Foxconn buys Belkin (and Linksys)

[microchip]

Foxconn has bought the US Belkin. So far, they plan to keep the brand names for now

http://www.belkin.com/us/pressreleases/8805137941564/

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...ncluding-linksys-wemo-brands-for-866-million/

 

[avtella]

Looks like Foxconn is buying Belkin/Linksys:
https://apple.news/A_fcXvGQNR8OmVPyp1thwTQ

Interesting as Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn) also makes routers for others like Netgear

 

[coxhaus]

Hate to see it. Belkin was my go to CAT5e cable.

 

[System Error Message]

its no wonder why netgear's modem quality has gone down. Been having hardware issues with recent netgear hardware.
So both belkin and linksys hardware quality are going to go down too? Some of the repair shops i know say their most common boards that they repair are foxconn made, typically found in dell inspirons as well.

 

[microchip]

Some of the NETGEAR hardware are Made In Vietnam. I don't know if Foxconn has factories there. My R7000 was made in Vietnam. My current R7800 is made in China (could be very well Foxconn as they have factories there).

 

[System Error Message]

Some of the NETGEAR hardware are Made In Vietnam. I don't know if Foxconn has factories there. My R7000 was made in Vietnam. My current R7800 is made in China (could be very well Foxconn as they have factories there).

that would explain the reliability of the r7000 vs the r7800, i think this really puts a new perspective on buying hardware.

 

[TheManFromUncle]

I'm not sure if this will have a negative or positive impact. No matter how... I'll most likely never purchase anything labeled Linksys again.

 

[Internet Man]

Some of the NETGEAR hardware are Made In Vietnam. I don't know if Foxconn has factories there. My R7000 was made in Vietnam. My current R7800 is made in China (could be very well Foxconn as they have factories there).

FCC photos of the R7800 PCB do not have the telltale model numbers on stickers typically found in Foxconn devices as described here https://wikidevi.com/wiki/Foxconn

The ID starting with "297..." printed on the PCB suggests that this one was made by Delta Networks. https://wikidevi.com/wiki/Delta_Networks

 

[sfx2000]

The Foxconn-Belkin deal will have to go thru regulatory review by the US Govt... Which might be interesting when considering that the current administration is much more hands on these kinds of deals recently (ref. Avago vs. Qualcomm)

 

[Flying Dutchman]

Hope they block it.

 

[thiggins]

its no wonder why netgear's modem quality has gone down.

Because why?
Foxconn makes products for most all major electronics brands.

 

[thiggins]

I'll most likely never purchase anything labeled Linksys again.

Why?

 

[RMerlin]

People thought the sky was falling when Belkin bought Linksys, and it didn't.

If Foxconn lets Belkin/Linksys continue to operate on their own (which is their currently announced plans), then I wouldn't expect any change in quality.

 

[RMerlin]

Foxconn also manufactures iPhones, and nobody ever complained about build quality there.

 

[YongPak]

The Foxconn-Belkin deal will have to go thru regulatory review by the US Govt... Which might be interesting when considering that the current administration is much more hands on these kinds of deals recently (ref. Avago vs. Qualcomm)

Qualcomm is different then linksys and belkin.
Qualcomm has more technology involve with LTE,5G stuff. The other companies just create router and wifi relate products.
I don't think US gov put break on this.

 

[System Error Message]

Foxconn also manufactures iPhones, and nobody ever complained about build quality there.

that'd explain why so many iphones break down in hardware. Build quality may seem good but thats just the case. Im talking about the circuit board and components here.

Because why?
Foxconn makes products for most all major electronics brands.

foxconn quality isnt bad but its not great either. I mean if the cost is appropriate like with the case of dell inspirons then it would be fine because they work fine unless exposed to less common environments. If all its going to do is be in an environment controlled office than the not so good quality will be fine, but most homes arent environment controlled and this is where we get issues from electrical to different humidity and temperatures that put a lot of electronic designs to the test. Hence why the minimum distance between traces are very important in considering humidity and temperature especially in avoiding the capacitive effect that can cause sensitive electronics to hang or perform poorly.

Every netgear modem i've tried has been made by foxconn, and i did not have a good experience in both hardware quality and firmware. While netgear firmware wasnt great one could rely on its hardware quality but it seems that this is not the case. Reason is that some netgear hardware never hangs and some do. For instance netgear's VDSL modem that i have hangs every month. The netgear aircard i have also isnt very stable either in hardware but i have yet to test it in modem only mode.

 

[Easy Rhino]

Hon Hai owns Foxconn owns Belkin owns Linksys... this rabbit hole is getting pretty deep.

 

[avtella]

Delta, Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn), Pegatron and maybe some more, make stuff for multiple networking vendors including Cisco. Not all Netgear stuff is by Foxconn. As for Apple they also use Pegatron a former Asus unit for iPhones. Apple provides the blue prints and they merely produce it within Apple’s tolerance limits. As for iPhone issues, that can also be blamed on Apple as they designed it. Not sure why only the manufacturer and not the designer should be blamed for quality and at times cheap components. Same goes for Android mobiles or anything else.

Also a comparison between something like a cheap/lower end Inspiron vs high end Latitude/Precision is more on the design and parts/cost decisions of the designer not so much the manufacturer.

 

[RMerlin]

that'd explain why so many iphones break down in hardware. Build quality may seem good but thats just the case. Im talking about the circuit board and components here.

I doubt it's worse than the average, if anything they are probably still well above average.

For me, real "cheap" is like that DSL modem my boss at the time had me evaluate for our customers. I returned it the next day, indicating that the modem had a strong smell of overheated plastic that I could smell across my computer desk...

 

[sfx2000]

Foxconn also manufactures iPhones, and nobody ever complained about build quality there.

Foxconn makes a lot of things for many people - Quality is there if the OEM pays for it.

They're also very adept at design for manufacturing - BOM optimization, best practices for design.