Belkin F5D9050 User Manual

Wireless G Plus MIMO

USB Network Adapter

User Manual

F5D9050

Table of Contents

1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Benefits of a Home Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Advantages of a Wireless Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Placement of your Wireless Networking Hardware

for Optimal Performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

2 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Product Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Applications and Advantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Product Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Package Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3 Installing and Setting up the Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Step 1: Install . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Step 2: Insert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Step 3: Configure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

4 Using the Belkin Wireless Networking Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Accessing the Belkin WNU from the Windows System Tray. . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Network Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Available Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Network Status and Solution Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Setting Wireless Network Profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Securing your Wi-Fi Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Configuring your Adapter to use Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

5 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

6 Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Introduction

Thank you f or pu rchasing the Belkin Wire less G Plus MIMO USB Network Adapter (the Adapter). Now y ou ca n take advantage of this gre at ne w techn ol og y and gain the free do m to network your home and offi ce comp ut er s wirelessly. Th is Ad ap te r a ll ow s you to connect a co mputer with a USB port to y ou r net wo rk . P le as e be sure to read through th is Us er Manual comple te ly, and pa y spe ci al atte nt io n to the section entitled “Placement of your Wi re le ss Netw or ki ng Ha rdware f or Optimal Performance ”.

Benefits of a Ho me Netw or k

Your B el ki n H om e Netwo rk will allow you t o:

• Share on e high- sp ee d Int er net connection with all the c om puters in your home

• Share resources, such a s f il es , and hard d ri ves a mo ng al l the connected computers in your h ome

• Sh are a single printer with th e ent ire family

• Sh are documen ts , music , video , and digital pictures

• St ore, retrieve, and c opy f il es from one co mputer to an ot he r

• Si multaneously play games o nline, ch eck I nt ernet email, and ch at

Advantages of a Wi rele ss Networ k

• Mob il it y – you’ll no l onger n ee d a dedicate d “comput er

roo m”—now yo u c an work on a ne tw or ked l ap top o r deskt op computer anywhere w ithin y ou r w ireless range

• Easy installation – Belkin Ea sy In st al lation Wi zard s make

setup simple

• Flexibilit y – set up and access printers, computer s, and other

networking devices from an yw here in your home

• Easy expansion – t he wide range of Belkin networking prod uc ts

let you e xp and y ou r netwo rk to include devices such as p ri nt ers and gaming consoles

• No c abling requ ired – yo u c an spare the e xp en se an d hassl e of

ret ro fi tt in g E th er net cabling thro ug hout th e hom e or offi ce

• Widespread i ndustry acceptance – ch oo se from a wi de ra ng e of

interoperable networking products

sect ion

Introduction

Placement of your Wireless Networking Hardware for Optimal Performance

Your w ireless connect io n will be stro ng er th e close r your computer is t o y ou r wireless ro ut er (o r acces s point). Typical indoor operating range for y our w ireless devices is between 100 a nd 20 0 feet. In the same way, your wireless c on nection a nd pe rf or mance w ill d eg ra de somewhat as the di st ance be tw een y ou r wireless ro uter (o r acc es s point) and connected devices increa se s. Th is may or may n ot be noticeable to you. A s you move farther from yo ur wireless rou te r ( or access point), connection speed may de crea se . Fac to rs that can weaken signals simply by ge tt ing i n the way of yo ur ne tw or k’s radio waves are metal applianc es or obstructio ns , and walls.

If y ou ha ve conc er ns about y ou r n et wo rk ’s performance that might be rel ated to rang e or obstruction factors, try moving the c om puter t o a position between five and 1 0 fee t from th e wireless ro uter (o r acc es s point) in o rder to see if di st an ce is the prob lem. If difficulties persist even at c lo se ra ng e, plea se cont ac t Belki n Technical Support.

Note: While some o f the items listed below can affect network performanc e, they will not proh ib it your wireless network from functionin g; if you are concerned th at yo ur networ k is not o perating at its maximum eff ec ti veness, t his c he ck list ma y hel p.

1. Placement of your Wireless Router (or Access Point)

Place your wire le ss router (or ac cess po int), t he cent ra l con ne ct io n point of yo ur ne tw or k, as close as possible to th e cen te r of your wireless n et work de vices.

To ach ie ve th e best wireless ne twork c ov erage f or yo ur “wireless clients,” (i.e. computers enabled by B elkin W irel es s Noteb oo k Cards, Wireless D es ktop Ca rds, and Wire less US B Ada pt er s):

• Ensure t ha t you r wireless ro ut er ’s (or a ccess p oint’s) antennas

are pa ra ll el to each other, and are positio ne d verti ca ll y (to wa rd the ceiling). If y ou r wireless ro uter (o r acc es s point ) itsel f is positioned vertical ly, p oint th e ant en na s a s much as possible in an u pward direction.

• In m ultistory homes, place th e w ireless router (o r acc es s poi nt )

on a fl oo r that is as cl os e t o the center of t he ho me as possible. This may me an pl ac in g the wireless rou te r (or access point) on an upper floor.

• Try not t o pla ce the wireless rout er (or access point) near a

cordless 2 .4 GHz p ho ne.

