, which I'd obviously rather not do, then everything works ok.

I've confirmed this with Telnet, but I can't see anything obvious in the set up that will open the port for email.

[rgbrock1]

Do you see anything in the configuration screen having to do with the firewall?
This is the place where one usually opens up a port in the firewall.

[Sprogget]

Not really RGB, there is a page for virtual servers, but that is designed to let individual programs through, games mostly I think. It's the office router, so I'm not sat in front of it now, with apologies.

[tony draper]

Question on similar subject? neighbour across the way has a computer in the corner of the living room that he and his missus use,young son has a new puter upstairs in his bedroom,neighbour intends to get some kind of multi user router? so both machines can use the single Virgin media Broad band socket he has,,first is this possible? second what kind of cable would it require for a run like this,he was assuming it would be coaxial like his broad band socket,but I thought in would have to be some kind of multi core like the ethernet cable.
I have no experience of routers or their mysteries,they didn't have em int olden days when I built me first puter. and I have never needed one in Draper Towers
:confused:

[Sprogget]

I have Virgin broadband here. it comes out the wall into the Virgin modem. That connects by ethernet to a netgear router & that broadcasts all round the house, so I should think that'd work just dandy.

[tony draper]

He has given some thought to wireless stuff but he lives in a older house from the time when they were built to last, thick walls floors ect,I understand from reading various techy sites that wireless is not very forgiving,
Frinstance his BIL brough his puter down for me to try and get one of those wireless internet dongles to work I eventually did but reception was terrible,it would work ok for a while then when you rebooted you could get nowt.
One has always had a preference for a good honest copper cable betwixt bits of kit

[ab33t]

Try using MAC registration

[Sprogget]

I live in one of those houses & mine is ok from one end to the other. So anyone know why wpa closes port 110? I'm sure I have some interesting email to read.

[BOAC]

While we are talking Belkin, is there a status page in a B modem/router that will show things like input speed, noise margins, attentuation and the like? Cannot find this detail in the user manual.

[Sprogget]

On mine, it's on the front page at 192.168.2.1 under the ADSL banner.

[Keef]

Belkin - I don't allow 'em in the house any more after several problems with 'em and a total lack of interest from "customer service". They nearly work.

Tony - if you can get your hands on a wireless device for him to try, I would. I live in a 15th Century house and the WiFi covers the whole place.

Failing that, you're into running cables. You can get Cat 5 cable in almost any length (or even make up your own if you have the right cable stock). I had a 10 metre one from my study to the attic in the old house, with a backup server up there, and it worked fine. It's twisted pair stuff, not coaxial. I've never dug inside one (they're so cheap it ain't worth the bovver) but I think there are three twisted pairs.

[MacBoero]

I was helping my sister a few years ago who had a wireless LAN problem. She was with Telewest, and they had provided a Belkin router. I couldn't tell you the model number. I managed to get her Windows laptop talking to the router again, but no internet. I did a little digging, and I discover that Telewest had configure the router NOT to give out IP addresses, but the laptop was getting an address from somewhere. It was shortly after that, that I noticed that I could see loads of shared folders and printers. Some of the names and descriptions of those shares indicated that they were emanating from various other houses down the street! Yup, you guessed it Telewest had basically configured the entire street as a flat network!!!

Now... do you think I could get the Telewest help line to sort things out? No, I couldn't, but the nice chaps at Belkin were able to talk me through getting a working internet connection! :bored:

[BOAC]

Thanks Sprog - I'll pass it on

[rgbrock1]

Perhaps someone will correct me here but I thought Port 110 was used for POP mail access by a server and not a client.

Sprogget: I doubt you have an email server running on your PC?

[Saab Dastard]

I thought Port 110 was used for POP mail access by a server and not a client
POP3 would not be used by a server, it would be used by a client to download messages from a server. Email servers would listen for incoming connections from clients on port 110, but would move messages (between email servers) using SMTP. On a SOHO firewall you would expect port 110 to be open outbound, but only allowed inbound as part of a connection established from inside (stateful packet inspection). Assuming that POP3S isn't negotiated.

Now, what I'm finding is if I set it up with WPA, it closes port 110, so my pop3 stops working & if I switch it off, or turn it to WEP, which I'd obviously rather not do, then everything works ok.

