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HomeComputersNetwork DevicesSwitches & HubsBelkin F5D5055 Gigabit USB 2.0 Network Adapter |
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|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review: ( 14 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
 Gigabit Ethernet for MacBook Air (Mac OS X 10.6) Nov 14, 2010
By Lev Walkin
This adapter does not work out of the box with Mac OS X 10.6. Some people claim it works out of the box, some claim that it does not work at all. The truth is that this USB adapter used to work at some point, but subsequently stopped doing so due to incompatible OS upgrade. So, you'll NEED some drivers, after all.
So, I risked my dollars and decided to figure out for myself instead of reading reviews. After trying some Sustainable Networks drivers (USBAx8817x_103b13 worked, but the transfer speed was unacceptable), I installed Belkin's own "BETA" drivers available on their official support site.
With Belkin "BETA" drivers from 2008 it worked. That is, despite their note that the drivers are for 10.5 (Leopard), not for 10.6 (Snow Leopard). So, my advise for Mac OS X owners would be to go to Belkin's site, download the drivers and be done with it.
(UPDATE Jan 30 2011: Instead of Belkin drivers, download the AX88178 drivers from Asix Electronics web site. These are more recent ones and are much more stable!)
Notes:
1. The Ethernet part of this adapter seemed a bit flaky at first. I had to plug it in and out a couple of times until it synced at 1000baseT speed. Once it synced at 100baseT and another at measly 10 mbits/s. Manually selecting 1000baseT worked, but the speed was unacceptable. After the third plug-unplug it synced properly and was doing so ever since. So it might have been a local glitch of my network. Just be sure to try plugging/unplugging a couple of times to make sure it is up to full gigabit physical speed.
(Also, this flakiness might explain why I wasn't successful running with Sustainable Networks' drivers, but who really cares.) (UPD: The Asix drivers fixed the instability problem, see the above UPDATE and the comments).
1. The sustained transfer speeds were 20-30+ megabytes per second, depending on the server I used. I didn't try to push farther (up to theoretically possible ~50 megabytes per second, due to USB limitations), but the bottleneck was probably the remote disk drive speed, not the Ethernet. For example, I did not try to enable jumbo frames.
3. The adapter itself is unexpectedly small, that was a pleasure to see. The picture doesn't do justice to the donglet. The adapter can be plugged directly into the USB port or through a small USB extension cable, included.
4. I ended up plugging the adapter into a USB 2.0 hub which also connects a keyboard, touchpad and webcam. The hub itself then connects to my MacBook Air. Works like a charm, with almost no loss of speed (<5%).
5. The blue LEDs are crazy bright! When adapter is on it turns THREE of them on. You can kill a small animal with that intense bright light. Consider sticking a piece of duct tape over these LEDs, otherwise you won't be able to sleep in the room with this adapter turned on.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 Worked Out of the Box! Oct 02, 2009
By J. Meyer
Purchased this product to become a 2nd ethernet port for a Mac mini which is acting as a server on my network, running 10.6 Server. With zero configuration, it was recognized and was functioning on my network properly without any hassle. Contrary to other reviews I've read about this product in past, I definitely would recommend this product to anyone who's looking to add a 2nd ethernet port to their Mac.
7 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Works Great on Windows 7 64bit - Hate The Blue Lights Though! Apr 16, 2011
By Jack M. Maiher
Let me preface this review by stating that owning & using a computer should require a license of some sort. I constantly read poor reviews on products from people who have no idea what they're talking about. If you don't understand how something works - don't blame the makers of it. Computers - by design - do not magically "talk" to every device or application out there. They are complex - and while hardware & software developers do their best to make their products work in as many configurations as possible - its not exactly an easy task - nor 100% guaranteed. I read that someone who reviewed this product got it to "speed up their connection" - like using an ADD-IN USB network adapter would somehow magically be faster than the built in network adapter. Too funny. Anyway - this is a good product - and here's why:
I purchased a barely used HP Pavilion DM4 laptop in January - prior to being deployed (as a contractor) to Afghanistan. Still under warranty & all that good stuff. However, as soon as I got in country - the ethernet port stopped working. Lights are stuck "on" and its not recognized by the BIOS or Windows. HP offered to fix it - under warranty - but I cannot afford to send it in and wait for it to be returned to me. Wirelss network is all well & good - but wireless routers inherently offer slower throughput when connected wirelessly as opposed to a direct connection by ethernet cable. Each manufacturer's device's operate differently & the reasons vary, but that's my experience. So, I prefer to use ethernet cable, whenever possible.
I picked up this device because I read that it worked on Windows 7. I purchased a used model - from China - for about $29 shipped. It arrived in a week - I plugged it into my USB port - plugged the ethernet cable into the router & the device - and voila. I'm up and working flawlessly & considerably faster than I was with my wireless connection to my router, which is what I had hoped for. Of oource, when I plugged it in - my version of 64bit Windows 7 Ultimate detected it and then installed the driver automatically & successfully. Also - as others have stated - it has EXTREMELY BRIGHT BLUE LIGHTS! If I find a proper way to dim or disable them, I'll come back & post...but I have a feeling I'm going to have to just cover them up with electrical tape.
And one tip for the masses: When you buy a new hardware device - a printer, digital camera, mouse, usb to ethernet adapter - whatever - please, just try to plug it in and see if it works. 9 times out of 10, you do NOT need to install a driver from the CD. Windows is pretty good at finding most device drivers and installing them automatically. Those CD's are provided in order to up-sell you other applications by both the manufacturer AND the manufacturer's partners! I am willing to bet the folks who said they had "driver problems" on Windows tried to install the software FIRST - before even trying to plug the device in directly. If you feel the need for the "latest driver" - which is a legit request because drivers DO get updated & have bugs fixed - then go to the manufacturer's website and see if they have a "driver only" download. Of the last 100 products I have purchased and installed on mine or other people's computers - I've only needed to actually use the disk that came with it ONCE. Using native Windows features is almost always a much simpler way to utilize new hardware. I'm sure some people like the pretty programs that come from install disks - but really, it's almost never required, and usually is more complex than simply learning how to use the built in Windows features. Try it next time.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Works great with my MacBook Air OSX 10.6.5 Dec 31, 2010
By Paul Cornelison
I used the mac beta drivers from the Belkin site. I work at a large university with a cisco backbone and have had no problems. Much faster that the Apple dongle. Only complaints... the high price and the very bright blue lights.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Works under Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) Aug 18, 2011
By C. R. Oldham
I was pleased to discover that this ethernet adapter works out of the box with Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion). Performance was good for a device that tries to shove 1 Gbps of data over an interface rated for 480 Mbps.
See all 14 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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