Introduction

2. Avoid Obstacles and Interference

Avo id pl ac in g y ou r wireless ro ut er (o r acces s point) near devices that may emit ra dio “ no is e”, s uc h as microwave ovens. O ther ob je cts t ha t can inhibit wirel es s com mu ni cation ca n i nc lu de :

• Refrigerat or s

• Washe rs and/or dryers

• Metal cabinets

• Large aqua ri um s

• Metallic-b as ed , UV-tin te d windo ws

sect ion

If y our w ireles s signal seems weak in s om e spo ts , mak e sure th at objects such as th es e are not bl oc king th e sig na l’s path b etween yo ur computers and wirel ess router (or access point).

3. Cordless Phone Placement

If t he pe rf or mance o f you r wireless network i s i mp ai red after attending to t he ab ov e iss ue s, and you have a co rdless phone:

• Try moving cord le ss ph on es away from t he wi reless router (or access point) an d you r wireless-enab le d compu te rs .

• Unplug and remo ve the battery fro m a ny cordless phone that operates on t he 2.4G Hz band (check manufacturer’s informatio n) . If this fixes t he problem, your phone may be i nterfering.

• If y our p ho ne su pp or ts ch an ne l s el ec ti on, c ha nge t he channel on the p ho ne to the farthest channel fro m you r wireless n et work as poss ib le . F or exampl e, change the phone to ch annel 1 and move your wire le ss router (or access point) to c ha nnel 11 . (Your channel selection will vary depending on your region .) See your phone’s user manual for detailed instructio ns .

• If n ecessary, cons id er swit ch in g to a 900MHz o r 5 GH z cordless p ho ne.

Introduction

4. Choose the “Quietest” Channel for your Wireless Network

In l ocations where homes or off ic es are close together, such as apartment buildings or off ic e c om pl ex es, t he re may be wi rele ss networ ks nearby that can co nf lict wi th yo ur s. Use the Site S urvey c ap abilities of y our B el kin W ireless Network in g Utili ty to locate any ot her w ireles s networks, and move y our w ireles s router (or a cc es s poi nt ) and computer s to a ch an ne l as far away f ro m other networks as possible.

Experiment with more tha n one of t he av ai lable c ha nnels i n order to f in d the cleare st co nn ec tion an d avo id interf erence from n ei gh boring co rd le ss phones or o ther wi reless device s.

For more Belkin wireless networking pro du cts, us e the detail ed Site Survey and wire le ss chan ne l inf or ma ti on in cl ud ed in your User Manual.

5. Secure Connections, VPNs, and AOL

Secure c on ne ctions typically req ui re a us er na me and password, and are used where secu ri ty is importan t. Secure connections include:

• Vir tual Pr iv ate N et work (V PN ) c on ne ct ions, o ft en us ed to connect rem otely t o an office ne twork

• The “Bring Your Own Access” pro gram from America Online (AOL), which lets you u se AOL through b road ba nd provided by a nother cable or DS L ser vi ce

• Most online banking websites

• Many commerc ial w eb sites t ha t require a user name and password to a ccess y our a cc ou nt

Secure c on ne ctions can b e inter ru pt ed by a computer’s pow er management setting, which causes it to “g o to sleep.” The si mplest solution to avoid th is is to simply rec on nect by re-running the VPN o r AOL software , o r by re -l ogging in to th e secure website.

A se cond al ternative is to c ha nge y ou r com pu te r’s power management settings so it d oe s not go to s le ep; h ow ev er, t hi s may not be approp ri ate for portable computers. To chan ge your power management setting in Windows, see the “ Po wer O pt io ns” i te m in the Control Pa ne l.

If y ou co nt inue to have difficulty with S ecure Connect io ns , V PN s, and AOL, please rev ie w steps 1–4 in th e p revious pages to b e s ure you h ave addressed th ese i ss ues.

These guidelines should allow you to cove r the maximum possible area with your w irel es s router. Should you ne ed to cover an even wi der a rea, we s uggest the B el ki n Wireless Range Extender/Acc es s Point .

For more inform at io n regarding o ur ne tw or king produc ts , visit our website at www.belkin.com/netwo rk in g or call Belkin Tech nical S up port.

Product Features

The Adapter is a wireless LAN US B net wo rk ing d ev ic e t ha t works best with t he Wi reless G Plus MI MO Ro ut er. I t complie s with the IEEE 80 2.11g s ta ndard in orde r t o communi ca te with other

802.11g-co mp li an t w ireless devices at 54Mbps. The A da pter is

compatible with all 802.11g d evices as we ll as other 802.11b pro ducts a t 11M bp s. 802. 11 g products operate on t he sa me 2.4G Hz fre quency ba nd as 802.11 b Wi-Fi® p rodu ct s.

