Beeline Smart Box router is one of the devices offered by the provider for connecting to the Internet. This assumes wired network access, so purchasing a SIM card is not required. There are no slots for it on board the gadget. Reviews about the device highlight supporters and opponents of the device. The latter are a large percentage, which is explained by the shortcomings of the router itself and the incompetence of users who do not know how to configure the Smart Box if the settings are lost, which is typical for any customizable gadget of a wired or wireless network.
General features of the Smart Box Router
Like its brothers, the Smart Box router is designed to create a single network between several computers and distribute Wi-Fi. The device is equipped with:
- Wi-Fi module for wireless traffic transmission;
- 4 inputs for wired network connection.
The Beeline Smart model is ergonomic, designed in strict business style. Color black or white. A WiFi router is a flat small box mounted on a stand or attached to a surface, for example, a wall. The glossy indicator panel is made of plastic with built-in bright LEDs, piercingly illuminating the premises in the dark. Ports for connecting wires are located at the rear of the device. The device comes with detailed instructions describing its characteristics, as well as detailed recommendations for setting up the router.
Technical characteristics of Smart Box
There are 4 LAN connectors available for the same number of devices. In the line with the LAN there is a fifth main WAN connector, which serves to connect the gadget itself to the Internet supplied mobile operator Beeline. A cable pre-installed by the provider’s specialists is inserted into the WAN. Wi-Fi is joined by:
- laptops;
- personal computers with a Wi-Fi module;
- smartphones;
- tablets;
- Wi-Fi printers;
- wireless IP cameras.
The instructions do not indicate how many devices can be connected via Wi-Fi. Some sources indicate the number is 16, others claim that there are 32. Wired traffic is transmitted at a speed of 100 Mbit/s. Wireless reaches parameter 300.
The manufacturer has provided 3 protection algorithms. The maximum security cipher is provided by WPA2. WPA and WEP are considered less reliable. The Beeline Smart Box Black router will delight fans of digital multichannel television, as it supports IPTV. Thanks to the installed USB connector for connecting storage devices, the device can be used as a file server. The Beeline Smart Van router modules do not allow you to connect a wired printer to it. But there is a storage mode.
Installation and configuration of the router is carried out by Beeline specialists. It is advisable to figure out how to connect and configure the device yourself. Judging by the reviews, the need to configure Smart Box Pro often arises. To connect, a Web interface is used, which appears on the display after connecting the computer and Beeline Smart Box One. The launch of the browser is accompanied by dialing 192.168.1.1. (device address). Traditionally, a login and password are used to activate the connection.
To configure SmartBox, you can use the provider’s “Setup Wizard” program. A simple and clear panel, thanks to the instructions, can be configured even by a child. Available description, where to click, allows, in the event of a failure of the specified parameters, to return them to their original position without the involvement of specialists. The main advantages of the router: ease of operation, devices are easy to connect, the characteristics of the device set it apart from most analogues. The cost of the router including connection is 2,500 rubles. It is sold in the provider's communication stores.
Among the shortcomings highlighted by users in reviews, there are often references to periodic connection interruptions and unplanned reboots of the router. People complain about the narrow range of Wi-Fi and its gradual narrowing that appears after some time.
The digital telecommunications equipment market offers a large number of devices that combine electronic equipment into a single network and provide access to the Internet. A worthy representative of such devices is the Beeline Smart Box One router. Its main purpose is to connect the Internet and television using FTTb technology (optical cable from the provider to the switch at the entrance, then a twisted pair cable comes to the subscriber).
Appearance and equipment
The Beeline Smart Box router is available only in white or black. The package includes the following list:
- WI-FI router;
- 12 volt power adapter;
- cable for connecting the router to a computer;
- stand;
- setup instructions and warranty card.
The Smart Box router on the rear panel has:
- 4 LAN ports for connecting a PC or set-top box.
- WAN port into which the provider cable is connected.
- Mode switch.
- USB port, which opens the possibility of connecting a beeline USB modem and other devices.
- Hidden “reset” button to reset all installed settings.
- Connector for power adapter.
- Device power button.
The front panel of the device contains indicators and a WPS button. In working condition, the Status, WAN and Wi-Fi indicators change yellow to blue.
By the way, the router has excellent characteristics. Works in two ranges,WAN andLAN ports are gigabit. Supports the latest 802.11 protocolac.
How to connect and configure?
Watch video instructions for setting up a router from Beeline:
Smart Box can be configured in two ways - via a wireless network or using a cable (recommended). To connect to the WAN connector, we insert the operator cable that provides home Internet. Select one of the connection types, open any browser and indicate the default gateway of the SmartBox router (192.168.1.1) in the search bar.
