Wireless woes.

[Slinwagh]

My brother in law has been having problems with his wireless LAN, he bought a Linksys WAG160N to replace a Netgear DG834G which he thought was as fault, alas he is still having the same issues, these are.


Clients fail to see the WLAN
Clients fail to connect to the WLAN
Clients connect but do net get a IP address via DHCP.
Clients connect, get an IP address but the connection drops within a minute


There are 4 laptops, 3 with an Atheros wireless chipset and one with an Intel wireless chipset, all the clients are running Vista.

I have been there today to try and sort it out and I have got nowhere fast.

So far I have:

Updated all drivers on all clients.
Factory reset both routers.
Update the firmware on both routers.

I have also systematically test to see whether it is an encryption issue, unfortunately they above can be replicated with no encryption enabled.

MAC address filtering was also disabled.

So far I have not been able to get a client to establish a sustained WLAN connection.

The bizarre things is that all of the problems occur regardless of whether the Linksys router is in use or the Netgear.

Also my iPhone has the same issue.

I can't imagine both routers are duff and also the fact that I am having issues with different types of WLAN adapter has left me stumped, I initially thought it was an issue with the Atheros chipset but the iPhone and Intel problems seem to blow that theory out of the water.

HELP !!!!!!!

[Daz]

Sounds a bit like interference to me - other APs near by on the same, or close channels. Have you used something like netstumbler to see what's about?

[jmc41]

Excluding the cynical response all the clients are running Vista.

Have you tried connecting via the LAN ports? I know the 834 has them... I had a load of issues originally getting mine to work but once I got cables directly into it, it worked fine even when I then reverted back to wireless.

Plus if it does work it at least proves the router is okay and could be interference as Daz says.

[Feek]

Excluding the cynical response all the clients are running Vista.

Not quite...

Also my iPhone has the same issue.

It does sound as though there's some local interference to me. Get a stumbler and see what's nearby.

[Slinwagh]

I haven't tried changing channels thinking about it. This has sprung to mind though.........

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb43/Slinwagh/housemast.png

To the right of the house circled is a rather large mobile phone mast, could this be interfering?

[Mark]

Possibly, but it wouldn't be my first suspect. Move the router away from metal objects/corners of rooms/other radio sources (e.g. cordless phone base stations) and experiment with channels to find a good one. Netstumbler or a laptop with something similar (e.g. Dell's Wi-Fi Catcher) is a good call too. Vista is a non-issue, plain and simple.

[Chuckles]

Sounds like interference to me as well.

My only other thought (Although as some clients get an IP occasionally which would discount this) is what I found the other day. My parents moved over the Orange and got their free router. Obviously I didn't read the instructions or anything being a techy, but I found all the clients could see the WLAN but then not connect. I checked all the MAC filtering and changed the encryption methods etc.

It turned out there is a whacking great button on the side of the thing that enables pairing for 10 minutes, similar to that of bluetooth device :rolleyes:

[AboveTheSalt]

When (trying to) sort out WiFi problems, I always work with an ancient Toshiba Satellite Pro L10 laptop running XP SP2 and use NetStumbler.

Other thoughts: check to see that you can connect up using a wired connection disable DHCP and try static addressing disable all security allow broadcast of the SSID place the laptop beside the Netgear or Linksys to get a stronger signal
Obviously progressively reinstate as many security options as you can (WPA, an Access Control List, hidden SSID) and re-enable DHCP when you have resolved the problem.


ps - I love NetStumbler but sadly it is no longer maintained and may not work on more recent laptops or on Vista :'(

[iCraig]

Are you sharing a flat with LeperousDust?

[Slinwagh]

When (trying to) sort out WiFi problems, I always work with an ancient Toshiba Satellite Pro L10 laptop running XP SP2 and use NetStumbler.

Other thoughts: check to see that you can connect up using a wired connection disable DHCP and try static addressing disable all security allow broadcast of the SSID place the laptop beside the Netgear or Linksys to get a stronger signal
Obviously progressively reinstate as many security options as you can (WPA, an Access Control List, hidden SSID) and re-enable DHCP when you have resolved the problem.


ps - I love NetStumbler but sadly it is no longer maintained and may not work on more recent laptops or on Vista :'(

I have tried all of that ATS other than Netstumbler, there is a wired PC that has no issues at all with either router.

I have sat in the same room as the router with a direct line of sight so I can not believe it is a signal or range issue to to speak even though there is an issue with the signal if that makes sense!!!!

[AboveTheSalt]

I have tried all of that ATS other than Netstumbler, there is a wired PC that has no issues at all with either router.

I have sat in the same room as the router with a direct line of sight so I can not believe it is a signal or range issue to to speak even though there is an issue with the signal if that makes sense!!!!God alone knows then :confused:

Just as yet another suggestion, have you tried taking the routers off-site and repeating the exercise somewhere completely different?

If / when you eventually resolve this, do please post an explanation, because it sounds like a really, really weird issue - two routers, multiple laptops - same problem.

[Slinwagh]

Right I am there now and I have managed to connect my Samsung NC10 to the WLAN with no wireless security and then WEP enabled, this is with the Netgear router.

I will now test the other laptops.

[Mark]

You'd be well advised to use WPA if you can - WEP is crackable in minutes nowadays. It's more prone to incompatibilities though so trying WEP first is a good plan.

[Slinwagh]

You'd be well advised to use WPA if you can - WEP is crackable in minutes nowadays. It's more prone to incompatibilities though so trying WEP first is a good plan.

It was for the purposes of testing only,with WPA enabled if I leave the room the signal drops.

[Mark]

The human body can amplify a wireless signal. I've had that happen myself. Dunno how, but it works.

Sounds like you need to identify and (if possible) remove the source of interference. Take the router and one laptop and move them elsewhere to see if that helps.