• 2.4GHz ISM (Industrial, Science, and M edical) band o pe ration

• Integrated easy-to- us e Wireless Configurati on Utilit y

• USB 2.0 i nt erface, f or op er at ion i n virtu al ly any computer with a USB 2.0 p or t

• WPA2 , WPA, 6 4- bit o r 128-b it WEP (Wired Eq ui valent Pr ivacy)• Wireless a cc ess t o netwo rk ed resources

• Support for both I nf rastructure a nd Ad-H oc (peer-to- pe er ) networking modes

• Data rate o f up to 54Mbps (802.11g), or 11 Mbps (8 02 .11b)

• Easy installation and use

• LED power a nd ne tw or k lin k indic at or

sect ion

Overview

Applications and Advantages

• Wireless roami ng with a laptop arou nd the home or office Off ers t he freedom of ne tworking without cables

• Connection rates of up to 54Mbps Pro vides i mm ediate high-speed wire le ss co nn ec tivity at ho me , work, and hotspot locations without comprom ising t he us e of existing

802.11b prod ucts

• Compatibil it y with 802.11b products

802.11g wire less LA N sol ut io ns are backward-compatible with existing Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11b) pro du ct s a nd with other prod ucts th at di sp la y the 54g™ m ar k

• Difficult-to-wire en viro nm ents Enables networking in buildings with s olid or fini sh ed wall s, or open are as wh ere wiring is di ff ic ul t to install

• Fre quently c hanging environ ments Adapts easily in o ffices or environments that f requen tl y rearrange or c hange l ocations

• Temporary LANs fo r spe ci al projects or p eak t im e Sets up t em porary ne tworks su ch as at trade shows, exhibitions, and constructi on sites, which need networks on a short -t er m bas is ; als o companies who need a dditional workstations for a p ea k activ it y per io d

• SOHO (Small Off ic e/ Home Office ) network in g needs Pro vides t he ea sy and quick, small network installation SOHO users need

Product Specifications

Host Interface: USB 2.0

Power Consumption:

802.11b: TX: 440mA RX: 270 mA

802.11g: TX : 370mA RX: 270mA

Environment Conditions Operating Temperature: 32– 140 d eg rees F (0–60 d egre es C)

Storage Temperature: -4–176 degre es F (-20–80 degrees C)

Humidity: Opera ti ng : 1 0– 85 % non -c on densing

Typical Op erating R ange: U p to 1,000 ft. (304.8m) (wirel ess p er fo rmance may vary de pending o n the networ ki ng envi ronment)

Storing: 5–90% non-condensin g

Overview

sect ion

(b)

(d)

(c)

(a) Protective Cap

The cap i s provided to prot ec t the USB connector during transporta ti on . Rem ov e the cap before in se rt in g t he USB Adapter to your computer’s US B port or thro ug h the provided Desktop Stand.

(b) Power/Activity LED

Lights when the Ad ap ter i s powered on a nd flas he s whe n the Adapter is a ctive.

Part of t he Adap te r that fits into your co mputer’s USB port.

(d) Desktop Stand

Lets you mo ve th e USB Adapter away from interf er in g o bj ec ts around your computer.

(a)

System Requirements

• PC-compati bl e lapto p with one available USB p ort

• Windows® 2 00 0 o r XP

• Mac OS® X v10. 3. x or v10.4.x

Package Contents

• Wireless G Plus MIMO USB Network A dapter

• Desktop Stand

• Quick Installation Guide

• Installati on Softwa re CD

• User Manual

Installing and Setting up the Adapter

Step 1 Install

IMPORTANT: Instal l the software b ef ore inserti ng the Adapter.

1.1 Inser t the Installati on Softwa re CD i nt o y ou r CD-RO M drive.

1.2 The Be lkin Wi rele ss Card I nstaller

screen w il l aut om at ically ap pear. (This may t ake 1 5– 20 seco nd s. ) Click “Install Software” o r “Ne xt ” to s tart th e ins ta ll ation.

Note: If th e Bel ki n Wireless Card In st al ler s creen does not a pp ear within 20 s econds, a ccess y ou r C D- RO M by double-cl ic ki ng on the “My Computer” icon; then do ub le-click on th e CD-RO M drive into which the i nstallation CD h as be en placed . Double- cl ic k on the icon named “Setup.exe”, if the i ns taller do es no t start .

1.3 The In stallShield Wizard w il l now

start. Click “Next” to co nt in ue.

1.4 Click “Next” to in st al l in the

rec ommended destination folder.

Installing and Setting up the Adapter

1.5 When t he in st al ler p rocess

is c omplete, you w il l see the following screen. C lick “N o, I will res tart my comp ut er late r” and click “Finish”.

1.6 You migh t see a sc re en simila r

to t his o ne . Thi s DOES NOT mean there is a prob le m. Ou r software h as be en fully tested and is co mp atible wi th th is operating system. Select “Continue Anyway” and follow the on-scree n i ns tr uctions.

sect ion

Installing and Setting up the Adapter

Step 2 Insert

Insert the Adapter into your Computer

Afte r t he softwa re installation

2.1

is c omplete, the m es sage “Please plug in yo ur USB Adapter now” w ill a pp ea r. In se rt your Belkin Adapter.

2.2 The Fou nd New Hardware Wiza rd

will appear. (This may ta ke 15–2 0 seconds.) Select “Install the software a ut omatically” and click “Next” to i nstall th e hardware.

2.3 The Wiz ard will now i ns ta ll

your software.

+ 30 hidden pages