After you click “Continue”, a window will open in which you need to enter your username and password. The default is the word “admin”.
Here you need to enter credentials for registration in the beeline network, which are usually provided by your Internet provider.
Let's move on to setting up Wi-Fi. We come up with a name and password (at least 8 characters) for the wireless network, select an encryption code and click the “Save” button. If all settings are completed correctly, the router is ready for use.
Reset settings and firmware
If for some reason the connection to the Smart Box router failed, feel free to press the “reset” button and repeat the entire procedure again. If desired, you can update the old firmware by downloading the update from the official beeline website. The operation is not complicated, but if a failure occurs, you will need the help of a specialist.
So, more details about the firmware:
- Download latest version BY.
- We go to the router interface and look for the “Advanced settings” section.
These are all the actions that are necessary. Installation of new software takes approximately 5 minutes. After this, the router must be rebooted.
We have covered all the main points of working with Beeline Smart Box routers. There is nothing complicated in the settings, but if something is unclear, or I forgot to write about something, ask in the comments. Thanks to all!
The hero of the review is the SmartBox Pro dual-band WiFi router
Over the past ten years, home Internet has turned from something exotic and exciting, smelling of fresh films and music, into a completely ordinary and vital phenomenon in almost every apartment. It's scary to think that once upon a time your humble servant was playing Doom on a modem beeping at a speed of as much as 14.4 kilobits per second. Today it is as anachronistic as the 3.5-inch floppy disks on which we transferred that same Doom from one computer to another.
The first routers with a WiFi access point became the same anachronism. I won’t believe that you have never encountered such famous representatives of routers as the D-Link DIR-100 and Zyxel P330W. These two hellish machines were brought to Russia in industrial scale and were distributed by home Internet operators to unsuspecting subscribers. Apparently, the situation is beginning to improve: Beeline, the first of the largest home Internet operators, is going to offer subscribers a router that is easy to set up without any “technical support service” or instructions. 
Factory of the Singaporean company Sercomm in China. Here, cheerful Chinese produce routers, including SmartBox Pro, designed specifically for Beeline
To understand the full scale of the work done by Beeline on the mistakes of the past, it is worth remembering what all the fuss was about. Problems with operator routers began quite quickly, since ultra-cheap access points constantly lost connection to the Internet, WiFi provided only 3-5 megabits per second, and for special “cleanies” who placed the device in a dusty corner, the boxes with green lights simply burned out . Solve these problems for a long time no one wanted to. This is understandable, what is most important for the operator? That's right, run a cable to the apartment, take a subscription fee and disappear for stone wall technical support, whose motto “everything works for us” infuriates even the calmest and most loyal subscribers.
The story of changing the router
The first people to think about changing their router to something more reliable and faster are those who watch movies online and play multiplayer games. This is understandable, because if torrents are still wheezing, then watching a documentary with Evan Stone in leading role in real time becomes difficult, or even completely interrupted in real time interesting place. A visit to the nearest computer parts store will reveal a lot to the neophyte, for example, the fact that Internet speed depends not only on the operator, but also on what range and channel the router broadcasts on, what technologies it supports and, most importantly, how much The radio broadcast in your apartment is littered. A real revelation is the understanding that those same cheerful guys from MGTS, who hung an access point in each apartment entrance (whether you like it or not, but they, you know, have the task of screwing over subscribers), littered the 6th channel of the 2.4 GHz range with their wretched access points . This means that routers with standard settings will never have Internet speed or stability.
As a result, the subscriber takes home a box with some Negear or Zyxel, capable of distributing WiFi at two frequencies and with gigabit ports. By the way, our hero will thank you for the gigabit ports, but only later, when he grows up to install a home NAS server. For now, he will be happy that he can escape from the memorized and slow frequency of 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz (unless, of course, he forgot to buy an adapter that supports this range).
Having brought home the treasured box, the inexperienced subscriber will be faced with a new test - setting up a router. Yes, there are instructions for setting up the connection for the most common models. They are posted on the operator’s website, but to get to the site, you need to configure the router. The vicious circle is interrupted by accessing the page with instructions from a smartphone (this is, of course, if our sweaty hero has not yet called a “specialist” who will do the same for a couple of thousand rubles). Having placed checkboxes in front of incomprehensible abbreviations and frantically crossed himself, the subscriber hopefully presses the “apply settings” button, after which... It depends on your luck. However, practice shows that due to inexperience the subscriber will forget to check a box, which means that the next episode will be an exciting conversation with the support service. If, of course, the subscriber waits for his turn and, retaining a modicum of sanity, does not growl into the phone.
