10 replies to this topic

[Sheel]

Hi Can anyone help me with a problem with my friend's wireless network, please?. She is using a Netgear router and has a pc and 2 laptops all running wirelessly. When she secured her wireless network the wireless card on her desktop keeps dropping the signal every few seconds. She can connect via ethernet but the connection drops if that is removed. Her router is set on channel 11 and is b&g enabled. It was running ok when she had security enabled. Could that be the problem? I would appreciate any advice on this problem. Thank you.

[Sheel]

Sorry, I meant to say, "it was running ok when she had security disabled"

[Amarie]

what OS & what type of security?  Also, some wireless cards aren't capable of connecting to certain types of security (older cards tend to not be compatible with WPA2) and if it's XP, you may need an update to be able to connect to a network with WPA2.

Thank you for your reply, Skrpune, Sorry the request wasn't too clear. The OP is Windows XP and the wireless card is a Realtek but Im not sure which model. I tred to change the router security from WEP to WPA-PSK and the wireless card immediately disconnected. It will not connect to the internet at all. Should I change the settings back to WEP?
Thanks again for answering this request.

Edited by Amarie, 21 March 2010 - 01:07 PM.

[Amarie]

there are three main things that you need to worry about: making sure that your router & wireless card are using the same type of security, getting the correct passphrase/security key on the laptop's wireless card, and that your wireless card supports the type of security the router is using.  

Log into your router and determine all the types of security that are available to you - if you can get the wireless card to work with WPA or WPA2, then I'd go with that over WEP.  One more thing to note - even if you get the security modes (WPA/WPA2/WEP) matching, there is another setting you need to check and that's the security algorithm that's being used - with WPA/WPA2, you can use TKIP or AES...and some older wireless cards will do one or the other, newer ones tend to do both.  If you can't find settings you can change for TKIP/AES on the wireless card settings, then do some experimentation on the router.  

Just out of curiosity, what type of laptop is it?  Some laptops (Lenovo, older Dells, etc) come with their own wireless managers that might offer some more configuration options than comes with the standard Windows Zero Configuration utility.

Sorry for the delay in replying, Skrpune, family matters took over. The desktop is a Dell Dimension and 2 laptops are both Acer. The problem has been resloved by switching everything off and removing all the cables but I wonder why the wireless card wouldn't work when the security settngs on the router were changed from WEP to WPA. It also happened when the SSID was disabled. I really appreciated your help on the matter and also all the help I have got from this website. Thanks again

[eltonc4]

Hi Can anyone help me with a problem with my friend's wireless network, please?. She is using a Netgear router and has a pc and 2 laptops all running wirelessly. When she secured her wireless network the wireless card on her desktop keeps dropping the signal every few seconds. She can connect via ethernet but the connection drops if that is removed. Her router is set on channel 11 and is b&g enabled. It was running ok when she had security enabled. Could that be the problem? I would appreciate any advice on this problem. Thank you.

What operating system is she using? it would not happen to be Vista would it? I've seen Vista do some crazy things with wireless.

[Amarie]

while I've seen the dropping of wireless issue with Vista, I don't think that is the issue in this particular case.  When you change your router from one type of security to another, any current connections will be dropped since they don't match the security any longer.  The best practice steps would be to remove that wireless network from the list of saved networks & set it up again using the new security type/codes.  If the wireless card doesn't support the new security type, then it needs to be changed to one that's supported.  Also, if using XP, you may have to download an update to be able to connect to a WPA2 network...however, if it's an older laptop, the hardware may not be compatible so WPA or WEP would have to be used.

Thank you both for replying to my query. The operating system on all three devices is XP and the wireless card on the desktop was giving problems and that is why the external card was used. i think, as you say, Skrpune, that changing the settings upset the 'status quo' and the whole thing had to be reset. I didn't realise that. I want to thank you for the time you took to help me and I want to thank everyone on this site for their valuable contributions on many other issues on this site.


