Belkin F7D1101AK User Manual

Basic

WIRELESS USB ADAPTER

User Manual

F7D1101ak 8820ak00382

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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

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

Advantages of a Wireless Net work .............................. 2

Placement of your Wireless Networking Hardware for Optimal

Performance................................................. 3

Overview..................................................7

Product Features ............................................7

Applications and Advantages .................................. 8

Product Specifications ........................................ 9

System Requirements........................................ 11

Package Contents ........................................... 11

Installing and Setting up the Adapter........................12

A. Installation Process for Windows Vista and 7 .................. 12

B. Installation Process for Windows XP .........................20

Connecting to a Secure Wi- Fi® Network ........................ 24

Troubleshooting ......................................... 25

Technical Support ...........................................31

Information.............................................. 32

FCC Statement.............................................. 32

Belkin International, Inc., Limited 3-Year Product Warrant y......... 34

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for purchasing the Belkin Basic Wireless USB Adapter. Now you can take advantage of thi s great new techn ology an d ga in the fre edom to network your home and off ice computer s wirelessly. Thi s Adapter all ows you t o co nnec t a notebook or d esk top computer to your network. Please be s ure to read t hrou gh t his User Manual com plet ely, and pay speci al a tten tion to the sect ion titl ed, “Pla ceme nt of your Wire less Net worki ng Hardware for O ptim al Perfo rman ce.”

Benefits of a Home Network

Your Belkin Home Network will allow you to:

• Sha re one high- speed In tern et c onne ction

with all the computers in your home

• Sha re resources, such as files, and hard dri ves among

all the connected computers in your home

• Share a single printer with the entire family

• Share documents, music, video, and digital pictures

• Store, retrieve, and copy files from one computer to another

• Simultaneously play games online, check Internet email, and chat

INTRODUCTION

Advantages of a Wireless Network

• Mobility – you’ll no longer need a dedicated “computer roo m”—now you c an work on a networke d la ptop or desktop computer anywhere within your wireless range

• Easy installation – B elkin Ea sy I nsta llat ion Wizards make setup simple

• Flexibility – set up and access printers, computers, and other networking devices from anywhere in your home

• Easy expansion – th e wi de r ange of Belkin networkin g pro ducts let you exp and your net work to i nclude devices such as printers and gaming consoles

• No cabling required – you c an s pare the expe nse and hassle of retrofitting Ethernet cabling throughout the home or office

• Widespread industry acceptance – choose from a wide range of interoperable networking products

INTRODUCTION

Placement of your Wireless Networking Hardware for Optimal Performance

Your wire less con nection will be stro nger the clo ser your computer is to yo ur w irel ess router (or access point). Typ ical indoor operating ran ge for your w irel ess devi ces is betwe en 10 0 an d 20 0 feet. In th e same way, your wireless connection and performance will degrade som ewha t as the distanc e betwee n your wi rele ss r oute r (or access poi nt) a nd c onnected dev ices inc reases. This may or may n ot be not icea ble to you. A s you move farthe r fr om your w irel ess router (or acce ss p oint), connection spe ed may de crease. Factors that can weaken s ignals s imply by get ting in the way of your ne twork’s radio waves are metal appliances or obstructions, and walls.

If you have concerns abo ut your n etwork’s per forma nce that might be related to ra nge or obstr uction f acto rs, try movi ng t he c ompu ter to a position between five a nd 10 feet fro m th e wirele ss router (or access point) in order to see if distance is the problem. If difficulties persist even at close range, please contact Belkin Technical Support.

Note: While some of t he i tems listed below can affect network per forma nce, they wil l no t prohibit yo ur w irel ess network from functioning; if you are concerned that your network is not operating at its maximum effectiveness, this checklist may help.

INTRODUCTION

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

Pla ce your wireless router (o r access poi nt), t he c entr al con nection point of your network, as close as possible to the center of your wireless network devices.

To ac hieve the bes t wi rele ss n etwo rk c overage for your “wir eless clients,” (i.e., computers enabled by Belkin Adapters or Cards):

• Ensure that your wireless router ’s (or acc ess point’s)

antenna s are parallel to eac h other, a nd a re p osit ione d ver tically (toward t he c eili ng). If yo ur w irel ess router (or acc ess point) itself is positioned vert ically, p oint the antennas as much as possible in an upward direction.

• In multistory home s, place the wireless router (or acces s po int) on a

flo or t hat is as close to th e ce nter of t he h ome as p ossi ble. Thi s may mean placing the wireless router (or access point) on an upper floor.

• Try not to place the wire less rou ter (or acces s

point) near a cordless 2.4GHz phone.

2. Avoid Obstacles and Interference

Avoi d pl acin g your wireless router (or acc ess poin t) ne ar d evic es tha t may emit ra dio “noise”, such as micr owave oven s. O ther objects that can inhibit wireless communication can include:

• Refrigerators

• Washers and/or dryers

• Metal cabinets

• Large aquariums

• Metallic-based, UV-tinted windows

• Microwaves

If your wireless signal seems we ak i n some spots, make sure tha t object s su ch a s th ese are not b locking the signal’s path between your computers and wireless router (or access point).

INTRODUCTION

3. Cordless Phone Placement

If the performance of your wireless net work is impaired after attending to the above issues, and you have a cordless phone:

• Try movi ng c ordl ess phon es away f rom the wireless router

(or access point) and your wireless-enabled computers.