SmartBox Pro: attention to detail
Such a long preface is a severe necessity. Perhaps someone has already forgotten their “first time” and would not be able to fully appreciate the work that Beeline did. Our editorial office visited the first router for home Internet, for which the operator should not be ashamed. I admit, when we were given the opportunity to “look” at this device, I treated it with a fair amount of skepticism. Perhaps the fact that I had just learned how to check the boxes in the settings interface played a role, but I’m frankly not ready to go anywhere deeper. What is there to test? Nevertheless, we took the box and subjected it to a thoughtful inspection. 
The large box contained everything except the user manual. They promised to finish printing and enclose it by the start of sales.
The contents of the SmartBox Pro router are modest - the router itself, a power supply and an ethernet cable. The attention to detail is immediately noticeable. The Ethernet cable is beautiful and unusual. A piece of paper is carefully attached to the power supply wire indicating that it is from the router. Those who have a gigantic number of sockets, power supplies and wires behind their TV will appreciate this seemingly trifle. The design of the router itself is laconic and simple, matte and to the touch as if the rubber surface was not disfigured by bright LEDs and a giant logo. You can safely place SmartBox Pro in a prominent place and watch your guests guess what this mysterious gadget is. All control buttons (power and WPS), as well as the display illumination, are removed to the rear panel.
A label is carefully attached to the network adapter wire so that if something happens it can be easily found among others
The Ethernet cable included is very beautiful, it is impossible to confuse it with another
It may seem that I am overly focusing on minor details. I beg to differ. I personally know several unfortunate people who are forced to turn off their home routers at night. The reason is trivial - they are in the room, and the nuclear light of blue diodes, constantly blinking (after all, this is very important, otherwise you will not know that data is being transmitted) at night simply does not allow you to sleep normally. But what to hide, I myself had such a problem with Netgear and, scary to say, the receiver, which, if you turned it off, began to wink at me with a giant circular flashlight. As a result, I had to fall asleep with light music playing.
During operation, the SmartBox Pro router winks with a dimmed light circle
All light indicators for the operation of network connectors and data transfer are concentrated on the rear panel, not visible to the user
SmartBox Pro from Beeline is not without operation indicators, but most of them, as already mentioned, are located on the rear panel, and on the top cover, occasionally and, what is important, smoothly, not abruptly like its counterparts, a circular signal lights up. The router seems to whisper that everything is fine, everything is fine. Zyxel, which is hanging above me now front door, yells with all six diodes and indicators: “Look how cool I am, I’m downloading to 4 gigabit ports and two wireless bands at once.” Why shout? I know all this without light bulbs. But the Internet either exists or it doesn’t; light bulbs will only confirm this status.
SmartBox Pro: easy setup
What about the settings? I have to disappoint those who have gotten their hands on fine tuning of a home router - all that is required of the new owner is to enter the contract number (after all, the Beeline router is intended for Beeline subscribers) and a password. Optionally, you can enter passwords for WiFi and the names of access points, but even if this is not done, the passwords will still be unique. For each set-top box, they are assigned individually and printed on two stickers placed on the box and on the router itself. After the initial setup, you can, of course, make additional changes, but why? If you want to set up a router, then obviously don’t go for the operator’s device, but buy something more expensive and more powerful.
Setting up the router takes four clicks
The most important factor for WiFi access points for home Internet, in my opinion, is the signal level, because the quality of the device’s connection to the Internet via WiFi directly depends on this. The signal quality of SmartBox Pro is not as bad as I expected. Under the same conditions, the router showed a stable signal at the level of the Zyxel Keenetic Ultra, while the Zyxel has three external antennas, which gives some advantage, while the SmartBox Pro has them hidden in the case.
Measuring the signal strength of SmartBox Pro (first screenshot) and Zyxel Keenetic Ultra (second screenshot) routers under equal conditions
SmartBox Pro: price and availability
By the way, about the price. At the moment she is not. SmartBox Pro is being introduced to the market at a difficult time, when all computer equipment, strictly tied to the dollar exchange rate, has risen in price in accordance with the American currency. I managed to overhear that the retail price of the device at launch will be at least below the equivalent of $100, and this gives reason to assume the figures are 5800-6100 rubles. What will definitely not happen, at least at the start, is the replacement of subscriber equipment already installed for home Internet clients with SamrtBox Pro. The price gap between the routers that were distributed to subscribers before the winter of 2014 and those of today is too large. So if you really want to change your home router, you will have to buy it at the Beeline showroom.