Sprogget, that is very odd, given that wireless with WPA operates at layer 1 & 2, while POP3 is an application layer protocol, which "should" be utterly independent of the security implemented at the physical / data-link / MAC layers and separated from them by the Network (IP) and Transport (UDP / TCP) layers.

SD

[Sprogget]

Whilst not in possesion of anythig like that kind of tech knowledge, I can only report my experience, which was to test the set up by switching off AVG, then Win firewall, then avh & win firewall & finally, disabling wpa on the router.

I suspected the router as it was the only change to the previously perfectly working system. I spoke to my hosts, 1&1 & they said nothing wrong thier end & I could logon to webmail & see messages that way, but given that the Belkin interface is so straight forward when compared to say Netgear or Sonicwall stuff, I'm left scratching my head.

[rgbrock1]

Sprogget:

Are you running any kind of firewall software which could do this?

If you go to the command prompt and type telnet localhost 110 what happens?

[Saab Dastard]

Sprogget,

I meant to ask if you also found the POP3 problem with a client connected directly to one of the switch ports rather than over wifi, when WPA is enabled.

SD

[Sprogget]

Haven't tried that SD in truth, will give it a go tomorrow. RGB, only windows firewall, which prior to the new router had no bearing on the issue, so I discounted it as the cause, but tried it with the firewall off too & no joy.

Under wpa, telnet reported local host unreachable, wpa off & it connects. As an aside, telnet is not switched on in windows 7, you have to add it from the control panel.:)

[Saab Dastard]

Have you applied the most recent firmware update (if any, given that it must be a pretty recent device, being "n")?

As reported, the firewall behaviour is preposterous. You must take it up with Belkin, and let us know how they resolve it (or not).

Sadly, it appears to be confirming the "vox pop" verdict of Belkin products - at least their networking stuff.

SD

[Out Of Trim]

For Attn of BOAC

For Belkin Router stats try

http://192.168.2.1/ADSL_status_main.stm

Cheers OOT.

[BOAC]

Thanks OOT

[Sprogget]

Ok, no firmware update available for the router, but on a whim, I changed the encryption from WPA+PSK to WPA+PSK+WPA2+PSK2 & now everything works.

I really don't know why it does, but it does:confused: I confess I was unaware of Belkin having a poor reputation for networking, since I've used a G router for years without problem, but this one has been a pain in the proverbial. Thanks for all the help everyone.

[rgbrock1]

The solution your provided, Sprogget, just doesn't make sense. I really don't see what wireless encryption has to do with a blocked port.

A true conundrum! But, the bottom line is it works. And that's what matters!

PS: I have never been happy with Belkin products in the past and steer a wide path around them. If you get a chance you might check out Netgear products. From my own personal experience they seem to have very nice products with a support team which is very, well, supportive!

[Ancient Observer]

Sprogs,
I'm glad you solved your problem.
If you had not, I would have been very suspicious of the Belkin box itself - and of how it might have been treated by that retailer.
Over the years, I have had 3 different modem/routers -
1st. Netgear - just didn't work. Took 2 "new" boxes before one would work.
2nd. Belkin. Some intermittent fault. Took it in to work IT who fixed it, but as they put it............."We have no idea why"
It worked brilliantly for some time after that. It's only gone in to my storage space due to BT giving free "n"s.
3rd. BT "n". Now on 2nd of my BT black "n" boxes. The first just stopped working every now and then. Quite random and impossible to diagnose. After about 5 * 1 hour calls to the BT "help" line, they sent out a Broadband engineer, who said "Oh, I've never seen that before" (A real Mandy Rice Davies sort of comment). New box in and appears to be working.

As we don't buy these boxes very often, (it's hardly a routine repeat purchase), I do wonder how many either come with a fault, or get thrown around by store staff/delivery folk, and therefore just do not work when we get them home.???

[Keef]

Same happened to me, AO.
And to my daughter, and to several friends whose machines I fix.

I got fed up with the disconnect and other problems at home, and in the end, I sprung the extra cash and bought a Draytek.

I had the occasional dropout with it, and contacted Draytek. They asked me to do some specific tests and send them the results file. The reply was "here is some special firmware code for it, to enable it to work best with the long line length you have."

It's worked flawlessly since then.

[Sprogget]

ave noticed that if anything the internet is a little slower than before - and this is going from a G to an N router. To be honest, I only bought it because I had to have one there & then as it's the office router, but given the opportunity, I would have just bought the same again as the old one - that was faultless for more than five years.