• Unplug and remove the battery f rom any cordless phone that

operates on the 2.4GHz band (check manufacturer’s information). If this fixes the problem, your phone may be interfering.

• If your phone supports channel selection, change the channel

on the phone to the farthest channel from your wireless network as poss ible. For exa mple, change the phone to cha nnel 1 and move your wireless router (or access point) to channel 11. (Your channel select ion will var y de pend ing on your r egion.) See your phone’s user manual for detailed instructions.

• If necessary, consider switching to a

900MHz or 5GHz cordless phone.

4. Choose the “Q uietest” Channel for your Wireless Network

In loca tion s wh ere home s or off ices are clo se together, s uch as apar tment buildin gs or of fice com plexes, there may be wir eles s ne tworks n earby th at can conflict with yours. U se t he Sit e Survey capabilitie s of your Bel kin Wire less Net working Uti lity to locate any ot her wire less net works, a nd m ove your wireless router (or acce ss p oint) and compute rs to a cha nnel as far away from other ne tworks a s po ssible.

Experiment with more than one of the available channels in ord er to find the cl eare st c onnection and avoid interference from neighboring cordless phones or other wireless devices.

For more Belkin wireless networ king pro duct s, use the detaile d Site Survey and wir eless ch annel information included in your User Manual.

INTRODUCTION

5. Secure Connections, VPNs, and AOL

Sec ure conn ections typ ically require a use r name and passwo rd, and are used where security is important. Secure connections include:

• Virtual Pr ivate Network (VPN) c onne ctions, often

use d to connect remotely to an offic e ne twork

• The “B ring Your Own Acce ss” prog ram from America

Onl ine (AOL), which le ts you use AOL through broadband provided by another cable or DSL service

• Most online banking websites

• Many co mmercial web site s that require a user

name and password to access your account

Sec ure conn ections can be i nter rupt ed by a c ompu ter’s power man agem ent setting, which c auses it to “go to sl eep.” The simples t solution to avoid this is to simply reconnect by re-running the VPN or AOL software, or by re-logging into the secure website.

A secon d al tern ative is to c hang e your computer’s powe r man agem ent settings so it d oes not go to sle ep; howeve r, thi s may not be appr opri ate for p ort able com pute rs. To change your power management setting in Windows, see the “Power Options” item in the Control Panel.

If you continue to h ave d ifficul ty with Secure C onne ctions, VPNs, and AOL, pleas e review steps 1– 4 in the prev ious pages to be sure you have addressed these issues.

These guidelines should allow you to cover the maximum possible are a with yo ur w irel ess router. Sh ould you need to cover an even wider

area, we suggest the Belkin Wireless Range Extender/Access Point.

For more information reg arding o ur n etwo rking pr oducts, visit our website at www.belkin.com/networking or call Belkin Technical Support.

OVERVIEW

Product Features

The Adapter complies with th e IEEE 802.11g specifi cati on to communicate with other 802.11g-compliant wireless devices at up to 54Mbps*.

The Adapter is a lso comp atib le w ith 802.11n device s at 150M bps as well a s 802.11b products at 11Mbps.

The Adapter operates on the same 2.4G Hz frequency

band as 802.11b/g Wi-Fi® products.

• 2.4GHz ISM (Industrial, Science, and Medical) band operation

• USB 2.0 inte rface, f or opera tion in virtually any

computer with a USB 2.0 bus-power port

• WPA, WPA2 , 64 -bit WEP ( Wired Eq uiva lent

Privacy), or 128-bit encryption

• Wireless access to networked resources

• Data rate of up to 150Mbps* (802.11n), 54Mbps

(802.11g), or 11Mbps (802.11b)

• Easy installation and use

• LED power and network link/activity indicator

OVERVIEW

Applications and Advantages

• Wire less roaming with a laptop a roun d the ho me o r

office – Offers the freedom of networking without cables

• Connection rates of up to 150Mbps* – Provides imm edia te high- speed wi reless connecti vity at home, work, and hotspot locations without compromising

the use of existing 802.11b/g products

• Compatibility with 802.11b/g products – The Ada pter is

bac kward-c ompatible wi th exist ing Wi-F i (IEEE 8 02.11b/g) products

• Difficult-to- wire environments – Enables net work ing in building s with solid or finished wall s, o r open areas where wiring is difficult to install

• Frequently changing environments – Adapts easily in offi ces or environments that frequently rearrange or change locations

• SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) networking needs – Provides the easy and quick, small network installation SOHO users need

OVERVIEW

Product Specifications

Host Interface: USB 2.0

Operating Temperature: 32–140 degrees F (0–60 degrees C)

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

Humidity: Max. 90% (non-condensing)

Typical Operating Range: Up to 1,00 0 ft .**

*NOTE: The sta ndard tr ansmission rate —150Mb ps— is t he physical data rate. Actual data throughput will be lower.

**W irel ess per form ance may var y depend ing on the networking environment.

OVERVIEW

(b)

(a) Protective Cap

The cap is provided to protect the USB connector dur ing tran sportat ion. Rem ove t he c ap b efore insert ing the Adapter to your c omputer’s USB por t.

(b) Power/Activity LED

Lights when the Adapter is powered on and flashes when it is active.

(a)(c)

Part of the Adapter that fits into your computer’s USB port.

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