However, you can compare the price of SmartBox Pro with analogues available in stores today. A search in Yulmart showed that out of 22 models that support two WiFi bands, only 6 are cheaper than the SmartBox Pro from Beeline. Moreover, 2 of them are the heirs of the very gates of hell D-Link DIR, which prompted legions of home users to buy a new router. By technical specifications Comparing models within the same price range is almost useless. In the networks of different operators, they can behave as they want. SmartBox Pro receives a significant advantage in these conditions. Beeline provides its Internet using LT2P technology, famous for its “stability,” and a specially configured and tested “inside and out” router is better suited for such a connection than an access point configured according to instructions at a higher price.
If I were a Beeline home Internet subscriber, I would take this router without further ado. Setup, convenience and stylish look are worth the 6 thousand rubles spent. True, if I already had an expensive router or even a router with a comparable set of functions, it’s unlikely that I would change anything. This is more of a compliment to SmartBox Pro; not every operator device is able to stay on the same level as branded and reputable analogues.
The Beeline provider, in order to keep up with others, decided to release its own router, the connection to the networks of this operator can be configured in a couple of clicks. The router offered under the name Smart Box is built on a unified Realtek 8197D processor and is equipped with 64 MB of memory.
In fact, all the complaints that there may be about the operation of this device relate rather to the firmware. We hope it will be fixed soon. Let's look at how a branded Beeline router needs to be configured, and also how to update its firmware.
Router "Beeline Smart Box"
On the rear panel, in addition to the standard set of ports and the power button, you see an operating mode switch. The “router” mode is activated when the toggle switch knob is in the up position. The second mode is “switch”.
We will look at how to set up a connection with the Beeline provider. To do this, you can connect a computer to the router via a patch cord or via a wireless network (which operates in mixed mode b/g/n, it is named “Smart_box-…”). Finally, we will look at how to update the firmware. The firmware version current at the time of creation of the review is 2.0.19.
Connection setup
As is easy to understand, you need to connect the Beeline cord connector to the WAN port. You can access the router’s web interface from a wired or Wi-Fi network (the latter works without a password).
The actions should be as follows: having connected all the cables, supply power to the router, wait 1 minute, open the web interface. The requirement for setting up a network card is to set the “automatic” mode:
Setting up a wired connection on your computer
On wireless cards, they also enable a similar mode (“auto” DNS and IP). The parameter values needed to open the web interface are given below.
How to open the GUI?
If a wired network is used to configure the router, the patch cord is connected to one of the LAN ports. In order for the network card to receive IP and DNS from the router, you need to right-click on the connection icon and click “Fix”. You can connect to a wireless network without a password; its name is “Smart_box-XXXXXX”.
Let us remind you that the router takes at least a minute to load. The graphical interface address of Smart Box is standard and equal to 192.168.1.1. The default password is the same as the login, this is the word admin:
Login to GUI
Setting up a connection with Beeline
While on the start tab of the interface, click the “Quick setup” button. The following page will open:
Connection setup
Here you need to set the parameters:
- Subscriber login of the form “089XXXXXX” (read the contract)
- The subscriber's password is what is specified in the contract
- “Network name” – you can leave it as is
- “Password” – the value of the Wi-Fi password (you don’t have to use it at first)
- We will not enable the guest Wi-Fi network
- Select one LAN port for the TV set-top box, if required (just not the one that is currently in use)
- Click “Save”
Firmware update
The built-in program for the router, that is, the firmware, can be downloaded from the official Beeline website. The firmware file takes 16 or 17 megabytes. Save it to your “desktop”. Next, we will look at how to reinstall the firmware in a Smart Box router, and most importantly, how not to make things worse.
Preliminary actions
It is best to perform a factory reset before updating the firmware. Turn on the router, wait 2 minutes, press reset with a paper clip (the button must be held for 10-15 seconds). The LEDs should blink, then the router will boot again (but with the default settings).
We will install the firmware by connecting the router to the PC via a wired network. It is necessary. Reinstallation software are performed for the sole purpose: to rid the router of the “bugs” of the previous firmware. If everything works well, there is no need to reinstall anything.
It is important to know that while transferring the firmware file, you cannot turn off the power or break the connection between the devices. After the installation is complete, it is better to wait another 5 minutes, and only then briefly press reset.
We update the firmware via the web interface
Go to the configuration GUI as discussed above. On the start tab, click the “Advanced settings” button. Then, select the “Others” tab -> “Software Update”:
Reinstalling the firmware
Sequencing:
- Click “Select file”, find the file on the “desktop” and click “Open”
- Check the connection again and click “Update”
- Wait for the reinstallation to complete
- Wait 5-6 minutes
- Briefly press the reset button on the router
Happy setup!