Just a little   Could you please tell me if a wireless router will work in an area with absolutely NO mobile phone reception. I know that seems a daft question but I understand that they work on the same frequency. I have a friend who is connected via ethernet but wants to go wireless. I apologise for taking advantage of your help but I would appreciate any advice on this.
Thanks again

[Amarie]

as long as there is a router putting out a signal and you're within range of it (and assuming that the router is plugged into a model so that it has internet), there shouldn't be any issues with connecting to wireless and getting online.  There MIGHT be interference issues with other devices in the area (microwaves, cordless phones) that may be using the same frequency, but it shouldn't have anything to do with whether or not there is wireless phone reception in a particular area.  

As long as you're on a hard-wired internet connection and have it plugged into the router (many home routers will have display light to signal that they do have internet access), you're good to go.  

Just one more tidbit for full disclosure & clarity - if you're depending on 3g or 4g service to get your internet connection, that's a whole other story.

Thank you so much for your advice and for taking the time to reply. My friend's ISP is Virgin Media and he has been working on a wired connection for approx 2 years with a speedtouch modem. He requested a router from his ISP and received a d-link. His  Toshiba laptop(OP=Vista) will connect to the router but not to the internet and we thought it may be because of the frequency. He didn't receive a cd with his router but I don't know if he needs one or even if his logon settings should be changed to accomodate the new router. Can you suggest what we might be doing wrong? I don't know if this query is in the right place or should I open it in a new topic?
Thank you for all your advice so far.(PS and your patience)

[Amarie]

it could be that you need to change settings on the router.  The way my internet is set up, the cable company I go through has assigned internet access to the mac address of the desktop it was originally hooked up to - they came in and did the setup as part of the service activation (it is SO frustrating for a tech to sit back and watch as someone else fiddles with their computer!), and they basically registered the mac address of my computer when they did that.  In order for me to use my router, I had to "clone" my computer's mac address - in the router settings, I had to specify that it use my computer's mac address.  MANY cable companies who offer internet access require this setting, although DSL generally does not.  

I would advise giving that a try - check the mac address on the computer that was previously plugged directly into the modem:
- run cmd.exe as administrator
- type in "ipconfig /all" (without the quotes)
- make note of the Physical Address (it will be 12 digits long, letters & numbers)
- make a note of the Gateway Address (probably something like 192.168.1.100)

Then log onto the router by opening a web browser & type in that gateway address.  If it asks for a log on name & password, try admin with a blank password (or admin as the password as well)...if that doesn't work, check this site & see if you can find the log on/password combination there.   Once you're logged into the router, you will have to hunt around to find the proper spot to put in the mac address to be used.  A general how to for that can be found here.  I'll bet that once the mac address is cloned, the router will have internet access, and hence anything connected to it (wired or wireless) will have internet.

Give that a shot & give a shout back to let us know if that worked...good luck!

Hi I'm sorry to be a pain.......I'm not sure if it is but if the router was preconfigured can the settings be changed? Thank you

[Amarie]

yup, router settings can always be reconfigured using the web browser to access the setup.  If you haven't changed the preset log in info yet, then you definitely should change them to something other than admin or a blank password.  From the browser setup, you can make LOTS of changes - filtering so that only certain mac addresses can access your network, port forwarding, changing log on info, changing wireless security modes, cloning a mac address so your router can access the internet, turning off network broadcast, etc.  

If for some reason you can't log onto the router (i.e., if it's not at the default log on info and/or you don't remember the log on info) or if you just want to start fresh, then you can reset it to factory defaults - there should be a reset button (a teeny tiny little recessed button)...press & hold it down for a few seconds while the router is powered on.  VOILA, you're back to an open network & a router that's back to factory defaults (with the log on info probably as admin/blank or admin/admin).  Connect up to the open network, check your IP address, then enter that IP address in your browser to log on and change your settings.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, Skrpune, I followed your instructions and inserted the MAC address and got connected        I appreciate your help on both my queries

[leonardyuri]

What if I'm using an Xp and cannot still connect? can someone advise me for this. I wanna use the wireless in my laptop since in my pc I've a different one.

[jackrose01]

My wireless router is a ubiquitous network, it is a pretty good router, I have a Linksys adapter. But the problem is every time I leave the computer more than 5 minutes, must be re-connected. Does anyone know how to solve it? Maybe I had to change some settings the router.