Belkin wireless router models F5D6231-4 (ver 2002), F5D8230-4 (ver 1002), F5D7230-4 (v 2000), and F5D7230-4 (ver 2000) are recommended for use with Nintendo DS. Belkin routers F5D7231-4 ver 1102, F5D7230-4 (v 4000), F5D6231-4 ver 1000, and F5D7230-4 (version 4000) are known to have compatibility issues with Nintendo WFC.

In order to make your Nintendo DS successfully connect to your Belkin WiFi router, you would need to first figure out the wireless/network connectivity parameters that your Belkin router uses, and then configure one of the Connection Save Files on your Nintendo DS accordingly.

This document provides information on how to access/retrieve those details from your Belkin wireless router. Essentially, you would be looking up details such as user authentication settings (username and password), network identities (SSIDs) of your wifi devices, network interface (Ethernet NIC) parameters (IP Address, Netmask, Gateway, etc.), and information on the data encryption used (i.e. the Type of WEP Key, and the actual WEP Encryption Key) -if any.

In order to access aforementioned details, you would need to login to your wireless router. Management application software embedded within your Belkin wireless router can be access using its built-in web (HTTP) server. Belkin routers are factory-configured to listen/respond to HTTP requests at IP Address 192.168.2.1 on port 80. Therefore, to get to your Belkin router's configuration screens, power it up, and connect to it by typing in http://192.168.2.1 into the address/location bar of your web browser.

Depending on how your router is configured, you may be prompted for a password. If you are presented with a login prompt, try the following:

Default Username on Belkin Routers: none (leave blank)
Default Password on Belkin Routers: none (leave blank)

The above mentioned username and password would work only if your router has not been reconfigured to require a (different) password -i.e. only if your Belkin router has been (should we say, carelessly?)left in "factory default settings" mode. Should that not be the case, you will need to type-in the actual/current password that your router has been (hopefully) reconfigured/secured with. If you do not recall your administrative password, or if it refuses to log you in (possibly due to its firmware being corrupt) using your current password; consider resetting your Belkin router to its factory default status. The one thing that you must not forget to do immediately after resetting your router to factory default values is to bolster its security settings once again : Remember, it takes only one poorly secured router on your WLAN to make your entire wireless network open to every scammer out there.

Establish Admin Access to Your Belkin Router, and Proceed as Follows:

• Retrieve SSID from your Belkin WiFi Router: Go to the Wireless tab of your router's setup utility, and then click over to the Channel and SSID section. You can view or change your Belkin router's SSID using this screen.

  Default SSID on most Belkin routers is:Belkin Pre-N_xxxxxx -where the characters "N_" are followed by six digits (represented by xxxxxx above) that are unique to your router. For example: Belkin Pre-N_123456.

• How to Access or Change WEP Keys on Most Belkin WiFi Routers: WEP information for most Belkin routers can be found by going to the Wireless tab of your Belkin router's setup program, and then clicking over to the Security section thereof.

  It is more than likely that in stead of showing you the actual WEP key, your router will probably obscure it by displaying a bunch of "******" in stead. In that event -especially if you do not know your current WEP key -you will have no options but to enter a new WEB key using ASCII, Hex or Passphrase WEP Key format. Even if your router supports both -the 10 digit (64 bit) and the 26 digit (128-bit) -WEP key formats, you may be better off using a simple 64 bit WEP Key (i.e. a simple 10-digit Hexadecimal WEP Key such as 0123456789 or 1111111111) to start with. Write it down carefully because you are going to need it for configuring your Nintendo DS.

Having recorded/reset aforementioned settings (password, SSID, WEP key, NIC IP Address, etc.) that your Belkin wireless router is setup with, you can now use them to identically configure one of the three Connection Save Files (CSF 1 thru 3) on your Nintendo DS. Check out the following document if yo need help on: How to Configure Nintendo DS WiFi Connection Save Files to Work with Your Wireless Router.

If you still having difficulties in setting up a wifi link between your Belkin Router and your Nintendo DS, we suggest you first verify that your router is running the latest firmware, and then review various other documents we have available at this web site on this very subject. It may also help to visit Belkin's web site, and to check out any product documentation that you may have received along with your wireless hardware.

The information provided herein should be applicable to several Belkin wireless devices including: F5D6230-3, F5D6231-4 ver 1000, F5D6231-4 ver 2002, F5D6231-4 v2, F5D7230-4 ver 2000, F5D7230-4 ver 4000, F5D7231-4 ver 1102, F5D8230-4 ver 1002, F5D9230-4, and F6D3230-4.